CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

One Week Later

Mick and Roz were still staying at Charles and Jenay’s. Their teenage twins had returned to school in Philly, with an extra layer of security around them, and the twins were staying at Teddy and Nikki’s house until their parents returned. But Mick knew, as soon as Deuce was introduced into this web, that it was unfinished business he had to finish once and for all. Because he knew somehow, when all was said and done, all the pain and heartache and carnage was going to be because of him. Because of shit from his past.

He also knew that if he didn’t hang around, Charles would play the lone wolf and try to get to the bottom of what really happened around Jenay’s shooting all on his own. Which could put him in more danger than he might realize. They came for Mick’s baby mamas. They even came for his wife and his brother’s wife in spectacular fashion. Now they were coming for his best friend. They weren’t coming for his brother too. Not if Mick had a say in it. And he did.

They were all sitting down at breakfast. Bonita, Donald, Carly, and Ashley, none of whom still lived in Jericho, all remained in town too. And Monk Paletti, who was on the phone with his wise guys most of the time as he put out fire after fire in his syndicate, remained in town too, as Ashley’s personal bodyguard. Everybody knew why. He genuinely believed that the family always gave Ashley the short end of the attention stick, and he didn’t want them focusing on other people and ignoring her, putting her at risk. They could ignore her all they wanted when he was around. Because he was her protector. But that was the only reason he stayed around.

Although breakfast at the Sinatra household had never been that big a deal, all of sudden, since Jenay’s return, all seven of their children came down for breakfast every single morning to eat and talk and hang out with their father and stepmother. Brent’s wife Makayla would show up sometimes when her work schedule permitted. Bobby’s lady would drop by sometimes too. Given the circumstances, they had no issue with their men spending all week at their parents’ home. But nobody knew how Samantha felt about it. They hadn’t seen her in a while.

“Where is she anyway, Tony?” Roz asked as she buttered her muffin. They were eating that familiar New England breakfast, Sinatra style, of kielbasa and eggs. “I haven’t seen her or her son all week.”

“She’s supposedly visiting her mother,” said Bobby. “Just like Sharon or Rachel or whatever his previous girlfriend’s name was who ended up visiting her mother or whomever she visited before she dumped him too.”

“Very funny, Bobby,” Tony said as Donald and Ashley laughed.

“I don’t understand it,” said Jenay. “Tony is a wonderful person. Great looking. Wealthy. What are the ladies not seeing?”

“It’s not the ladies, babe,” Charles said. “It’s Anthony. Sam, like all his previous girlfriends, want a ring on their finger. Tony drags his feet and drags his feet until they drag their feet right out of his life.” Charles looked his second-oldest child squarely in the eyes. “You need to do better.”

“It’s weird,” said Donald. “I always thought Tony would be the first one to get married because of his morals and all of that. But he’s in a competition with me to be the last. Even little Bo got more going for her in that department than he does.”

“My name is Bonita,” his baby sister said. “Stop calling me Bo. You don’t like it when we call you Donnie, do you?”

“Don’t matter to me,” said Donald. “Call me anything you want. Just pay me,” he added, and they laughed.

“Never thought I’d see the day,” said Mick. “A man who loved biker chicks now loves exploiting them for filthy lucre.”

“Not them,” said Donald, “but that biker culture. And you better believe I’m exploiting it. It’s a world I know. I’m playing to my strengths.”

Mick raised a glass of orange juice (spiced with liquor, according to Ashley) and took a sip. And then his phone began to ring.

When he looked and saw that it was his kid sister Amelia, he put it on Speaker. “Hey Millie.”

“Still in Jericho?”

“I am.”

“How’s Jenay?”

“Hello Millie,” Jenay said.

“Hey girl. You sound stronger and stronger every day.”

“Thanks to those doctors your husband employed, or deployed as the case may be,” she said to laughter. “I’m doing great.”

“Good. Good to hear it.”

“If you just wanted to check on Jenay, you would have called her phone,” said Charles. “What’s going on?”

“It’s Deuce, Mick.”

Mick held his breath. “What about him?” Roz asked.

“Hammer’s team brought him here. To Charlemagne.”

Everybody got quiet. They’d all heard about what happened a week ago at Deuce’s house. They all looked at Uncle Mick.

“Is he okay?” Mick asked, surprising all of them except for Roz.

“He’s fine. But I think you need to get here.”

Mick stood up. “I’m on my way,” he said.

Roz and Charles stood up too. “I’m going too,” Roz said.

“Same here,” said Charles.

“If you’re going,” Jenay said to Charles as she stood up, “so am I.”

There was heightened security all around Charles and Jenay’s house, but Charles looked to Monk. “Frankie, can you?”

Monk didn’t hesitate. He nodded his head. “I can stick around Jericho a little longer. Yes, sir.”

Charles shook his hand. He knew how big Monk was. He knew how he went out of his way to be there for Ashley. Monk Paletti, he’d long ago decided, was a very honorable man. He could not have asked for more in a son-in-law.

And then the two couples were off to Montreal.