Mob Boss Eleven- The Wrong One (The Mob Boss Series Book 11) (16 page)

Reno
exhaled, as did everybody else.
 
“Thank
God!” he said.
 
“May I see her?” he
asked.

“Only
you, and only for a few minutes.
 
She
really needs to rest.”

Reno
extended his hand.
 
“Thank-you, Doctor,”
he said as they shook.

When
the doctor left, Reno entered the room.
 
But he hesitated at the door when he saw her lying there.
 
Tubes everywhere.
 
And to think, just hours ago, she was happy
and healthy and looking forward to a girls night out.
 
Now her life was in the balance.
 
All because of some fools who didn’t realize
whom they were messing with.
 
At least
that was Reno’s early conclusion.
 
Because
if they had known it was his wife they were gunning down, he thought, as he
slowly made his way into the room, they would have turned themselves in right
there and then.
 
They would have given up
while they still stood a chance.

He
nodded to the Nurse who was working on a computer in the room when he
entered.
 
He stood by Trina’s bedside as
some suction cup opened and closed, opened and closed, as if her life depended
on that suction, and on all of those other machines.
 
He looked at her eyes.
 
Although they were closed, he could feel her
presence.
 
He could feel her pain.
 
He could see the agony she had to have seen
when she realized they were gunning for her.
 
And Reno Gabrini, the man who wouldn’t know weakness if it bit him in
the face, broke down.
 
And fell to his
knees.
 

Jim,
Sal, and Gemma stood outside of Recovery and looked through the two-way glass
as Reno dropped to his knees.
 
Sal
swallowed hard, seeing Reno like that, and Jimmy had tears in his eyes.
 
Gem, too, was taken by Reno’s brokenness, and
placed her hand on her chest.
 
It was a
remarkable sight to see.
 
She always
looked up to Reno and Trina.
 
It was
their unwavering love, and their devotion to one another, that made her want
that kind of love and devotion too.
 
She
didn’t want to settle.
 
She didn’t want
to get what she could get just in case there was nothing left to have.
 
She was willing to take the risk and
wait.
 
Because of Reno and Tree.
  
The wait turned out to be worth it.

Tommy
came up too, and Gemma immediately took the baby out of his hands.
 
“How’s Grace?” she asked him.

“She’s
still asleep.
 
The doctor is pleased with
her progress.”

Sal
nodded.
 
“Good.”

“I’ll
go and sit with her some,” Gemma said, and Tommy nodded his okay.
 
Then he snapped his fingers and pointed at one,
and then another guard.
 
They immediately
followed Gemma and the baby into Grace’s room.

Then
Tommy looked at Reno and Tree.
 
And he
exhaled.
 

Jimmy
looked at him.
 
Tommy had always been his
father’s go-to guy.
 
Whenever Reno needed
advice, he’d turn to Tommy.
 
Whenever
Reno needed muscle, he turned to Sal.
 
But Tommy was his adviser.
 
“What
do we do next, Uncle Tommy?” Jimmy asked him.

“We
wait,” Tommy responded.

“But
they could be getting away, right?”

Tommy
shook his head.
 
“They aren’t going
anywhere.”

“But
look at Dad,” Jimmy said, looking again at his father, who remained on his
knees.
 
“He’s in no shape to do
anything.
 
Me, you and Uncle Sal are
going to have to take charge of this.
 
I
know my dad.
 
When it comes to Ma he
can’t be reasoned with.”

“Then
don’t try to reason with him,” Sal said.
 
“Who gives a shit about reason right now?
 
We’ll get those bastards, don’t you worry
about that.
 
Reno will get them.”

“But
when?
 
He should be out there now.
 
The doctor said Ma was going to be okay.”

“Not
until Reno sees Trina eyeball to eyeball,” Tommy said, “he’s not going
anywhere.
 
He’s not doing anything.”

“But
I feel we should be doing something now,” Jimmy responded.

“We
are doing something,” Tommy said.

Jimmy
was doubtful. “Yeah? Like what?”

“We’re
thinking,” Sal said.
 
“We’ll thinking
what asshole out there is bat-shit crazy enough to gun down Reno Gabrini’s
wife.”

“And
when you figure it out?” Jimmy asked.

“We’ll
be gunning down them,” Tommy responded.
 
And then he headed back down the hall, to check on his wife.

Jimmy
nodded his head.
 
“That’s the Uncle Tommy
I know,” he said proudly.
 
“I felt like
he dropped the ball when Aunt Grace was forced to defend herself against his
ex-girlfriend.
 
Didn’t you feel that
way?”

“Hell
yeah I felt that way,” Sal responded.
 
“He should have protected Grace more.
 
He should have seen that coming.
  
But that incident changed Tommy.
 
Now he knows treating Grace like some fucking baby isn’t going to
work.
 
She’s in this just like the rest
of us, and he knows it now.”

“Yeah.
 
Like Aunt Gemma and Val too.”

It
was a sad fact for Sal.
 
But a fact.
 
“Yeah.
 
Like them.”

“But
will they be able to handle this, Unc?”

“Gemma’s
already able.”

“And
Val?”

“Not
by a longshot.
 
But she’s young.
 
She’s going to make a lot of stupid mistakes.
 
You’ve got to give her time.”

Then
Jimmy’s eyes flew wider.
 
“She opened her
eyes!” he yelled. “Ma’s opening her eyes!”

He
flew into the room, despite the doctor’s orders, with Sal behind him.

Reno
was standing back up when he, too, saw movement from Trina.

“Tree?”
he asked.

She
attempted to smile.
 
The Nurse in the
room quickly gave her water.
 
Then she
looked at Reno.
 
“I’ll give you some
privacy.
 
But only a few minutes.”

“Thank-you,”
Reno said.

When
the Nurse was gone, Trina began talking, albeit hoarsely.
 
“You okay?” she asked Reno.

“Me?”
Reno asked with a smile of relief.
 
“What
about you, sweetheart?
 
Are you okay?”

“I’m
always okay.”

Reno
laughed.
 
“So you think you’re tough?”

“What
about Val and Grace, Reno?”

“They’re
both fine.
 
Neither one of them were
hit.”

“Praise
God,” Trina said.
 
“And what about Dom
and Sophie?
 
Who’s with Dom and Sophie?”

“Your
mother and father came up from Barstow.
 
They’re with them now.”

“Oh,
good.
 
That’s real good.
 
What about Fran?”

“Who
gives a shit?”

Trina
managed to smile.
 
“And Jimmy?
 
How’s he?”

“He’s
right here,” Reno said.
 
“Ask him
yourself.”

Jimmy
moved in front of his father.
 
He
smiled.
 
“Hey Ma.”

Trina
touched his face.
 
“Hey boy.
 
I hear Val’s going to be okay.”

“She’s
great.
 
Don’t worry about her.
 
Aunt Grace is fine too.
 
We just want you to be better.
 
The doctor said you will be.”

“Be
patient with Val, Jimmy,” Trina urged.

“I
will.
 
She and I made up.
 
She’s agreed to go back to counseling.”

“And
you go with her.”

“I
will.
 
I promise you I will.”
 
Jimmy became tearful.
 
“And we’re going to get who did this to you,
Ma.
 
Dad’s gonna take care of it.”

Trina
looked at Reno.
 
“Who did it?” she asked.

“We
don’t know yet.
 
But we will.”

“Then
why are you here?
 
Why aren’t you finding
out who did this?”

“When
I get you out of this hospital, and safely back at our PaLargio, then I’ll find
them.”

“It
was two men, Reno.
 
Both white.”

“Yeah,
that’s what I’ve been told.”

“They
started an argument, but it was game. It was all in the game.”

“Planned?”

Trina
managed to nod her head.
 
“Oh, yeah.
 
Down to the last bullet.”

Reno
nodded his head.
 
“Okay,” he said.
 
“I’ll be sure to plan it too.
 
Down to the last bullet.”

But
he wouldn’t leave her side.
 
He had his
men on the case.
 
Sal had his men on the
case.
 
Tommy had his men and his own
Gabrini Corporation security apparatus on the case.
 
But everybody was coming up empty.
 
They needed Reno on the case.
 
Everybody felt it, but nobody could get away
with telling Reno it.
 
Except Tommy.

They
were in the living room of Reno and Trina’s penthouse.
 
Jimmy, Sal, and Tommy.
 
Grace and Val had been released and were at
the Penthouse too, but they were hanging out on the back veranda along with
Reno’s kids and Destiny.
 
Trina’s parents
were at the hospital with Reno.
 
But
everybody else was there.
 
And it was all
by design.
 
None of the Gabrini men were
allowing any of their women to go anywhere.
 

Even
Gemma Jones-Gabrini, who nobody would accuse of bending to anybody’s will, had
to request a continuance for her case after Sal absolutely forbade her from
even thinking about trying a case right now.
 
It was almost a knockdown drag-out between the two of them, but Sal
prevailed.
 
And due to family matters,
and the fact that the defendant did not want any other attorney but Gemma, the
continuance was granted.
 
But she wasn’t
on the veranda.
 
She was in the living
room with the men.

 
“You’re the only one Dad will listen to,”
Jimmy said to Tommy.
 
“This is Dad’s
town.
 
He’s got to get out there
himself.”

“And
he will,” Tommy said.
 

“Everybody’s
drawing blanks,” Jimmy continued.
 
“Nobody knows a damn thing and nobody gives a shit.
 
It’s as if they’re glad this happened.
 
They didn’t have the balls to do it, but
they’re glad somebody finally did.”

 
“What finally?” Sal asked.
 
“They’ve been fucking with Reno and his
family for years.”
 
Then he exhaled, and
looked at Tommy.
 
“But the kid is right.
  
Staying at Trina’s bedside is nice, but it
won’t get us any closer to catching those assholes.”

“So
what do you want me to do?” Tommy asked.

“Tell
Pop we need him on the battlefield,” Jimmy said.
 
“I want to know who tried to kill Ma, and who
put my wife in danger.
 
He needs to get
out here and find out.”

“That’s
easy for y’all to say,” Tommy said.

Sal
and Jimmy looked at him.
 
Gemma looked
too.
 
“What’s easy for us to say?” Sal
asked.

“Trina
nearly died,” Tommy said.
 
“Yeah, Grace
is okay, and Val is okay, but Trina nearly died.”

“Right,”
Sal responded.
 
“But now she’s going to
be okay.”