Reno's Gift (Mob Boss Series) by Mallory Monroe Page A

time.”
    Trina
frowned.   “What who keeps saying all the
time?”
    “People
around town.   Everywhere I go I hear
it.   They claim Pops be fooling with this
woman over here or that woman over there and I just stopped listening to
it.”   Then he glared at his stepmother
with concern in his eyes.   “I know you
have to hear it too.”  
    Trina
stopped flipping through the catalogue and paused.   Then she nodded her head.   “Yeah, I hear that nonsense, Jimmy, I’ll
admit that.   From the day I decided to
hitch my wagon to Reno’s train I’ve been hearing it.   It used to bother me, oh, how it used to
bother me, I’m not gonna even front.   I
used to go to Reno with that nonsense and I could just see the disappointment
in his eyes.   He thought I knew better
than that.   At first I didn’t.   In fact, it was more likely than not in my
book that Reno was cheating on me.   At
first.”
    “But
now you’re certain he’s not cheating?”
    “No,
I can’t say I’m certain about that.   But
since I’ve gotten to know the heart of Reno Gabrini, the odds have
improved.   Tremendously.”
    “So
it’s no longer more likely than not?”
    “It’s
still more likely than not, but in Reno’s favor.”
    “It’s
more likely than not that he hasn’t cheated on you, than he has.”
    “Right.”
    Jimmy
loved Trina’s trust in his father.   He
absolutely admired it.   He nodded.   “Maybe one day I’ll get there too.   Maybe one day I’ll meet the right girl that I
can marry and settle down with.   But that
day seems like a lifetime away, Ma.   Because even with what you’re saying about Dad, I still can’t see
it.   I mean, these women out here love
rich, powerful men.   And even I can see
how these women are easily attracted to Dad.   Girls my age are always trying to get me to give him their numbers, like
I’m that stupid.   Like I’m gonna give my
dad their number so he can cheat on my mother.”   Jimmy shook his head.   “Like get
real.”
    Trina
laughed.   Jimmy was her ally and always
would be.   She knew it like she knew her
own name.  
    “What
about you, Jim?” she asked him.   “I know
Reno wants you to start taking college courses at UNLV and soon he expects you
to be ready to handle a management job at the PaLargio.   But what do you want to do?”
    Jimmy
thought about it, as he had been thinking about his future a lot lately.   “I know Dad gave me an apartment at the
PaLargio, but I want to get my own place, away from the PaLargio.   Ever since that shooting, he treats me like
I’m some little kid.   A couple of my
friends came over to see how I was doing the other day, and Dad had the nerve
to walk up and ask them all kinds of questions about who their parents were and
where did they live and it was so embarrassing.   He can be so. . .”
    “Concerned?”
Trina asked.
    “Yeah,”
Jimmy replied.
    “And
kind.   And loving.   And caring.   And considerate.”
    Jimmy
smiled.   “Okay, I get your point.   But still, Ma.   I’m a grown-ass man now.”   Trina laughed.   “Not some kid.   He wouldn’t have allowed his old man to treat
him the way he treats me.”
    “If
that’s the case then maybe you need to stop allowing him,” Trina
suggested.   “But I personally don’t think
that’s the case.   Reno doesn’t like weak
men, so the fact that he wants to keep tabs on you doesn’t mean he thinks
you’re weak, Jimmy.   In fact, he knows
you aren’t.   He told me so himself.   The fact that he has to know where I am all
the time doesn’t make me weak either.   Because it’s not about who we are that makes him keep tabs on us,
Jimmy.   It’s about who he is.   I’m the wife and you’re the son of Reno
Gabrini.    He’s no mob boss, you and I
both know he’s not, but he has enemies in the mob.   Many enemies.”
    “For
real though,” Jimmy said with a laugh.   Trina looked at him.   It always
concerned Reno that Jimmy