Page 29 of Trina Gabrini: Bring Him Back Home to Me

Trina’s face looked like pure distress. “What’s going on, Sal? Why did Reno leave me and our children? Why would he do that to us? He’s been in mob wars before that didn’t force him to leave us. You’ve got to tell me something or I’ll just die! Please, Sal.”

Sal’s heart dropped when Trina sat up there begging him. He couldn’t recall the last time he’d seen her so distressed.

But this was bigger than her. And him. And Reno too. “Reno will have to tell you,” he said again.

It was heartbreaking to Trina. And it was no longer just the fact that Reno had left her and the children. But that Sal couldn’t even say why. That was the scary part. That was the part that made her suddenly clam up and stop asking questions. She wasn’t at all sure if she wanted to know the answers.

And when Sal began moving around the room on his phone, giving new orders to bring the families to the PaLargio, and for every available man to find Reno or Lydia or both, Trina let him handle it.

But they already knew Tommy was bringing his family with him regardless. He always did.

But when Sal looked over at his wife and saw her exhaustion, he interrupted his own phone call. “Go to bed, Gemma. You’ve got to give your opening statement in court in a few hours. You’ll fall on your face in front of that jury if you don’t get some sleep. I’ll wake you up in time.”

As if he didn’t have enough to manage, Gemma thought. But she knew he was right. She had clients that were depending on her.

She hugged Trina’s neck, kissed Sal, and went to the first guest room she came to and fell on the bed. She was exhausted.

Three hours later, everything changed. Sal went personally to bring his stepdaughter Maria, along with his son and baby to the penthouse to put them under lockdown too. Gemma had awakened an hour after that and had taken her shower, dressed in her smart dark-blue skirt-suit, and had grabbed her brief case and, under heavy guard, left for court. Tommy Gabrini had flown in from Seattle with his wife and their children and all of the young people were in the back family room with the Gabrini children.

And when all of that activity had finally died down into an awkward, tense-filled quietness, Robby Yale, Sal’s highly-trusted second-in-command, burst into the penthouse with the kind of news nobody had expected to hear so soon: “We found her, Boss,” he said excitedly.

“Found who?” Trina asked as she, Sal, Tommy and Grace all looked at Robby.

“We found Lydia Vatelli,” Robby said. And everybody, especially Trina, flew to their feet.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

When Robby gave the news that they found Lydia Vatelli, Sal called Jimmy and Dom into the living room, although young Carmine came with them, and ordered them to be in charge of the family. Nobody was allowed to leave the penthouse until they returned. “If there’s an executive decision that has to be made in our absence,” Sal said, “then Jimmy makes the call. Do I make myself clear, Dominic?”

Dom didn’t like it. He had far more mob experience than Corporate Jimmy had, and he was currently a sheriff of an entire (albeit small) town. But Dom had matured. This was no time for turf wars. He just wanted his father safely back home. “It’s clear,” he said.

But when Sal saw Trina heading for the exit, he pulled her back by the arm. “Hold on,” he said. “Where you think you’re going?”

“I’m going to talk to this woman,” Trina responded.

“Like hell you are!”

“Don’t even try that with me, Sal,” Trina said with determination in her eyes. “I want to hear from her what’s happening because you won’t tell me what you know!”

“But Trina, you can’t go with them,” Grace said.

“I have to go, Grace! You didn’t see Reno. He said he wants a divorce. I’ve got to talk to this woman to save my family!”

Grace’s heart went out to Trina. She looked at Tommy.

But Sal was adamant. “There is no way in hell I’m letting you go on this kind of hunt.”

“You aren’t letting me? You don’t control me, Sal Luca! Who do you think you are?”

Trina snatched away from Sal and began hurrying for the exit again.

But Jimmy and Dom hurried to her. “Ma, you can’t go,” Jimmy was pleading with her.

“They may have to fight it out, Ma,” said Dom.

“Like I can’t fight. I’m better than half of those capos in Sal’s organization and he’s knows it!”

“But Ma,” said Dom. “You can’t go.”