CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Mick's jumbo jet landed at the Philadelphia airfield and Nikki, standing in the cool night air, waited outside of her father-in-law's big black Cadillac Escalade as Mick, his driver and his bodyguard, all deplaned. Another SUV was waiting behind the Escalade and Big Ed and Vincent spoke to Nikki, who was the underboss of the Sinatra Crime Syndicate and therefore their boss, and then they got into the second vehicle. Nikki held the front driver side door open for her father-in-law and when Mick walked up to her, he did something he never did with any of his other capos: he stopped. He looked at her. "How are you?" he asked her.

Nikki always felt hyper-nervous around Mick even though everybody and their mamas insisted she was his "favorite." But his favorite what was always Nikki's question. "I'm good, sir."

"Any issues at the docks?"

Nikki shook her head. "None, sir. All the ships are back on schedule."

"And you've been alright?"

Nikki noticed how Mick was looking all over her body, as if he was checking to make sure she was okay and free of injuries. Or something else. She never could figure out his motivations. "Yes, sir, I'm fine."

"Good," he said. Then he nodded as if he was affirming her. "Good," he said again, and then got into his SUV.

Vincent saw and heard the little exchange as he and Big Ed were getting into the second SUV. The capos in that SUV took a backseat as Big Ed got behind the wheel and Vincent rode shotgun.

He looked at Ed. "Why he always treating her like she's something special?"

"Maybe because she is," said one of the capos from the backseat.

"Was I talking to you?" asked Vincent. Unlike the two in the backseat, Vincent was a made man in the organization which gave him a higher rank than both backseat riders. That was why the capo didn't argue with him.

Nikki walked around to the passenger front seat and got in beside Mick. Mick took off. The second SUV followed.

"How's the kid?" Mick asked as he drove.

"Duke or Cody?"

"That his name? Cody? How's he doing?"

"He's still in surgery last I heard."

Mick looked at her. She was a full-figured young lady with breasts so huge that Nikki noticed he always looked at them before he looked into her face. But what she'd said surprised him. "It's been over eight hours since they rushed him into surgery and you're telling me he's still in surgery?"

"As far as I know, yes sir. But my last update was about an hour ago. He may be out now."

But even seven hours was still too long, Mick felt. He exhaled. "How's Junior?"

"Upset naturally. He said it was like he blacked out because he didn't realize he had done so much damage."

Mick exhaled. Duke was a natural. The kind of young man that other young men gravitated to and were terrified of mixing it up with. He was just like his old man was at that age, and Mick wasn't happy about it. He knew Roz damn sure wasn't.

And it was beginning to worry Nikki. But for different reasons. "How do you stop it, sir?" she asked him.

Mick looked over at her again. "Stop what?"

Nikki knew she had to be diplomatic about it or Mick would kick her ass, but it had been something she needed to know. "That family trait."

Mick frowned. "What family trait?"

"The gangster part. The bad temper part. The kick-ass part." She said it and then she looked at him. "How do you stop it from consuming your child?"

Mick stared at her a moment longer. He realized she was talking about her baby girl: his granddaughter. He looked back at the road ahead of them. "She has your genes too. And you don't have the bad stuff," he added.

But that made no sense to Nikki. "Duke has Mrs. Sinatra's genes," she said, "but he has that trigger-temper too."

Mick glanced at her. He knew she only referred to his wife as Mrs. Sinatra when he was around. Otherwise she was just Roz to Nikki and the two of them were thick as thieves.

"Duke has that temper because his mother is as gangster as I am," Mick said to her. "She just knows how to camouflage it."

Nikki smiled. "True that."

There was a pause, then Mick said: "She won't be like me, if that's what you're worried about."

Nikki looked at him. "Will she be like Teddy?"

Mick hesitated."Probably."

Nikki knew Mick would be straight with her that was why she brought it up to him. Teddy was temperamental, too, and as gangster as they come, but he controlled it better than most Sinatras.

Mick exhaled. "What caused this fight between Junior and that kid anyway?" he wanted to know.

"Teddy didn't tell you?"

"No. When I was on the plane, he said Duke and the kid were in a fight and Duke was upset about how badly he injured that kid. That was all he said about it."

"Duke is upset about Cody's condition. He's very upset about that. But I think he's even more upset about you."

Mick looked at Nikki. " Me ? What do I have to do with this shit?"

Nikki was angry with Teddy for not telling his father the full story when he talked to him over the phone. "He saw a video of you with Bella Caine on your arm on a Paris red carpet event. The commentator seemed to suggest that you and Bella were an item again."

Mick didn't respond to Nikki or suggest that it was nuts. He didn't even look at her or seemed surprised by the revelation. He kept his own counsel and kept on driving. Which was fine by Nikki. She hated getting in the middle of anything involving him, his wife, and whatever side chick of the week they were arguing about.

But it was also instructive, Nikki thought, that he hadn't asked why Roz wasn't at the airfield to meet his plane.