ROMANCING THE MOB BOSS (13 page)

put his arm around her waist. “You didn’t mean

that about my paycheck, Reno. Did you?”

“Watch me,” he said. And he wasn’t

smiling, either.

The elevator door binged opened, not to

the top floor, but to the twentieth floor. Reno

escorted her around a corner and unlocked a

door.

“You’re taking me to a hotel room,

Reno?” she asked, concerned. “Why can’t we

just go to your place?”

“Because I wanted to show you your

place first.”

“My place?” Trina asked as the door

was opened and she and Reno walked into

what was a very modern, very beautiful y-

appointed apartment.

“This is a private hal . Al apartments.

This one is yours.”

“But I have an apartment,” Trina said,

although even she knew how lame that

sounded.

“You ain’t living in that war zone another

night. Please don’t fight me on this, Tree. You

see the hours you’re working as an apprentice,

imagine how it’s gonna be when you’re the

head honcho? You’re gonna be too exhausted

to go anywhere, you gonna barely make it to this

place. Don’t fight me on this.”

Trina looked at the apartment again,

with the floor to ceiling windows that overlooked

the magnificent Vegas skyline, at the furniture

that looked brand new, and she looked at

Reno. She real y loved this guy. “I keep my old

apartment, though,” she insisted.

“You can keep it.”

“And what about my Civic?”

Reno laughed. “We’l go over there

tomorrow, or should I say later today, and pick it

up, along with al of your valuables. But right

now,” he said, moving up to her, pul ing her into

his arms, kissing her, “we do we right now.”

They began kissing where they stood, in

the sanguine splendor of her new home, and

Trina felt giddy. She stil knew they had issues,

those family ties of Reno’s chief among them,

but since returning from Spring Val ey, they

hadn’t even discussed it. It was as if they had

cal ed a truce. Don’t tel me your blues, and I

won’t tel you mine. For now.

+++

Reno was flat on his back in Trina’s new

bed, stil breathing heavy from pounding her

relentlessly, so much so that she could stil feel

the electricity deep within her as she lay on her

back beside him, when the cal came. It was

Joey, and he was hysterical.

“Where are you?” he screamed into the

phone. “Where are you, Reno?”

“What’s the matter?” Reno asked, sitting

up. “I’m in 2410.”

“I’m coming up,” Joey said and the line

went dead. Reno closed his cel phone.

“What is it?” Trina asked as Reno

began getting out of bed, his naked body stil

sweaty from their last round of lovemaking.

“I don’t know,” he replied. “But put on

your clothes. Joey’s coming up.”

They both dressed hastily and were just

making it into the living room when Joey started

banging on the door. When Reno opened it,

Joey fel into his brother’s arms, crying.

Trina closed the door.

“What’s the matter with you?” Reno

asked him, pul ing back from him.

“It’s Pop,” Joey said, almost out of

breathe. “They went for Pop, Reno.”

“Who went for Pop?” Reno asked, his

heart hammering.

“Partanna.”

“Geez.”

“It was like a gunfight on the Strip. You

should have seen it, Reno. Pop was coming out

of his restaurant, everything was fine, and then

of his restaurant, everything was fine, and then

he was ambushed. They were laying in wait for

him, man.”

“Was he hurt?”

“He wasn’t hit, God be praised, but

Louwegie got it between the eyes.”

Reno’s heart grew faint. Al of this

senseless violence. But he didn’t hesitate long.

“Let’s go,” he said, and immediately began

hurrying to leave. Then he turned back around,

remembering Trina, and went to her. The fear in

her eyes drained him.

“You wait here,” he told her, placing his

hands on the sides of her face. “Not back at

your place, but here. I don’t want you leaving the

PaLargio until you hear from me, you got that? I

got enough to worry about. Not you, too.”

Trina hated this, and was terrified that

he was about to get in the middle of some kind

of mob war, but this was the man’s father they

were talking about. She nodded her head. “I’l

be here, Reno,” she said.

Reno kissed her on her lips, lingering

there, and when they parted she could see the

anguish in his eyes.

But he didn’t delay. He hurried out of the

door, with Joey right on his heels.

+++

The doors to the Gabrini compound flung

open and Reno and Joey came hurrying

through.

Carmine came into the foyer as they

entered.

“Where is he?” Reno asked.

“He’s okay,” Carmine said. “He wasn’t

hit.”

“Where is he?”

“In his study.” They hurried in that

direction. “It was that fucker Partanna, you know

that?” Carmine added.

“Why more men ain’t on the gate?” Reno

asked as he walked. “Two people. What the

hel kind of security is that, Carmine?”

“Firepower’s on the way. This shit just

happened, Reno.”

“Partanna’s dead!” Joey screamed.

“That motherfucker’s dead!”

But Reno wasn’t thinking about Joey nor

Carmine, he just wanted to see his father.

When they entered the study, and they saw

Gabrini seated behind his desk, puffing on a

cigar and looking terrified it seemed to Reno,

Dirty at his side, the tension, the pent up

anguish, began to release from Reno’s body.

“I’m al right,” Gabrini said.

“You al right, Pop?” Joey said, hurrying

to him, hugging him.

“I’m al right.”

“Why you didn’t cal me, Pop?” Reno

wanted to know as he stood in front of the desk,

his arms folded.

“Cal you for what?” Gabrini asked, his

bitterness showing. “So you can give me some

sage advice, some pointers on dealing with

thugs, some negotiation techniques maybe, and

then go back to your hotel and casino while I go

straight to hel ? I’ve got Dirty and Carmine,

remember? Remember saying that to me?

You my boy!” He yel ed this. “Not Dirty and

Carmine! You the only one I can depend on!”

Then he calmed back down. Shook his head in

disgust.

“You got me, Pop,” Joey said. “I’l take

care of those rat-bastards.”

“Yeah, sure, Joey, sure,” Gabrini said.

Reno exhaled. Thought about his lovely

Trina, and that fear he saw in her beautiful,

worried eyes, and pain ripped through him. It

wasn’t fair. Why they had to start this shit now,

just when he was learning to live a little, to

understand what love was al about? Just when

he was completely happy for the first time in his

life.

He opened his suit coat, placed his

hands on his hips. “You sure it was Partanna’s

men?”

“Of course it was them.”

“Are you sure, Pop?”

“I’m positive, al right?” Gabrini flicked

the ash off of his cigar.

“Partanna doesn’t shoot to miss,” Reno

said.

“He does when he wants to send a

message.”

“And what’s the message?”

“I either share,” Gabrini said, “or he’s

“I either share,” Gabrini said, “or he’s

taking it al .”

Reno thought about that. “Taking it al ?

He doesn’t have the infrastructure in place to

take it al .”

“I know that, you know that, but he don’t

know that. On one level he does, that’s why I’m

stil alive, God be praised. But Frank Partanna

is a maniac. Unpredictable. Crazy-like. He

don’t know what he don’t know. Today he know

he ain’t got the manpower in place to take over

the east if I expire, so he don’t expire me. But

tomorrow he don’t know he know that, and the

game changes again.”

Reno stared at his father and his father

stared at him. What they both most feared was

upon them.

“So it’s on then?” Reno said.

Gabrini leaned back in his chair, put his

fat cigar between his lips. Reno could see a

tremble in those lips. “We’re talking Frank

‘Schizo’ Partanna here,” his father said. “What

you think?”

Al day the next day and late into the night,

Trina didn’t hear a word from Reno. She kept

phoning his cel phone, but it kept going straight

to voice mail. By the time she knocked off work,

and there was stil no word from Reno, she got

into her Civic and drove west of the Strip, to

Spring Val ey.

Using the GPS Reno had instal ed in the

Civic, Trina was able to find the street where the

Gabrini home was located, which, given that the

compound was the only home on that particular

street, she was also able to find the home.

Another dead giveaway was the fact that Joey

and seemingly ten other men were standing

outside of the gate, guarding the estate.

Trina stopped her car at the curb, got

out, and walked up to the wel -lit gate. Joey was

barking at her as she came.

“What the hel are you doing here?” he

asked her as she arrived. “Reno told you to

stay put.”

“Wil you tel Reno I need to see him?”

“He told you to stay put.”

“I know what he told me, Joey. Could

you just tel him I need to see him?”

“He ain’t got time to see you. My brother

is a very busy man. I don’t think you understand

that.”

Trina looked beyond Joey, inside the

gate. She could see Carmine further inside,

looking to see what the commotion was about,

and then she saw him talking on his cel phone.

“For al we know you could be 5-0 in

disguise,” Joey went on, “and you got my

brother so twisted up that he don’t know what a

pig smel s like anymore. But I know that smel .

And you got it. But you got Reno right where

you want him, don’t you?”

“Man, you’re crazy.”

“I heard about you black chicks,” Joey

kept talking. “I know about y’al and al of that

black magic. Wel , your potion don’t work on

me, sister.” Some of the guards laughed.

Trina wanted to rol her eyes. “Are you

going to tel Reno I want to see him or not?”

going to tel Reno I want to see him or not?”

“Didn’t I tel you he was a busy man?

How many times I got to tel you that? What I

suggest you do,” Joey continued, moving closer

to Trina, “is get your pretty little black ass back

into your bucket of a car and sail it right back

where it came from.”

“And I would suggest,” Trina said, “you

get your funky big mouth out of my face and take

your funky big ass and sail it right back where it

came from.”

The men on the gate laughed. Joey

looked at Trina with pure contempt. But before

he could zing her back, she could see Reno

coming toward the gate.

“Reno!” she yel ed, and al of the men

looked in his direction. When he arrived, the

gate was opened. Reno moved to her and

pul ed her into his arms.

“Hey, baby,” he said, holding her.

“You okay?” she asked him.

“I’m. . .” He couldn’t real y say what he

was, but he was glad to see her. “Come on,” he

said, taking her by the hand. Then he looked at

his brother. “Next time my woman comes

anywhere near this gate, you had better open it

up and escort her straight to me. No questions

asked, none of your bul shit. You got that,

Joey?”

Joey hated being scolded in front of the

other men. “Yeah, I got it,” he said reluctantly,

but as they were heading back inside the gate,

he fol owed them.

Inside the house, the family was

gathered in the living room. Reno’s mother,

sisters, Dirty and Carmine were al present,

along with Reno’s father, who sat in the chair

flanking the sofa. After once again introducing

Trina, and after Trina once again receiving

polite but joyless hel os, Reno sat her down on

the sofa beside him. Joey, as usual, sat beside

Reno.

“I stil say my approach is the right

approach, Reno,” Dirty said as if he was

continuing an earlier conversation. “I stil say we

send Partanna a message, just a warning shot