“Any trouble while I was gone?”
She shook her head. “None,” she said.
“Good,” he said, still rubbing that arm, unable to stop looking into those bright brown eyes of hers. Until Reno and Trina made their way to the top of the steps and broke the spell.
“What’s up, Shanks?” Reno said as only Reno could say it. Tommy removed his hand from her arm and turned toward his cousin. “Broke anybody’s heart today?” Reno added with a smile.
“Heart?” Shawna replied. “What’s that?”
Reno laughed. Trina glanced at Tommy. She didn’t even know the backstory of those two, but it didn’t take a rocket scientist to tell that he had dibs on this girl. And although it was a joke that Reno had told, Trina could see, for a brief moment, a flash of sadness in Tommy’s eyes. Reno had said Shanks was heartless, and she guessed that was why they were joking about breaking hearts, but Trina could tell that Tommy failed to see the humor.
“Want you to meet my wife,” Reno said, putting Trina in front of him. “Katrina Gabrini.”
“Nice to meet you,” Shawna said, extending her hand.
“Nice to meet you, too,” Trina said, shaking her offered hand. “Reno’s told me a lot about you.”
“All bad I’m sure.”
“Damn straight,” Reno said and began walking toward the front entrance, his hand still in the small of Trina’s back. “You’re a tactician, Shanks, you can’t afford to be some softie. Besides, if you were soft, I wouldn’t want you.”
They all laughed, although Tommy, whose hand was in the small of Shawna’s back as they made their way inside, the man who knew how much those offhanded, steel magnolia kind of comments really hurt her, barely registered a smile.
After showing Reno and Trina their room on the eastern end of the home, contrasted with Tommy’s room which was on the far western end to give the couple maximum privacy, they all settled down in the livingroom.
Reno and Trina were seated side by side on the sofa, with Trina leaned back, her legs under her butt, and Reno leaned forward, anxious to hear what Tommy had to say. Tommy was seated in the flanking chair, leaned forward too, while Shawna sat alone on the opposite sofa, her long legs crossed, her gun still holstered on her hip, staring at Tommy.
“This is what we know so far,” Tommy began. “There were four gunman. All four stormed the penthouse with absolutely no resistance from your security forces. Which means of course, that they were ordered to stand down when the hit took place.”
“But who ordered it?” Reno asked.
“We don’t know that yet. We can’t even find the personnel who were guarding the penthouse, let alone the ones who had the passcode. None of them had all three levels of codes, but each one had one level. Which means they were all involved. And they all took off just before the hit went down.”
“All of them?”
“Every one of those cocksuckers,” Tommy said.
Reno shook his head. “It’s got to be Vito. To turn every one of my main people against me like that, it’s got to be a major boss, somebody who can pay them the kind of money he would have to pay them to get lost. Somebody they would fear enough to take the money and run. It’s got to be Vito.”
“That’s what I think,” Tommy agreed. “Even though he’s claiming he had nothing to do with it.”
“Yeah, right.”
Trina looked at Shawna. “What do you think?” she asked her.
All eyes turned to Shawna. Whereas most women who had her kind of physical attributes would relish being in the spotlight, she never liked it.
“I don’t think it’s Vito Giancarlo,” she said.
Reno frowned. “Why the hell not, Shanks?”
“Because of the time factor, Reno. Think about it. MarBeth kills Eddie Giancarlo one night, and by the very next morning Vito Giancarlo has paid off all of your top security people, every one of your top people, has hired the right buttons for the hit, has flown them to Vegas, they’ve got in without even a snag of a hitch. All in a matter of hours?” She shook her head. “That’s not possible.”
Trina nodded her head. Common sense was always the minimum bar for her. It first had to make sense above all else. “I agree,” she said, already impressed, and looked at Reno. “That’s a tall order even for Vito.”
Reno was thinking about it too. Thinking long and hard about it. Then he nodded. “Yeah,” he said, looking at Tommy. “It’s a tall order, Tommy. This shit had to have been planned months in advance.”
“If it’s not Vito,” Tommy said, “then it’s some hellava coincidence, Reno. His son dies one night, killed by your own sister, then the very next morning there’s a hit on the PaLargio. The nexus is what I can’t get past.”
“Unless,” Reno said, his mind still in thought as he spoke, “the nexus is the issue. Maybe the bastard that planned this did plan it in advance, but decided to make their move when the time was exactly right.”
“But it would still go back to Vito,” Tommy replied. “He’s the only don with the juice right now. At least any that would have something against you. And we can’t dismiss the fact that his son was killed. His camp was the only people who knew about Eddie’s death, and that includes the guy who was with Eddie at the time. Who ran and told Vito what had happened.”
“There might have been a breach in Vito’s camp,” Shawna said and, once again, all eyes were on her.
“But even if there was,” Tommy said, “who would they have told that could pull off a hit like this?”
There was a long pause. “Marcy comes to mind,” Shawna said.
Reno, Tommy, and Trina stared at her. “Marcy Davenport?” Tommy asked.
“The mother of Reno’s deceased son, yes,” Shawna replied. “Nearly eight months ago, when her son was killed, she blamed you.”
“But how could she?” Trina asked. “Reno did everything he could do.”
“We know that. But I’ve met Marcy D. She doesn’t know that. All she knows is that her son got drawn into a mob war that she believes Reno started, and now her boy is dead. That’s all she knows.”
Reno looked at Tommy.
“It’s possible,” Tommy said. “Marcy can be a bitch on two legs when she wants to be. And as a former hired gun herself, she’s the master of precision hits.”
Reno leaned back. That was all he needed. “But why would she have targeted my wife?” he wanted to know.
“That’s if I was the target,” Trina said. “We only have that hit man’s word to go by.”
“That gunman made that declaration while he had a gun to your head,” Tommy said. “He thought you were a dead woman. He wouldn’t have lied.”
Reno looked at Shawna. “Why target my wife?” he asked again.
“You took out her kid, far as she’s concerned, she figure she’s entitled to take out your wife,” Shawna replied in that cool, detached way of hers that, for Reno, reconfirmed her ice princess image.
Reno exhaled. “We’ve got to find her.”
“She’s found,” Shawna said and everybody looked at her, including Tommy, who frowned.
“What do you mean she’s found?” he asked. “Where is she?”
“Louisville, Kentucky.”
“She’s in Louieville?” Reno asked with a frown of his own. “What the hell she’s doing in Kentucky?”
“Don’t know, but that’s where I tracked her down. She’ll be here tomorrow. I set up a meeting at Tommy’s Taste of Southern restaurant. I told her Tommy wanted to talk to her. She knows he’s a straight arrow and has your ear, Reno, so she agreed.”
“And what if she comes with her own firepower?” Trina asked, now very concerned.
“She’s not that stupid. Besides, we’re tailing her already. I had a tail on her before I made the phone call to her. If she does bring heat, it’ll be dissipated before she reaches Taste of Southern. And Taste of Southern is already being scoped, in case she called ahead to some hired hand.”
“But with all of these security bre
aches,” Trina asked, “can you trust your people?”
“Yes, and they aren’t my people. They’re Tommy’s people.”
Trina looked at Tommy, as if surprised that he would have authorized such a clever move. But he hadn’t. What Trina didn’t know and Reno only suspected was that Shawna had carte blanche regarding Tommy’s security personnel. They’d been told long ago that they were to carry out her orders as if Tommy himself had made them. They were not to seek clarification, they were not to second guess her. She was a pro, Tommy had told them, and she, above any human being alive, had his absolute trust.
Tommy had originally made this move as a way to protect Shawna should she find herself working in the field and her people turned on her, or she found herself in some equally difficult spot that she needed getting out of. He never dreamed she’d use that power to protect his family. He looked at her, with love, yes, but also with great respect in his eyes.
Steaks were sizzling, the music, soft jazz, was grooving, and Reno and Tommy were manning the grill. There were on the back patio of Tommy’s estate and Reno was just getting off of the phone after a long conversation with his people in Vegas. Trina and Shawna were further away, in lawn chairs, talking too.
Tommy put the top back down on the grill and sat down, beside Reno. His bright green eyes, however, were on the women.
“Wonder what they’re talking about?” he asked.
“Certainly ain’t no girl stuff,” Reno joked, “with Shawna involved.”
“Knock it off, Ree,” Tommy said as he drained down some of his bottled beer.
Reno looked at him. Confused. “Knock what off?”
“All of the wisecracks about Shawna. She’s a girl, too, Reno. She’s a woman. She’s all woman.”
“I was just kidding around, whatta you getting all bent out of shape about a thing like that?”
“Because you go too far with it, that’s why. She’s got feelings, Reno, okay? She’s no block of ice the way you think she is, and I just want it to stop.”
Reno stared at Tommy. At Dapper Tommy, the lover boy. “You’re that serious about this girl?” he asked him.
Tommy exhaled, drained more beer. “Unfortunately, yes.”
“Why is it unfortunate?” Reno asked although he already had a pretty good idea.
“What do you mean why? She turned me down, remember? That turndown nearly destroyed me.”
“But you go back for more destruction?”
Tommy exhaled. “It’s complicated, Reno.”
Reno was nodding before Tommy even finished speaking. “I hear you, brother. Love is always complicated.” Then he looked at Tommy. “And I apologize for ribbing her like that. She just comes across as so cold and methodical to me. But, hey, I don’t know the other side of her like you do. So I’ll back off. Promise you that.”
“What’s going on in Vegas? How’s Franny?”
“Still in intensive care. She nearly died, that’s the fact of the matter, and is still barely hanging on. Carmine says Dirty’s stepping up, though, being the man he needs to be.”
“I know we can trust Carmine,” Tommy said, “but what about Dirty?”
“Dirty’s a shithead, but he’s all right. He’s too terrified of me to turn on me so we don’t have that to worry about with Dirty. He’s trustworthy, he’s just not reliable.” Then Reno leaned back, drained down beer also. “But I hear what you’re saying. Nobody’s off the table at this point. Carmine’s keeping his eye on him. And just so you know I’ve got Lee keeping his eye on Carmine.”
“Lee? Lee Jones, your general manager?”
“That’s the one.”
“Certain you can trust him?”
“As certain as I am about any of them. But Lee I trust. I’ve got to trust somebody or I’m screwed.”
Tommy nodded. Drained more beer.
Trina and Shawna watched the two men talk and drink. And although Trina had a bottled beer too, Shawna was keeping her head clear until this business of who shot up the PaLargio was cleared as well. She never drank while on duty.
“So,” Trina asked, looking away from the men and at the mysterious ShoShawna Shanks, “what do you do exactly? Reno describes you as if you’re some modern day mercenary.”
“I’m a cleaner,” Shawna said. “I get paid to hire a team to go in and clean up a mess. Usually it involves moving people from one place to another place, but sometimes I have to clean up after the people are gone. Whatever’s required.”
“Including murder?” Trina asked, looking at her.
“These are wars, Katrina,” Shawna said in what she knew, as the years came and went, was becoming more of an excuse than an explanation. Then she sighed. “I do my job,” she said.
Trina knew not to press, as she could tell Shawna wasn’t entirely comfortable discussing it. She changed subjects. “I like Tommy,” she said, looking at the men again. “He’s a nice, thoughtful man.” Then Trina smiled. “And not bad looking either.”
Shawna found herself smiling. “He’ll pass,” she said.
“He’ll pass?” Trina said in her best Reno imitation. “Whatta ya mean he’ll pass? School kids pass. Ugly ducklings with a personality pass. I got your pass right over here.”
Shawna laughed out loud, prompting both Tommy and Reno to look their way.
“She’s laughing?” Reno said, astounded. “Alert the media, Tommy! She’s actually laughing!” And then he remembered his promise. “Sorry, man,” he said.
“No,” Tommy said, smiling too, his eyes staring at Shawna. “It’s quite a feat.”
Later that night, in their large bedroom on the eastern end of Tommy’s house, Reno slid his penis into Trina from the back and they both settled in, spoon-style, into a slow, sweet, incredibly sensual fuck.
Reno’s arms were around her as he fucked her, with her bare back leaned against his bare chest, with his hands cupping her breasts while his thumb rubbed lightly across her hardened nipples. His dick was expanding every time he pushed further into her, and her vagina was moistening his rod with her silky sweetness every time he pulled out.
“Oh, Tree, what are you doing to me?” Reno asked in an aching voice as he fucked her, and Trina leaned her head back further, over his shoulder, as her breasts felt the sting of his fondle and her vagina felt the punch of his glides.
“Oh, Reno,” she proclaimed, “what are you trying to do to me?”
He smiled and kissed her neck as he plunged in deeper and deeper, his movements constant and barely increasing, the sound of her saturation causing him to close his eyes and just enjoy the feel, the sweet smell, the slouching sound of her love. This was his queen, his one and only, and he could still hardly believe his good luck.
And then he plunged in as deep as he could go, causing every inch of her walls to begin to tighten around his expansive rod, with his body slamming into her ass as the feeling became unbearable, with her ass slamming back against his body as the tightening became incredible. He had her nearly on her stomach, and he nearly on her back by the time the intensity heightened beyond their ability to control it any longer. And then, as they exhaled, began to ebb on down.
They just lay there, exhausted, listening to the sounds of their heavy breathing.
“I’m getting too old for this shit, Tree,” Reno said to her.
“Be careful,” Trina said, “or I’ll have to go out and find me a younger man. A boy toy.”
Reno moved off of her, but hit her purposely hard and stingingly on her bare ass, as he did.
“Ouch!” Trina yelled when she felt the sting of his hit, and turned and looked at him. “That hurt, Reno!”
“It hurt. It was supposed to hurt. Telling me about some boy toy. What did you think it was supposed to do? Soothe you?”
Trina smiled. “You’re jealous.”
“Damn right I’m jealous. I’m telling my wife I can barely keep up with her, and she’s telling me she’ll just have to go out and find some young stud who can.”
&
nbsp; Trina stared at him, astounded that he would have taken her seriously. “I was joking, Reno,” she said. Surely he understood that?
Reno, lying flat on his back now, closed his eyes, pinched his temple, and exhaled. “Don’t joke like that, Tree. Not now. Not with all this shit going on and I don’t know what the fuck it’s all about.” He looked at her. “I’m not a very secure man over here.”
“But why not?”
“What you mean why not? I miscalculated so badly I nearly caused you to die, and to die horribly. That would have killed me, Tree, it would have took me away from here just as surely as a bullet through my brain. After something like that, after fucking up beyond my wildest dreams of a fuck-up, I can’t go around feeling like I’m some hundred percent all-male stud over here, all strutting his stuff and secure like. Don’t joke like that.”
“You’ve got to stop this, Reno.”
Reno frowned. “Stop what?”
“Taking the blame for everything. Taking it to heart the way you do. What happened wasn’t your fault.”
“Like hell it wasn’t! I should have prepared better. As soon as Carmine came and told me what went down, I should have called Tommy and got him and his people to the PaLargio, before I even left town. I should have told Dirty I didn’t want him to leave the penthouse not even to piss on the breezeway. I should have made Carmine stay in Vegas.”
“Stop it, Reno,” Trina pleaded. “It’s not your fault, I don’t care what you say. Your mother died because it was her time to go. Franny was hit because she didn’t know how to duck and dodge. And I’m still alive because I did. Period. You aren’t the keeper of me and Franny and not even your mother when she was alive, Reno. We’re grown-ass women. We’re our own keepers.”
Reno looked at her, surprised by her forcefulness. And then he smiled. “Duck and dodge,” he said. “I got your duck and dodge.” And then he pulled her into his arms.
She laid there, staring into his eyes. “Promise me you’ll stop blaming yourself, Reno,” she said, a plea in her voice.
Reno exhaled. “I promise you I’ll try,” he said honestly. “But that ain’t an easy thing, considering the evidence.”
MOB BOSS 3: LOVE AND RETRIBUTION Page 10
