Big Daddy Sinatra_Bringing Down the Hammer Read online

  Tony answered on the first ring. “That was quick,” Tony said. “I just called you.”

  “What is it?” Charles asked anxiously. “Everybody okay?”

  “Everybody’s fine. What about you guys? You guys okay?”

  “We’re okay.”

  “Good. And everything’s good on this end.”

  But when Tony, the most patient son Charles had, didn’t immediately get on with it, Charles’s patience, the little he still had left, broke. “Then what the fuck is it, Tony? Tell me why you called. I don’t have time for bullshit!”

  “She’s here,” Tony said quickly.

  Charles frowned. His heart wanted to soar. Was it possible? “Who’s there?”

  “Amelia,” Tony said.

  Charles slammed on brakes. “Amelia’s at my house?” he asked, and Mick looked at his brother. Could it be? Mick wanted to be hopeful for the first time too!

  “She just called,” Tony said. “She’s in town. At the Walgreens. Brent’s gone to get her right now, Pop.”

  It sounded crazy to Charles. The Walgreens? Why would she be at Walgreens? Why wouldn’t she just go to the house? Why did Brent have to go to some fucking pharmacy to get her? Was she injured? “Is she alright?” Charles asked. “Is she hurt?”

  “She said she was okay. But we won’t know until she gets here. We just literally got the call.”

  “I’ll be damn,” Charles said, a small smile breaking out on his face. “When she gets there, Tony, don’t let her out of your sight. You hear me, boy?”

  “I hear you, Pop. And I won’t.”

  “We’re on our way back,” Charles said. “We’ll pick up Jenay. We’re on our way back now.” And then he ended the call, and he looked at Mick. “Motherfuck,” he said.

  But Mick was already notifying his pilot to get his plane ready. To get it ready now!

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  The car was still coming to a stop when Charles and Mick jumped out. Jenay got out in a hurry, too, when the car stopped rolling. And she ran inside as fast as they did.

  “Where is she?” Charles asked as soon as he crossed their threshold.

  “Back here, Daddy!” He heard Ashley yell. “We’re back here!” And he and Mick hurried to the family room.

  Brent, Tony, Ashley and Donald all were in the family room by the time their parents and uncle made it back there. But when Charles saw Amelia standing with them, and when he saw that she was all in one piece, he leaned forward, bent over, and placed his hands on his knees. He was beyond relieved, but so drained emotionally that he couldn’t go any further.

  When Amelia saw him, and Mick and Jenay, she smiled and ran toward them. Mick got to her first, lifted her off her feet, and wrapped her into his arms. He closed his eyes tightly as he held her.

  Donald elbowed Ashley as they looked at their usually emotionless uncle. It was a rare moment to see Mick the Tick show that level of affection for anybody.

  When they stopped hugging, and as Amelia and Jenay hugged, Mick moved away toward the window, with his back to them all.

  “He’s crying,” Donald whispered to Ashley.

  “Uncle Mick don’t cry, moron!” Ashley whispered back.

  But Donald was not convinced. “How much you wanna bet?” he asked her.

  “Boy bye,” Ashley said, and dismissed him with a flick of her hand.

  When Amelia and Jenay stopped hugging, Jenay quickly asked if Bonita was okay, and where was Robert. Bonita was fine, Tony said. She was asleep. And Robert was in Jenay’s office making phone calls and handling town business.

  But Charles’s entire focus was on Amelia.

  He stood erect when Amelia stopped hugging Jenay. And she looked at the man she most admired in this world. She stared at her brother. Physically, they were so unalike. He was big. She was small. He was white. She was biracial, but she looked black. But they shared the same bloodline: their mother, and they had a bond unlike she had with anybody else in this world. Charles was the man she looked up to.

  Charles was staring at her too. And that emotional surge that overcame him when he saw for himself that she was okay, returned. And he opened his arms. Amelia ran into those arms.

  He felt the impact of her body as soon as it slammed against his. She’d been through hell. He knew it without asking. But she was a fighter. He knew that too. She was determined to get to the other side.

  Amelia sobbed in Charles’s arms. He held her and didn’t speak. Jenay had watery eyes, too, looking at Charles. Because he was a man you could depend on. He wasn’t perfect. Nowhere near it. And what he did with Kattia could never be excused or dismissed. But he was a man she knew, just like Amelia knew, she would always be able to rely on. Even with his flaws.

  When Amelia finally began to pull back, and as Charles handed her his handkerchief to wipe her tears away, she looked into his eyes. “You don’t know how glad I am to see you again.”

  “Ditto, kiddo,” Charles said.

  Amelia smiled. He always said that to her. “I called Trevor and Carly. I wanted them to bring JoJo to me right away, but Trevor didn’t think it was a good idea. He said Jo should stay put until they find Hammer and figure out what’s happening. Brent agreed with him. Do you?”

  “I agree with them,” Charles said, wiping a fresh tear away. “It’s not over yet.” He hated to ask her, but he needed to know what they needed to do. “What happened, Millie?” he asked.

  Mick turned around and looked too. But Jenay told Charles to let the woman sit down first.

  And she did. On the sofa. Charles and Jenay sat down too. Charles ended up, as usual, in the middle.

  The rest of the family sat down too. Except Mick. He remained by the window. He was waiting to hear what happened.

  “Now that Aunt Amelia’s back,” Donald asked, “does that mean we no longer have to be in prison, Dad?”

  “You stay put until this shit’s over,” said Charles. He leaned back and placed his arm around Jenay’s waist. Jenay leaned back against Charles, with her body leaned halfway on his broad chest.

  Charles looked at Ashley and Donald. “Out,” he said.

  Donald and Ashley expected that would happen. “We understand about Brent,” Donald said, “since he’s a cop. But why does Tony always get to stay?”

  “Yeah,” Ashley agreed.

  Charles gave both of them a chilling look.

  “On the other hand,” Donald said.

  “Let’s go,” Ashley said, and they both took off.

  Charles looked at Amelia. “Go on,” he said.

  “I got a call that this guy, Bone Crush we call him, had reopened my operation.”

  “You had it shut down then?”

  “Charles, I told you I closed it. And I did.”

  “Good,” Charles said. “Because I thought I was going to have to beat your ass about that.”

  Amelia smiled. “You and everybody else. But yeah, I closed it. But Bone reopened it, and under my name. Targe called and told me what was going on, so I went down there.”

  “Who’s Targe?” Charles asked.

  “Targe Montalis. Some guy Hammer hired to look out for me. But only he turned on me.”

  “Hammer’s man turned on you?” Mick asked.

  Amelia nodded. “Yup. And before Bone died he said something crazy too. He claimed Hammer gave him permission to reopen my operation.”

  “Hammer?” Charles asked.

  “That’s what Bone said. But I didn’t believe it.” Then she frowned. “At least not at first.”

  Charles and Mick looked at each other.

  “But then I knew something was up,” Amelia continued. “But I wasn’t trying to deal with that. I was just gonna make Bone shut it back down. But he kills himself. Right in front of me. So I bounced. I felt it was time for me to get up out of there. And that’s when Targe came for me. I had to jump the stairs to get away from him. Then this van damn near runs me over and takes me away.”

  “Where?” Charles ask
ed.

  “I don’t know. They tied me, blindfolded me, and then they drugged me.”

  “Drugged you?” Mick asked. “Are you certain?”

  “Yes, I’m certain. Why?”

  “You know something, Mick?” Charles asked him.

  “I know regular hoods don’t drug their prisoners. I know that.”

  Then Amelia looked at Charles. “What about Hammer?” she asked. “Brent said nobody knows where he is. Is that true? You haven’t heard from him?”

  Charles nodded. “It’s true,” he said. “We even went to Charlemagne searching for him.”

  “And he wasn’t there?”

  “No,” Charles said. He didn’t have the heart to tell her just what was there, namely countless dead bodies, when they were able to get inside.

  Amelia’s face was unable to hide her anguish. She leaned against Charles too. Charles took his other arm and placed it around her.

  But he still had so many questions for her! He knew she was in a state, but they needed answers. “Where did they take you, Mill?” he asked her. “And did you recognize any of them?”

  Amelia shook her head. “No. I didn’t recognize anybody. And I don’t know where they held me. When I came to, I was in some small room with very little light. I thought I was all alone because I didn’t see anybody or hear anybody for a very long time. They kept me pretty drugged up. The last thing I remember was somebody grabbing me and lifting me. Then I think they drugged me again, or I was already so drugged-up, because I passed out. I don’t remember anything after that. When I came to, I was sitting in the backseat of a car, in front of Walgreens right here in Jericho, and I was alone. There was no driver. Nobody else was in the car. Just me.”

  Charles and Mick looked at Brent. “Did you run a trace on the license plate?” Mick asked.

  “It didn’t have one,” Brent said. “They apparently drove it into town, removed the plate, and then got in another car and took off.”

  “And nobody saw a thing?”

  “They knew what they were doing. I ordered my men to get every surveillance tape of every business in that area, but there were none to get where they left her. They knew what they were doing.”

  “They left her on the far end of downtown Jericho,” Charles said. “They knew she would be discovered there, and they also knew they wouldn’t be discovered on video there. But they wanted her found.”

  “Right, Pop,” Brent said. “That’s what I figured too.”

  Then Charles’s cell phone began ringing. Everybody looked at him. He quickly pulled it out and checked the Caller ID. Unknown name and number. But he answered anyway, putting the phone on Speaker. “Hello?”

  “Is this Charles Sinatra?”

  “Who is this?”

  “Is this Charles Sinatra?”

  “Yes, who is it?”

  There was a pause. “My name is Targe Montalis.”

  Amelia was immediately about to say something to Targe, since he was the man who betrayed her and tried to kill her, but Charles took his hand from around her and placed it over her mouth. She looked at him. He shook his head with that don’t say a word look in his eyes. She nodded her understanding. He removed his hand from her mouth.

  “What do you want?” Charles asked his caller.

  “A meeting,” he said. “I was in charge of your sister’s security detail. I have information you might want.”

  Charles decided to try something. “She’s missing. Do you know where I might be able to find her?”

  “I know where they have her, yes.”

  Amelia looked at Charles. As Charles suspected, the guy had no idea that Amelia was back with her family. Or, at the least, he was pretending that he didn’t know. “Why would you give me information?”

  “Because I don’t like what they did to her. I want to set the record straight. They got me caught up in this mess, too, and I want out.”

  Charles and Mick looked at each other. Mick seemed to be on the fence and Jenay knew why. It could be a set up.

  But Charles knew the guy did have info. He had been in on it, too, but had apparently been disconnected from what was currently going on. “Where do you want to meet?” he asked instead.

  “There’s an old abandoned papermill just outside of Westbrook,” Targe said. “We can talk there without eyes on us. Because I got something to say. Something you’ll want to hear. If you come.”

  “What’s in it for you?” Charles asked.

  “What?”

  “You heard me. Why would you want to help me?”

  “I told you I was in charge of her security,” Targe said. “I owe her.”

  Amelia rolled her eyes. He didn’t think about that debt when he was trying to kill her!

  “Where are you now?” Charles asked. He wanted all of the beforehand intel he could get. “Are you at that papermill now?”

  “No. I’m in New Hampshire right now. I’m trying to stay out of sight. But I can meet you there. But you need to come alone.”

  “No dice,” Charles quickly said. “I don’t know your ass from Adam. You’re the one who wants to talk to me. You’re the one who needs to come alone.”

  Charles could tell the guy didn’t like to hear that. But then he spoke up. “Okay,” Targe said. “How about tomorrow night?”

  “How about tonight?” Charles asked. “Six o’ clock.”

  There was a pause. “I prefer tomorrow,” he said.

  “I prefer tonight,” Charles said.

  Another pause. “Okay. I’ll be there tonight. Six o’ clock.” Then the call ended.

  Everybody looked at Charles. Charles looked at Mick. “What do you think?” he asked him

  “I think we have to meet with him,” Mick said.

  “But Targe tried to kill me,” Amelia said. “His ass doesn’t give a damn about helping me out. Was he trying to help me when he was trying to kill me?”

  “We’ll handle him,” Charles said. “That’s not the issue.”

  “Then what is?” Amelia asked.

  “Is it a set up or not,” said Brent. “And I say it is.”

  “So, do I,” said Jenay.

  “Set up has my vote,” said Tony.

  But Mick and Charles weren’t so sure. “They brought her back,” Mick said. “Unharmed. And they didn’t mention that little bit of information to their accomplice.”

  “Which means?” Brent asked.

  “Which means we don’t have a clue what it means,” Charles said. “But that’s why we have to meet with him.”

  “With backup?” Brent asked.

  Charles and Mick looked at each other and smiled. “What do you think?” Charles responded to his oldest son even as Mick pulled out his cell phone and walked away. He was ordering a group of men from his heavy security detail in town to get to Westbrook and hide out at that paper mill well ahead of their journey there.

  Just in case.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  The family went out back, on the patio, to enjoy each other’s company and to eat a little barbecue. Amelia was back safe, and even Mick felt celebratory. Bonita was even awake and running around as if it was the Fourth of July. But it was nowhere near it. There were still too many answers out there, and still no sign of Hammer, and that meeting they had scheduled for tonight left most of them uneasy. But they all knew they needed a break from the drama too.

  But while Amelia was receiving a happy to have you back phone call from Reno and Sal Gabrini, who were joking about how her brother Mick had ordered them to be on standby as if he was the general and they were his foot soldiers, Charles and Jenay broke away from the group and went upstairs, showered, and got into bed together. This had been an especially trying time for them, and they needed to decompress. They didn’t know any better way to do it than to lay on their backs, staring at the ceiling, in quiet, peaceful reflection.

  It didn’t take long for Charles to do what he always loved to do and pull Jenay on top of him. At first it remained a qui
et peace in the room as he held her. They were still decompressing. But both of them knew just lying there wasn’t going to be enough. Not when Jenay could feel his growing erection. Not when Charles could feel her bare breasts against his bare chest, and her lithe black body against his muscular tanned frame.

  And true to form, he began to finger her until she went wet, and was licking her lips in anticipation of more. Charles loved that sensual look on her, as he continued to fondle her. Then he wrapped his hand around his thick erection and put it inside of her.

  Deep inside of her.

  And Jenay was loving it. She laid her head on his chest and closed her eyes as he held her tightly and slid in and almost out of her with slow, repetitive glides. He slid across her ridges in such a scrumptiously sensual way that it made her as aroused as she was relaxed. She loved being with Charles. She loved the touch of his big arms around her body, and his big dick inside of her. But she didn’t love what he had to do that night. She didn’t want him to go to Westbrook!

  “We still don’t know who was behind her disappearance,” Jenay said, “or where Hammer could possibly be. And after what happened at Charlemagne too? It’s still dangerous out there, baby.”

  “That’s why I have to go,” Charles said as the slow fucking of his wife was relaxing and arousing him too. “I can’t just leave it like that.” He was breathing harder and harder in her ear as he fucked her, which she knew meant he was going to take it to another level very soon. Not that she didn’t want him to. She very much wanted him to. She was enjoying just the thought of going deeper. But still!

  “Amelia said that guy you’re going to meet tried to kill her,” she reminded Charles. “Why wouldn’t he try to kill you and Mick, too?”

  “He might try,” Charles admitted. “But that doesn’t mean he’s going to be successful.”

  “But,” Jenay started saying, but Charles cut her off.

  “We aren’t going to get ourselves killed,” he said to her. Then he lifted her head to look into her eyes. “Okay? You can take that to the bank. We’ll be just fine.”

  But he could still see the concern in Jenay’s eyes. He smiled. “You worry too much,” he said.