“He ain’t that tough,” Sal said. “Not yet.”
“We’re having a hard time believing you guys,” Tommy said. “Nobody knows anything. Nobody’s talking. That’s not possible. A mobster like Mick goes down and it’s headline news. Unless nobody knows anything because it wasn’t an outside job.”
Danny shook his head. He wanted to lash out again, but he heard about Tommy. He didn’t show compassion the way Sal might. He was one of those backdoor bastards. He and Reno were ruthless.
But Angelo stood his ground. “We didn’t ambush our own boss,” he said. “I’m sorry if you don’t believe us, but think how we feel? We wouldn’t do that to Mick, and I don’t think he’s going to appreciate you guys accusing us of doing something like that.”
“He’s not going to appreciate his two top guys dropping the ball on his security, and the security of his wife and kids either,” Sal said. “And I want you to try that Teddy made us do it bullshit. I want you to try that on Mick. I’ll see you at your funeral if you try that shit on Mick.”
“Which brings us to our point again,” Reno said. “Which one of you fuckers set Mick up?”
“Neither one of us!” Danny yelled. “We wouldn’t do that!”
Tommy suddenly, and to everybody’s surprise, pulled out, not one but two guns, and placed one barrel at Danny’s penis, and one at Angelo’s. Both men couldn’t believe it. “Now,” Tommy said firmly, “tell us what we need to know. Who planned that ambush? If it wasn’t you, who?”
“I don’t know,” Danny said with pain in his voice. “Don’t let this shit go sideways, man. I swear to you I don’t know!”
“Angelo?” Sal asked. “Are you a traitor, or just incompetent?”
“I don’t know anything about that ambush either!” Angelo was staring at that gun at his balls. “I swear on my mother’s grave I don’t know anything!”
Tommy cocked both pistols, giving both Reno and Sal some pause. They never quite knew how far Tommy would take it.
But as soon as he cocked those guns, both men nearly jumped out of their skin. We swear, we promise, you have to believe us, they cried and cried. But they never implicated themselves or anybody else.
Tommy withdrew his weapons. “They don’t know shit,” he said. “They dropped the ball, but not their loyalty to Mick.”
Reno smiled. “Like I said,” he said to the twosome, “you two are some lucky bastards today.”
When they made it back to Mick’s estate, Joey met them at his father’s front door. “It worked!” he said happily.
“What worked?” Reno asked.
“The show of force to bring Dad home. Every mobster from here to D.C. are sending cards and flowers and calling and dropping by.”
Reno laughed. “Their asses scared now!”
“But you can’t keep disturbing your father by letting any mobster who wants to see him, go up and see him,” Tommy warned Joey.
“Don’t worry,” Joey responded. “Roz already made that clear. It was too many. So Teddy’s screening them now. Only Dad’s oldest friends, and usually the biggest of those, get to go up.”
“How’s he doing?”
“The same,” Joey said. “No changes. How did it go with Danny and Angelo?”
Sal frowned. “What is that your business?” he angrily asked him. He was still fuming over Joey and that stunt he pulled with his newborn child. He could barely be in the same room with him. If he wasn’t Mick’s kid, if Mick had not made a stand to save his life, he wouldn’t be standing there today. “Mind your own fucking business and get the fuck out of my face!”
“Get lost, in other words,” Reno said.
“The wounds are still too fresh,” Tommy added.
Joey didn’t have to be told twice. He knew he messed up. He wanted to apologize. But the look on Sal Gabrini’s face made him know now was not the right time. He headed back upstairs.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Over the next several days, Mick continued to recover and the Gabrinis continued to search for answers. But they found none. They were out from sun up to sun down searching for answers. Nobody knew a thing. They ran down the usual suspects. They ran down unusual suspects. But nothing from nothing left them with nothing. They had businesses to run. Families of their own to attend to. It was time for them to pack up and go home.
On the day of their departure, Roz and Mick’s grown children were having their daily vigil at his bedside. Teddy was standing against the wall, staring at his father, and Roz knew he still couldn’t wrap his brain around it either. Doctors and Nurses were staying in their home, giving Mick around-the-clock care, which should have made them feel more reassured. But they didn’t. Mick was still down. They took their cues from him.
Then everything changed. Roz released Mick’s hand and stood up, to go check on the twins. But within a minute after she walked out of the room, Mick’s big, green eyes suddenly opened. Even his sleepy eye was opened wide.
Teddy was the first to see him, as Joey and Gloria were talking amongst themselves about the new watch her latest boyfriend had given to her.
“Dad?” Teddy asked as he stood erect, his excitement growing. “Dad?” He began walking toward him.
Joey and Gloria quickly stood up too, when they saw that their father was awake.
But Teddy was the first face Mick saw. “Teddy?” he asked breathlessly.
“Daddy!” Gloria cried. “You’re awake!”
Mick looked at her. He saw her tears of joy. “Don’t cry, Gloria,” he said. “I think I’m alright.”
Gloria began wiping her tears away.
“Oh, Dad,” Joey said, crying too. “This is great!”
Mick almost smiled at his most difficult son. “Hey, Joey,” he said. “Staying out of trouble?”
Joey laughed. “Yes, sir,” he said. “Yes, sir!”
Then Mick looked at Teddy. “Where’s Rosalind? Where’s my wife? I need to see my wife.”
Teddy didn’t hesitate. He took off running out of the bedroom.
Mick looked at Gloria. “The twins?” he asked. “They okay?”
“Yes, sir,” she said quickly. “They didn’t have a scratch on them, Daddy. Jackie and Junior are just fine.”
Mick closed his eyes and nodded his head. And then they couldn’t help themselves. Gloria and Joey gave their father the grandest of hugs.
Roz was just about to enter the Nursery when she heard Teddy’s voice call for her to come. She ran upstairs, thinking Mick had taken a bad turn. The doctor on duty and the nurses, already upstairs, ran into the room. When they saw that Mick was awakened and was not in distress, they smiled, and headed back to their post. They expected this moment for several days. It was expected.
Roz had expected it too, but that didn’t take away from the miracle of it. When she ran into that room and saw Mick, with his eyes wide open, her heart pounded, and she began running to his bed.
When Mick saw Roz coming toward him, he felt deep emotions well up inside of him that caused a shiver down his spine. This was the woman who saved his life. This was the woman who wouldn’t leave him alone to die by the hands of his enemies, even at the devastating risk to herself and their babies. A part of him was angry at her, and he wanted to beat her ass for not obeying his order. But a bigger part of him loved her more than life itself for loving him enough to disobey.
“Rosalind,” he said in that oh so sexy voice she loved, as he opened his arms to receive her.
“Oh, Mick!” she cried as she flew into those loving arms. “Oh, Mick!”
“Rosalind,” he kept saying, as tears filled his eyes. “Rosalind!”
His eyes were now shut on purpose as he held his wife as tight as his injured body allowed. But then, as quickly as he closed his eyes, he opened them again. He had to see her face again. He had to be certain she was truly okay.
She was. He could see it in her gorgeous brown eyes. Her eyes often expressed a happiness and sadness all at the same time, but right now all he
saw was joy. Tears stained them, but even the tears could not hide her joy. The worse was over. He pulled through. Her eyes assured him that he was going to be alright.
He pressed a finger into one of the beautiful dimples on her beautiful face. She pressed a finger in the cleft of his chin. “You’re going to be just fine, baby,” she said to him. “I know you’re in pain now, but you’re going to make it.”
Mick couldn’t exactly speak in a booming voice, but he could speak. “What pain?” he asked her.
She laughed. And then pulled Gloria and Joey in too. They all hugged Mick together.
Then Joey and Gloria left the room, to give Mick and Roz a private moment to say hello again.
But when they entered the corridor outside of the bedroom and closed the door behind them, Big Daddy Sinatra, Brent Sinatra, and Teddy, along with all three of the Gabrinis, were running up.
Big Daddy was about to break the knob to get inside. But Joey stopped him. “Ma is in there,” he said. “We figure we should give them a few minutes alone.”
“But my brother is awake?” Big Daddy asked anxiously.
“Yes, sir,” Gloria said. “He’s awake and talking. And he knew our names.”
“Praise God!” Big Daddy said, unable to suppress the tears. “Praise God! Praise God! Praise God! I knew God would pull him through. I knew it!”
Then Big Daddy, past feeling or worrying about what others might think, got down on his knees in silent prayer. Brent quickly followed his father’s lead, getting down on his knees too, and then Joey and Gloria got down too.
Teddy wanted to join them, but he didn’t want to be thought of as a weakling in the eyes of the Gabrinis. They had already gotten on his case about his security decisions. This might be the last straw for them.
But Teddy was grateful that his father came back to them. And he was grateful to God. And that fact alone made him forget what others thought, even the Gabrinis. He fell on his knees.
To Teddy’s shock, the Gabrinis, all three of them, knelt down and prayed too. It was a remarkable sight. And Teddy was pleased that he didn’t let pride stop him. He was pleased with his decision this time.
Inside, Mick and Roz were still staring at each other. He was rubbing her back, and she held her hand against his remarkable face. “You’ve been through hell,” she said to him, “but amazingly, you still look good.”
“I belong to you,” Mick said with a smile. “How else am I supposed to look?” But then his look turned serious again, and he began rubbing her hair. “You, on the other hand, look exhausted, Rosalind.”
“You know I wasn’t going to be able to rest until I knew you were going to be okay. Now, I’ll sleep well tonight.”
“And the twins had no injuries?” he asked again. “You aren’t just telling me they didn’t?”
“You know I wouldn’t do that to you. They’re fine, Mick. They bear no physical scars. You protected us well.”
He hesitated. Roz knew exactly why. “I know what you’re thinking,” she said. “I know I should have left the scene.”
“You put yourself and our children at risk,” Mick said to her.
A depressed look came over Roz’s face. “It’s a decision I’ll have to live with for the rest of my life. And on paper I know it looks like it was the wrong decision. But we don’t live on paper, Mick. We live in the real world. And in that real world moment, when I knew if I drove away you would die, I couldn’t drive away. I just couldn’t do it.”
Then she frowned. “I won’t win any mother of the year awards, that’s for sure. But to see you right now, alive and well, pulling through . . .” She shook her head. “I don’t know if I would have done it differently, Mick. I don’t know if I have it in me to do it differently.”
Mick rubbed her face. “You don’t,” he said. “I don’t either. It’s the curse of love. A curse I’d been avoiding all my life.”
Roz could see the regret in his eyes. And then his look turned hard. “But if something would have happened to you, or to the children, in your effort to save me, I would not have made it either,” he admitted. “But how can I tell you to stand down when you live in the world I live in, with the enemies I have? You have to always be on your guard. You have to always do what you think is right in that moment, and trust your gut.”
Roz smiled. And they held each other again.
When they stopped embracing, Roz stood up. “I’ll go get the twins,” she said. “You aren’t going to believe they’re a hundred percent until you see them for yourself.”
“Ah,” Mick said. “You know me.”
Roz smiled and walked across the room.
“And Rosalind,” Mick said, watching her tight ass walk away.
She glanced back. “Yes, dear?”
“You also know what I’m going to do with that when I get out of this bed.”
She shook her head. “I see that wasn’t injured,” she said. He smiled.
And then she opened the door, stepped aside, and allowed Mick’s family to enjoy the moment too.
The room was now filled with everybody in the hall, and the merriment that suddenly filled the once somber room was striking.
Roz went to get the twins as Big Daddy hurried to his kid brother’s side and bear hugged him. She was so grateful for the presence of those great men during their darkest days. Teddy did all he could, and she loved him for it, but his experience was limited. He’d never had to command Mick’s entire organization the way he had to these past few days. But the presence of Big Daddy and Brent, and the Gabrinis, allowed her to focus on Mick and the children alone. They had lives to live and their own families. They had mighty corporations to run. But they worked like Hebrew slaves searching for answers. They found none. But it wasn’t for a lack of trying.
After Big Daddy and Brent had stopped embracing Mick and moved back, Tommy was the first to move up to Mick’s side. “Hey, old man,” he said smilingly as they shook hands.
“Dapper Tom,” Mick said. “It’s always good to see your gorgeous face.”
“Uh-oh,” Tommy said playfully. “Don’t tell me those bullets changed your orientation.”
Everybody in the room laughed. Mick had to smile at that too. “Yeah, right,” he said. “Get the fuck out of here!”
Tommy grinned. “Good old Uncle Mick. His lips are never far from the F word. Yeah, he’s back,” he said, they all laughed again, as Tommy made way for Reno.
“Hey, there, Michello,” Reno said. “What’s going on? You need to get out of this bed.”
“Who let this loser in?” Mick asked, as he and Reno smiled and shook hands.
“I tell you, bud,” Reno said, “you’re a wonderful sight to see. You just gave us the best going away gift we could have ever hoped for.”
“Going away?” Mick asked. “What going away? You just got here.”
“No, your ass just got here,” Reno corrected him. “We been here.” Then Reno squeezed his hand. “Glad to have you back.”
Mick felt Reno’s love. It was his connection to Reno that led him to connect with Tommy and Sal.
Sal, Mick thought as Reno moved aside and Sal walked up to the bedside. Of all of the Gabrinis, his relationship with Sal was by far the most contentious and complicated. The fact that both of them ran massive underworld syndicates had something to do with it. The fact that both of them were stubborn asses who were constantly in conflict had everything to do with it.
But of all of the Gabrinis, for some strange reason Mick loved Sal the most. And that was why, when Sal accused him of being in cahoots with Joey over that kidnapping scheme, it broke his heart.
Sal felt awkward as hell. But his relief that Mick was okay overcame his awkwardness. “Hey,” he said.
Ordinarily, neither man would be given to public displays of emotion. But this was not an ordinary moment. Mick had been pulled back from certain death, and Sal didn’t hesitate to come to his aid. And Mick knew what it felt like to love a child. Sal probably would have ac
cused the Pope of kidnapping if there was a scintilla of evidence in that direction. He just wanted his child back. And he got his child back. And he spared Mick’s child Joey because Mick asked him to. They both knew they had to move on.
That was why, when Sal reached out to shake Mick’s hand the way Tommy and Reno had, Mick pulled Sal into his arms. Everybody in the room were relieved. Especially Big Daddy, who knew how painful Sal’s accusation had been for Mick. But once again, Mick forgave Sal. They held onto each other for a long time, and then they let go.
But Sal wasn’t going to let it end without those words being spoken. It was important to him. “I apologize to you, Uncle Mick,” he said heartfelt. “I should have never come at you the way I did. I was wrong.”
Mick felt a swell of emotion. He nodded. “Your apology is accepted,” he said. “The deed is forgotten.”
Sal smiled. Joey felt the time was now. He decided to step up too. “I apologize, Sal,” he said to him. “What I did was wrong. Can you accept my apology?”
“No,” Sal said bluntly. Mick had been accused of doing something he didn’t do. But Joey did what he was accused of. That was a different level for Sal. “One day I’ll accept that apology,” he added. “One day I’ll wipe the slate clean and we can move on.” Then he looked at Joey with hard eyes. “That day ain’t today.”
Joey’s heart sank. “Why are all of you men so hard hearted?” he angrily asked. “I made a mistake, geez. I admitted my mistake. Why can’t you just forget about it?”
Everybody looked at Joey. Sal wanted to lash out, but for Mick’s recovery sake he didn’t. But he made himself clear again. “Don’t push it, kid,” he warned.
“Come on, Joey,” Teddy said, leaving the room and grabbing his brother with him. “Let’s give them some space.”
Joey reluctantly left. Mick felt bad for his son, but he had to learn.
Then Roz arrived with the twins, Mick saw that they were fine, and then he was back in survival mode. He needed to have a word with the Gabrinis. After everybody left, they got down to business.
“What do we know?” Mick asked them.
Mick Sinatra: The Harder They Fall Page 16
