“Wait here,” Teddy said to Nikki at the bottom of the stairs, and he kept walking toward the front door.
Nikki did as she was told and waited. She already felt some ease because he allowed her to come downstairs with him. And when he opened his front door, and she saw his kid brother Joey walk across the threshold, she felt completely at ease. She was a bartender who saw all types day in and day out, and Joey was the type that didn’t scare her in the least. Guys like Joey were all talk and no action. They were the kind of big-mouths who would bet all day long that they could beat your ass, but they would never cover the bet.
Types like Teddy, by contrast, were the real deal. All action and little talk. Teddy was the kind of man Nikki respected and feared in equal doses. Respected him because he was all man who knew how to handle his business. Feared him because he was a bad boy who had to do bad things in this life. She wasn’t sure what his limit could be. Including when it came to treating her right.
She stopped her wild thinking. What did she have to do with it? But she did have something to do with it! She was, after all, staying at his house, sleeping in his bed, allowing him to make love to her without condoms! And as she watched his big, fine ass close the front door, and could still feel what it felt like to have that big-rig of a dick inside of her, the idea that she could someday be his woman was a heady proposition. Pipedream land before she left L.A. A world of possibilities now that she was in Philly, with him.
“Why,” Teddy asked his brother as soon as he closed the door, “you never bother me at a decent hour?”
“I tried to call your ass, but you wouldn’t answer.”
Teddy had turned off his cell phone on purpose. He wanted to be alone with Nikki, without interruptions for once. Last night he made it. No interruptions. “What is it that can’t wait?” he asked.
Joey glanced toward the stairs at Nikki. Teddy had forgotten that she was there too. But fuck it, he thought. They were together now. And she’d already figured it out anyway. He just had to make it clear to Joey that this was how it was going to be.
That was why, instead of saying another word to his brother, he walked over to the stairs, reached out for Nikki’s hand, and then, with his hand in hers, walked her to the living room, where he sat her down, and sat beside her, on the couch.
Even Nikki saw it as an act of defiance. A kind of in-your-face reaction to Joey’s natural rudeness. An action statement, as Nikki saw it, that said Teddy was not going to take his brother’s nonsense when it came to her. Respect her, his unspoken words seemed to say, or else.
Joey got the message loud and clear. They’d been fucking, probably all night in his mind, and Teddy was smitten. He realized that at their father’s house, when Teddy kept taking peeps at that woman as if she was a fresh piece of meat he couldn’t wait to consume. Joey would never consume her: he wasn’t into big girls. But Teddy acted as if he could just eat the shit out of her. And, Joey figured as he made his way into the living room behind them, as he watched her sashay that big ass in Teddy’s big shirt, Teddy probably already had.
He sat down, in one of the chairs, and move to the edge of his seat. If Teddy was certain he could trust this girl, who was he to object? Besides, if the shit went sideways, it was going to be Teddy’s ass on Dad’s grill. Not his.
“Okay, let’s have it,” Teddy said. “What happened?”
“Bovenconti happened,” Joey said. “He hit the docks.”
Teddy frowned. “Why would he do that? I handled that shit.”
“I’m telling you what I know. He took out one of our ships. I just got the word. The fire department’s been called.”
Teddy was stumped. “But that shit was handled. Bovenconti wouldn’t pull--” And he had a different thought, and he looked at Joey.
Joey frowned. “What?” he asked. “What are you looking at me like that for? I didn’t set that fire!”
“What happened, Joey?” Teddy asked.
“I told you what happened!”
“Cut the bullshit, alright? Why would Bovenconti strike us about that thing after I took care of that thing?”
Teddy might have trusted Nikki, Joey noticed, but he was nobody’s fool. He wasn’t going to tell it all, not with her hanging around.
“Tell me the whole story before I get down to those docks and find out for myself.”
“Give me a break!” Joey said as if he was offended. “I come here to give you the heads up, and you want to fuck with me? Fuck you!” he yelled, and then turned to leave.
But Teddy was up so fast it almost gave Nikki whiplash watching him. Talk about going from zero to one hundred! He moved up to his kid brother and grabbed him by his jersey. And it was obvious Teddy could break his brother in two. “What happened, Joey?” he asked him again.
Nikki stood up, too. She was expecting the brothers to come to blows. From the father on down, the Sinatras, she already was seeing, were a violent bunch. Or, at the least, a highly charged bunch.
“Tell me what happened or I’ll break every bone in your punk-ass body!” Teddy said. “What happened?”
There was no fight. Joey, as Nikki already suspected, was all talk, and no action. He bent like a bow. “Bovenconti paraded Khaki around town like he was some wild game hunter showing off his catch, and then he tossed Khake into the city dump.”
Nikki didn’t know if she wanted to hear this, but in for a penny, in for a pound. She was in it now!
“Go on,” Teddy said.
“Some of the guys thought it was wrong,” Joey continued. “They thought, who does this motherfucker think he is? Khaki made a mistake, but he’s a made man with the Sinatras. You don’t mess with our people like that, what the fuck is wrong with him? Some of our guys saw it as total disrespect.”
“By some of our guys,” Teddy asked, “you mean some of your guys in your crew, right?”
Joey hated to admit it. His end was always the fuck-up end. “You can say that, yeah.”
Teddy wanted to slap the shit out of Joey. You can say that? But Teddy was the kind of leader who always looked at the big picture. His father was that kind of leader too. “What did their asses do?” he asked his kid brother instead.
“They went to the hospital,” Joey said, “and they kinda, sorta, finished him off.”
Teddy frowned. “They what?”
“They finished him off. They went to that hospital and took out Bovenconti’s son.”
Teddy was livid. “Motherfuck!” he yelled. “Who the fuck gave them permission to take out a boss’s son? Who, Joey? You?”
“You know I didn’t give nobody that kind of permission! You know I can’t give it. That’s on you and Pop’s level! They did it themselves. They loved Khake, Teddy. They loved him!”
“They loved him? They loved him? I don’t give a flying fuck if--” Teddy’s voice was loud with anger. He was so angry he could barely contain his rage. He was so angry he couldn’t complete his own sentence!
Nikki was angry too. She was angry that Joey was putting Teddy through so much distress. And although she didn’t hear the backstory in detail, she’d heard enough to know Joey had fucked up. She knew Joey should have controlled his people better than this!
“They knew better, Teddy,” Joey said. “This can’t be on me. I told them you can’t hit the son of a Don. I told them that even before Khake took that fall. They understood that.”
“But they did it anyway?” Teddy asked. “That’s what you’re telling me? Your own men don’t listen to a fucking thing you tell them? Is that what I need to know, Joey?”
Then Teddy couldn’t hold it in another second. “Pop was right!” he yelled. “He told me to fire your ass last night because of what Khaki did alone. That was enough for him! But I didn’t. I stood up for you. Now you bring me this? Motherfuck, Joey!”
Joey was reeling now. His father told Teddy to fire him? “It’s not my fault!” Joey proclaimed. “What did I do? I’m not taking the fall for this shit!”
; Teddy just shook his head. It was a monumental mess and that was all there was to it. And his father already made it crystal clear: the buck stopped with Teddy. This fuck-up was all on Teddy.
“Get to the docks,” he ordered Joey. “I’m sure not only the fire department will be out there, but snooping cops, too. Make sure those assholes handle that right. And call the suits,” he added, which Joey knew meant the lawyers. “They need to be there too.”
“I already made that call,” Joey said. “They’re on their way. I was on my way to the docks, too, when I was trying to call you. I wanted to give you the heads up.”
Joey was depressed. Teddy could hear it in his voice. He knew Teddy was the only champion he had in their father’s syndicate, and he was losing his support fast. But he still wasn’t taking the blame for somebody else’s fuck up, he didn’t care what his champion said. Teddy knew that too.
As Joey left, Teddy began hurrying toward the stairs. Nikki was right on his heels. “Motherfuck!” Teddy said again.
“What does it mean, Teddy?” Nikki asked as they hurried up the stairs. “Are you in danger?”
Teddy frowned. “What the fuck kind of question is that?” he asked her angrily as he stopped in his tracks and turned to her. Then he caught himself when he realized who he was unleashing on, and when he saw the agony in her eyes. “Sorry.”
But Nikki wasn’t having it. “Don’t be!” she said. “Your ass is angry. I’d be angry too. Blow off some steam. I can take it.”
Teddy appreciated that. Steam was always being blown off on him, he needed somebody he could blow a little off himself.
But he wasn’t doing that to Nikki.
He continued to hurry upstairs, with her hurrying behind him. “In my line of work,” he said, answering her question and keeping it real with her, “there’s always the possibility of danger.”
“So, what happened?” Nikki asked, following him. “Somebody disrespected the crew?”
“Ah, fuck that,” Teddy said. “That was Joey just making excuses. He knows that’s not the real problem. The real problem is what our people did. Those stupid assholes took out the son of a Don!”
“A Don?” Nikki asked.
“The head of a family,” Teddy clarified. “It could mean war if we aren’t careful.” Then he realized his error because his father had already served him notice: the next Joey fuck-up was on him. “If I’m not careful,” he said.
They entered the second-floor landing, and then headed for the bedroom. “Where are you going?” Nikki asked as they made their way into his bedroom.
“To the docks,” Teddy said. “To see how bad it is.”
Nikki was bold if she was anything. And she decided to go for broke. She was already in for a penny, after all. “Can I go with you?” she asked.
Teddy was ready to tell her hell no. What the fuck was wrong with her? But then he thought about it. He thought about his Uncle Tommy (in their world, cousins of high authority were considered to be uncles). It was Tommy Gabrini who tried to shield his woman from the horrors of the mob life, too, just like Mick had told him, and he almost lost her forever. It was a bitter situation. Teddy and Nikki had hopes that their relationship was going somewhere, if their intimacy was any indication. Why wouldn’t he put her feet to the fire in a real fucking way, to see if she’d burn, before he gave his heart and soul to a losing proposition?
If she couldn’t handle it, he’d know early on. And maybe, just maybe, he could get out without losing his mind. Losing a chance to be with her could be that intense. But if she could handle it, he thought, he’d know that too. That would be a great thing to know.
“Get ready,” he said to her.
Nikki was shocked. She was certain he was going to cuss her ass out for even asking to go with him. But she was a practical girl. She wasn’t about to look that gift horse in the mouth.
She, instead, saddled up.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
By the time Teddy and Nikki arrived on scene, one of the Sinatras big cargo ships had already exploded on the dock of the bay, and firemen were out in force doing all they could to contain the blaze. Cops were out in force, too, questioning deck hands. But most of those cops were questioning Joey. They knew it was his job to run the docks for Mick Sinatra, and they’d had Mick in their crosshairs for decades.
Fortunately, Teddy also noticed, the lawyers were right beside Joey, limiting what he was going to tell.
Teddy, in a snazzy suit and tie – his standard work uniform, got out of the Corvette quickly. Although he was transfixed by the fire, he wasn’t so thrown that he couldn’t walk around to the passenger side of his car and open the door for Nikki.
Nikki, who took her cues from Teddy and dressed up for the occasion too, stepped out in a gorgeous pair of slacks and blouse, along with a blazer thrown over her shoulders. She stepped out looking at that fire. Her already big eyes became even larger when she saw the ferocity of that blaze.
But when Teddy reached for her hand, and held it tightly, her attention reverted to him. “That’s your ship?” she asked him.
“One of them,” Teddy said, unable to take his eyes off of the fire too. “I’m in charge of all of them.”
It was only then did Nikki realize that there were a fleet of cargo ships in that bay, and Teddy was saying he was in charge of them all? She knew Mick Sinatra’s organization had to be enormous. If he was the king of the mob bosses, as those articles alleged, he had to have serious skin in the game. But an empire this vast?
She heard what Teddy had said, but she also heard the part he didn’t say. “Your father isn’t going to like this very much,” she said.
Teddy smiled a smile that was more bitter than joyous. “No, he is not,” he agreed. “He’s not going to like me very much either,” he added, and began walking parallel with the ship: his eyes still glued to that ship. His hand still holding Nikki’s.
Nikki had to hurry to keep pace with her distracted partner, and she could feel his distress with every step he took. Teddy was a daddy’s boy, Nikki thought as she walked beside him. She picked up on that obvious fact as soon as Mick Sinatra laid him out with one punch. Although Teddy jumped right back up, the way he should have, he didn’t even attempt to strike his father back. No other man on this planet, she believed, would get that same consideration from Teddy.
And it wasn’t just Ted. Although all of Sinatra’s grown children appeared to love and respect him, they appeared to be terrified of him too. Even Roz, Nikki noticed, knew when to hold’em with that man.
But Nikki felt it was Teddy, because he was the oldest, and because his father had put him in charge of seemingly everything, who probably bore the brunt of Mick Sinatra’s violent outbursts. The man that held her hand, she was beginning to realize, had an awful lot to deal with.
Not that she was immune to guys with a lot to deal with. She wasn’t. Every guy she’d ever been involved with had baggage. And plenty of it. But Teddy didn’t just have baggage. Teddy Sinatra, like that ship, had more like cargo than baggage!
And Teddy, like that ship, was the biggest fish in the sea as far as the cops were concerned. Because as soon as one of them got wind that he was on the scene, he immediately went to the supervisor on sight.
“Teddy Sinatra,” was all the cop had to say.
The supervisor, a plainclothes detective named Malidec, looked over, saw Teddy, and immediately began heading his way.
“Shit,” Teddy said when he saw the cop coming.
Nikki looked too. “A cop?” she asked.
“Unfortunately, yes.”
“Just the man I wanna see,” Malidec said with a big smile, as he approached Teddy.
“What do you want?” Teddy asked. “You know my kid brother runs these docks.”
“And you run him,” the detective said. “Which means you’re the one who really runs these docks.”
“Fucking twisted logic,” Teddy said.
“Fucking twisted family,” Malidec replied.
Teddy’s anger rose. “Are you here to investigate a fire, or to harass me?”
“Maybe both.”
One of the attorneys on the Sinatra payroll had already left Joey’s side and was hurrying over. Teddy would be the prize those cops wanted. He would be the next best thing to getting Mick Sinatra himself. That lawyer had to run immediate interference. It was his job. “Is there a problem, Mr. Sinatra?” he asked as soon as he arrived.
“No problem with me,” Teddy responded. “What about you, Detective? You’ve got a problem?”
“No problem,” the detective responded. “Just want to know what you know about this fire.”
“Nothing,” said Teddy.
“Nothing at all?” asked the detective.
“Nothing at all.”
“Sure about that?”
“Why wouldn’t I be sure about it?”
“I don’t know. Maybe you started it. Maybe your old man needs the insurance money.”
Teddy frowned. “Fuck you!” he said.
Malidec smiled. “What do you know about this fire?” he asked again.
“Asked and answered!” the lawyer said. “This is getting to be harassing behavior, Detective,” he added. “I’m sure Mr. Sinatra has the Commissioner’s home phone number, and he won’t hesitate to use it.”
That was how those Sinatras survived, Malidec knew. They had friends in high places. And like all the other detectives on the force, he knew when to back off. He looked at Teddy, then looked at the fact that Teddy was holding Nikki’s hand, and then he walked away.
The lawyer shook his head. “Asshole,” he said. “Sorry about that, sir. Malidec’s had it in for your old man for years. But his bark is worse than his bite.”
“You just get back over there and keep Joey in line,” Teddy ordered. “Keep his mouth shut.”
Teddy Sinatra_Chains For Love Page 9
