Mob Boss Eleven- The Wrong One (The Mob Boss Series Book 11) (12 page)

“Okay,
she’s excused,” Trina said.
 
“But what’s
your excuse?
 
Why do you feel you can’t
show pictures of your baby in front of Val?”

“When
I asked about how she was doing after her miscarriage, Gemma said she’s not
doing well at all.
 
She wouldn’t go into
details, you know how Gemma will never discuss somebody else’s business, but
she did seem to suggest Val was in a pretty bad place.”

Trina
nodded.
 
“She is.
 
But that’s why you don’t hold back.
 
You have pictures of your baby, you show
those pictures.
 
The last thing Val needs
is for us to continue to coddle her.”

“Then
how can I help?” Grace asked, concerned.
 
She wasn’t as close to Val as she was to Trina and Gemma, but she liked
her immensely.
 
“What is it that she
really needs?”

“She
needs to hear the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth,” Trina
said.
 
“She’ll feel bad about you talking
about your baby.
 
Sure she will.
 
But she’ll feel worst if you don’t talk about
your baby.
 
It wouldn’t be natural.
 
And she doesn’t need any more crazy in her
life.
 
None of us need any more crazy.”

“Amen
to that,” Grace said heartfelt.
 
“There’s
been peace since Sal and Gemma’s marriage.
 
I hope we can keep it that way.”

Trina
stared at Grace.
 
She knew her.
 
And she could tell when she wasn’t keeping it
one-hundred.
 
“How’s it really going,
Grace?”

“You
mean with the baby?” Grace asked.

“Not
just the baby.
 
But you.
 
And Tommy.
 
And you and Tommy.”

Grace
tried to smile, but Trina could see the hesitancy.
 
“It’s going . . . pretty well.
 
I got an offer to sell Trammel Trucking.”

Trina
frowned.
 
Where did that come from?
 
“An offer to sell your company?” she asked.

“Yeah.”

“When?
 
At that tradeshow you just attended?”

“Before
then,” Grace said.
 
“A group of Seattle
investors want to take over majority interest in Trammel.
 
I can keep some shares, but they want
controlling interest.”

“And
I know you told them no,” Trina said.
 
“I
know you told them hell no.”

Grace
paused.
  
“I told them I would think
about it.”

Trina
couldn’t believe it.
 
“But why,
Grace?
 
You’ve never mentioned anything
at all about selling Trammel.
 
Why would
you entertain it now?”

“Because
I’m a mother now,” Grace said.

“I’m
a mother.
 
Of not just one baby, but four
babies if you count Reno and Jimmy, and I do.
 
I’m not only running my own company, but I’m helping Reno out at his
too.
 
It can be done.”
 
Trina reached over and touched Grace’s
hand.
 
“Trust me.”

“That’s
not why I want to sell.
 
I know I can run
a company and raise a child.
 
But. . .”

“But
what, Grace?”

Grace
closed her eyes.
 
She had wanted to talk
to somebody about it for so long.
 
Trina
wasn’t the ideal person because she was Reno’s wife and Reno and Tommy were
closer than brothers.
 
But she was
perhaps the only person who would understand.
 
Grace opened her eyes.
 
“It’s
about being a Gabrini,” she said.
 

Trina
could see the anguish in Grace’s eyes.
 
“Go on,” she said.

“I
can’t talk to Tommy about it because . . .”
 
She swallowed hard.
 
She looked
Trina dead in the eyes.
 
“I’m terrified
for my child, Tree.
 
The thought that
crooks and criminals will try to use her as a pawn whenever they wanted to get
at Tommy scares the life out of me.
 
I
don’t want my child to have to have bodyguards and be protected for the rest of
her life.”

“It
won’t be like that,” Trina said.

“But
it’s like that already.
 
If she’s not
with Tommy, then he constantly has somebody with us.
 
If he’s out of town or can’t get away, he
won’t let me go to the grocery store without one of his men going with us.
 
And poor Sal.
 
He’s almost as bad as Tommy.
 
Whenever he’s in town working at the Gabrini Corporation and Tommy’s out
of town, he won’t spend the night at his own place in Seattle, where I know he
would prefer to stay.
   
He spends the
night with me and the baby.
 
Tommy’s
thrilled whenever Sal’s in town.
 
But I
hate it.”

“Well,
Grace, if you don’t want Sal spending the night there---”

“No,”
Grace corrected.
 
“I love Sal, and I love
for him to stay with us when he’s in town.
 
But I hate the reason why he’s staying.
 
Tommy’s treating our baby as if she’s the crown jewels or something and
has to be under twenty-four hour guard.
 
I don’t want my baby raised like that.”

“Then
why did you have Tommy’s baby?” Trina asked point blank.

Grace
looked at her.
 
“What?”

“Why
did you have his baby?
 
When I had my
children, Reno was the same way.
 
And I’m
sure if Gemma has one, if she ever has one, Sal is going to be the same
way.
 
They’re Gabrinis, Grace.
 
You married a Gabrini.
 
You had to know that Tommy would be overly
protective.
 
You had to know that.”

“I
knew it,” Grace said.
 
“But. . .”

“But
you didn’t realize how much you would hate the overprotectiveness?” Trina
attempted to help her out.

“I
didn’t realize how much I would hate the reason for his overprotectiveness,”
Grace responded.
 
“It’s the reason for
it, the fact that she’s Tommy’s child, that I hate.
 
I can’t help but think about what happened to
Reno’s son Nicky.”

But
Trina was already shaking her head.
 
“Don’t go there, Grace.”

“But
I can’t help think about it, Tree!
 
They
killed Reno’s son because he was Reno’s son.
 
And everybody knows Tommy and Reno are like white on rice.
 
If they did it to Reno’s son, why would I
think they would never do it to Tommy’s daughter?”

“And
before you let that man knock you up, you didn’t think that would bother you?”
Trina asked.

“I
knew it would.
 
And I’m working through
it, you know?
 
I love Tommy.
 
And he’s been a great father to Destiny.
 
You should see him, Tree.
 
He’s been great.
 
A wonderful father.”

But
Trina knew nuisances better than most.
 
“Has
he been a wonderful husband?” Trina asked her.

“What
do you mean?” Grace responded.
 
“He’s a
very good husband to me.
 
An excellent
husband.
 
Me, on the other hand,” she
said with a smile that wasn’t meant to be humorous.

“What
do you mean?” Trina asked her.
 
“You’re a
fantastic wife to Tommy.
 
Those ex-lovers
of his took you to the brink, and you had to go there, but you came out on the
other side, Grace.
 
You’re stronger for
it.”

Grace
nodded.
 
Although it wasn’t true.
 
Although Grace would never tell Trina that
she was still having nightmares about those ex-lovers of Tommy’s, and the one
in particular that she had to put down herself.
 
And after the birth of Destiny, instead of that kind of devotion to
Tommy making her feel stronger and more secure, it was beginning to have the
opposite effect on her.
 
“I guess you’re
right,” she said to Trina.
 
“I guess
you’re right.”
 
And then they both heard
Val’s voice.

“So
sorry I’m late,” she said as she arrived at their table.

“Nothing
to apologize for,” Trina said as Val hugged her neck.

“Good
seeing you again, Valerie,” Grace said, when Val reached over and hugged her.
“You’re getting younger.”

“And
better?” Val asked.
 

“Always,”
Grace said with a smile.

The
waiter immediately came to their table.

“Orange
juice will do for me,” Grace said, and the waiter immediately hurried off.

“So,”
Val said, hanging her shoulder bag on the back of her seat, “what were you gals
talking about before I dropped in?”

“Destiny,”
Trina said honestly.

“Oh,
the baby,” Val said with forced excitement.
 
Then she looked at Grace.
 
“How is
she, Grace?”

“Perfection
in motion,” Grace said.
 
Val smiled.
 
“No, I’m kidding,” Grace added.
 
“But she’s good.
 
Thanks for asking.”

“I
know Tommy’s pleased.”

“You’d
better believe it,” Grace said.
 
“I’ve
got a picture of---”
 
Grace caught
herself.
 
“He’s very pleased,” she added.

“You’ve
got pictures,” Val said.
 
“May I see
them?”

“Be
careful what you ask for,” Trina said.
 
“She’s got thousands.”

Val
smiled as Grace handed her the cell phone.
 
Val began to thumb through the various pictures of the baby girl.
 
Grace glanced at Trina.
 
Trina raised her eyebrows, and then sipped
her tea.
 
It was what it was, as far as
Trina was concerned.
 
The world wasn’t
going to walk on eggshells for Val or anybody else.
 
Val had to realize that.

“That’s
a white man’s baby,” a voice said just behind Val’s shoulder.
 
Trina and Grace both looked up and saw a
white man dressed in black standing behind Val.

Val
turned his way too.
 
“Excuse me?”

“You
heard me, bitch,” the man said.
 
“Those
pictures you’re looking at.
 
That’s a
white man’s baby.”

“Anyway,”
Trina said, attempting to get back to their conversation, “I’m glad you could
make it, Val.”

“Thank-you,”
Val said.

“Why
you got to have a white man’s baby?” the man in black asked.
 
“The brothers are supposed to have the big
weewees.
 
Why you don’t want a brother,
bitch?
 
What’s wrong with the brothers,
bitch?”

Trina
looked the man dead in the eyes.
 
“I
would strongly advise you to take your straggly ass back where it came from
before you really get to see what it feels like to be a bitch.”

“Oh,
yeah, motherfucker?” the man said, loudly this time.
 
Almost too loudly it seemed to Trina, as if
he was trying to attract attention.
 
Many
of the partiers in the club turned in his direction.
 
“And you think you’re going to show me what
it’s like to be a bitch?
 
You?
 
You think your bougie ass can show
me
something?
 
I’ll take your cunt and shove it down your
throat, bitch!
 
I’ll have you crawling on
your knees and begging my ass to stop!
 
But I won’t stop because I’ll be enjoying it too fucking much!
 
You’re a piece of shit, you hear me
woman?
 
You ain’t nothing compared to
me!”

Val
could see the bouncer shoving through the crowd, and she was grateful.
 
She and Grace both felt unnerved.
 
But Trina tossed her napkin on the table and
stood up.
 
There was nothing unnerved
about her.

“Come
over here,” she said to the man, “and try it.
 
Your ass that bad.
 
Come and try
it.”