Romancing Sal Gabrini 2: A Woman's Touch (22 page)

Gemma’s heart began to
flutter.
 
“Revenge on. . . you?”

Sal nodded.
 
“Yes.”

“But why?
 
What did you do to him?”

“Not to him,” Sal
said.
 
“To his brother.”

“His brother?”

“My father.”
 
Then he looked at Tommy.
 
“Our father.”

Gemma shook her
head.
 
“I don’t understand.”

“He got Patty out of
prison as a way to loop me in.
 
Will and
Chazz, you see, used to work for Patty back in the day.
 
They were loyal to him.
 
When he went away, I kept them around,
throwing odd jobs their way every now and then.
 
When Patty got out, he claimed he wanted money, so he could get lost.”

“And you gave it to him?”
Gemma asked.

Sal wasn’t going to lie
to her.
 
“Yes,” he said.

Gemma stared at him.
 
She was taken aback.
 
She was an attorney, yet her boyfriend was just
admitting to her that he had aided and abetted a fugitive from justice.
 
A fugitive that had the FBI on his trail!

“I never dreamed he was
hooking up with the enemy,” Sal went on.

“Which means,” Tommy
said, “Will and Chazz were probably working for Fab Menza too.”

“And Fab undoubtedly set
up that ambush to see how you would react to one,” Reno added.

What ambush
, Gemma wanted to ask, but she didn’t.
 
It was already too much.
 

“They were trying to
claim Danny Bronco sat it up,” Sal said, “but that was just shiny object they
threw my way to distract me.”

“But I still don’t
understand, Sal,” she said instead.
 
“Why
would your uncle want revenge on you?”

“He’s avenging my
father’s death.
 
That’s the only thing it
can be.
 
That’s the only way he would be involved
in this.”

Now it was even more
confusing to Gemma.
 
And she hated being
so confused like this.
 
“But I thought
your father was the victim of a random act of violence.
 
At least that’s what you told me.”

Sal glanced at Tommy.

“That’s the official version,”
Tommy said.

“But not the true
version?” Gemma asked.

Sal nodded.
 
“Not the true version,” he said.

Gemma knew this was going
to be bad.
 
She could feel it in her
bones.
 
“What’s the true version?”

Tommy stood up and walked
toward the window.
 
He remembered it as
if it happened an hour ago.
 
Grace, his
wife, a woman he did everything in his power to shield from the dark side of
his life, witnessed it too.
 

Gemma saw Tommy get up,
and he saw the concern on Reno’s face.
 
This was bad.
 
“What’s the true
version, Sal?” she asked him.

“Truth is,” Sal said, “I
had to ice my father.”

Gemma’s heart
dropped.
 
Her entire countenance
changed.
 
“
What
?” she asked, completely dumbstruck.

“I had to kill him,
Gem.
 
And I couldn’t tell you about it
because it wasn’t just about me.”

“It was our old man,”
Tommy said, turning toward her, “or me.
 
That was the deal and there were no two ways about it.
 
Sal either had to kill our father, or let our
father kill me.
 
That’s what it came down
to.”

“And I’d ice that
motherfucker again,” Sal said boldly, “if I had to.”

But that bold
pronouncement only made Tommy feel worse.
 
Sal bore so many burdens.
 
Now he
had to bear that one too.
 
Tommy turned
back to the window.

“He did what he had to
do,” Reno said to Gemma.
 
“We Gabrinis,
the three of us here, we aren’t cold blooded killers, Gemma.
 
That ain’t us.
 
But we’ll kill with the best of them if they
force us.
 
Uncle Benny forced Sal.
 
He had to do it.
 
Like Tommy said, there’s no two ways about
that.
 
He had to do it.”

“But why?” Gemma asked,
looking at Sal now.
 
“What did your
father do that would cause you to have to go there?”

“He pulled a gun on
Tommy,” Sal said, “when Tommy told on him.”

Gemma hesitated.
 
“Told what on him?”
 

Sal looked at Tommy,
which caused Gemma to look too.
 
Tommy
didn’t turn around.

“About his love for me,”
Tommy said and then turned around.
 
He
was actually trying to smile it off.
 
But
it was a smile filled with pain.

Tommy continued.
 
“I told Sal all about our father’s great, wonderful,
inappropriate, wrong, hateful, evil love for me.”

Gemma stared at
Tommy.
 
At first, she only heard the word
love.
 
But then she realized the other
words.
 
Wrong, hateful, evil love
.
 
And tears suddenly appeared in her eyes.
 
She could see little Tommy back then.
 
He was so beautiful now, she could only imagine how beautiful he looked
back then.
 
She could see that beautiful
blonde boy with the sometimes green, sometimes blue, always beautiful
eyes.
 
She could see all kinds of
predators preying on him.
 
But his own
father?

“And our father couldn’t
bear it,” Tommy continued.
 
“So he tried
to silence me.
 
Just as he had silenced
me my entire life.
 
But Sal,” Tommy said,
looking at his brother with an undying love, “saved my voice.
 
He wouldn’t allow our father to get the last
word.”

Gemma looked at Sal.
 
Oh the burden of that, she thought.
 
And she went to him, got on his lap, and held
him.
 
She knew he should have told her
when it first happened.
 
It was Tommy’s
story, she knew, but it was Sal’s too.
 
Sal had to do the dirty work.
 
As
usual.

Tommy turned back toward
the window.
 
Reno headed for the bar,
wiping away a tear as he did.
 

And that was the last
they said about that.

And then two hours later,
they got the call from Patty Pacheco.

SEVENTEEN

“I
can’t see why I have to go back to Vegas, Sal,” Gemma said to him as they stood
on Reno’s plane.
  
Reno was also on the
plane, making phone calls.
 
Tommy was
waiting at the car.
 
He and Sal were
remaining in Seattle, to await the call back from Patty.

Sal
had her in his arms.
 
“I have to know
you’re safe,” he said, holding her tightly.
 
“With Reno, at the PaLargio, you’ll be safe.”

“But
why does Patty Pacheco want to meet with you?”

“He
says he knows who iced Will and Chazz.”

“But
I thought Zoo said Patty killed them.”
 

Sal
almost smiled at how easily she was adjusting to his other life.
 
She was even remembering the names.
 
“I know that,” he said.
 
“But Patty don’t know I know it.
 
I have to keep it that way.”

Gemma
still felt uneasy.
 
“But what if Zoo is
working for Patty too, just like he’s claiming Will and Chazz worked for him?”

“Zoo
don’t work for Patty.
 
For Fab Menza
either.”

“But
how do you know that, Sal?
 
He could be
double-crossing you like Will and Chazz did.
 
How do you know he’s not?”

“Because
I know it.
 
Zoo’s the slime of the earth
to guys like them, and Zoo feels likewise about them.”

“Why
would they think he’s the slime of the earth?”

“Because.
 
He’s different.”

“Different
how?”

“Different.
 
Maybe one day you’ll meet him.
 
But right now, I want you to forget about all
of that, go back to Vegas, and wait until I come to get you.”

Get her
, Gemma wondered.
 
And take her where?
 
She lived in Vegas.

He
kissed her.
 
“Behave yourself,” he said.

Gemma
smiled.
 
“I’m going to have three men,
waiting on me hand and foot, if you take too long.”

Sal
slapped her on the behind.
 
Very
hard.
 
Reno smiled, but didn’t look
up.
 
“They’d better not let me see them,”
he said.
 
Then his look turned
serious.
 
“I love you, Gemma Jones,” he
said.

“I
love you, too, Sal Gabrini,” she said.

Powerful
words, for both of them.

And
then Sal left the plane and made his way to Tommy’s waiting Corvette.
 

When
he got in, Tommy began pulling off.
 
“She’s okay?” he asked as he left.

“She’ll
be okay.”
 
Sal, however, was looking
toward the plane as it continued to warm up on the runway.

“I
take it there’s no word from Patty,” Tommy said as he drove.

“No
word.
 
Nothing.”

Then
Tommy looked at his brother.
 
“What do
you think he’s up to?”

“He’s
fronting for Fabio.
 
They’re cooking up
some scheme.” Then Sal’s phone began to ring.
 
He put it on Speaker as he quickly answered.
 
“This is Sal,” he said.

“I
want three million,” Patty said.

Tommy
and Sal looked at each other.
 
“Then go
get it,” Sal replied.

“I
want it from you, asshole.
 
You have one
day to get it together.
 
I’ll call you
back.”

“Are
you out of your fucking mind?” Sal asked.
 
“On what planet would I give you that kind of dough?
 
I already gave you all I’m giving you,
Pattyboy.
 
I’m not giving you a dime
more.”

“Yes,
you are,” Patty said confidently.
 
“And I
have two reasons why.”

“Oh,
yeah?
 
And what would those two reasons
be?”

There
was a long pause.

“What?”
Sal asked.

“Rodney
Jones, and Cassie Jones.”

Sal’s
heart dropped through his shoe.
 
Tommy
frowned. Who the hell were Rodney Jones and Cassie Jones?

“Yeah,”
Patty said, laughter in his voice.
 
“I’ll
bet that got your attention.”

Sal
held the phone with two hands.
 
“What are
you saying, Patty?”

“I’m
saying I have your woman’s parents, Sal.”
 

Tommy’s
heart pounded against his chest.
 
Sal
immediately motioned for Tommy to turn the car around.
 
Tommy slammed on brakes and turned his
Corvette so fast that they swerved before course correction.
 

“You
expect me to believe something like that?” Sal was asking, to stall Patty.

“You
asked me a question,” Patty said.
 
“I
gave you an answer.”

Tommy
pulled out his cell phone and began to call Reno.

Sal
took his own cell phone off of Speaker.
 
“But what kind of answer is that?” Sal said to Patty.
 
“You expect to tell me you have the Joneses
and you just expect me to believe it?
 
How do I even know they’re with you?”

“Still
grounded?” Tommy asked Reno when he came on the line.

“Yeah.
 
Why?”

“Stay
there.
 
We need Gemma.”

“Answer
that, Patty,” Sal was saying as Tommy killed his call.
 
“How do I know you have them?”

“Because
I told you so!” Patty responded.
 
“Why
would I lie about a thing like that?”

“Because
you’re a liar and you lie about everything!”

“Yeah,
you’re right.
 
I lied for your ass,
didn’t I?”

“Proof
of life, Patty.
 
I gotta have proof that
they’re with you and are alive and well.
 
Proof of life, or you get nothing from me.”

There
was a long pause on Patty’s end.
 
Tommy
was turning into the airstrip like a bat out of hell.
 
Reno and Gemma were already off of the plane
and were hurrying across the tarmac.

Patty
came back on the line.
 
“I’ll call you
back in two minutes.”

“With
proof of life?”

“Yeah,
bitch, damn!
 
Give me two minutes!”
 
And Patty’s line went dead.

Sal
and Tommy got out of the car just as Gemma and Reno ran up to them.
 
“What is it?” Gemma was asking.
 
“What happened?”

Sal’s
heart was still pounding.
 
He hated with
all that was within him to tell her this.
 
Even Reno was looking concerned.
 
He looked at Tommy.
 
Tommy shook
his head in distress.

“Sal,
what is it?” Gemma asked.
 
“Just tell
me!”

“They
have your folks, Gem,” he said, with agony in his voice.

Gemma
nearly fainted where she stood.
 
Sal and
Reno both reached for her.
 
But she was
able to stand.
 
“My parents?” she asked.
 
“What are you talking about?
  
Who has my parents?”

“Patty.
 
And Fab Menza no doubt.”

“But,”
she was looking around, searching for the reasons.
 

“Patty
wants three million dollars.
 
He claims
to have your parents in his custody, as his bargaining chip.”

“But that’s
not true.
 
That can’t be true!”
 

“You
spoke to them?” Tommy asked, hopeful.

Gemma
realized she hadn’t spoken to them since she and Sal left Indiana.
 
She quickly pulled out her cell phone and
called them.
 
Father first.
 
His phone went to Voice Mail.
 
Sal’s heart was still pounding as she phoned
her mother next.
 
Her phone too, went to
Voice Mail.
 
Then Sal’s phone rang.

“Yes?”
he said, answering it quickly.
 
It was
Patty.
 
Sal put the phone on
Speaker.
 

“Say
hello to Rodney and Cassie Jones,” Patty said.

Gemma
was holding onto Sal so tightly that she was squeezing the life out of him.

“This
is Rodney Jones,” a voice said.
 
All
three Gabrini men looked at Gemma.
 
Her
reaction alone made it absolutely clear that that was indeed her father’s
voice.

“Daddy?”
she said, her face crushed with pain.

“They
have me and your mother, sweetheart,” Rodney Jones said.
 
“They broke into the house and forced us to
come with them.”
 
Gemma covered her
mouth.

“Have
you or your wife been harmed, Mr. Jones?” Sal asked.
 

“Physically,
no.
 
Is this Salvatore?”

Sal’s
heart was breaking.
 
“Yes, sir,” he said.

“Friends
of yours?”

Sal
nearly buckled.
 
Rodney was concerned
about his associations when they spoke in Indiana.
 
Now it was obvious that he knew what he was
talking about.
 
He had every right to be
concerned.
 
“Yes, sir,” Sal said.

“You
keep my daughter safe,” Rodney ordered, but the phone was apparently snatched
from his hand.
 

“Satisfied
asshole?” Patty asked.
 
“Have the money
ready by tomorrow morning.
 
I’ll call you
back with the particulars.
 
And it goes
without saying: No cops.
 
No Feds. No
nobody.”
 
Then Patty killed the call.

And
Gemma, drained as if life itself had just seeped out of her, slumped against
her man.

Sal
got in bed with Gemma and held her in his arms.
 
She had been in tears ever since they returned to the penthouse, but she
finally, after nearly three long hours, fell asleep.
 
Now Sal was making sure she was in her deepest
sleep, before he got up.

He
stared at her as she slept.
 
What he
loved so much about her was the way she didn’t ask him any questions.
 
He knew she had many.
 
From how in the world was he going to get her
parents out of such a jam, to where would the three million dollars come
from.
 
But she didn’t ask any of
that.
 
She was relying on him now.
 
This was too big now, too terrifying to even
think about.
 
She had to rely on
him.
 

When
they made it back to the penthouse, she only had five words to say to him.
 
Don’t
let them die, Sal
, was all she said.
 

Don’t let them die, Sal.

And if
it took his last breath, he was going to do exactly what she told him to
do.
 
Her parents were not going to
die.
 
Not on his watch.
 
Not because of his associations.

He
eased out of bed as she continued to sleep.
 
She was in a deep sleep now.
 
It
didn’t hurt that he had slipped a micky, a sleeping pill, in her drink, but he
couldn’t bear to let her experience all of that pain in total
consciousness.
 
Now she was sleep. Now he
was downstairs, getting ready to go.

After
getting strapped in, with guns on the back of either calf, guns on either side,
guns in either pocket, then he opened the briefcase.
 
The money was there, delivered to him by
Tommy himself, just in case they had misread Patty’s reasoning and the money, not
revenge, was, in fact, what this was about.
 
They couldn’t come up short.
 
Sal
suspected it was a little of both, but he was willing to guarantee it was
revenge that was driving Fabio.

“According
to Patty’s call-back,” Reno said, “he’s supposed to send a car for you tomorrow
morning at eight a.m.
 
Although there’s a
tracker in the lining of this briefcase, and in the lining of your suit, your
pants, and even your fucking underwear, we still aren’t taking any
chances.
 
We’ll have our men position on
every block near the Wingate by six a.m.”