Reno nodded. Tommy squeezed his neck.
But then Trina looked at Hammer and she hurried over to him and hugged his neck. “Thank you, Hammer, for caring. Thank you so much!”
Hammer could feel a swell of emotion come over him. And he quickly stood erect. “I’ve got to be in Bahrain. Goodbye everyone.”
Everybody thanked him and patted him on the back and said their goodbyes. Even Mick, who despised the Feds and Hammer as the leader of them, reached out and shook his hand too.
Hammer looked at Amelia, who was in tears as well. “Walk me to my car,” he said as he left. He didn’t wait around for her, which usually meant they weren’t on the best of terms. But she followed him out.
Then Trina looked at the immunity letter again. Then she looked at Reno again. And she fell into his loving arms and they cried together.
It was as if the weight of the entire world had been lifted from her small shoulders.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
A week later and Reno and Trina sat together on a lounger on their terrace just outside of the penthouse parlor. Dommi sat in a chair beside them, while Sal and Gemma and Monk and Ashley sat on the terrace too.
Ashley removed Monk’s fedora hat he always wore and put it on her own head, which allowed everybody to see just how thick and beautiful Monk’s dark hair truly was.
“If I had hair like yours,” Sal said to Monk, “no way would I be hiding it beneath a hat all the time like you do.”
“But that’s always been Frankie,” said Reno. “He don’t give a shit about that. He’s got hair that’s better-looking than most ladies’ hair. He’s got those big-ass eyes that’s better-looking than most ladies’ eyes. But he’s still so … somonkish.”
They all laughed. They were sipping wine and watched as the Vegas skyline sparkled in flashing lights over the Strip. Sharpshooters were on the roof just in case an attack was launched, and they had their own drones ready to go if needed. It was a safe space.
Reno answered two phone calls back-to-back as they continued to small talk. Then he ended the last call.
“Who was that?” Trina asked him.
“The first call was from Tommy. The second call was from Big Daddy. They both wanted to know if we needed them to come back to town. But I told them nope. We still haven’t found Rats.”
“You should have told them we aren’t even needed the way Uncle Mick was going about it,” said Sal. “The way he dropped us off like we’re little kids.”
“I still can’t get over how he lied about Rats being a member of that club or whatever it is,” Reno said. “And you’re right. He did drop us off so he could go it alone to find Rats. As if we would slow him down.”
“It’s because Rats is a member of Fort Knots,” said Monk. “He has protection. Since Mick owns it, he’s the only one can break down that wall of protection. That’s why he had to go it alone. But he has to find him first.”
They looked at Monk. “How come you know so much about it, Frankie?” Reno asked him. “Are you a member?”
“No, Uncle Reno,” said Ashley. “Frankie doesn’t need to be a member. It’s not for mob or even mob-adjacent people. It’s for regular people.”
“Then how come Rats is a member, Miss Know-it-All, when he’s all mob?” Reno asked her.
Ashley looked puzzled. “Who’s Rats?”
Reno realized she had no business knowing any of it. “And how would you know anything about Fort Knots anyway?” Reno looked at Monk. “You let her sit in on discussions of that magnitude, Frankie?”
“It depends on the discussion,” said Monk. “But no. I would not have allowed her to sit in on that level of conversation.”
“Then why is she here right now?” asked Sal.
“Because she already knows about it,” said Monk.
“How?” asked Reno.
“I am a Sinatra you know,” said Ashley. “I hear a lot. Especially from Auntie Amelia.”
Reno shook his head. “That Millie is gonna be the death of all of us one day with her big mouth. But since this is myhouse, and since we’re talking about certain things and certain other things, you hearing a lot won’t work here. So Ashley?”
