Page 41 of Nikki Sinatra: For Her Lover
Roz was floored. “Oh no!”
“And they also killed the three other kids that were there having a sleepover that night.”
“Good Lord!” Roz was beside herself as tears dropped from Nikki’s eyes. Teddy took her hand in his hand again and squeezed it.
Although Mick just sat there, he wasn’t stunned in the least. “That’s what you get when you play grownup games,” he said to Nikki.
“I thought I loved him,” Nikki said as she looked her tear-stained eyes into Mick’s eyes. “I was doing it for him.”
And Mick softened. Just seeing Nikki in such distress did something to him. “I could kick your ass for being so naïve, but what they did to those kids wasn’t your fault. You were just a stupid kid yourself.”
Teddy and Roz both looked at Mick. He went from blaming her for all of it despite her age, to excusing her because of her age. It made them wonder if those rumors and jokes were true and that Mick truly did favor Nikki above all else. That he truly loved Nikki.
Nikki knew it was out of character for Mr. Sinatra too, but she needed to hear it. For him to say she was just a dumb kid meant the world to her.
“So where are we now?” Mick asked them. “Why was this Juda in town, and why were you meeting with him?”
“After everything went down in Miami, we ran into each other years later in L.A. He had cleaned up his act and was looking for a job. I was the manager of that Beverly Hills bar at the time, and I gave him a job there. It worked out for him. He came to Philly just a couple months ago when he lost his job. He knew I had moved here to be with Teddy. He looked me up and asked if I could hook him up. I got him a job.”
“On my docks?” Mick asked incredulously.
“No, sir,” Nikki quickly responded. “I got him a bartending job. But the night before last I was on a girls night out at the club. That’s when I saw Emilio.”
“Emilio?” Even Roz was surprised. “That drug dealer you were in love with? The one whose entire family they killed?”
Nikki nodded. “Him yes. So you can imagine I went into meltdown.”
“You should have been terrified.”
“I was. So I called Juda.”
Mick frowned. “Juda? Why your ass didn’t call Teddy?”
“That’s what I said,” Teddy said.
“Because I knew if Emilio was back full-strength, it could be war if I got Teddy or you or anybody else associated with the syndicate involved.”
“Then your ass should have called Reno Gabrini or Sal Gabrini or Tommy Gabrini. Or Monk Paletti. Let them handle it. Hell you could have called Amelia and Hammer Reese and let Hammer put the entire fucking CIA on the case. But your ass calledJuda?”
Nikki looked even more distressed. “You don’t understand. I couldn’t tell any of them what I’d done. I caused the death of children. They would never respect me again if they found that out. You and Ma will never look at me again the same way after what I’d done. You’ll never respect me again.”
“I can never disrespect you, Nikki,” Mick said. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
Mick was saying exactly what Nikki needed to hear. Teddy and Roz were astounded and pleased, but a little suspicious too. That was so not like him to let up off his rage.
But it was music to Nikki’s ears. “Thank you, sir,” she said.
“What did Juda do for you?”
“I hired him to hire somebody to take Emilio out. He was going to get me and he wasn’t going to stop until he accomplished his goal. That’s why I went to Juda’s trailer that night. He told me Emilio was dead. I told him I had to confirmit. He said he would show me where he dumped the body today, and we hugged and I left. Apparently after I left Emilio’s men showed up.”
“Which they would have anyway,” said Roz. “Killing one man wasn’t going to make a difference if he had an army of men with him.”
“But he was the head,” said Mick. “Taking out the head makes a difference.”
“But that’s the thing,” Teddy said and everybody looked at him. It was only then did they realize he was even more serious than he usually looked.
“What do you mean?” Roz asked him.
