Dommi had tears in his eyes when his father laid it on the line for him. Trina held her son tighter. She wasn’t going to lessen the blow either. Everything Reno was saying was everything, she knew, Dommi needed to hear.
“You wanna play gangster?” Reno asked. “This is what happens when the other gangsters wanna play too!”
Then Reno exhaled. Gemma hurried in with a glass of wine. But when she saw tears in Dommi’s big, beautiful eyes, her heart dropped too. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen him so vulnerable. She stopped in her tracks.
“So, yeah,” Reno continued, “you brought a lot of danger at our door, Dom. Danger that’ll take every ounce of everything we have to beat back. So yes, you got that part right. The family is in danger because of you. But what you got all wrong, is thinking you’re in it all by yourself.”
Dommi looked at Reno.
“You aren’t in this shit alone,” Reno said. “As long as there’s breath in my body; as long as there’s breath in your mother’s body; as long as there’s breath in your uncles and your aunts bodies, you’ll never be in this shit alone.”
“Damn right,” said Sal.
“Coba’s coming for us,” Reno continued. “There’s no doubt about that. You killed his son. He can’t let that stand. But if the A.M. wants to come for us, then they can come. And you’re going to defend this family. Right alongside me, and Sal, and Tommy, and Uncle Mick. Your ass wasn’t ready. I tried to tell you, your mother tried to tell you, your uncles tried to tell you that your ass wasn’t ready yet. But that’s over. That’s done. It’s got to be ready now.”
When Reno said those words, Dommi felt them to the depths of his soul.
“So dry your fucking eyes,” Reno said, “and man the hell up.” His cell phone began ringing. “A war is coming,” Reno added, “and it’s coming straight for you.”
Reno looked at the Caller ID. “It’s Teddy,” he said, and placed the call on Speaker. “Hey, Ted, what’s up?” he asked.
“I got your message to Pop,” said Teddy Sinatra.
“Okay, good.”
“He’s on his way.”
Reno nodded. “Even better.”
“He’s very concerned, Reno. Very concerned. He says all Gabrinis need to be on lockdown.”
Reno and Sal exchanged a glance. As if it wasn’t big enough in their eyes, for Mick to make such a warning made it even clearer to them just how big it was. “We’re working on it,” Reno said.
“I’ll be staying put, and Big Daddy will stay put in Maine, in case those fuckers try any blowback our way. Pop don’t think they’d try it, but just in case.”
“Agreed,” said Reno. “And thanks Ted,” he added, and they ended the call.
Dommi was still wiping away tears. “What do we do now?” he asked his father.
“You get some rest,” he said to Dom. “You’re gonna need it.”
Dom stood up, and without looking at anybody, he left the room. Reno looked at Trina. Trina fell back against the sofa.
Gemma went to her, and gave her the glass of wine.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Hours later, Trina’s eyes were closed but she was hardly sleep when she heard the bedspring creak and then the movement of a body. When the covers weren’t moved, nor was she touched as she expected to be, she turned all the way around, onto her side. Reno was lying beside her on top of the bed, as she suspected, and was fully clothed in his now wrinkled and well-worn Armani suit. He was lying on his back.
Trina waited for him to say something, but he just continued to lay there and stare at the ceiling. But she had so many questions!
“What can we do, Reno?” she asked him.
Reno hesitated at first. Then he spoke. “Mick knows something. We need to see what he knows first.”
“What about Amber? I think Dommi’s right. Maybe we need to pick her up. See what she knows.”
“Not until I hear from Mick. I don’t want to leap too soon.”
“But you already leaped. That’s how you found out what’s going on. Wouldn’t those people in that poolhall tip her off about Jaylin?”
“Those thugs in that shithole wouldn’t know who Amber was. She was just a side piece of Jaylin’s. If they even knew that much.”
When Trina didn’t respond, Reno looked over at her. She was staring off in the distance, and the look on her face told him all he needed to know. He took his arm and wrapped it around her, pulling her against him.
“It was so hard seeing Dommi break down like that,” Trina said.
“He needed to see the consequences of his rash behavior. He needed to see what that shit can lead to.”
Trina looked at Reno. “How bad can it get, Reno?” she asked him.
“If we only have to deal with Cobahara,” Reno said, “it can be managed. If we have to deal with the entire A.M., then it’s going to get bad, Tree. Really bad. You and the other wives, and the kids, too, may be on lockdown for a quite some time.”
Trina stared at Reno. Then she rubbed the side of his face with the back of her hand. “Are you okay?” she asked him.
Reno looked like he was aging fast. “No,” he said. “I’m not okay. Because my child is involved, no way can I be okay.”
Trina didn’t hesitate. She pulled him into her arms.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Sophia walked into the family room and saw her brother sitting alone on the sofa. She knew whatever was going on had everything to do with him, and she also knew it was stressing him out. She walked over to him, and sat beside him. “Hey, Dummy, I mean Dommi,” she said as she sat.
Dommi would usually smile when she made that little joke. Not that time.
“They won’t tell me what’s going on,” she said. “Should I be worried?”
“No,” said Dommi as if it was an afterthought. “I’ll protect you.”
Sophia didn’t skip a beat. “You always have,” she said.
Dommi hadn’t expected to hear her acknowledge that. Usually it was some kind of putdown rather than a buildup. He looked at her.
“You’ve protected me very well, Dommi,” she said, “ever since we were little kids. Mom and Dad trusted you like you were a grown man.”
A sad look appeared in Dommi’s eyes. “They don’t trust me anymore,” he said.
“They trust you,” said Sophia. “They’re just scared for you. Nobody wants their kid to grow up to be a gangster. Problem is, you’ve never been anything else.”
Dommi looked at her again. She never ceased to amaze him! “How would you know anything about that?”
“I know you. I’m the one who spent the most time with you.” She looked at him. “You’re just a thug, Dommi, let’s face it.”
Dommi smiled. Sophia did too. “Let’s just face it!” she said again, and they both laughed.
“What’s so funny?”
They looked up and saw that their big brother had entered the room. Dommi was still smiling. “Our baby sister thinks I’m a thug,” he said.
“Who’s a baby?” asked Sophia.
“You are,” said Jimmy and Dom at the same time.
Then Jimmy smiled too, and plopped down on the sofa on the opposite side of Dommi.
“But what I mean was,” said Sophia, “Dommi’s always been gangster-like. Even as a little kid. He had it deep within him, and Mommy and Daddy knew it.”
Jimmy nodded his head. “Now that’s true,” he said.
“But you weren’t an angel either, Jimmy,” said Dom. “Now you’re a big executive in Uncle Tommy’s company. Why don’t they think I’ll come around like you did too?”
“Because I never was like you, Dom,” Jimmy pointed out. “My craziness was having the wrong friends and running with the wrong crowd and junk like that. My craziness was never your craziness. I didn’t create a chasm that was too wide to come back across. You just hit eighteen and your chasm is already too wide to cross back across. That’s the difference.”
Dommi respected Ji
mmy’s intelligence. He was like their Uncle Tommy in a lot of ways. “So what are you saying, Jimbo? You’re saying I’m doomed?”
“I’m saying you were born and raised a Gabrini. I was already a teenager before Pop even knew I was his child, and before I knew he was my dad. My mother, God rest her soul, had a chance to mold me more in her image than in Dad’s. I’m a Gabrini, but I’m my mother’s son too. You didn’t get that chance.”
“But my mom wasn’t born a Gabrini. Why wasn’t I molded in her image?”
“You were,” said Jimmy. “The problem with that, though, is that your mother is as gangster as any Gabrini alive.”
Sophie and Dommi laughed.
“That’s the problem,” Jimmy said, laughing too.
“Nobody invited me to the party.”
They all looked toward the entrance. Tommy and Grace’s daughter, Destiny, had entered the room. Sophie jumped up from hanging with her brothers, and ran to her favorite cousin. “Hey, girl. Looks like we’re going to be hanging out together. Thanks to Dommi!”
“What did he do this time?” Destiny asked. “Daddy won’t tell me anything, and I asked him all the way on the plane ride here.”
“That’s not your lane,” Jimmy said. “Stay in your lane, Des.”
Destiny playfully licked her tongue at Jimmy.
Jimmy laughed. “You’re always good for a laugh, girl,” he said, and Destiny laughed too.
Dom was excited, as well, but for a totally different reason. “Uncle Tommy’s here?” he asked Destiny.
Destiny looked at her cousin. “And hello to you, too, Dominic.”
“Is Uncle Tommy here, Des?”
“Yes, he’s here! Why do you think I’m here? Mom and TJ’s here too.” But Dommi was already running out of the room.
Sophia shook her head. “He worships the ground your daddy walks on,” she said.
“And the ground your daddy walks on,” said Destiny.
“And the ground Uncle Sal walks on,” said Jimmy. “And the ground Uncle Mick walks on. And the ground Big Daddy walks on. And even the ground cousin Teddy walks on!”
“Y’all right,” said Sophia. “And it’s only because they’re all gangster. He likes the bad boys,” she added, and all three of them laughed.
By the time Dommi made it up front, passing by the playroom where Cecil and Earnestine were hanging out with the younger Gabrini set. TJ had just joined Carmine, Lucky, and Maddie, and they all were having a ball. But Dommi wanted to see his Uncle Tom.
Except for Jimmy, who was still in the family room with Sophia and Destiny, all of the adults were in the living room. Tommy and Grace had just settled down with them, too, when Dommi came running in.
And he didn’t try to curb his excitement either. “Uncle Tommy!” he said happily and ran to him.
Tommy smiled the smile of a man thrilled to see his nephew, stood back on his feet, and both men gave each other a big bear hug.
“You made it,” Dommi said when they stopped embracing.
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Tommy said.
But then they both knew it wasn’t a good thing why he was there, and the gaiety was replaced with a somber look on Dommi’s face. “I’m sorry I caused all of this trouble, Uncle Tommy,” Dom said sincerely.
Tommy rubbed Dom’s thick, curly hair, and then placed his hand around Dom’s neck. “I know you hate it,” he said. “We all hated the first time our shit caused the pipes to leak too. We still hate it.”
“Are you saying it won’t get any better?” Dom asked him.
“I’m saying it’s going to get a whole lot worse,” Tommy said.
“Before it gets better?” Dommi asked.
But Tommy wasn’t the one to sugar coat either. “It’s going to get a whole lot worse,” he said bluntly.
Dom felt that sense of dread again and looked to his father, the one man he always looked to when he felt lost and afraid. Reno had stopped pacing the floor when his son had entered the room. But once Dom looked at him with that big-eyed, puppy dog look that always broke Reno’s heart, he began pacing again. He wished to God it was him who was caught up in that madness, and not his child. He wished to God it was him!
But before Dommi could say anything to Reno, or to anybody else, the intercom buzzed.
Everybody looked at Reno. Reno walked over and pressed the button on the side table, next to where Tommy had been sitting. “This is Reno,” he said.
It was Security. “Mick Sinatra has arrived, sir,” the voice on the other end said.
Reno exhaled. Everybody did. “Escort him up,” Reno ordered, and exhaled again.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
The silence in the room was deafening. Mick Sinatra wore his combat gear: his long white coat, his black trousers and black turtleneck, as if he knew the battle was already joined. He sat in the chair that faced the sofa and two other chairs, with his legs folded and with an expression on his face that no-one in that room could read. And they all were trying to read what the big man was thinking.
Sal and Gemma, and Tommy and Grace were seated on the sofa. Reno was seated in a chair, with Trina seated on the arm of the chair. Dommi sat in the other arch-top chair while Jimmy, who had entered the room before Mick made it up, was seated on the arm of Dom’s chair. He was as worried about his kid brother as any of them because he knew Dommi. Despite how tough Dommi presented himself to people, Jimmy knew how hard Dommi felt. How emotional a kid he really was deep within himself. He was going to be there for Dom.
Then Mick unfolded his legs and leaned forward. “There’s a contract out,” he said.
When he said it, the already silent room went still with horror. “A contract?” Trina asked.
“From Cobahara,” asked Reno, “or from the A.M?”
“From Cobahara,” said Mick.
“Good,” said Sal.
“And the A.M.,” added Mick, and the room deflated again.
“The contract from Cobahara,” Mick continued, “is recent. It just dropped. He wants Dommi dead.”
“Because of what Dommi did to his son?” Jimmy asked. Reno had briefed Jimmy on what had occurred, just as Tommy had privately briefed Grace on the plane ride over. Everybody in that room knew what had led up to that moment.
Mick knew too. “That’s correct,” he said to Jimmy.
“You said Coba’s contract was recent,” said Reno. “Are you implying that the contract the Asian Mafia has out on Dommi isn’t recent? Are you saying it’s an old contract?”
“It’s older than Coba’s contract, yes,” said Mick. “That’s what I’m saying.”
“But how could that be?” Trina asked. “What happened at Mo’s just happened two days ago.”
“Is it an all-out?” Sal asked.
Mick shook his head. “No,” he said. “Both contracts are in-house contracts.”
“An in-house?” Reno asked, a fixed frown on his face. “But why?”
“What’s an in-house?” Trina asked. “What’s an all-out?”
“An in-house means the mob families want somebody related to the mob family to handle it,” said Tommy. “But it has to look like an accident to avoid any heat coming their way. In-house contracts take longer to perform. An all-out,” he added, “is a free-for-all. Anybody could take Dommi out, just as long as it’s not a member of their mob families.”
“So you’re saying that these Asian mobsters has a contract out on Dommi that they only want somebody in one of their families to handle?” Trina asked.
“Right,” said Tommy.
“Not Dommi,” said Mick.
Everybody looked at Mick. “What do you mean not Dommi?” Reno asked.
“Coba’s contract is on Dommi for killing his son. The contract the A.M. has out, isn’t on Dommi,” Mick said.
Reno frowned. “Then who the fuck is it on?” he asked.
A rare pained look appeared on Mick’s face. “Sophia,” he said.
The entire room gasped in shock. Reno jump
ed to his feet. So did Trina and Dommi and Sal and Gemma and Tommy and Grace too. Jimmy was on his feet as well.
“Sophia?” Reno asked, unable to conceal his shock. “Our Sophia? What the fuck are you talking about, Mick?”
“The contract the A.M. has out is a contract on your daughter,” Mick said like a man not about to take it back. Then he looked Reno dead in his eyes. “On our Sophia.”
Nobody could believe it. They all were looking at each other.
Then Tommy spoke up. “And you’re saying it’s an old contract?” he asked.
Mick nodded. “A couple months old, yes,” he said.
Reno frowned. “A couple months? But nothing’s happened,” Reno said. “There’s been no near-misses or anything like that in Lexie’s life.” Lexie was Reno’s nickname for Sophia. “Nobody took any shots at my child.”
“Remember it’s an in-house contract, Reno,” said Sal, who occasionally had to take out those kind of contracts in his syndicate too. “The in-house kind always takes longer because you have to be extra careful. What I figure is that your security around Sophie has been good enough for them to keep their distance. But I’m willing to bet they’ve been grooming her though.”
“I’d bet that too, Sal Luca,” said Mick.
“Grooming her?” Trina asked.
“Whose been grooming her?” asked Jimmy.
“That I don’t know,” said Mick. Then he looked at Reno and Trina. “But we need to find out.”
But Reno was already shaking his head. “No,” he said. “No way. You aren’t getting my daughter caught up in this shit too.”
“She’s already caught up in this shit, Reno,” said Trina, “if they have a contract out on her. What are you talking about?!” Then Trina leaned her head back. This was too much!
Tommy looked at Jimmy. “Go get her,” he said.
Jimmy didn’t hesitate. Tommy wasn’t just his boss, but he was also the man he knew his father respected the most. He went and got Sophie.
Reno Gabrini- the Trouble With Dommi Page 11
