Then Von said what he really wanted to ask. “To save yours?”
Trina looked at Von and her face turned even more anguished. “Yes,” she said as tears appeared in her eyes. “He would do that for me, yes. That’s the worst part of this. He’s done it for me before.”
Von frowned. “What do you mean?”
“He had to choose which one would die: me or Dominic, who was a baby at the time, or his son Jimmy. Sophie and Carmine weren’t even born yet. But Reno chose Jimmy to die and not me.”
Von leaned back in shock. “Hewhat? How could he choose his own son?”
“He begged them to take him out. He begged them. But they wouldn’t do it. He had three choices and only those three choices: I had to die, Dommi had to die, or Jimmy had to die. And he chose Jimmy.”
“What was he thinking?”
“He was certain they were going to take him out anyway and Dommi would be without a mother and a father. That’s why he said he let me live. But everybody said I would have been the last one he chose anyway.”
Then she looked at Von. “And you’re asking me if he’ll make that sacrifice for me? Yes, he would. But I’ll never let that happen again. I was helpless before. I’m not helpless anymore.”
“So what do you plan on doing?”
Trina had a plan. She had a plan to go to Mick Sinatra. But she wasn’t about to tell him or anybody else about that plan.
When Trina didn’t answer him, he sighed. “We can’t keep saying no to these people, Tree.”
“I know that. You don’t think I don’t know that?”
“So what’s the plan? What are we going to do about it?”
“Did they give you a deadline?”
“Not yet. But I’m sure one’s coming.”
“Then call me when they give one,” Trina said as she began standing up.
“And in the meantime?”
“Keep living our life. That’s all we can do. And call me when they contact you.”
“Will do,” said Von. “But Tree?”
Trina looked at him.
“Why are they contacting me? You ever thought about that? How would they even know I knew about it?”
A distressed look came over her face. “You came over that night, remember? I cried in your arms.”
And one thing led to another thing, he wanted her to add, but she didn’t.
“Maybe they put two and two together,” she said. Then her face scrunched up. “I don’t know. That’s the worst part about it. I don’t even know who these people are. But anyway,” she said as she gave him a hug goodbye. And then she left.
Von watched her leave while his very soul was begging her to stay. He almost got up, ran to her, and told her how he truly felt. But he didn’t make any such move.
But it was only a matter of time.
Trina wondered about Von, too, as she was leaving. She always wondered why was it that they were contacting him instead of her directly. Or was he the contact? Was he the one pulling this shit?
She even had the private eye firm of Mick Sinatra’s half-sister Amelia Sinatra check him out without telling Amelia why.But he came back clean as a whistle. No alarm bells whatsoever. Yet it still bothered Trina. She was missing something that was right in front of her. That was the feeling.
But as soon as she walked out of that diner and saw Reno getting out of his Porsche and then walking straight for her, she realized that that feeling might have had nothing to do with Von at all. And everything to do with Reno. Because Reno, even from a distance, looked pissed.
