The two-man groups all followed the trail from the bathroom window. That was the most obvious strategy. But Reno had a feeling Sam was a pro. Reno had a feeling that chick wouldn’t follow the obvious path. She’d follow the exact opposite one. Which meant, he believed, that she jumped from that bathroom window, ran behind the house, and then took off in the direct opposite direction of the bathroom window, on the other side of the house.
Reno was on the other side of the house, tracking her in the woods. His gun was locked and loaded. His heart was pounding. But he determined to drag her ass in, or kill her trying. He relied on his considerable instincts, either way.
Those instincts was the reason that he suddenly stopped. He thought he heard something to the far-right side of his trail. He veered in that direction, moving swiftly because he heard the sound again and it appeared to be further away than he preferred. But he ran to the spot of the sound.
But nothing was there. Not even pressed leaves with footprints on them. But he was certain he was in the spot of the sound. And that was when he realized it. He was in the right location, but he was looking in the wrong direction.
He looked up. Just as he did, Sam’s small body that was high up in a tree, jumped down from that tree on top of Reno, knocking him to the ground. And she took off running.
“Motherfucker!” Reno yelled when he realized she was getting away again. He was angry before. Now he was pissed. And he took off after her.
Sam was younger, and smaller, but Reno was faster. And he tracked that bitch down as if she had been running in place. He grabbed her and pistol-whipped her ass. She grabbed a rock and attempted to knock Reno upside his head, rendering him unconscious. But he ducked and just missed her hard slam.
And that did it for him. He shot her. Right between the eyes.
And then Reno leaned down, his hands on his knees, to catch his breath.
His men, much farther away, eventually ran over after hearing the sound of the gunshot. They looked at their boss in amazement. They thought he was nuts going in this direction when it was obvious she would have jumped from the window and ran straight ahead. But they were wrong. They looked at Reno with renewed respect. There was a reason, they decided, that he was the man who wrote their checks, and not the other way around.
Reno made it back to their estate sooner than Trina expected him to. She was in the family room, sprawled out on the sofa. Jimmy tried to hang with her, but kept dozing off. After several attempts, he decided to go check on his daughter. His daughter, Madison Gabrini, was asleep in the Nursery, and he stayed in the room with her.
Trina was dozing too. She wasn’t accustomed to this kind of down time. The kids were with their Uncle Sal for the weekend. She wasn’t in their penthouse, where she could pop down to her office inside the PaLargio and get some work done. Her office manager at Champagne’s, Oprah, was a capable manager who ran Champagne’s excellently, rendering the need for Trina or Gemma, her partner, to be on site to a minimum. Her franchises across the country were well run too, by their respective owners, and all she and Gemma had to do was count the monthly checks as they rolled in. Her business was good.
But she knew Reno’s wasn’t exactly in its heyday. On Monday, that was going to change. Bobby Swann should bring needed attention (and patronage) back to the PaLargio. But they still had thieves to deal with, and that was a major stressor for Reno. And now this situation Jimmy just endured. And Garry Marshall’s involvement. Was it all connected too?
When Reno made his way into the family room, Trina was half asleep herself. But by the time he lifted her up, laid down on his back on the sofa, and laid her on top of him, she was wide wake. And worried about him.
“Where’s Jimmy and the baby?” he asked.
“Sleep.”
“Good.” Sleep, Reno knew, was the best thing in the world to do after a close call.
Trina lifted her head and looked deep into his tired blue eyes. “How did it go?”
But Reno didn’t respond to her. He allowed her to accompany him earlier, but he was viewing that now as a mistake. He was no longer Reno the husband in the hair salon. Or Reno the husband taking his wife to the mall. He was the old Reno again. Just like that. But she knew why. Having to handle his business, as he put it, had a way of bringing him back to earth. His earth.
But she wondered if he had overreacted. “Did you have to take her out?” she asked.
Reno found the question itself objectionable. “What are you asking me that for? She had no problem getting her boyfriend to take our son out. What was I supposed to do? Pat her on the head and tell her not to do it again? Fuck that shit. She made her bed. I just wrapped her in it.”
“I only asked because I was worried about Jimmy. He liked her.”
“And that’s why his ass had no business hiring her. That move nearly got his ass killed.”
“I know,” Trina said. “But he’ll learn.”
“I only hope he learns before it’s too late.”
Trina nodded. “Yeah, me too.” Then she looked at Reno. “Speaking of knowledge,” Trina said, “any word on Garry?”
Reno stared at her. “Why did you have his picture in your phone?” he asked her.
Trina didn’t understand the import of that question. “What?”
“You heard me. What the fuck you needed his picture for?”
“I didn’t say I needed it.”
“Then why did you have it?”
“Reno, please. Garry and I were going to be business partners, remember? I did a background check on him. That’s why I had his picture.”
Reno exhaled. “I have enough on my plate than to have to deal with you and your flirtatiousness.”
Trina’s heart dropped. “What flirtatiousness? I’m no flirt.”
But Reno would not agree with her.
And Trina was angry. “I’m not a flirt, Reno,” she said bluntly.
“If you say so,” he responded.
His response was too much for her to take. “Kiss my ass,” she said bitterly. “Kiss my flirtatious ass!” And she moved to get off of Reno, but Reno grabbed her and slammed her back on top of him. And then he began kissing her. Extremely hard.
Trina knew what was about to go down. And it wasn’t going to be pretty. And it wasn’t going to be about love. This was about possession. Every now and then Reno felt a need to remind her that she was his and she had better realize it.
She realized it, and loved it, but Reno sometimes needed to prove the point. He proved the point. He changed them around to where she was on her back and he was on top of her, and he continued to kiss her hard. He lifted the jersey she wore, and her bra, completely over her head, tossing them aside. And he devastated her breasts. He kissed them so hard, and sucked and squeezed them so urgently that the nipples not only became stiff, but swollen.
But he was only beginning. He removed her shoes, her jeans and panties, and got between her legs. He swung open her legs with a hard swing and sucked and licked and bit with such force that it pained her. And pleasured her too. She was so turned on until she grabbed a fistful of his hair, and started begging for more.
He gave her more. He gave her head unlike she’d had in a long time from Reno, and then he removed his pants and briefs, removed his shirt too, and entered her.
He fucked her with that undeniable urgency. He got on his knees, held one of her legs out, and her other leg up, and drove into her repeatedly. Reno’s dick was magic as far as Trina was concerned, because it did things to her that no other male member had ever been able to.
And Reno used every magic trick in his arsenal as he fucked her. He pushed in, moved side to side, and had his dick doing movement tricks inside of Trina.
And then she came. It was a hard, punishing cum. She felt breathless, unable to take it, as her orgasm had her lifting up in pain and pleasure. And when Reno came, and shot his hot load into her, she went even higher.
It was brutal and she knew she was going to be sore for
days on end. But as Reno leaned against her, and forced the last of his cum to come out, she knew she wasn’t going to mind the pain. Reno branded her again, and she easily, with great pleasure, accepted his brand.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Thirteen-time Grammy award-winning singer. Two-time Tony award-winning actor. Academy award nominee. Multi-platinum bestselling artist three decades and counting. This was the level of performer they were dealing with. And Reno was on edge.
“Come on, Tree,” Reno said anxiously, “we’ve got to get down there! His entourage is on the move.”
“I’m coming, babe!” Trina was hurrying toward the bedroom door still putting on her second high-heel shoe, and then her diamond earrings. She was dressed to kill, Reno thought, in a red, above-the-knee, form-fitting slimming lace dress with an exposed back zipper, and with the magnificent diamond necklace and earrings he purchased for her one Valentine’s Day. She looked, to Reno, just perfect.
Reno, for his part, took Trina’s advice and got Christopher, her hairstylist, to cut his thick, unruly hair into a tight, fresh cut. And he purchased a new suit. A form-fitting Armani suit that highlighted his muscular frame.
Trina was impressed too. She was looking at him as they headed out of the penthouse, onto the elevator, and made their way downstairs. With no 5-o’clock shadow, with no bloodshot eyes, with no wrinkled suit so over-worn it looked as if he had slept in it, Reno was a sight to behold. A gorgeous, sexy sight to behold.
“What?” Reno asked as they stepped onto the elevator and she was still staring at him. “My fly’s open? What?”
“You look good,” Trina said. “You look like that male model they put on top of the wedding cake.”
But Reno was horrified. “That punk? I don’t look like that punk, what are you talking?”
Trina laughed. “Okay, Reno, dang. I was just joking. Loosen up! It’s just a singer. We’ve had hundreds of singers shoot through here before.”
But Reno was shaking his head. “Not like him. Nothing like him. Most of the performers who want to perform in Vegas are still big players. They’re still A-listers. But they’re mostly on the downside of their careers. Swann is still flying high. He’s still one of the highest flyers ever. I used to dig the dude when I was young, and now he’s taking up a year’s residency in my hotel? It’s a big damn deal.”
“I’m not saying it’s not,” Trina agreed. “I used to dig him too when he was in Fierce.” Fierce was an eighties boy band that earned countless hit records. “And then I loved him even more when he went solo. But I don’t know, Reno. This seems like a lot of work for even him. I don’t know if you need this on your plate right now.”
“Hell, Tree, I know I don’t need it! But I didn’t choose this opportunity. This opportunity chose him. Swann’s people contacted my people and told them that the PaLargio won out in a contest I didn’t know we were even in. But what was I going to say? No? Let the Venetian have him? Let Mandalay? Let MGM? Fuck no!”
Trina laughed. “Okay, okay. I get your point.”
Reno looked at his wife once again as the elevator came to a stop. Her hair was in an up-do, with curls purposely escaping, and he thought she looked stunning. He remembered when he first met her. She was a waitress in a strip joint and just as sassy as she could be. She went from there to now. From sassy to enchanting. To everything he could have ever wanted in a woman. She was his wife. The mother of his children. The love he felt for her was priceless. And even priceless didn’t capture it for Reno.
The elevator doors opened. He placed his body against the door’s edge and allowed her to pass through first. Then he stepped off too, and placed his hand around her waist. And they entered their hotel’s lobby.
Waiting for them at the foot of the front desk were their General Manager and a host of other high ranking executives in Reno’s corporation. They all appeared as nervous and anxious as Reno had been, but Reno didn’t like it. They were paid top dollar not to show nervousness or anxiousness, especially in public. But what he really didn’t like was the emptiness. He looked at his GM as they approached the desk.
“What’s going on here?” he asked.
“We’re waiting for his car, sir.”
“I know what you’re waiting for. I didn’t ask you what you were waiting for.” Reno looking around. “Where the hell are the people?”
The GM didn’t understand. “The people, sir?”
“Yeah, the people! We damn near have a full house in this hotel. Almost every room is booked. Where’s the people?”
“We thought . . . I closed the lobby, sir.”
Reno looked at him as if he couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. Trina couldn’t believe it either. “You closed the lobby?” Reno asked him. “You stopped our paying guests from transacting their business and enjoying their stay because of some fucking singer? Are you out of your fucking mind?”
The GM looked at the other executives. They were at a loss too. “We thought we would get Mr. Swann upstairs to his suite and then we would reopen for business.”
“We’re open for business now! We’re open for business twenty-four-seven, you hear me? We’ve had presidents stay at this hotel and I didn’t order any lobby shutdown! We made sure the president and other dignitaries enter through the VIP entrance. It’s Swann and his people who insists on coming through the front door. He didn’t want to enter from the VIP entrance. Which means his ass wants to be seen. And that’s fine. I’ll accommodate that. But not at my own expense! You reopen my lobby and you reopen it now!”
“Yes, sir,” the GM said nervously. “Right away, sir!” And the GM snapped his finger at the executive he wanted to get on it right away. The executive got on it right away. He looked at the desk clerks behind the front desk and ordered one to make the announcement that the lobby is now reopen for business. The top brass were horrified that they would have gotten it so wrong.
Trina felt they all were overreacting. Including Reno. She understood Bobby Swann was big, but the PaLargio was bigger. She also understood that he was going to be with them, in residency, for an entire year, which added to his importance. But still.
Trina patted the GM on the arm, and he appreciated the support, as Reno took her by the hand and escorted her away from the front desk, and toward the front entrance.
“Can you believe that guy?” he said to her as they walked away.
“He didn’t know, Reno.”
“But his ass should have known. Nobody shuts down my lobby but me. Fucking idiot!”
“You need to calm down,” Trina said to her husband. “You’ll get your blood pressure up again. What’s done is done. He’s reopening it. It’s no big deal.”
“It is a big deal! Don’t you tell me it’s not a big deal. It is a big deal, dammit!”
“Okay, Reno, settle your ass down,” Trina said with equal anger. “I’m not one of your people, alright?”
Reno was fuming. He already felt as if he was losing control with the shortfalls he was taking from so many of his locations that were adding up in the millions every night. This partnership with Swann had to pay off, and not just in ticket sales. Ticket sales were already baked in that cake, and they alone were going to pay the singer’s salary and expenses. But Swann’s yearlong presence was expected to generate yearlong publicity dollars. A cash flow that was very much needed right now. It was a big damn deal.
But Trina was right. He was wired much too tight to meet and greet anybody, let alone his cash cow. He did as she suggested, and settled down.
It would take another ten minutes of standing outside, under the portico, and settling down before the limousines pulled up and Bobby Swann, international superstar, got out of the lead car.
But as soon as he stepped out, it was Trina who suddenly needed settling down. She began smiling greatly. This was Bobby Swann! She used to swoon over Bobby Swann! And now he was about to enter her world. His tall, slim body. His piled high curly blonde hair. His narrow, handsome face and b
ig, beautiful bright green eyes reminded her of that teen superstar she once found so adorable. She never viewed herself as somebody who went nuts over some celebrity, but she was going damn near it now. This was Bobby Swann! One of her favorite singers when she was a kid! She had to take her own advice, and settle her ass down too.
With a little Shih Tzu puppy in his arms, a white and brown puppy with a flowing double coat, he hurried across the sidewalk to where Reno and Trina were standing.
“Mr. Swann,” Reno said as he extended his hand, “welcome to the PaLargio.”
“Thank you. Thank you for having me. You must be Mr. Gabrini.”
“I am. Call me Reno.”
“And call me Bobby, please. Or Bob. Or anything other than Mister. I’m not that damn old.”
Trina laughed. Reno was too intense to bother. But it was her laughter, not to mention her own beautiful smile that caught Bobby’s attention. He looked at her.
“And this is my wife, Katrina Gabrini,” Reno said in introduction.
Trina extended her hand. “Nice to meet you, sir.”
“Thank you so much, Mrs. Gabrini,” Bobby responded, shaking her hand. He waited for Reno to give him permission to call her Katrina, but that permission did not come.
It didn’t matter to Bobby. He was distracted anyway. As the Gabrinis escorted him and his entourage into the lobby and onto Reno’s private elevator, his entire attention was on the wife. Katrina. He knew what he had to do to her. He knew what that fucker expected him to do to earn the kind of money, the kind of stratospheric money no yearlong residency could ever generate. But he didn’t expect this. He didn’t expect his target to be so damn attractive.
And it wasn’t just her good looks. Every woman, in her way, was good looking to Bobby. But this woman had charm with her looks. She had class with her looks. She had a style he liked. And a body, he noticed as she stepped onto the elevator in front of him, he was going to fuck, and enjoy every minute of it. She turned him on so completely that his super-aroused penis had his pants tented by the time they stepped off of the elevator. Bobby was thrilled. Finally a gig he could enjoy!
Reno Gabrini: When His Woman Cries Page 7
