Sal Gabrini: His House of Cards (4 page)

Later, that
night, after Sal had fucked her so hard that he had fallen asleep almost
immediately, Gemma got out of bed, showered, and made her way downstairs.
 
Her goal was to cook a dinner befitting her
man, or her conquering hero as she sometimes thought of Sal, and to finish
before he woke up.

She almost
succeeded.
 
The shrimp had been boiled,
chopped, marinated with lemon, lime, and orange juice.
 
Her cucumbers and peppers had also been
chopped into the mixture and the bowl had been placed in the Frig for
cooling.
 
By the time Sal was coming
downstairs, nearly an hour-and-a-half later, Gemma had taken the shrimp mixture
out and was adding avocados and chopped cilantro.

“Smells good
in here,” Sal said as he entered the kitchen.
 
He was shirtless and in a pair of sweatpants that were down so low that
they hung beneath his tanned, chiseled torso.
 
“What’s for dinner?”

“Shrimp
ceviche.”

“Nice,” Sal
said with a smile.
 
It was one of his
favorite dishes.

But he was
also smiling because Gemma wore one of his dress shirts, a shirt that swallowed
her slender frame, and he reached underneath and rubbed her bare ass as he
kissed her on the neck.
 
Then he reached
in to grab one of the shrimp, but Gemma hit him on his hand.

“Not ready
yet, Caveman.
 
Have a seat.”

Sal grinned
and slapped her ass.
 
Then he walked over
to the table in their huge, gourmet kitchen, and took a seat.
 
He leaned back and watched as she continued
to prepare their meal.
 
She was such a
good woman, he knew he didn’t deserve her.
 
“How was your day?” he asked her.

She glanced
back at him.
 
“Just getting around to
asking?”

“I got
preoccupied earlier, by that ass of yours.
 
How was your day?”

Gemma smiled
as she grabbed a tomato to chop.
 
“It was
good.”
  
Then she added:
 
“Until Reno showed up.”

“Reno?
 
What did he do now?”

“He didn’t
do
anything.
 
But he was upset that you missed the
meeting.
 
A meeting I now realize wasn’t
necessary, but we didn’t know that at the time.”

“What did he
say to you?”

“His usual
spiel.”

“Downing me,
you mean?”

“Wondering
why you weren’t there.
 
Wondering just
how committed you were to me because you weren’t there.
 
His usual soapbox.”

“He needs to
mind his fucking business,” Sal responded.
  
“That’s what he needs to do.”

But Gemma
wasn’t going to let Sal off of the hook that easily.
 
Reno could be a handful, but he wasn’t
usually far off the mark.
 
“He’s
concerned about me,” Gemma said.
 
“And he
worries about you, whether you believe it or not.
 
You know he’s coming from a good place.
 
But lately . . .”

Sal looked
at her.
 
“Lately what?”

“I don’t
know.
 
It looks like whenever Reno and I
are in the same room it’s like we’re combustible.
 
We have all of this tension we didn’t used to
have, and I don’t know where it’s coming from.”

Sal knew
where it was coming from.
 
He knew,
between the Gabrini Corporation and all of that past shit he had to clean up,
he was away from Gemma too many nights.
 
He also knew men were waiting in the wings if she ever left him.
 
Reno was madly in love with Trina, and would
never put any woman before her, but he also knew that men like he and Reno
always had to have a back-up plan.
 
Somebody waiting in the wings too.
 
He didn’t want Gemma to be Reno’s plan B should Trina dump his ass.
 
Gemma was no man’s plan B.
 
This shit had to stop, and Sal knew he was
the only one who could stop it.

“I’ll pay
him a visit,” he said.

Gemma looked
at him.
 
“Pay him a visit for what?”
 
When she realized it was that testosterone
talking now, she frowned.
 
“Don’t go
starting something, Sal.
 
There’s nothing
to talk about.
 
He didn’t know you had
met with Liz Mertan privately.
 
None of
us knew.
 
He was just responding to the
moment.”

“Yeah, you
say.”

“What’s that
supposed to mean?”

“I know men,
Gemma.
 
That’s what it means!
 
I know what his ass is up to.
 
I know what all of that so-called
tension
is all about.”

“Oh,
yeah?
 
And what is it about, Madam Cleo?
Please tell me what it’s about.”

“It’s sexual
tension,” Sal said bluntly.
 
“It’s the
fact that he wants our marriage to fail so he can be the main man in your life
again.”

Gemma
frowned.
 
She couldn’t believe it.
 
“He wants our marriage to fail?
 
He wants to be the main man in my life?
 
Are you nuts, Salvatore Luciano?
 
Reno and I have never, not ever, had that
kind of relationship and you know it!
 
Why would you even think such nonsense?”

“I know
men.
 
Men are dogs when it comes to
women.”

“You’re off
base, Sal,” Gemma made clear.
 
“Reno
loves Trina with the kind of love that I envy.
 
He’s totally devoted to her!”

Sal knew
what that implied.
 
He knew it implied
that his devotion to Gemma was suspect. It wasn’t in his heart.
 
But it was in Gemma’s.
 
Not that he didn’t understand why she would
have her doubts.
 
He knew his unavoidable
absences made Gemma doubt his commitment.
  
It was their painful reality.
 
“I’m just telling you what I think,” he said less animatedly.

“Well your
thinking is wrong,” Gemma responded.
 
“Me
and Reno?
 
Please!
  
Nothing could be further from the truth!”

Sal didn’t
argue with her.
 
Because he knew what he
was talking about.
 
He and Reno were too
much alike.
 
They were two dogs with the
same pedigree, and they both knew how to bark.
 
But before any biting took place, Sal knew he had to once and for all
lock it down.

Gemma
prepared two plates and carried them to the table.
 
“I found a car, Sal,” she said as she sat his
plate in front of him.

“Looks
great, babe,” he said as he grabbed a shrimp and immediately popped it into his
mouth.
 
Then he looked at her as he
chewed.
 
“What do you mean you found a
car?”

Gemma sat
down across from him and held out her hand.
 
Sal took her hand and they bowed their heads.

“Dear Lord,”
Gemma said, “thank you for this food that you have given to us.
 
We ask that it will be a blessing to us and
do us no harm. In Jesus name we pray.
 
Amen.”

“Amen,” Sal
echoed and began to eat.
 
He looked at
his wife as he ate.
 
“You found a
car?
 
What is that supposed to mean?”

“I went to a
dealership and found a car.”

“Without
me?”
 

Gemma knew
he wasn’t going to be pleased.
 
But he’d
had a hectic schedule lately.
 
“I knew
you were busy, and I needed to get it done.”

“I’m never
too busy for you,” Sal said.
 
“And I
thought I told you I don’t want you going on some funky car lot without
me.
 
They see a woman like you coming and
they drool at the mouth with excitement.”

Gemma
smiled.
 
“They drool, Sal?
 
Really?”

“Because you
showed up, hell yeah.
 
Because a real
lady showed up.
 
A fragile, vulnerable,
sweet innocent lady that they can screw over.”

Gemma
couldn’t help it.
 
She laughed.

Sal didn’t
get it.
 
“What’s so funny?”

“You
are!
 
Fragile?
 
Vulnerable?
 
Innocent?
 
Me
?
 
Really, Sal?”

“That’s how
I see you.
 
And that’s how a lot of other
guys sees you, too.
 
I don’t want those
sweaty-palmed salesmen salivating over you and taking advantage of you and I’m
not even in town to set their asses straight.”

Gemma was
touched by his concern for her.
 
She felt
blessed to have a man like him.
 
“I
didn’t purchase it.
 
I told them you
would have to approve first.
 
But I think
it’s the one I want.”

Sal was in
full eating mode now.
 
He was also
inwardly pleased that she didn’t drop the hammer and purchase the thing without
him.
 
“What kind is it?”

“A Focus,”
she said.

Sal thought
about it.
 
Then he frowned.
 
“A Focus?
 
I’ve never heard of any Focus before.
 
What the hell is a Focus?”

“You know,
Sal.
 
A Ford Focus.”

Sal stopped
chewing mid-chew and looked at her.
 
“Are
you needling me?”

“Needling you?
 
Why would I needle you?”

“You’re my
wife, Gemma!
 
No wife of mine is
driving---”

Gemma
couldn’t hold back any longer.
 
She
laughed.
 
“I’m just messing with you,
boy!
 
Although I do think the Ford Focus
is attractive, I knew you wasn’t having it.
 
I wasn’t either, to be honest with you.”

Sal smiled
this time.
 
“Your ass was driving a BMW
when I met you.
 
Your ass like cars just
as much as I do.”

“Nobody like
cars as much as you and Tommy and Reno.
 
I’m just saying.
 
But it’s past
time, Sal.
 
Ever since my BMW was shot up
at the courthouse and we decided to get rid of it, I’ve been driving your
car.
 
Which is fine.
 
And I know how you feel about me going on a
car lot.
 
Those salesmen try to take
advantage of women, you’re right about that.
 
But they aren’t going to take advantage of me.”

“That’s what
they all say, babe,” Sal said.

“But if you
insist on coming with me, fine.
 
Come
with me.
 
But we’ve got to take some time
out of our busy schedules and get this done.”

But Sal was
nonplussed.
 
“Stop worrying so much.
 
I took care of it already.”

Gemma looked
at him.
 
“What do you mean?”

“I took care
of it.”
 
Sal stuffed more food into his
mouth.
 
“I found one I think you’ll
like.”

It was hard
for Gemma to get accustomed to a man taking care of her needs the way Sal often
did.
 
She used to battle him about it,
but he made clear that a man had to be a man and she had to let him be her
man.
 
That didn’t diminish her, but it
helped to make him feel as if he was taking care of his responsibilities.
 
It was a tough compromise for Gemma.
 
Maybe the toughest compromise she had to make
when they got married.
 
But now she
understood.
 
Gemma was getting excited.
 
“What is it?
 
No, let me guess: a Porsche just like yours?”

“Hell
no.
 
Mine is one of a kind.
 
Who do you think you are?”

Gemma
laughed.
 
“Then what kind is it?”

Sal
smiled.
 
She knew then it was going to be
good.
 
“An Aston-Martin,” he said
proudly.
 
“A DB9.
 
It’s gorgeous, Gem.
 
I think you’ll love it.”