But there was no match. Sal and his men were already firing before Lolo and his men were ready for the blowback. Reno laid on top of Trina firing too.
Reno, with a barrage of bullets, took out Lolo as he tried to escape out of a back door, while Sal and his capos took out Lolo’s capos.
When the smoke cleared, the only person remaining alive of the Arvanatti crew was Kasi. And that was by design.
Reno got up and hurried to her. And even though terror was in her eyes and she immediately placed her hands in the air, Reno put his gun to her head. “You have one second, bitch, to tell me where you have my son!”
But she was crying and shaking her head. “I don’t know. My father didn’t tell me this was going to happen. He didn’t tell me Rats Scorvino in Fort Knots was all a lie.”
“Where’s my son?!” Reno screamed at her.
“I don’t know,” she said again. “I’m not lying to you, Mr. Gabrini. I don’t know!”
Her eyes told Reno she was telling the truth. He looked at Sal. And that was when they both realized that if Lolo was lying about Scorvino snatching Dommi, then that would mean?
“His ass snatched Dommi,” Reno said. Then he looked at Kasi. “Did your father want Dominic as the head of the family?”
Kasi shook her head. “No. He was going around telling people he didn’t want it, but he wanted it for himself. But the syndicate voted him down. They wanted Dom to lead them. He had no choice but to accept it.”
“Only his ass didn’t accept it,” Sal said.
“But that would mean,” Trina said as if she was still thinking it through.
“That would mean what?” Reno asked her.
“If her father abducted Dommi, then that would mean when he came to Vegas, he had to have taken Dommi with him. For leverage. Which means Dommi is with him.”
Reno and Sal looked at each other. And then they took off running out of the small room.
“Wait your ass in here, Tree,” Reno ordered as he was running out. “Robby, guard Lolo’s daughter and don’t let my wife out of your sight!”
“Yes sir,” Robby said.
Reno, Sal, and the rest of Sal’s capos began running from store to store inside that vacant strip mall. It took several stores and the opening of even more doors before Reno and Sal finally opened the right door.
And there he was, sitting in a closet in what used to be a shoe store, was Dominic Gabrini, Junior: Reno’s son. Tied up and gagged.
Reno’s heart finally began to go back into a normal rhythm as Sal quickly removed Dommi’s gag.
Dommi looked at his father as if he was the most entitled young man on the planet. “What took you so long, Pop?” he asked him.
Reno’s heart had been hammering so fast, and with such ferocious fear, that he leaned against the wall and then slid down to the floor to prevent himself from stroking out.
By the time Sal yelled for Trina to come, and Trina ran into that room, too, Reno was still on that floor just trying to regain some semblance of steadiness. All he could do was watch as Trina ran to Dommi, fell down on her knees, and held her son.
The satisfaction of seeing his son and wife together again steadied him, and his hammering heart began to ease. And although Reno was willing to wait, Dommi’s ass was nowhere near off the hook. A mob boss? What the fuck! Reno was still getting over that shit.
Dommi was telling his mother everything was alright while he held her tightly, as if everything was hunky-dory. But Reno still saw the fear in Dommi’s eyes. He still saw the little boy in that supposedly big man.
He had a load of explaining to do.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Quiet desperation hung over the room as Reno sat behind his office desk at the PaLargio. Sal and Trina sat in the chairs in front of the desk, while Sal’s big brother Tommy Gabrini, who had flown in from Seattle as soon as he heard the news, was leaned against the side wall standing beside Jimmy. Nobody said a word for several minutes because they all seemed to be in a shellshocked stupor. They just couldn’t believe it.
Until Dominic walked into that office and everybody turned and looked at him.
He had showered and changed and wore a double-breasted suit not unlike the kind favored by Sal, and he entered with his two capos at his side. He entered, even Reno would acknowledge, looking like a boss. That sheriff, good old boy façade was gone. He walked in like he was the man and there was no doubt about it. He was now that Dommi that Reno and Trina always feared he’d become.
