Sal Gabrini 4: I'll Take You There (The Gabrini Men Series Book 7) by Mallory Monroe Page A

coat.   At any moment,
she felt, the seams would split.   She
looked at her mother.   “I know he has
business dealings beyond his businesses in Seattle, yes.”
    Her
father looked at her.   “Business
dealings?   Is that what he calls it?   Well the FBI calls it suspicious
activity.   Maybe even illegal
activity.   A far cry from business.”
    Sal
frowned.   “FBI?   What the fuc. . .” He calmed back down.   “What does the FBI have to do with this?”
    “I
spoke to them, that’s what.   Didn’t Gemma
tell you?”
    Sal
looked at Gem.
    Gem
shook her head.   “It was just some guy
Daddy met who claimed that they suspected you of being a mob boss once upon a
time.   That’s all that was about.”
    “Why
are you minimizing it, Gemma?” Rodney asked her.   “Being accused of mob activity is not a
trivial matter.   Admitting to mob
activity is not a trivial matter.”
    “He
didn’t admit to any mob activity.   He
said he has connections.   That’s all he
said.”
    This
offended Rodney.   “Justifying for him
now,” he said.   “That’s what you’re
doing.   You’re justifying his wrong
behavior.   A lawyer no less.   An officer of the court justifying heinous
crimes in the name of love.   What is
happening to you, young lady? I didn’t raise you this way!”
    “You
raised me to be an independent woman who knows her own mind.”
    “And
I also raised you to follow the facts and not---”
    “And
not emotion.   I know that, Daddy.”
    “So
what the hell do you think you’re doing?   He’s a mobster, Gemma.   No matter how
you try to dress it up, Sal Gabrini is a mobster.   He’s not a mob boss in the traditional sense
maybe, but he’s a mob boss in every other sense!   And you need to wake up, baby, and realize
who you’re dealing with.”
    “Okay,
knock it off!” Sal said forcefully.   “She
hasn’t done anything wrong, what are you riding up her ass for?   I have connections and I handle my
business.   That has nothing to do with
her.”
    “Bullshit!”
Rodney fired back.   “Somebody wants you
dead, what about her?   Will they take her
out to get to you?   How can you say it
has nothing to do with her?”
    “I
look out for her.   Don’t you worry about
her.”
    “Don’t
you tell me what to worry about.   That’s
my daughter. I’ll always worry about her!”
    “She’s
your daughter, but she’s about to become my wife.   And when we get married she’s going to be my
responsibility.   Not yours.   Not anybody else’s.   Mine.   And I know how to look out for mine.”
    “Will
you give up your connections for her?”
    “What
are you talking?” Sal asked angrily.   “What connections?”
    “Your
mob connections! Since you look out for your own.   Will you give up on your mob friends for
Gemma’s sake?”
    “How
would that help Gemma?” Sal asked.   “I
have a friend in need, and I don’t help that friend.   How does that help Gemma?”
    “It
keeps you out of the mess, that’s how.   It keeps trouble away from your door!”
    “That’s
where you’re wrong,” Sal said. “If I turn my back when my friends are in need,
then I’m opening the door to my own destruction.   My world doesn’t exist in a vacuum.   It exists in pieces of a puzzle.   You can’t have one without the other.   If something happens to them, it’s as good as
if it happened to me.   Because if they go
down, so do I.   Maybe not right
then.   But in the end.”
    Rodney
couldn’t understand that kind of code to save his life.   And he knew it.   He went from his father’s house, to college,
to running his father’s bank.  
    But
Cassie Jones, it seemed to Sal, continued to hold out hope.   She looked at him.   “Will you be good to her, Sal?” she asked
him.
    And
he couldn’t even give himself that credit.   “No,” he admitted.   It was a
wrenching admission.   Even Gemma was
surprised.   She looked at him.
    “No?”
Rodney asked,