ROMANCING THE MOB BOSS (8 page)

Get a grip, girl.”

“You get a grip,” Trina said, smiling too,

although her heart was hammering. Scotty was

back. And although she was only with him for

less than a month, and was on the rebound from

her ruined relationship with her ex from Dale

even then, she knew him wel enough to know

that he wasn’t searching high and low for her as

he claimed, just for the hel of it. Maybe tonight

spooked him enough to keep going. Maybe

after tonight he’d go on about his business, or at

least leave her out of it. But if she saw hide or

hair of him again, she was tel ing Reno. She

didn’t want to, because she knew Reno would

be almost irrational with anger, but Scotty could

be a very vile and violent person. And if he

showed up again, she’d know he meant

business. And the only person she knew who

could handle a dude like that, was Reno.

+++

To her amazement, however, word had

reached Reno that same night, and by the time

she and Jazz were walking out of Boyzie’s and

saying their goodbyes, he was leaned against

his Bentley, his arms folded, a look of

disappointment al over his face.

“I thought you would be in meetings al

night?” Trina said as she approached him. She

was usual y thril ed to see him, but that scowling

look on his face made her apprehensive.

“Where’s the cab?” he asked. “I don’t

se e no cab. You were supposed to cal and

catch a cab every night after work, Katrina. You

wouldn’t let me do it my way, you won’t let me

get you a car, but you said you would at least do

that.”

“What are you doing here?”

“You’re giving me a heart attack, you

know that?” He said this and then walked

around in a circle, as if he was trying to control

himself.

“What is it?” she wanted to know.

“What is it?” she wanted to know.

“Why didn’t you cal me?”

Trina frowned. “Cal you for what?”

“When that guy threw liquor in your face.

When that guy slapped the shit out of you!”

Trina could not believe it. Did Jazz

phone him? But Jazz didn’t even have his

number, and she wouldn’t betray her like that.

“How did you know about that?”

Reno leaned back against his car,

folded his arms again. “I know about that.”

“But how, Reno?” Then it became as

clear to Trina as the nose on her face. “You’ve

got somebody watching me, don’t you?

Somebody fol owing me?”

“What you think? You think I’m gonna let

my lady work in a joint like this, walk home in the

dark to that war zone she lives in, and I’m gonna

just let it happen?”

Trina just shook her head. “It hasn’t

been Joey, so who has it been this time?”

“Friends of mine.”

“Friends? More than one?”

“A different one every night. What, you

think I’m stupid? Have the same guy sitting up

there every night?”

Trina shook her head again. Jazz was

right. She could sure pick’em. She began

walking away.

“Where you goin’?” Reno asked,

grabbing her by the arm.

Trina snatched away from his grasp.

“I’m going home. And you and your goon,

wherever he is,” she said this as she looked

around, “are not invited. So leave me the hel

alone tonight, Reno. And I mean it.”

She began walking away again.

“Okay, I’m sorry,” Reno yel ed, but she

kept on walking.

Reno just stood there, scratching his

forehead. He should just let her go, who

needed this shit, anyway? The least little thing

happened to her and his heart was pounding

out of his chest. He couldn’t get here fast

enough when his man cal ed him about that

incident tonight. He hated feeling like this, he

hated being so hooked on some female that he

couldn’t think straight half of the time unless he

was thinking about her. He should just forget

about her and go back to his life. She was

great in bed, but so what? He knew a dozen

women off the top of his head who’d gladly jump

in his bed tonight at the snap of his finger. Why

was he wasting his time, his energy, his very

heartbeat, on her?

Because he loved her, he said aloud as

he jumped into his Bentley, sped up, slung his

car in front of her, and got out.

“Okay, you win,” he said, walking up to

him. “Get in.”

“No thanks, Reno.”

“Just let me take you home,” he said,

“see you safely inside your apartment, al right?

And then I’l leave, and leave you the hel alone

just like you want. I promise you that.”

He said the last sentence with bite,

something that wasn’t lost on Trina. Would he

just dump her, just leave her alone forever like

that? He certainly looked like he would, like

he’d had it up to here with her. And the thought

of it happening, of Reno leaving her, shook her

resolve. It would actual y hurt if it happened, she

realized. And what about the new job at his

hotel she started next week? How would that be

affected if he stopped seeing her? Why did she

sleep with him that second time, in his

office/apartment, when she knew at that point

that he would be her boss? She could just kick

herself for being that stupid. And now her heart

was involved, too. Because she was beginning

to fal for Reno, and fal hard.

She got in his car.

The drive was quiet for the first few minutes,

until Reno looked over at her. She looked

drained to him, stressed, and he was sorry that

his bad mood wasn’t helping. He wanted to pul

her over to him, and wrap his arm around her,

but he didn’t touch her. Between thinking about

and worrying about her, and the pressure of a

grand opening for his new clubs and restaurants

within his PaLargio empire, and the unrelated

pressure his father was putting on him, he didn’t

know half the time if he was going or coming.

Sometimes he wanted to just forget it al ,

everybody and everything, and disappear off the

face of this earth. Tonight, he realized, was one

face of this earth. Tonight, he realized, was one

of those times.

“You gonna tel me about it?” he asked

her.

“About what?”

“About what? About why Ike left Tina

Turner. About that guy tonight, the one who put

those stains right there.” He placed his hand on

her chest where the wine stains stil showed on

her dress. Her heart hammered when he

touched her.

“He was just a stupid customer,” Trina

said.

“A stupid customer you were having a

very intense conversation with.”

Trina looked at Reno. She had

forgotten he had a spy in the place. She leaned

her head back. “Yeah, I know him, but it ain’t

even worth the effort it takes to talk about, al

right?”

“Is he the guy from Reno?” Trina’s heart

stopped. “Is he the dude from Dale?”

Trina was resuscitated. “No, he’s not

the dude from Dale.”

“Who is he then? What’s his name?” It

felt like begging to Reno, something he hated.

“Nobody, Reno.”

“What’s Nobody’s last name?”

Trina almost smiled. But she didn’t.

This was too serious. She wasn’t about to give

him any more information so that he or his

“people” could harm Scotty. Not because she

cared about Scotty, she didn’t’ give a shit about

that pimp, but because she cared deeply about

Reno. And she wasn’t getting him involved. At

least not yet, not if Scotty stays away from her.

“Just forget about it, please,” she said to

him.

“Okay, whatever,” he said, his anger

rising, as he began to speed faster than he

already was.

She didn’t hear from him at for most of that

next day. She thought about cal ing him once or

twice, but she nixed the idea. Maybe it was

best this way. And if he tried to snatch the job

away from her, then fine, let him snatch it.

Boyzie would take her back, she was pretty

certain of that.

And when she went to work that

afternoon, she searched every face that came

in, especial y as the night wore on. But

everybody was familiar, except for a couple of

old guys that she was reasonably certain

wouldn’t be on any payrol of Reno’s. Yet,

realizing that he had pul ed his goons off of her

wasn’t a very reassuring thought, but a terrifying

one. He was serious. He had apparently left

her the hel alone, as he had promised he

would.

But promises were apparently meant to

be broken because after work that same night,

as soon as she stepped out of Boyzie’s front

door, she saw Reno, leaned against his

Bentley. And just seeing that he hadn’t given up

their budding relationship almost made her

giddy with excitement. She ran to him.

Reno’s heart soared when she started

running. And as soon as she arrived he

grabbed her up into his arms. He looked at her,

smoothed her silky hair out of her face.

“I thought you were leaving me the hel

alone,” she said with a grand smile.

“I was,” he said. “Until I realized that

leaving you would be like leaving my heart,

leaving my ability to live. And I wanna live,

sweetheart.”

Trina laughed. Reno had such a way

with words. And she got in his car this night and

gladly al owed him to drive her home.

They drove past an old beat up Buick

Regal that was parked on the side of the road,

an old car that happened to have, although Trina

didn’t notice, Scotty Labaray inside, the one

who already knew where she worked and lived,

and now knew something else.

“So that’s it,” Scotty said to himself,

“So that’s it,” Scotty said to himself,

something he’d been doing a lot lately after his

stint in prison, after coming out so broke and

friendless he couldn’t even find a bed to lay his

head. He stole the Regal and began his search

for Trina. For his golden girl. Because with that

face and that body, that was exactly what she

was to him. Golden. The bitch who was going

to make him rich someday.

Now she, instead, had herself a rich

boy. A sugar daddy. That changed everything.

She was stil going to make him rich. But he

wouldn’t have to work for it this time. He

wouldn’t have to line up any johns who used to

want her so badly they were salivating when she

walked in the room. Not because she would be

the prettiest girl in his stable, or would have the

best body. She wouldn’t on both counts. But

because Trina Hathaway had that something

special, that “it” factor that couldn’t be seen but

could be felt, that unusual something that made

every man want to protect her, to baby her, to

wish that she was theirs.

And he saw the way that sugar daddy

was holding her tonight. So protective. With

that
this my bitch
‘tude going big-time. This

was going to be so easy, Scotty figured. Al he

had to do was threaten to tel boyfriend that she

once associated with a dude like him. And he’d

threaten to add that she not only associated with

him, but tricked for him. She never went that far,

she never turned any tricks, but rich boyfriend

didn’t know that. Scotty laughed. Rich

boyfriend didn’t know a damn thing.

And he wasn’t going to know. Because

Trina was a smart girl, and she knew a good

thing when she saw it. “That’s why she once

hooked up with me,” Scotty said aloud. That

was why, when he so much as threatened to tel

boyfriend, she would come up with the cash.

And he would just sit back, and make it big, get

that big score he could final y retire on, by not

having to lift one finger. He grinned and then

laughed. “Only in America,” he said, as he

laughed.

What he didn’t realize was that “rich

boyfriend” had circled the block and was now

pul ing up behind him.

“What are you doing, Reno?” Trina

asked when she realized they were right back in

front of Boyzie’s.

“That him?” Reno asked her.