MOB BOSS 3: LOVE AND RETRIBUTION (12 page)

Tommy didn’t respond. He released her coat lapel.

She nodded. “Yeah, I thought so. Goodbye, Tommy,” she said this with sadness in her eyes, and left his office.

Tommy was upset, because he understood how she felt. Like with Shawna, he, too, understood the terms of their relationship going in and tried, when he asked her to marry him, to rewrite those terms. It didn’t work for him, it wasn’t about to work for her. And then he felt an edge of distaste even comparing his long-term, deep relationship with Shawna, to his nothing-but-the-booty relationship with Novela.

He sat behind his desk and grabbed the phone. “Good morning,” he said.

“What’s your problem, Gabrini?” Shawna asked. “Have a girl waiting this long on the line.”

“Sorry about that. I had a . . . client. How are you? Just waking up?”

“Yes, actualy,” Shawna said. “Best sleep I’ve had in a long time.”

Tommy smiled, pleased by that. He leaned back in his swivel chair. “Glad to hear it,” he said.

“What’s up for you today?”

“Meetings, mainly. And I need to get over to Diamante’s before Sal runs away the chef.”

Shawna laughed. “If he hasn’t already.”

“Now that’s the truth. And then I’m taking the company jet to Vegas to attend the funeral and retrieve Reno and his wife. Care to tag along?”

“No,” she said as he knew she would.

“So,” he asked, “what are you up to? Where are you?”

“In your study checking my email on your computer, my feet up in your chair, my body clad in your dress shirt.”

Just the thought of her naked body underneath that shirt had him hardening. “Sounds like a sexy sight to see,” he said.

“I doubt that seriously. My hair’s a mess, I haven’t had my bath, I’m about as sexy as this chair I’m sitting in. I look awful.”

You could never look awful to me
, he wanted to say, but knew it would be too syrupy and she would hate it. So he held his tongue. “You don’t have any jobs lined up, do you?”

“You mean after Reno’s gig?”

Funny, he never thought of her working for Reno as a job. And just the thought of the fact of that matter, that she would in fact be working for Reno in a matter that was grave and uncertain, gave him some pause. Shawna was tough, and could handle herself, but that didn’t mean he wanted her tossed in dangerous situations. “Yes,” he said. “After Reno.”

“Nothing yet,” she said as if she’d just confirmed it in her email account. “Like I said I dropped the bal on my last assignment. Word gets around. I need the word to die down before I’l probably be on anybody’s radar screen again.”

“And in the meantime?”

“In the meantime I help out Reno.”

“And then?” he asked and held the phone with both hands.

“And then,” she said, “I’l hang out with my guy. See once and for al just what is going to become of us.”

“And then,” she said, “I’l hang out with my guy. See once and for al just what is going to become of us.”

Tommy closed his eyes in relief.

“That is,” she added, “if he stil considers me his girl.”

Truth was, there was no other woman but Shawna that gave him that possessive,
she’s mine
kind of feeling. No other woman came close. “He does,” Tommy said without hesitation.

“Good,” Shawna said. “Now get back to work.”

He was about to tel her something equaly cute, but Shawna, being Shawna, had already kiled the cal.

SEVEN

The gates opened to a luxurious estate and the limo carrying Reno, Trina, and Tommy began to lift up the slanted driveway and made its way to the big house.

“Is this your home, Tommy?” Trina asked, looking at the expansive view.

“Not my main home, no. I don’t live here. But it’s mine.” This was a different house along the Seattle countryside, on the outskirts of the city. Tommy rarely came here, except when he seriously needed to get away.

“It’s lovely,” Trina said. “Is this where we’l be staying?”

“For now, yes,” Reno said, his arm around his wife.

“So you knew about this place?”

“I knew,” he said. “I’ve never been here, either, but I knew about it.”

“Who is that?” Trina asked and Reno and Tommy looked where she was looking. And walking from around the backside of the house, tal and lean in her skin-tight trousers and stiletto heels; in her sleeveless blouse that barely covered the bely button of her flat, ribbed stomach; with her long, stylish hair blowing in the wind and framing a devastatingly gorgeous face, was ShoShawna Shanks. Looking so confident to Reno that she almost looked arrogant. Looking so endearing to Tommy that his heart began to pound.

“That, my dear,” Reno said with a combination of pride and distaste, “is ShoShawna Shanks.”

Trina frowned. “That’s Shanks? That’s the woman you said was going to help us?”

“That’s the one.”

Trina stared at her. Except for the fact that Shawna had a gun holstered on her hip, she was absolutely nothing like Trina had thought she would be. The way Reno talked about the woman Trina was expecting her to be some muscular, body-builder type who’d be standing akimbo at the gate with her hands behind her back, her feet spread eagle, al business al the time.

But this girl, Trina thought, looked almost sad. She was pretty, there was no doubt about that; Reno did get that part right. But he didn’t mention the other, softer side.

But then again, Trina thought as the car door opened and her husband helped her out of the limo, Reno probably never bothered to get to know the other side. She was firepower to him, the woman that was going to help us, and that was al he needed to know.

“She’s gorgeous,” Trina couldn’t help but say when they stepped out and she got an even better look. When Tommy got out and walked over to them, she repeated it.

“She’s gorgeous, Tommy,” she said again.

Tommy nodded, staring at Shawna. “That she is,” he said in a tone so lowered that both Reno and Trina looked at him.

Shawna slowly made her way up the side steps and across the walkway toward the front steps, where the new arrivals were. And she, too, was able to get a ful view of the threesome.

Tommy almost made her smile. He stood there, looking amazing in his yelow cardigan sweater, his olive green imported pants, his expensive aligator loafers. What made her want to smile was because she knew that this was supposed to be his casual look, his little-effort look. But even in his casual style he always looked so aluring, as if he had just left a photo shoot, and stil had that composed look about him.

Reno, on the other hand, looked to Shawna as if he had just left a murder scene, and was stil hyper-vigilant, stil looking around, stil suspicious of everything and everyone. Composure for Reno meant that he only had one major calamity to worry about, not several, which often endeared him to Shawna. Like Tommy, he dressed casualy too, in a brown polo shirt and a pair of khakis, his thick head of brown hair a rumpled mess because of his habit of always running his hand through it. But unlike Tommy, he looked casual. Then Shawna snorted. He looked casual al right. Like a casualy dressed mob boss.

And that wife of his, a woman Shawna had never seen before, wasn’t quite what she had expected either. Reno’s women ran the gambit from those wow factor females to those
say what? Reno’s dating
that
? air-headed, trophy types. But this woman didn’t seem to fit either bil. She was cute, nothing to write home about but cute, yet Reno seemed downright smitten with her.

Tommy had said that Reno had changed and was truly in love with his wife, but Shawna, who knew the playboy Reno as wel as anybody, wasn’t buying it. Reno wasn’t in love with anything but the

PaLargio as far as she could figure. But her initial impression as she watched him now with this wife of his, made her wonder if she would have to reconfigure.

He seemed so protective of the woman, so in tune with her that it took Shawna by surprise. He had his hand in the smal of his wife’s back, was looking so lovingly into her eyes, had her so close against him that Shawna wondered where he ended and she began. Which, for Reno and any of the females she’d ever seen him with before, was something to see. In truth, the only time she used to see Reno with a female was when he was taking her to some bedroom.

As soon as Tommy saw Shawna in ful he walked up the steps, two at a time, and met her at the top. Although both wanted to fal into the other’s arms, neither did. Tommy, instead, placed one hand on her arm, and leaned over and kissed her on the lips.

She closed her eyes when he kissed her, she couldn’t help it, and she so wanted him to pul her into his arms. But he, instead, leaned back and began rubbing her arm.

“Any trouble while I was gone?”

She shook her head. “None,” she said.

“Good,” he said, stil 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 spel.

“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 tel 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 tel 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.”

“Al bad I’m sure.”

“Damn straight,” Reno said and began walking toward the front entrance, his hand stil in the smal 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 al laughed, although Tommy, whose hand was in the smal of Shawna’s back as they made their way inside, the man who knew how much those offhanded, steel magnolia kind of comments realy

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 al 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 stil holstered on her hip, staring at Tommy.

“This is what we know so far,” Tommy began. “There were four gunman. Al 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 al three levels of codes, but each one had one level. Which means they were al involved. And they al took off just before the hit went down.”

“Al 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.

Al 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 hel not, Shanks?”

“Because of the time factor, Reno. Think about it. MarBeth kils Eddie Giancarlo one night, and by the very next morning Vito Giancarlo has paid off al 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. Al 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 al else. “I agree,” she said, already impressed, and looked at Reno. “That’s a tal 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 tal order, Tommy. This shit had to have been planned months in advance.”

Reno was thinking about it too. Thinking long and hard about it. Then he nodded. “Yeah,” he said, looking at Tommy. “It’s a tal order, Tommy. This shit had to have been planned months in advance.”

“If it’s not Vito,” Tommy said, “then it’s some helava coincidence, Reno. His son dies one night, kiled 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 stil 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 stil 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 kiled.

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.”