Her Protector

by Mallory Monroe

  tried to stand up, but Craig shoved him back down. “What happened to Gloria?” he asked

  anxiously.

  “Why the fuck you fucking with us, Gio?” Teddy asked. “You’re better than this!”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” It was the first sign of panic they saw in Gio.

  “Something happened to Gloria? Just tell me!”

  Teddy knew Gio from way back. If it was an act, it was Oscar-caliber. He looked at Mick.

  “Go get your sister,” Mick said to Joey.

  Joey was shocked too. Because he knew Gio from way back, too, and he’d never known him

  to play dumb like that. Not like that! It wasn’t his nature. Joey hurried to the guest room,

  where Gloria and Roz were holed up.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  When Gloria and Roz entered the living room, Nikki could see the distress all over Gloria’s

  pretty brown face. Roz sat her down in a chair.

  When Gio saw her black eyes, he fumed. “What happened, Glo?” he asked her. “Glo, what

  happened?”

  Mick wanted answers too. Fuck her distress. “Who did that to you?” he asked her.

  “I told you who,” Gloria said. Nikki could see how she was doing all she could to avoid any

  eye contact with Gio, or with her father.

  “Tell me again,” Mick said. “And look at me when I’m talking to you!”

  Gloria knew that tone of voice and didn’t hesitate. She looked at Mick.

  “Tell us,” Teddy urged her. “Who was it?”

  “What are y’all talking?” Joey asked. “Gio ass did it like she said! Didn’t he, Glo?”

  But Gloria didn’t respond to her brother. Instead of responding, tears appeared in her eyes.

  Now Roz and Nikki were confounded too. “Who did it, Glo?” Roz asked. “Tell us who!”

  After several moments, Gloria finally came clean. “It wasn’t Gio,” she said.

  Everybody was astounded to hear those words come from her. “What are you talking?”

  Joey was floored most of all.

  Teddy was livid. “Then who the fuck was it?” he angrily asked her.

  Gloria looked over at Gio. But she was actually looking beside him. “It was Craig,” she said.

  Craig’s eyes grew bigger. “That’s a lie!” he yelled as everybody looked at him.

  “Craig did that to you?” Joey asked Gloria.

  “He said I had to blame Gio,” Gloria said.

  “No, I didn’t,” Craig insisted. “She’s lying. I’m sorry, sir. I’m sorry, Teddy. Glo’s lying!”

  “He said if I didn’t blame Gio,” Gloria continued, “he said I would kill the twins. He said I had

  to blame Gio!”

  Teddy frowned. “And you believed his ass?”

  “Yes, I believed him!”

  But Roz didn’t believe her. This was some tale she was telling! “How was that

  motherfucker going to kill the twins?” Roz asked her. “They’re with Big Daddy in Maine, and

  you know it! You think Big Daddy Sinatra is going to just let him waltz into his house and kill his

  own brother’s little children? And you sure as hell knew he wasn’t coming in here killing them!”

  “I couldn’t take the chance, Ma,” Gloria said. “He came to my apartment and said Teddy

  sent him. That’s how he got into my place. It was that easy!”

  “Teddy, on my mother’s grave she’s lying,” Craig said. “She’s trying to cover up for

  somebody else. Just like she lied on Gio, she’s lying on me!”

  “I’m not lying!” Gloria yelled. “He beat me up and tried to rape me! The only reason he

  didn’t get any was because I fought back! I’m not lying. I’m not!”

  Teddy and Mick still had their eyes on Craig. It was astonishing if it was true. He was

  another trusted captain. He was another member of their family’s inner circle. And he tried to

  rape Gloria Sinatra? Mick Sinatra’s daughter? Teddy Sinatra’s sister? What the fuck was

  happening!’

  But as they stood there in disbelief, Craig suddenly pulled out a gun and pointed it at Gloria.

  “Nobody move,” he yelled, “or I’ll pull this motherfucking trigger!”

  Gloria screamed when she saw that the gun was pointing directly at her, and Mick, stunned

  too, stood up from his leaned position against the wall.

  But unbeknownst to everybody, Nikki already had her gun out: the 357 Magnum she got

  from Teddy’s gun cabinet. And it was pointed directly into Craig’s back.

  “Pull that motherfucking trigger,” she said to him, “and I’ll pull mine.”

  Craig was shocked. Everybody was.

  “Drop it,” Nikki said, and Craig, feeling the gun’s barrel against his back, dropped his

  weapon.

  Gloria sighed relief as Paulie quickly grabbed the gun. But Joey, not knowing who to trust

  outside of the family, hurried over and took the gun from Paulie. “Good looking out, Nikki,”

  Joey said, although he had earlier complained about her decision to get the gun.

  But Teddy had a different concern. “How did you know?” he asked Nikki, and everybody,

  including Mick, looked at her.

  “You said Craig had told you he just got a call from some guy he knew saying Gio was at

  McDonald’s. When his phone dropped out of his pocket when he was trying to keep Joey back,

  I picked it up for him. But something told me to swipe it open and check his phone log. I

  checked it.”

  “And?” Teddy asked.

  “He hadn’t received a call since early this morning,” Nikki said. “And yes, he could have

  deleted the call from his contact. But like Glo, it wasn’t a chance I was willing to take. That’s

  why I stayed behind him. That’s why I pulled out the gun. Just in case.”

  Teddy nodded. He was proud of her. Mick nodded, too. She was one of them. “Good

  move,” Mick said to her.

  But everybody looked at Craig. Teddy knew that every syndicate had high turnover

  because of two major issues: deaths and betrayers. Betrayers were never a complete surprise,

  not in their line of work, but they were still surprising. “Why?” he asked him. “Why would you

  betray us?”

  “I never worked for you,” Craig said.

  Joey frowned. “What the fuck are you talking?”

  “I work for Milo Jalarni, and always has.”

  “Milo?” Teddy asked.

  “Unlike you Sinatras, Milo is smart enough to have a plant in every major syndicate in this

  country. I was his plant in yours.”

  “A plant,” Joey said. “A motherfucking plant!” Joey took the brunt of Craig’s gun and

  knocked him upside the head. Paulie had to stop Craig from falling.

  “If you work for MJ,” Teddy said, “why didn’t his ass use you for intel rather than Gio?”

  “I wasn’t high-ranking enough. I was just a foot soldier. Gio was a capo. Gio knew about

  the meetings and the shipments. I didn’t know shit like that. I tried to get promotions. But I

  never got considered.”

  “But why would you try to rape my sister?” Joey asked. “What sense does that make?”

  “I was supposed to order Gio to do it.”

  “So why didn’t you?”

  Craig hesitated.

  “Why didn’t you, asshole?” Joey yelled.

  “Because I wanted a taste for myself!” said Craig. “I knew I could scare the life out of her

  easily. All I had to say was that I’d kill a member of her family and I knew she’d do whatever I

  told her to do. I decided to tell her I’d take out the twins.”

  “My dad and Ma would hav
e killed you twice if you touched their precious babies. Why

  Gloria didn’t realize that,” Joey added, but didn’t continue.

  But the entire time, Nikki noticed something different. Joey and Roz were listening to

  Craig’s story, but Mick and Teddy weren’t. The entire time: they were staring at Gloria.

  Then Teddy spoke up. “What else you aren’t telling us, Glo?” he asked.

  Gloria looked at her brother. “What do you mean?”

  “I’m not buying what your ass selling,” Teddy said. “Craig Nucci was not going to scare you

  like that. I know you too well. You would have run to me the first chance you got. I know it

  and you know it. Now tell us the truth!”

  Roz was surprised that they didn’t believe Gloria. “Glo?” she asked. “Is there more to this

  story?”

  “No,” said Gloria.

  Mick looked at Teddy. He knew what he would do about it. Would Teddy?

  Teddy would, and he didn’t hesitate. When Gloria kept insisting there was nothing more to

  the story, Teddy pulled out a switchblade and flipped it open. He wanted to put it to Gloria’s

  neck and scare her into telling the truth, but he knew Roz wouldn’t let him. He, instead, went

  behind Craig, causing Nikki to back up. He grabbed Craig’s head, flung it back, and placed the

  switchblade to Craig’s throat. “Now, motherfucker,” he said, “it’s time to play Truth or Dare.

  Your truth. My dare.”

  “I told you what I know!” Craig said. “There’s nothing else to tell!”

  But then Teddy realized his miscalculation. Craig was shaking. Something was scaring him

  shitless into not telling the truth.

  He left Craig’s side and went over to his sister. Roz or no Roz he had to get answers. That

  was why he placed that blade to Gloria’s throat.

  “Teddy!” Roz cried.

  “What are you doing?” cried Joey.

  But Nikki understood. Mick did too. Gloria, thanks to her lies, had to be the bargaining chip

  or they would never learn the full story. “Who are you afraid of?” he asked her. “Other than

  me!”

  And as Teddy, Mick, and Nikki all expected, Gio responded. “What are you doing?” he

  nervously asked Teddy. “That’s your sister, man!”

  “Who put you up to this shit, Glo?” Teddy asked. “You know I’m not playing with you!”

  When Gloria continued to insist that Craig was the only one, Mick knew he had to

  intervene. When he walked over to Gloria, and took the knife from Teddy, Gio quickly spoke

  up. He was reasonably certain that Teddy would not harm Gloria. He was reasonably certain

  that Mick would.

  “Milo!” Gio yelled.

  Everybody looked at Gio. Craig was livid. “Are you nuts?” Craig yelled at Gio. “You’re a

  dead man! You’re a dead man! You’re a dead man!”

  But Teddy frowned. “MJ?” he asked Gio.

  “Craig got inside her house by claiming you had sent him,” Gio said. “He worked her over.

  But then he let MJ in”

  Tears continued to flow out of Gloria’s eyes.

  “I was supposed to do the honors,” Gio continued, “but at the last minute, they changed it

  up. I wouldn’t have done it anyway, and I guess they figured that too. I don’t know what

  happened once they got with her. I thought they had abandoned the idea. Then I start hearing

  how MJ wanted to see what it would be like to be with Mick Sinatra’s daughter. How MJ raped

  her and shit. But I didn’t believe that.”

  Teddy looked at Gloria. She said she wasn’t raped!

  Gloria rubbed her forehead. Her tears were dropping freely now. “They said I had to blame

  Gio,” she said. “They said I had to say I was beaten-up, but not raped. They said, if I didn’t do

  everything they told me to do, they would kill everybody. Including you Teddy. And you

  Daddy. Everybody! I knew he was a major mob boss. I knew he had a lot of power. How was I

  supposed to not believe him?”

  Roz grabbed Gloria and pulled her into her arms.

  It was a startling revelation. Milo Jalarni had not only stolen their arsenal and the money,

  but he had raped Gloria? All because some unknown somebody had him over a barrel? “But

  why would he need to harm Gloria?” Nikki asked. “What point would that prove?”

  “That MJ had skin in the game,” Teddy said. “That’s why they made sure we picked up Gio.

  So he could tell the story. They knew we would eventually unravel it. And catch Craig too.”

  “But who would be left to tell them it worked?” Nikki asked.

  “Paulie, of course,” said Teddy.

  Nikki was stunned. Paulie began to back up, but Nikki immediately pulled back up her

  Magnum, and pointed it at Paulie.

  “Craig didn’t just willy-nilly grab you, Paulie, and take you to pick up Gio with him,” Teddy

  said. “Did he? You needed to be in the room too. You need to know exactly what happened in

  this room so that you could report back to MJ.”

  “And MJ would report back to whomever had the goods on him,” said Joey.

  “Right,” said Teddy.

  “Damn,” said Mick. “I’ll be damn!”

  “I’m sorry, Daddy,” Gloria said, and Roz released her. “I didn’t know what else to do. I

  didn’t know who else to turn to. I was afraid for my family!”

  Mick looked at Gloria with that chilling look in his eyes. And when he lifted her up from her

  seat, Nikki could tell that even Roz was concerned. But Mick didn’t harm her. He loved her. He

  pulled her into his arms. A mob boss of MJ’s stature claims to be in position to kill the entire

  family, was something Mick knew could put fear into a young person’s heart. He didn’t like the

  fact that she believed it, but he understood how she could.

  Gloria cried like a baby in her father’s arms.

  With one of the helicopters owned by Mick Sinatra hovering above Teddy’s home, providing

  aerial protection of the estate, the van pulled up in the back of the property and Max and Dave,

  two capos in the organization, got out and slid open the side door to the van. Under armed

  escort by Joey, Craig, Gio, and Paulie walked out of the house and toward the waiting van. All

  three looked up at the hovering helicopter, until they made it up to the van and Max and Dave

  grabbed each one of them and flung them into the van.

  “Fuckers looking up at the copter,” Dave said. “What the fuck they looking at?”

  “Their last view,” Joey said, and Max and Dave laughed.

  Teddy walked out a few minutes later, and Joey tossed him the unregistered rifle he held in

  his hand, a rifle with a silencer already attached, and Teddy got in the van too. Joey slid the

  van’s door shut.

  Joey started moving around in place, and smiling. “Nice night out,” he said.

  “Would be nicer,” Max said, “if we didn’t have to transport those shitheads around.”

  “I hear that,” Joey said. “But it’s what we do. We’re paid very well to do it too.”

  And then they all saw flashes of light coming out of the van’s window. Joey said he counted

  five flashes. Max said he counted six. And then Teddy got back out of the van and tossed the

  rifle back to Joey.

  “Bury their asses,” Teddy said, “and take Paulie to the safe house.”

  Joey and the capos began to get in the van.

  “And Joe,” Teddy said, and Joey turned around. “Keep Paulie alive. I don’t wanna hear

&n
bsp; about him accidentally coming in contact with your fists. We need him alive.”

  “You know I know that, right?” Joey said.

  “In case you don’t.”

  “But I do, Teddy, damn! Why you and Pop treat me like that?”

  “I’m just telling you what I’m telling you,” Teddy responded. “And you’d better do what I

  told you. Stop making a fucking federal case out of every fucking thing,” Teddy said. His nerves

  were already frayed from Gloria’s mess, he didn’t need to hear bullshit from Joey. He said what

  he had to say, not taking a word of it back, and headed back inside his home.

  Joey got into the van. “Like I’m a fucking idiot,” Joey complained as he got in.

  Then he hit the side of the van’s wall and the van began to move, taking the now-deceased

  bodies of Craig Nucci and Gio Savarino, and lone survivor Paulie Bryce, to their different

  destinations.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  Early the next day, Mick Sinatra’s plane waited patiently on the tarmac while Teddy and

  Nikki made love in his bedroom. They hadn’t planned it that way. The plan was for Teddy to

  drop her off and get to his father’s house. They had strategy to discuss. MJ was in this shit

  deep now. By his actions against Gloria alone, there was no need to declare a war. The war

  was already declared.

  And it almost worked out according to plan. Teddy drove Nikki to the airstrip, walked her

  onto the plane, and gave her a long kiss goodbye, warning her to be careful.

  But it was the kiss that caused the delay. Because as soon as their lips touched; as soon as

  he realized that she had to go alone to face her father in New Orleans, his heart couldn’t take

  it. He felt a sudden sense of great insecurity. He felt as if all those southern men would see

  what he saw in Nikki; men without the baggage he brought to their relationship, and she might

  be tempted to give the simple life a try. He felt he could lose her. He had to remind her, before

  she left that tarmac, that he could not only take care of her like no other, but that he could

  make her feel like no other.

  He took her by the hand, walked her to the luxurious bedroom on board, and it went from

  theory to reality. They were both naked in Mick Sinatra’s bed fucking hard: the only way Teddy