CHAPTER EIGHT

Reno Gabrini slid onto a booth seat at The Rockston restaurant in southwest Vegas where an attractive woman in her thirties sat in the same booth across from him.

“That took you long enough,” she said just as he was about to drink from his beer mug.

But Reno stopped and looked at her. “What are you my prison guard? I had to pee. It took as long as it needed to take.”

“Keep your shirt on, Reno. I didn’t mean nothing by it.”

“Then cut out the commentary.” He slid further over until he was in the center of the booth seat. “Did you get what I told you to get?”

She took a sip of her beer.

Reno frowned. “Well did you?”

“When we gonna go public, Reno?”

“What did I say Bianca?”

“That’s the only way I’ll get any respect. I don’t want people thinking I’m a whore like that, or that you don’t care nothing about me.”

“What did I say?” Reno asked her again.

Bianca didn’t want to admit it. But she knew she had to. “You said you had to get some things settled first. But I don’t like the way people look at me.”

Reno frowned. “What are you worried about people for? Are they paying your bills?”

“No.You are.”

“Are they putting food on your table?”

“No.You are.”

“Then fuck’em! You just do what I told you to do.” Reno’s phone began ringing. When he pulled it out and saw that his cousin Sal was on the other line, he answered. “I’m busy, Sal.”

“I was in a meeting. I just got out and saw all these missed calls from Dommi.”

“Dommi? What’s he calling you about?”

“He said Tree knows about your woman and is on her way to The Rockston.”

Reno was floored. “ What ?”

“She’s probably there by now. He said he wanted me to get over there to stop her from killing you.”

“Dammit, why didn’t Dom call me?” Reno hurriedly tried to slide back out of the booth to get out of there, but when he looked over at the entrance, he saw that Trina had already eyed him and was hurrying to his table. “Ah shit!” he said.

“What is it?” Bianca asked.

“Don’t you say a word,” Reno said to her firmly. “I don’t care what she says to you, you’d better not say a word!”

“Who is it?” Bianca asked.

Reno watched as Trina made her way toward him, her long, wavy hair bouncing against her back, her body sleek and proud as if she was tired of having to run behind him and stoop to his level every time there was some bimbo eruption. When she was in that zone, he knew there was no talking to her. There was no reasoning with her. There was nothing but fire. He resigned himself to do his best to not fuel the flames.

“What are you doing here, Trina?” Reno asked her as soon as she walked up to his booth. He didn’t realize his oldest son Jimmy was right behind her until he walked up too.

But Trina was staring at the younger woman. “What are you doing here?” she asked her husband without taking her eyes off of the woman she saw as her competition.

“I’m having a business meeting,” Reno said.

Trina looked down at the lowcut top and miniskirt the woman wore. Then she looked at Reno. “What kind of business, Reno? Bed business?”

“It’s not so bad. I might actually turn a profit.”

Even Jimmy looked at his father. He thought Trina said bad not bed . But how could he think that? Then Jimmy saw the concern in his father’s blue eyes. He didn’t think it.

“Who are they, Reno?” Bianca asked him even though he told her not to say a word.

Reno knew he had to answer. “Bianca, this is my oldest boy Jimmy Sinatra, and my wife Katrina.”

Jimmy and Trina quickly looked at the woman when Reno said the word wife. Bianca was about to take another sip from her beer mug, but she sat it back down as if that was news to her.

“And who is this?” Trina asked.

“I told you we were in business together.”

“And what’s the business? Gardening tools? Like a rake. Like a shovel. Like a hoe ?”

When Trina said the word hoe, Bianca jumped up from her seat and tried to swing hard on Trina. Reno’s heart dropped as he jumped up, grabbed Bianca by her arms and flung her back down onto her booth seat. Jimmy had already wrapped his arms around Trina’s waist to prevent her from going for the girl.

“Are you out of your fucking mind?” Reno yelled at Bianca. “I told you that was my wife!”

Trina looked at Bianca. But Bianca was staring at Reno with tears in her eyes. And then she grabbed her purse, got up, and ran out of there, bumping past Trina and Jimmy as she ran.

But Trina looked at Reno. Why would she fight that woman when the woman was obviously being played too?

“It’s not what you think,” Reno said to Trina.

“Fuck you, Reno,” Trina said and began leaving.

“Tree wait!” He got up. “Trina!” He reached for her but missed. He then hurried to her, grabbed her by the arm and turned her around in the busy restaurant. “You’re going to hear me out,” he demanded.

But Trina violently snatched away from his grasp, looked her dark, hazel eyes squarely into his bright blue eyes, with that pain so searing in her eyes that it stunned Reno. And then she walked away.

Jimmy looked at his father with a look of disappointment and disgust, then he hurried behind his stepmother.

Reno was shaken standing there, as he ran his hands through his already messy hair. A group of nearby patrons, who had witnessed the scene, were staring at him. He frowned. “What the fuck you looking at?” he barked at them. Reno was well-known in town. Was voted the King of Vegas more times than even Reno could count. They knew his pedigree – including his criminality. They all looked away.