Tommy Gabrini 3: Grace Under Fire (The Gabrini Men Series) (17 page)

FOURTEEN

The
plane landed in Seattle and Reno and Trina Gabrini, and their eldest son Jimmy
Mack, made their way across the tarmac.
 
Sal was standing next to the waiting limousine, his dark shades on, his
heart still recovering from the shock he felt when he realized it was Grace’s
car that had gone over that embankment.
 
And Tommy was the man who had covered her in the midst of that
explosion.
 

Reno
and Trina were in shock too, when they finally got the word, and hurried to
Seattle.

Now
they were here, with Jimmy, and as soon as Jimmy saw his uncle, he broke free
from his parents’ side and ran to him.
 
Sal gathered his favorite relative into his arms and held him tightly.
 

“You
okay, unc?” Jimmy asked him, still holding him.

Sal
nodded.
 
“I’m okay,” he said.
 
Then Reno and Trina came up too.

“Thanks
for coming, Tree,” Sal said to her as they kissed and warmly embraced.

When
they stopped embracing, Trina asked about Sal’s girlfriend.
 
“I heard that Gemma’s already here?
 
Is that right?”

“It’s
right,” Sal said.
 
“She was already in
town visiting me when it first happened.”

Trina
shook her head.
 
“Crying shame.
 
To go from such a lovely trip to Paris, and
to come home to this.
 
It’s a shame.”

Reno
and Sal were now face to face, with Sal expecting no kindnesses from him at
all.
 
He, in fact, fully expected Reno to
quickly want to know how Tommy was holding up.

But
Reno gave him yet another shock by actually hugging him.
 
He and Reno argued and fought more than they
ever hugged and played nice.
 
Then Reno
asked: “How have you been holding up?” And Sal’s shock was complete.
 
Who was
this imposter
, he wanted to know.

“I’m
holding up,” Sal got over his shock and responded.
  
“Thanks for asking.”

“Reno
said a female caused all this trouble,” Trina said.

“He’s
right,” Sal said.
 
Alex Dawse.
 
She’s one of Tommy’s ex’s.”

“You
met her before?”

“A
couple times.
 
Some young chick.
 
Stuck up.
 
Thinks she rules the world.
 
The
only thing she had going for her was a good piece of ass.”

“What
about Tommy?” Reno asked.
 
“How’s he
doing?

A
wary look appeared in Sal’s deep blue eyes.
 
“He’s Tommy,” he said.
 
“Playing
it cool.
 
But he’s pretty beat up about
it.”

“Oh,
I can only imagine,” Trina said, already feeling his pain.
 
“As much as he loves Grace?
 
He gave up so much, his entire lifestyle, to
be with her.
 
He loves that woman.
 
He has to be shattered.”

And
shattered was the word for it, Trina thought, when they all arrived at Tommy’s
estate and greeted him.
 
His hair was all
over his head, his face was unshaven, and his usually lively, enlightened eyes
looked drained of even a pretense at sharpness.
 
This was not the Dapper Tom they knew.
 
Although, and Reno was not surprised, he was still dressed immaculately
in what looked like a Ralph Lauren get-up of pleated pants and a Cardigan.

After
a series of greetings, Trina took off in the bedroom and the men settled in the
living room.
 
Reno sat beside Tommy on
the sofa, with his arm around him, and Jimmy sat on the arm of the chair Sal
was sitting in.
 
They all were quiet,
with none of them, with the exception of maybe Reno, particularly affectionate
men.
 
They needed the silence to ease the
realization of just how close they came to absolute disaster.

In
the master bedroom upstairs, Trina and Sal’s girlfriend, Gemma Jones, were
holding what felt like a vigil at Grace’s bedside.

Grace
was sitting up in bed.
 
Other than the
concussion she suffered, the doctors had, remarkably, given her a clean bill of
health.
 
She was fine, they said.
 
But Trina and Gemma both knew better.
 
She was fine, all right, except for that
undeniable terror still in her big, bright eyes.

Gemma
stood at the window looking out, and Trina sat on the side of the bed with
Grace.
 
For the longest time not a word was
being spoken.
 
But for Trina and Gemma,
who had been there themselves, they knew exactly how Grace felt.
 
Especially Trina.
 
Who, ever since she hooked up with Reno, had
seen it all and then some.

She
placed her hand on the side of Grace’s pretty face.
 
Grace looked at her.
 

“The
answer is yes,” Trina finally said to the younger woman.
 
“It will get better.”

Grace
nodded.
 
“I know.
 
It’s just . . .”
 
Grace attempted to smile.
 
“It’s not easy.”

“Oh,
don’t let me mislead you,” Trina made clear.
 
“It’s definitely not easy.
 
And
yes, it will get better.
 
But then it’s
going to get worse again, and then better again, and then worse again.
 
Sad, but true.
 
It’s all a part of being a Gabrini.”

Gemma
smiled.
 
“A rollercoaster ride,” she
said.

Trina
thought about it.
 
“I guess you can look
at it that way,” she said.

“You
don’t?” Grace asked.

“No.
 
The highs are high, yes, but in my book, even
the lows are high because Reno’s there.
 
And I’m with him.
 
And that’s all
that matters to me.”

Gemma
and Grace both stared at Trina.
 
“Even
though you have small children?” Grace asked.

Trina
frowned.
 
“Even though I have small
children, yes.
 
They’re Gabrinis too.”

“And
you still say it’s worth it?”

“Yes,
because Reno is their father.
 
It’s worth
it because Reno is my husband.
 
And even
though, because of our attachment to Reno, blood will be shed.
 
But it’s still worth it.”

Grace
exhaled.
 
She wasn’t there yet.
 
And Gemma was nowhere near there yet.
 
“I love Tommy,” Grace admitted.
 
“With everything within me, I love him.
 
But . . . I nearly died.
 
That foolish woman was willing to kill me
because Tommy chose me over her.
 
What’s
to say other women won’t do the same thing?
 
They feel as if, because they’re beautiful and successful and smart,
they’re entitled to Tommy.
 
What can I do
about that?”

“Hell
if I know,” Gemma said honestly.

Trina,
too, decided to be honest.
 
“Get out
while you can,” she said.

Grace
was surprised to hear such an answer.
 
Gemma was too.
  
“Get out?” Grace
asked, remembering that woman who had advised the same thing.

“You
asked what you can do.
 
That’s what you
can do.”

“I
told him I wanted some time away,” Grace admitted, “but that doesn’t mean I
want to leave him.”

“I
know that.
 
But you’re going to have to
make up your mind, Grace.
 
And I know I’m
one to talk, since I left Reno so many times, and he’s left me.
 
But this is different.
 
You’re early in your marriage.
 
You’re at a crossroads.
 
Which road you take is going to be
everything.
 
And if you aren’t willing to
understand the man you married, warts and all, and accept him unconditionally,
then you need to choose the right road and get out now.
 
That’s my advice to you.
 
It’s harsh, I know, but I’d rather you break Tommy’s
heart now, rather than break it later.
 
Later won’t work.
 
Not with Tommy.
 
Because later, we’ll kick your ass if you
hurt Tommy.”

Even
Grace had to smile at that.

“Reno
is the head of the Gabrini family,” Trina went on, “but he’s more of the
physical leader, the face of the family.
 
But Tommy is our silent leader.
 
He’s the man Reno turns to when he needs advice.”

“So
what does that make Sal?” Gemma asked with a smile.

“Sal,”
Trina said.
 
“He’s in a category all by
himself.”

Gemma
laughed.
 
“Let me go check on my unique
man,” she said, as she headed out of the bedroom.
 
“He’s my leader, how’s that?”

“That’ll
work too,” Trina said.
 

Then
she turned her attention back to Grace.

Sal
stood up as soon as Gemma came downstairs.
 
“You okay?” he asked her.

“I’m
good,” she said.
 
“How’s everybody down
here?”

“Somber
as hell,” Sal said and Jimmy and Gemma laughed.
 
“I thought I was down in the dumps before.
 
They just took me down lower.”

Even
Reno had to smile at that. Tommy wasn’t there yet.

Sal
placed his arm around her waist.
 
Gemma
was what Sal considered that rarest of females.
 
She was beautiful without trying to be, and she gave no excuses for any
part of her being.
 
She was extremely
dark-skinned, she had short hair that she wore in a natural, always fresh cut,
and she was tall and slender and everything Sal never thought he’d want in a
woman.
 
Before he fell in love with Gemma
Jones, he liked his women blonde and busty, or those biker chick/exotic dancer
types who were as bad as bad could be.
 
But Gemma was a smart, professional woman, an attorney, whose integrity
was unquestioned and who wasn’t about to compromise anything about herself to
please a man.
 
The man had to take her or
leave her, those were his choices.
 
Sal
took her and wasn’t about to let her go.

Reno
looked at her.
 
“How’s she doing now,
Gem?” Reno asked her.
 
Tommy looked at
her too.

“She’s
the same.
 
Physically she’s okay.
 
Thank God.”

“And
emotionally?” Reno asked.

Gemma
shook her head.
 
“Not so good.
 
It’s going to take time.”

Tommy
stood up, as if such a statement was objectionable to him.
 
He ran his hand through his thick hair and
began pacing the room.
  

Reno
looked at Sal.
 
Sal knew that look.

“Let’s
get some fresh coffee, guys,” Sal suggested to Gemma and Jimmy Mack.
 
Jimmy, no stranger to Reno’s silent orders
either, didn’t mix words.
 
They all
headed for the kitchen.

Reno
stood and walked over to Tommy, who was now staring out of the window.
 
“Don’t tell me it’s not my fault, Reno,”
Tommy insisted, “because it is.”

Reno
frowned.
 
“Damn right it is,” he said.

Tommy
looked at him.
 
That was why he loved
Reno so much.
 
He always told it to him
straight.

“Just
like it’s my fault whenever something happens to Trina.
 
We married these women, Tommy.
 
We selfishly brought them into our
world.
 
For me, it’s mob enemies.
 
For you, it’s women.
 
But it’s all the same thing.
 
Why do you think Sal hasn’t asked Gemma Jones
to marry him?
 
Why do you think he hasn’t
made her move here to Seattle with him?
 
Because Sal is the least selfish of us all.
 
So hell yeah it’s your fault.
 
That’s not the question.
 
What are you going to do about it is the
question.”