TOMMY GABRINI 2: A PLACE IN HIS HEART Page 17

  Tommy and Sal both looked as if they’d just been blindsided. And they both took the news very differently. Although Sal still refused to believe that his own father, that the chief of the Seattle police department would get so down and dirty involved in something like this, Tommy didn’t have that problem. Tommy’s problem wasn’t that he didn’t believe it. Tommy’s problem was that he believed it, and he believed it absolutely.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  The two Ferraris swerved onto the circular driveway of Tommy’s home, and Tommy hurried out of the red one. He walked over to Sal’s white Ferrari, as Sal pressed down the window.

  “You’ll drive,” Tommy told him.

  “Damn straight,” Sal said. “I don’t trust your driving.”

  Tommy smiled weakly. “Let me get her and I’ll be back.”

  “But are you sure this is a good idea?”

  “Now wait a minute,” Tommy said. “You’re the one who’s always telling me I need to introduce her to Pop.”

  “From what that chick Nayla said, you already have. At Ekland’s.”

  “That wasn’t an introduction,” Tommy said. “That was an intrusion. By Pop.”

  “But still, Tommy,” Sal said. “It’s five o clock in the morning. Pop’s gonna already be pissed, and you’re going to bring Grace on top of it?”

  Tommy exhaled. “She needs to be there,” he said. “What he did--”

  “If it’s true,” Sal said.

  “What he did affects Grace just as much as it affects me. She needs to see what kind of an asshole we’re dealing with here. I can’t imagine a better time than now.”

  “Okay,” Sal said and Tommy made his way toward his front door.

  Sal shook his head as he watched his big brother. Tommy used to treat Grace like some fucking kid, now he was throwing her into the lion’s den. And at five o clock in the morning. Either Tommy knew something about Grace now that Sal wasn’t privy to, or Tommy was finally waking the fuck up. Better to have a woman who could take care of herself should you no longer be around, than to have one who’d be lost without you. That was how Sal saw it. But even he was concerned about this meeting this morning.

  Sal parked in the driveway of his father’s old style home. Gemma, Sal’s girlfriend, called the home dark and uninviting when she first saw it, and he knew she was right. It was their childhood home, and it was a joyless one.

  Tommy and Grace sat in the back bucket seats in a car she used to think, before she met Tommy, was a two-seater. But even though it was a tight fit, it was still far more comfortable than she felt. When Tommy woke her up, told her to get dressed because he wanted her to meet his father, she thought it was a joke. Meet his father? The man he decked at the gun range? And wasn’t it five in the morning?

  But it was no joke. Tommy was dead serious. She therefore cleaned herself up, brushed her teeth and her hair, threw on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, and followed him. He held her hand the entire drive over.

  And even when they stepped out of Sal’s car, and all three began heading for the front door of the creepy house, Tommy continued to hold her hand with a mighty grip. He looked more uncomfortable than she felt, and she wondered why in the world would he want to have this meeting now.

  It took several rings and knocks, and a neighbor’s dog beginning to bark, but the outside light eventually came on and the door was eventually opened.

  Shockingly enough to Grace, Mr. Gabrini didn’t seem surprised to see his two sons standing on his doorstep at this time of morning with a woman at their side. He, in fact, left the door opened and walked away.

  Sal looked at Tommy, and Tommy touched Sal on his shoulder, as Sal led the way inside the home. Tommy kept his hand on the small of Grace’s back as they entered. Benny Gabrini was seated in the flanking chair as all three made their way to the sofa.

  “Aren’t you going to ask why we’re here, Pop?” Sal asked as they walked.

  Grace could see a look of irritation on Benny’s face when Sal asked that question. “I’m sure you’ll let me know, Salvatore,” he said.

  He looked at Tommy and Grace when they sat down. Tommy crossed his legs, and he kept his arm around Grace when they sat. Benny, in his bathrobe, crossed his legs too.

  “Hello Thomas,” he said. “You haven’t been back home in what, twenty years?”

  “This isn’t my home,” Tommy said.

  “So how you’ve been doing, Pop?” Sal asked, to keep the tension at a minimum. It was tough enough.

  Benny, however, ignored Sal. “It’s good to see you, Thomas,” he said. “I forgave you after you did what you did at Ekland. It’s just your temper, isn’t it? Even as a child you had such a temper. I was the only one who knew how to deal with it.”

  Tommy looked hard at his father.

  Benny, however, smiled. “So what brings you all the way out here? And to bring Sal and that girl with you. What gives?”

  Tommy wasn’t going to rise to the bait. He had to find out if it was true. He had to hear it straight from his father, and Grace had to hear it too. “You know why I’m here,” he said.

  Benny attempted to smile. “If I knew why, I wouldn’t have asked you. So I suggest you cut the bullshit and tell me why it is you’re here.”

  “Nayla sent me,” Tommy said. “Nayla Santiago? Or was it Jared Graham? Or was it Rait Rawlings?”

  Benny stared at Tommy. “Your lady’s enemies,” he said.

  “And your friends,” Tommy said. Grace looked at him, and then looked at Benny.

  “How much did you pay them?” Tommy asked him. “How much was destroying Grace worth to you?”

  Benny laughed. “You sound like a fool.”

  But Tommy was steadfast. “How much? A few thousand? A few hundred thousand?”

  That number got a rise out of Benny. “Are you out of your mind?” he asked. “She’ll never be worth that! She doesn’t deserve you!”

  “Nobody does,” Tommy said. “Except you, right?”

  Grace and Sal both looked at Tommy. But Tommy continued to stare at his father.

  “Am I right? You’re the only one who could ever deserve me.”

  Benny stared back at his oldest son. “You’re my rock, Tommy. You won’t give me the time of day, but you’re my rock. And nobody’s taking my rock away from me!”

  “You paid them?”

  “Yeah, I paid them! What else could I do? You wasn’t marrying her! I wasn’t going to stand for it!”

  The reality of his words hit Sal hard. He frowned. “How could you do a thing like that Pop?” he asked him. “Grace is a good person.”

  “She’s a whore!” Benny yelled and Sal stood up, ready to fight. But Tommy didn’t. He continued to stare at his father.

  “Go public,” he said to his father. “Admit your part in the lies they told on my lady.”

  “Your lady? What are you talking about?”

  “If you don’t go public,” Tommy added, “I’ll go public on you.”

  Sal looked at Tommy. What? “Go public on him?” Sal asked, confused.

  But Tommy continued to stare at his father, and his father continued to stare at him. Sal might not have known what Tommy was talking about, but Benny Gabrini knew.

  “Don’t be a fool, Tommy,” Benny said. “That black gal don’t mean you any good.”

  “Clean that shit up regarding my lady,” Tommy said, “or I’ll tell it all. Then I want you to see how many of those political operatives will be clamoring to run you for governor then. I want to see how many citizens in this town would want to keep you as their top cop then. A sadistic piece of shit like you.”

  Benny stood up. Tommy, with Grace right beside him, stood up too.

  And something shifted. The hate in the room was so strong, Sal could taste it. “Tommy, take it easy,” he said to his brother.

  But Tommy was in the zone. His eyes were glassed over. They were unblinking. “I’ll tell it all,” he said. “I’ll tell about the abuse,” he started saying, b
ut Benny interrupted him.

  “That’s enough!” Benny blared. “You will not defame me like this!”

  Sal and Grace both were staring at Tommy. “Abuse?” Sal asked. “Tommy, what are you talking? Pop never abused you! He loved you. He treated you like a fucking king.”

  “I was a king all right,” Tommy agreed. “His king. Wasn’t I, Pop? Especially after mom ran away.”

  Sal and Grace were stunned. Sal looked at his father.

  Benny walked away, rubbing his hair. “It’s all lies,” he said absently, as if he said it because he had to say it, but not because he believed it.

  “I was his favorite,” Tommy said to Sal and Grace, although he was staring at his father. “You’re always telling me that, Sal. You’re always telling me how much Pop loves me. He loved me, all right. Every night he loved me. Every day he loved me. He loved me until he made me sick to my stomach. He loved me until I wanted to kill his ass!” Tommy screamed this out.

  “Tommy,” Grace said, grabbing his arm, her heart pounding.

  Tommy settled back down. He was now talking directly to his father. “If you don’t go public and clear my lady’s name, then I will go public and trash yours. And it won’t be dirt, but the truth.”

  And that word set Benny off. “The truth?” he asked. “What the hell do you know about truth? I did everything for you! Everything! I got you and Sal out of Jersey. You could have been a gangster just like all my brothers were, and just like Reno became. You could have been dead today if I would have let you go down that road. But I wouldn’t allow it. I got you out of there! I got both of you on the police department as soon as I moved up the ranks. And I looked out for you, Tommy. I made sure you moved up the ranks. You was a fucking Captain before you was thirty!” Benny blared.

  Then he calmed back down. “And you’re talking to me about truth?” he asked. “What truth would you know about?”

  “I know the truth about what you did to me,” Tommy said.

  “That’s nonsense,” Benny said.

  “I know the truth.”

  “I’ve had about all I’m going to take of your bullshit, Tommy,” Benny said, hurrying toward his son. “What truth you know? What truth can an ungrateful asshole like you know?”

  “You used to fuck me!” Tommy screamed. “That’s what truth!”

  And as soon as those words came out of Tommy’s mouth, his father grabbed him by the catch of his collar and slung him all the way across the room until Tommy’s back was against the wall. Sal and Grace hurried to Tommy’s aid, but he didn’t need the help. He summoned every ounce of strength he had and grabbed his father and slung him until it was his father’s back that was against the wall. And Tommy didn’t stop there. He pulled out his gun, and pointed it at his father’s head.

  “Oh, Jesus,” Grace said nervously, her heart pounding a mile a minute. But even she wasn’t nearly as distressed as Sal.

  “Tommy, no,” he said as soon as he saw the gun. “You can’t do this, Tommy, you can’t do this.”

  “I’ve got to kill this motherfucker!” Tommy yelled. “I’ve got to blow this fucker’s brains out!”

  “Tommy, please!” Sal said, dropping to his knees. “You can’t do it. He’s our father, Tommy!”

  “No, Sal. Fathers don’t do what he did to me. Fathers love their sons and care for their sons and teach them how to be men, not whores! They teach them the right way. Not like this.”

  But Sal couldn’t give up. “He’ll win if you do it, Tommy. He’ll win and we’ll lose! Don’t do it. Don’t take the blood off of his hands and put it on yours!”

  Tears were in Tommy’s eyes. He stared at the man he used to love so completely, and then hated with a bitter hate. He used to idolize this man. He used to be so afraid of this man. He used to throw up at the sight of this man. But now he didn’t see the reverence. He didn’t feel any fear. Now this big man looked so small, and so old, and so insignificant. Sal was right. He wasn’t worth it.

  Tommy was about to drop his gun to his side and end this craziness. But his father had the nerve to smile.

  “I knew you wouldn’t hurt me,” Benny said. And as soon as he said it, Tommy slung his gun back into Benny’s face and was just about to pull the trigger once and for all. But Grace nearly ran over Sal getting to Tommy’s side.

  “What about me?” she asked him with pure desperation in her voice. She knew she had to go there. She knew she had to make him see that it wasn’t hopeless, and that there was a life for him away from the hell his father was trying to put him in. “What about me, Tommy?”

  And it was only then, when Tommy heard Grace’s voice, was he able to see through the fire, and see his heart. He saw Grace.

  “You can’t do this thing,” she said to him. “You can’t kill your father. I’m sorry, Tommy, but you can’t have that over your head. I won’t let you. Put it down, Tommy. You’ve got to put it down.”

  Tommy stared at Grace, as tears poured from their eyes.

  “He’s an awful man, baby,” she said. “And he deserves to die. But not by you. He’s destroyed you enough, Tommy. Staying away from him, letting him die a bitter, lonely old man is the best thing you can do. Let him live knowing that he didn’t break you. Let him live knowing that, despite him, you’re the better man. Put it down, Tommy. Put it down.”

  Tommy had the look that survivors of unspeakable horrors had. His brilliant eyes were dull and drained of all spark. He looked ghostly. Already just being in a room with his so-called father, he realized, had sucked the life out of him. He looked at Grace. He looked at the love of his life. And she couldn’t have been more right. All of this hate did nothing to his father, but it was already eating away at him.

  He removed his gun from his father’s head and pushed him away from him. His father leaned over, with his hands on his knees, as if he knew he had literally dodged a bullet.

  Grace ran to Tommy and fell in his arms. She knew there was pain in his past, but she never dreamed it would go this deep. She squeezed him as tight as she could squeeze him, as she held him.

  Sal felt as if a load had been lifted, too, when Tommy removed that gun. He placed his hands on top of his head and exhaled, as he was able to breathe again. He was still on his knees, he was still reeling from what he had heard from his brother’s mouth, when he heard his father’s voice. Only it sounded deeper than it had ever sounded before, as if it was no longer pretending to be human. It was no longer pretending.

  “I’M SENDING YOU TO HELL, TOMMY!” his father blared, and when Sal looked up he saw that his father had both hands on the gun that, as a cop, he always had on his person.

  “Nooo!” Sal screamed, just as Tommy and Grace were turning to the sound of Benny’s voice. And Sal pulled out his own weapon that he, too, always had on his person, and fired. He fired directly at his father just as his father was firing at Tommy.

  Benny’s shot went array, because Sal’s shot was dead on. He shot his father and caused him to misfire. He shot his father straight through the heart.

  Grace’s own heart fell through her shoe when she realized what Sal had done. At first she was relieved that he had done it. He had saved Tommy’s life. But then she was pained that it had to be Sal. Always misunderstood, lovable Sal. He saved Tommy’s life, that was for sure, but at what cost to his own?

  Tommy knew it too. He looked from their father’s lifeless body, to Sal. All of their lives Tommy had protected Sal. He made sure he was never alone with his father. He made sure he was never mistreated by anyone. All of their lives Tommy had come to Sal’s rescue. But now Sal, when he needed it most, had come to his.

  Grace released him, and he walked over to his brother.

  Sal was still on his knees, his gun still smoking, as he watched the man who used to be his father lay out as if he was merely asleep. Sal used to dream about his father all the time. He used to dream about his father smiling whenever he walked into a room, or telling him how much he loved him just because he was Sal.
He used to hope that one day it could still come true. Even as a grown man, he used to hold out hope. Now that was gone.

  But after what that man had done to Tommy, Sal knew it had to be. His heart was heavy, and a part of him was steeped in devastation, but a bigger part of him felt honored to know the truth. He felt honored to know that he was hated and reviled by a man like him; by that monster that used to be his father.

  Tommy knelt down to his baby brother, and pulled him into his arms.

  EPILOGUE

  “Ready?” Reno asked Grace.

  Grace gave a big exhale, and then nodded her head. “Ready,” she said.

  Reno then nodded to the wedding planner, who nodded to the organist, and the procession began.

  Dom, dom, da dom, the music echoed in the beautiful event hall inside the PaLargio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Reno owned the place and was very proud of his establishment. But he could not have been more prouder now, walking Grace McKinsey down the aisle, as they made their way toward his cousin and best friend Tommy.

  Tommy looked at Grace as the audience looked at her, and she could not have looked more radiant. Her bridal gown, a tailor-made, trumpet-styled dress imported from Paris, moved in sweeps of lace as if it were a work of art in and of itself. Sal stood beside Tommy, always his best man, as he admired, not just the dress, but the woman who wore it. It felt like a crowning achievement to him. It felt as if they were closing one chapter of their lives, where they never quite got it right, and was opening a new chapter.

  Sal looked at his big brother. Everybody looked at Dapper Tom and always saw beauty. But they never saw what that beauty had cost him. They never saw his sleepless nights, or his fears, or his pain. He protected Sal from abuse as if it was his life’s calling. He kept him so close to him that it used to anger their father. And they all thought it was Sal who had suffered. They all thought it was Sal who had suffered the most at the hands of Benny Gabrini. But he knew better. That was why this day was so joyous to Sal. That was why he was grinning from ear to ear even as he stood beside his brother. This was their new start. This was when his brother was going to make a family for himself, against the odds. And since Sal was a betting man, he thought happily, he was betting on Tommy.