ROMANCING THE MOB BOSS (12 page)

truth of the matter. His father was a mob boss.

This was his messy little world.

“Does he have an offer on the table?”

Reno asked him.

“A load of shit offer,” Carmine said.

“What’s the offer?”

Gabrini hesitated. “He wants sixty

percent of my east coast action.”

Reno’s temper flared. “The fuck he

wants!”

“That’s what I said,” Dirty chimed in.

“He doesn’t want the little Vegas territory

I have,” Gabrini said, “there’s too many pieces

of the Vegas pie already, he says. Too many

cooks in that stew. But he wants majority rule in

my east coast operations. On this he is not

bendable.”

“Now you see what I mean by trouble?”

Joey leans forward and said. “We’re talking

Frank Partanna here.”

“What about your friends, pop?” Reno

asked his father, ignoring Joey. “What they got

to say? Don’t they know if he’s coming after

you, he’l also come after them?”

“They ain’t got nothing to say,” Gabrini

said. “I can’t exact a single promise of support

from one of the other families. Nobody wants to

tangle with Frank. He’s flaky, he’s crazy-like.

He does unadvisable things. They don’t want

the headache. They don’t want the war.”

“So,” Reno said, “we’re on our own?”

Gabrini looked at his oldest and favored

son. “We?” he asked.

Reno dropped his head, putting his

fingers to his temper, the pressure like a

bubbling pot ready to boil over and spil al over

the place. He looked at Trina. The terror and

hurt and pain in her eyes shamed him. He

looked at his baby brother.

“Joey, take her to my bedroom. Let her

get some rest.”

“Yeah,” Carmine said, “take al the

females to bed. It’s late. They’re tired.”

“I’m not tired,” MarBeth said.

“Me neither,” Francine added.

“I don’t care what they are,” Reno said to

Joey, “take Trina to my room.”

Trina wanted to go, and she dreaded

going, but she dreaded staying too. She stood

up, along with Joey. Reno moved to kiss her,

but she turned away and fol owed Joey out of

the room. Reno looked at his sisters, who were

staring at him.

“What you staring at?” he yel ed. “Get

out of here! Both of yous. Go!”

Both sisters rose at the sound of Reno’s

voice, and left the room, too.

+++

Trina, surprisingly, slept like a baby, in the

bed Joey said had been Reno’s since

childhood. When she final y woke up, later that

Sunday morning, she was startled to see Reno

stil up, looking exhausted as he sat in a chair

beside the bed, staring at her.

“You look awful,” she said, without lifting

her head from the pil ow.

“You look wonderful,” he said, studying

her.

She decided to cut to the chase, no

more game playing. “Was I dreaming or is your

father a mob boss?” she asked him pointblank.

Reno hesitated. Ever since he met her,

he had been fearful of this very moment. “You

wasn’t dreaming,” he said.

Trina turned from her side onto her

back. “Are you a mob boss?” she asked, and

then looked at him.

Reno leaned forward, clasped his hands

together. There were no easy answers here.

“I’m a legitimate businessman.”

“I’m a legitimate businessman.”

“But a front too, right?”

He frowned. “A what?”

“A front? The PaLargio is a front for the

mob to do their dirty work, right?”

“No ma’am, it is not,” Reno said, angry

that she would even think such a thing. “The

PaLargio and every business I’m involved in are

legit. I don’t front for nobody!”

“Have you ever kil ed somebody?”

Reno stared at her, surprised. “How you

gonna ask me something like that?”

“Have you?”

“No!”

“Wil you?”

Reno didn’t answer that. He leaned

back in his chair.

“Why did you say ‘we’ downstairs?”

Trina asked him, refusing to take back what she

had asked already.

“My father’s in trouble. What you think

I’m gonna sit back and let the likes of Frank

Partanna screw over my own father?”

“What east coast operations was he

talking about?”

“This sounds like an interrogation here.”

“What east coast operations, Reno?”

Reno ran his hand through his thick crop

of hair. “That’s his business. That ain’t your

business.”

“Oh, I see,” she said, sitting on the edge

of the bed, stil ful y clothed. “You’re always

talking about how I’m your woman and how you

want us to have a future together. But you don’t

think I have a right to know what may be

involved in that future?”

“I told you my business affairs are legit.

And they are. What my father is involved with,

what my family is involved with, is separate and

distinct from that. That won’t touch you, I

promise you.”

“Yeah, right,” Trina said, “until you’re in

prison and expect me to stop my life until you’re

out. No thank-you,” she said this as she stood

to leave.

Reno’s heart was hammering as he

hurried to her. He pul ed her into his arms. “Oh,

Trina, please don’t leave me,” he begged.

His reaction stunned Trina. But she held

firm. “You should have told me about this,

Reno,” she said, tears threatening to appear in

her eyes. “You should have told me.”

“I know. Baby, I know I should have.

And I was going to.”

“But why didn’t you tel me before it got

to this? Before I had to find out like this? Why

didn’t you just tel me?”

He looked at her. “Why didn’t I?

Because I was afraid you would do what you’re

threatening to do right now. That you’d leave

me. I knew I had to tel you, but I wanted to

make sure you had some skin in this game

first.”

Trina tried to understand him, but she

couldn’t. She frowned. “What?” she asked.

“I needed to make sure leaving me

wouldn’t be as easy as getting up and going. I

needed you to be invested in me first. I know it

was selfish, and I’m sorry for it, honey. But I

don’t wanna lose you.” He rubbed her upper

arms. “You’re the best thing that’s ever

happened in my life, Tree, and I can’t lose that. I

don’t wanna just let that go.”

As her tears increased, he pul ed her

back into his arms. “I’m sorry to drag you into

my world, you don’t know how much I hate it. I

wish there was another way. I wish to heavens I

was a big enough man to say, for your sake, I’l

live without you. I’l give you up. But I’m not that

man, Trina. I’m not. I’m no saint. Because I

would have done what I did and more to keep

you.”

Trina was sobbing by now, and Reno

was holding onto her with al he had. And Trina

found herself holding on, too.

But it was a slippery grip.

And they both knew it.

She worked directly under Amos Logan, the

PaLargio’s general manager. Nobody else,

according to Amos, was to order her around.

They could voice their complaints to him, but

that was the extent of their authority over her.

And those orders, Amos said, came straight

from Reno.

Trina found she enjoyed her new job.

Amos could be a bastard, but he was a fair

bastard. And by the end of her first week, he

had taken her on a tour of the entirety of the

massive hotel and the massive casino. He had

also introduced her to every manager of every

single club. That alone was exhausting.

Her official hours were four to midnight,

but, as Amos made clear, there was hardly ever

a night when she would have it that easy.

Especial y when the day came when she would

go from apprentice to manager herself.

And he was right. During her first weeks

on the job, midnight would come and go, and

she would stil be on her feet, stil fol owing

Amos, who never tired.

And she stayed focused. Night in and

night out. For weeks she worked this way.

After about a month of nothing but hard work,

she asked Amos how she was doing. It was

just before midnight and they were walking over

to the Blue Room, where a fight had broken out,

not between patrons, but between a patron and

one of the waiters. To avoid a law suit, Amos

knew they had to act quickly.

“You’re doing okay,” Amos answered

her question as they took the stairs.

“Not great, but okay?”

“You’re getting there,” he said. “You

aren’t there yet, but you’re getting there.”

Trina smiled. For Amos to so much as

hint at a compliment to somebody was

something special.

They were stil in the Blue Room, seated

in the office talking with the manager, when

Reno walked in.

This was Trina’s first sight of Reno al

day, and she wanted to rush into his arms. But

day, and she wanted to rush into his arms. But

he was a different creature at work. He was al

business. He barely even looked at her.

“What you got for me, Loggie?” he

asked Amos.

Amos went on to explain the fight, how

they fired the employee on the spot, how they

offered to zero-out the patrons hotel bil , club

bil s, and offer him a complimentary return visit

for two.

“Did he buy it?” Reno asked.

“He bought it,” Amos said. “Hook, line,

and sinker.”

Reno smiled. “Most important point: did

he sign the release of liability paperwork?”

“Thanks to Trina, he did not,” Amos

said.

Reno looked at Trina dead-on for the

first time. “You’re kidding me? What did you

say to the guy?”

Trina’s heart began to pound. “He

asked me if he should sign it. I told him I

wouldn’t sign it if I was him.”

“It ain’t you,” Reno said.

“I didn’t say it was me, Reno. I said
if
I

was him, I wouldn’t sign it.”

“But you ain’t him.”

Trina stopped talking. There was no

reasoning with Reno when he was in this kind of

mood.

Reno looked at Amos. “What did he

say?”

“He smiled,” Amos said, “said he

appreciated Katrina’s advice, and he didn’t sign

the paperwork.”

“If he sues me,” Reno said to Trina as

serious as he knew how, “the proceeds wil be

coming out of your paycheck. Understand me?”

Trina was stunned. “Yes, I understand.”

“That’l teach you to shut your mouth

about that
if it was me
crap. It ain’t you. It ain’t

never gonna be you, so don’t ever again tel one

of our patrons what you’d do. Got me?”

Trina was amazed by his harshness. It was

like their relationship didn’t exist, and he was

strictly her boss in this instance. Which, she

knew was smart, she would probably behave

the same way. But it hurt like hel .

“I got you, Mr. Gabrini,” she said.

That caused Reno to smile. “Mr.

Gabrini,” he said, shaking his head, looking at

Amos. “Can you believe this girl?” Then he got

serious again. “You done for the night, right?”

Trina looked at Amos. Reno looked at

Amos. “She’s done for the night, right?”

“She’s done,” Amos said.

“And remember what I said: out of her

paycheck if that guy gets cute, decides he

wants it al .”

“Yes sir,” Amos said, although he knew,

knowing Reno, that he wasn’t serious at al .

“With pleasure, sir.”

That stung too. Trina was amazed at

how cut throat this environment was. And here

she was thinking she and Amos were working

together pretty wel .

When Reno escorted her to a back,

private elevator, she looked at him. “Where are

we going?” Then she smiled. “To your place?”

“Nope.”

“To my place?” Trina rarely ever stayed

at her apartment since working at the

at her apartment since working at the

PaLargio. Usual y, at night, Reno would send

word, always by his brother Joey, for her to go

to the penthouse, where he lived, or she’d just

go there on her own.

“We aren’t going to your place,” he

said. “I’m too tired to take an elevator ride, and

you’re talking about driving al the way over to

your place?”

“Then where?”

“You’re see.”

Trina leaned her body against his. He