Sal Gabrini: His House of Cards (20 page)

“How did
Rudy find out the boy wasn’t his?”

“Victor
Grotski started fucking around with Blanche and Blanche told him.
 
And Victor, being the snitch that he is, went
straight to Rudy with the news.”

“So what
happened?” Gemma asked. “He took a DNA test?”

“That’s when
he ordered it.
 
From the way I figure it,
he got some sample from the kid under false pretenses because he didn’t want
the boy to know the truth.
 
And it was
confirmed.
 
The boy wasn’t his.
 
And he supposedly went nuts.
 
It’s a wonder he didn’t kill Blanche right
then and there, and then come looking for me.
 
But Victor convinced him to keep her around.
 
That I was the real enemy here because I had
the power to take that boy away from him if the truth ever got out.
 
So he used Blanche to begin his takedown of
me.
 
He needed her to get to you.”

“What’s his
name?” Gemma asked.

Sal knew who
she meant.
 
It was still a hard pill to
swallow.
 
“Rudy Balotti, Junior.”

“That
bitch,” Gemma said.

“I
know.
 
I felt the same way.
 
But then I thought about it.
 
She was a powerless kid back then.
 
She wasn’t a slut then.
 
She wasn’t sleeping around on Rudy with anybody
but me.
 
Rudy called the shots.
 
It was his boy as far as he was concerned,
and he wanted him named after him.
 
Blanche had no choice.”

Gemma
nodded.
 
“I’m sure you’re right.”

He looked at
her.
 
“I’m sorry, Gem,” he said
heartfelt.

Gemma
squeezed his hand.
 
“Don’t be,” she
said.
 
“You didn’t know, Sal.
 
How were you to know?
 
And you’re certain you’re the father?”

“I was
arrested as soon as I found this shit out.
 
But Tommy checked the kid out.
 
Tommy says he’s the spitting image of our father.
 
He was floored when he saw him, it was that
much similarity.”

“What kind
of person is he?
 
Does Tommy know?”

“He works
for Rudy,” Sal said.
 
“So he can’t be a
good guy.”

“What does
he do for him?”

Sal’s heart
squeezed in agony.
 
“Whatever Rudy needs
him to do.
 
He’s in line to take over the
whole operation someday.
 
Rudy loves him
more than life, from what Tommy found out.”

“Did Tommy
talk to the young man?”

“No.
 
We can’t tip our hand.
 
We’ve got to take care of Rudy first.
 
That fucker won’t be getting out of this
alive.
  
We’ve got to take care of him
first, or he’ll continue to try to take care of us.”

Gemma
nodded.
 
It was a painful realization,
but Sal was right.
 
Do it to them before
they do it to you.

“And after
you take care of him?” Gemma asked.

Sal frowned.
 
“Then I’ll meet my son,” he said.

But three
days later, Sal almost met his maker.

He was
running down eight flights of stairs to stop a car bomb from exploding and
killing Gemma’s parents.
 
He was running
down eight flights of stairs to stop the bomb he had ordered his men to plant.

As soon as
he opened the door of the building he was exiting, as soon as he became close
enough to warn the driver not to crank up that car, the car exploded into a
fireball so fierce that the impact alone threw Sal backwards.
 
And threw Gemma’s parents, and Sal and
Gemma’s marriage, to God knows where.

Mark Price
yelled for Gemma to wait as she made her way down the steps of the county
courthouse.
 
Gemma was walking briskly with
her briefcase by her side, and turned to see who was calling her, without
breaking her stride.
 
When she saw that
it was Mark, she smiled and waited.
 
She
had just completed a two-day trial that ended in an acquittal.

“I heard you
won,” he said when he arrived.

“I did for a
change,” she responded, as they began walking down the stairs together.
 
“I’m especially happy for my client.”

“She’s
probably shocked.”

Gemma
grinned.
 
“She is.
 
She kept saying, ‘we won?
 
We won, Mrs. Gabrini?
 
We won?’
 
It was so cute!”

“I haven’t
had a victory in months,” Mark said depressingly.
 
“They may forbid me from practicing law
altogether if I don’t eke out a win soon.
 
How does it feel to finally come out on top?”

“Feels
great, Mark,” Gemma said.
 
“Those cops
knew that they concocted that so-called confession.
 
That girl never admitted to killing that
man.”

“The judge
threw out the confession?”

“Threw every
word of it out.
 
That’s how we won.
 
Because that’s all the prosecution had was
that confession.
 
So we won on a technicality.
 
But hey.
 
I’ll take victory in whatever form it comes.”

Mark
laughed.
 
“I know that’s right!”
 
Then he glanced down, at the little cleavage
she was showing beneath her white blouse.
 
“How about we grab some lunch?”

“Ah, thanks,
Mark,” Gemma said, glancing at her Rolex watch Sal had purchased for her, “but
I’m already late for an appointment at my office.
 
I’ve got to get going.”

 
They were on the bottom floor now.
 
They both stopped walking.
 
“I just wanted to congratulate you,” Mark
said.
 
“And I’m still serious about
joining forces with you.”

Gemma
considered him.
 
He was a good attorney
and a good friend.
 
She just wasn’t sure
if he understood boundaries.
 
“You still
want to join my law firm?”

“I do.
 
I’m serious, Gem!
 
Riding solo isn’t working for me.
 
Together we can be unstoppable.
 
Just give it more thought, okay?
 
I think it could be a win-win for both of
us.”

“I’ll think
about it,” Gemma said.
 
“But no
promises.”

Mark
smiled.
 
“I couldn’t ask for more,” he
said, and was about to thank her for at least considering the option, when two
men began approaching her.
 
One of the
men he recognized as the powerful Reno Gabrini, the owner of the PaLargio on
the Vegas Strip.
 
The other one, a young
interracial man, he didn’t know.

But Gemma
knew them both.
 
It was Reno and his son
Jimmy Mack Gabrini.
 
And they both looked
distressed.
 
Gemma knew something was
wrong.

She left
Mark’s side and began walking their way.
 
Mark wanted to go after her, to make sure she was going to be okay, but
he knew Reno’s reputation.
 
He knew her
husband’s reputation.
 
He stayed where he
stood.

Gemma met
Reno and Jimmy halfway.
 
“What is it?”
she asked them.
 
“What’s wrong?”

Jimmy took
Gemma’s briefcase, and Reno took her hand.
 
“Come with us,” he said as they began walking toward the exit.

“It’s Sal,
isn’t it?”

Reno
nodded.
 
“It’s Sal.”

Gemma
stopped walking and looked at Reno.
 
“He’s dead?”

Reno nodded
no, but his look was still very grave.
 
“He’s alive,” he said.
 
“There was
an explosion, and he’s alive.
 
But that’s
all I know.
 
I haven’t seen him yet, and
I have no details.”

“He’s at the
hospital?”

“Home.
 
His men took him home.
 
The doctor met him there.
 
We would have phoned but your cell phone is
off.”

“I just got
out of court.”

“They called
your office and your office called Trina.
 
Trina called me.
 
She’s on her way
to the house now.
 
Give Jimmy your keys,”
Reno told her.
 
“You’re riding with me.”

Gemma did as
she was told, as all three of them hurried out.

Mark knew it
was bad by the horrified look on Gemma’s beautiful face.
 
But he wasn’t in her sphere of influence
yet.
 
There was nothing he could do to
comfort her yet.
 
He had to wait his
turn.

Trina was
already there and Gemma and Reno were just coming into the master bedroom just
as he was waking up.
 
Their personal
physician was there too, but Gemma broke away and ran to Sal’s side, her heart
pounding.
 
“Sal,” she said.
 
“
Sal
!”

But Sal was
moving his head from side to side as if he was delirious, and his eyes were
tightly shut as if he wanted to shut out what he had just experienced.

Gemma was
glad to see he was alive, but something else was wrong.

“He’s going
to be okay, Mrs. Gabrini,” the doctor reassured her as Sal was too groggy
still.
 
“He suffered a mild concussion
and he has a bruised back, but other than that he’s going to be fine.”

But Sal
didn’t look fine to Gemma.
 
He looked as
if his pain was more internal.
 
“Why
isn’t he in a hospital?” she asked.
 
“Why
didn’t you phone an ambulance?”

“It wasn’t
possible,” Reno said.
 
“He was taking
care of business.”

“I assure
you,” the doctor said, “he’s fine.”

“Then why is
he acting this way?
 
He’s not fine!”

Sal opened
his eyes when he finally heard Gemma’s voice.
 
But as soon as he saw her, he looked even more distressed to her.
 
And he began shaking his head again.
 
“Gemma, I’m sorry,” he said with pain in his
voice.
 
“I’m so sorry!”

“It’s
alright, baby,” Gemma said with emotion too.
 
“You’re going to be okay.
 
That’s
all that matters.”

“Your
parents,” he said as he continued to shake his head.
 
“I’m so sorry.”

Gemma didn’t
understand.
 
She looked at Reno and
Trina.
 
They didn’t understand
either.
 
Reno moved over to Sal’s
bedside.
 
“What about her parents, Sal?”
he asked his cousin.

“Your
parents,” Sal kept saying as if he was saying it all. “I’m so sorry, Gem.
 
I’m so sorry!”

Gemma looked
at the doctor.
 
She was confused.
 
“What is he talking about?” he asked.
 
“Is he delirious?”

“I wish I
was,” Sal said, moving his head from side to side.
 
Then he moved to sit up, over the objections
of everybody in the room, but Sal was still Sal. He swung his feet out of bed
and sat on its edge.
 
“I wish to God I
was talking crazy,” he said to Gemma.
 
“But I’m not, babe.”
 
He looked
her dead in the eyes.
 
“They were there.”

Gemma’s heart
dropped through her shoe.
 
“But that’s
not possible, Sal.
 
My parents aren’t in
Vegas!”

“They were
there,” Sal said again, with agony in his voice.

Gemma and
Trina looked at Reno.
 
Reno was lost
too.
 
He ran to the door of the bedroom, and
yelled downstairs.
 
“Angelo!
 
Get up here now!”

They could
hear Angelo Romano run up the stairs as fast as he could.

“They were
there,” Sal was saying again.
 
“It was my
fault.
 
I couldn’t stop it.”

“What’s up,
Reno?” Angelo asked as he walked into the room.

“Were
Gemma’s parent’s at the scene?” Reno asked.

Angelo
looked at Sal, and then back at Reno.
 
“Yeah,” he said, and an audible gasp filled the room.
 
“I thought you knew.”

“How the
fuck was I supposed to know?” Reno yelled.
 
“Are they alive?”

Angelo shook
his head.
 
“I don’t know.”

“Did an
ambulance take them?”

“I don’t
know,” Angelo said again.
 
“I was just
trying to get Sal away from there.”

Reno
understood his plight.
 
He was just doing
his job.
 
But Gemma didn’t understand
it.
 
She ran to the phone, while Trina
phoned the hospital and the doctor phoned his contacts at the hospital.
 
Gemma phoned her parents’ cell phones.
 
There was no answer.
 
Her father was a banker, so she phoned the
bank.
 
They hadn’t heard from him
today.
 
Her mother was an attorney.
 
She phoned her law firm.
 
They hadn’t heard from her either.
 
Gemma’s heart was pounding.

Sal could
feel her pain.
 
“Babe, I’m so sorry.”

Trina ended
her phone call with the hospital.
 
“They’re at the hospital, Gem,” she said.

“Their
status?” Gemma asked urgently.

“They
wouldn’t tell me.
 
They said they can
only confirm that they’re there.”

The doctor
hung up too.
 
“Nobody knows what’s going
on,” he said.
 
“I couldn’t reach who I
need to reach to ask questions without drawing suspicion.
 
But they’re there.
 
That’s all I could find out.”

“I’ve got to
go to the hospital,” Gemma said.

“I’m going
with you,” Sal said, and was about to stand up.

“Sal, you
can’t,” Reno said, hurrying to his side, and the doctor was hurrying too.

But Sal was
still Sal.
 
“Don’t tell me what the fuck
I can’t do,” he said, rising to his feet.
 
Only he grimaced from the back pain.
 
Reno and the doctor held him up.

Sal looked
at Gemma.
 
“I’ve got to go with you,” he
said with such anguish that it made them all look at him.

Gemma stared
into his eyes.
 
He already knew the fate
of her parents.
 
She could see it in his
eyes.
 
If she left him at the house, the
guilt that he carried would probably kill him before she made it back to
him.
 
She moved over and took her
husband’s arm.
 
She knew Sal too
well.
 
“He’s going with me,” she said
firmly, and the doctor and Reno had no choice but to step aside.

After
removing his tattered clothing, Sal, along with Gemma, Reno and Trina, made
their way to the hospital.
 
They were all
in Trina’s Mercedes, with Reno driving and Sal on the passenger seat.
 
The ladies sat in the back.
 
But not a word was spoken.

Gemma was
too terrified of what she was going to find at the hospital, and Sal was too
engulfed in guilt.
 
The wreckage he’d
wrought to Gemma and her family could not be forgiven, he felt.
 
Ever since she met him it had been one thing
after another.
 
He lied to her.
 
He put her in all kinds of hurt, harm, and
danger.
 
Now his stupid ass was
responsible for her parents’ death.
 
How
was Gemma going to overcome this?
 
How
was she going to be able to look him in the eye without hating him after this?

When they
arrived at the hospital, Sal was in so much pain that he could barely
walk.
 
But he walked.
 
He pushed down his own needs and concentrated
on Gemma.
 
Although she placed her arm
around his waist to help hold him up, his arm around her waist was holding her
up too.
 
Reno and Trina felt their agony
as they walked behind them.
 
They were
the best couple they’d ever known.
 
They
were pulling for Sal and Gemma as if they were pulling for themselves.
 
But they both knew that this could change the
game.
 
If Sal was right, and his bomb
killed Gemma’s parents, then that would be the game changer.
 
Gemma would have every right to walk away and
never look back.