Sal Gabrini: His House of Cards by Mallory Monroe Read Free Book Online

shirttail.   Then she nodded.   “Okay, I’m ready,” she said.
    “Just move
the way I’m moving,” Sal said as she removed her hand from his shirttail, and
watched him make his move.   Sal put one
skate in front of the other skate and moved slowly.   Gemma put one skate in front of the other
skate and followed him.   And she was
beginning to enjoy herself too.   She was
beginning to get her skate groove back big time.
    But within
seconds of her newfound confidence, Sal lost his balance, began moving side to
side to regain it, and fell hard on his ass.   Gemma had to grab his head to keep herself from skating into him and
tipping over him.   And to keep herself
from laughing to death.
    “I don’t
know, Sal,” she said as she laughed.   “I
don’t think I want to do it like you do it.”
    “Very
funny,” Sal said, as Gemma, unable to stop laughing, helped him to his feet.

 
    And that night,
they laid under the stars, arm in arm, in their own backyard.   It was a beautiful, quiet time for them.   All the demons Sal had to deal with, and all
the people he had to take out, disappeared from his troubled mind whenever he
was with Gemma.   They laid side by side
and listened to the sounds of the night, and Sal knew it couldn’t get any
better than this.   This was heavenly to
him.
    But when he
looked over at Gemma, to see if she was feeling such beauty too, she was fast
asleep.   Sal smiled.   Because that sight alone, to Sal, showed how
much she trusted him.   He pulled her
closer into his arms, and held her tenderly.

 

CHAPTER FIVE

 
    Monday
morning was business as usual.   They both
got back to work.   Gemma went to court
first, and then to her law firm.   But
Sal, whose office building awaited his arrival, went to see Reno.   He hadn’t forgotten what Gemma told him
Friday night about that little spat she and Reno had.   He needed to set the record straight.
    It looked
like a rally on Wall Street when he walked into Reno’s office.   Papers were everywhere, as if they’d been
tossed in the air for no other reason than to land on the floor.   Aides were everywhere.    On the phone.   On the computer.   Standing around Reno’s desk with even more
stacks of papers he had to sign.   It was
an orderly chaos, Sal realized.   But it
was still chaotic.
    When Reno
looked up and saw that it was Sal who had entered unannounced, with that look
on his face, he knew what he wanted.   He
cleared the room.
    “Everybody
out,” he said above the noise as Sal approached his desk.   “Give us a minute.”
    His aides
knew what that meant.   Get lost , in other words.   They grabbed their phones and stacks of
papers and headed out of the office.   All
of them spoke to Sal as they hurried past, and Sal grunted in their
direction.   But his entire focus was on
Reno.
    Reno leaned
back.   “I hear you came back Friday
night.   I didn’t expect you back in town
so soon.”
    Sal stood in
front of Reno’s desk, decked down in his double-breasted imported suit.   “I understand you had a problem with my
absence.”
    “I
understand I owe you a note of gratitude.   Gemma told Trina you settled it on your own.   That’s a good thing.”
    Sal
frowned.   “Why wouldn’t I settle it?   She was threatening to sue my wife.   Of course I settled it.”
    Reno stared
at Sal.   He could have been implying that
Reno should have settled it, the strong arm way, for his wife too, but that
wasn’t the vibe he was getting from Sal.   His beef went deeper.   “What’s
wrong?” Reno asked him.
    “You’ve had
the hots for Gemma a long time,” Sal responded bluntly.   “It ends today.”
    To Reno’s
credit, Sal thought, he didn’t try to deny it.   He continued to stare at Sal and continued to lean back in his chair.
    “She’s never
going to be your backup plan,” Sal warned him.
    Reno frowned.   “My backup plan?   What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
    “If Trina
wise up