Page 41 of Teddy Sinatra: Go Your Own Way
“Knowing your father? Yes, I can imagine.”
Mick’s eyes hardened, but he said nothing.
“He wants me to hit Denardo,” Teddy continued, “but I keep telling him I don’t have enough intel to hit anybody. But you know how he is.”
Teddy, and everybody else in that room, glanced at Mick again. Mick remained expressionless.
“Can we meet?” Teddy asked.
“Will I be wasting my time again?”
“The way Pop’s blaming me for all this shit? Hell no.”
“Now you’re singing my tune. Where and when?”
“Same place. And now. I’m on my way.” He ended the call.
Teddy held the phone in his hands momentarily, as if he knew this could go sideways, but then he began to leave.
“Ted?”
It was Mick’s voice. He turned around.
“Keep it under control. We have questions. We have no answers. I want answers. No more fuck-ups.”
“Well damn,” Marco said.
Everybody could see that Teddy was offended. “I’ll get you answers,” he said.
But Mick saw that rage in Teddy’s eyes. He had too many points to prove, which could cause him to go off on Rarsi if Rarsi wasn’t giving it to him straight. But now was not the time. “Take Nikki with you,” he ordered.
Teddy frowned. “What are you talking, Pop? I always meet him alone. I have to meet him alone or he’ll know something’s up.”
“He already knows something’s up. Mygotdamn kids were ambushed, that’s what’s up! Nikki, go with him.”
Nikki immediately rose to her feet. She wanted to back Teddy up anyway.
But Teddy didn’t want his wife in any line of danger. Not after what happened to the twins. “I’m going alone, Pop. That’s how we’ve always met.”
“Tell him Nikki’s onboard too. Tell him he get one, he gets the other one. You’re a tag team. Whatever the fuck you have to tell him, you tell him. He’ll understand that. Go.”
Teddy still didn’t like it, but he’d rather have Nikki with him than anybody else. They began to leave.
“I’ll go too,” Marco said.
“No hell you won’t,” said Teddy.
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t know your ass like that. Out there in California doingwhoknowswhatwhile I’m around here worrying about your ass. Yet you think I’m taking you on a run with me?” Everybody was staring at Teddy. Nikki knew Teddy didn’t realize how much he was revealing in those few words he spoke. “You won’t even pick up a phone and give me a call, but yet you wanna run with me?”
“How many phones have you picked up to call me?” Marco fired back.
Teddy and Marco stared at each other. Mick stared at them both. It was a cycle so vicious that it made his stomach churn. Because he knew he started that cycle.
“Let’s go, Nikki,” Teddy said firmly, stared at his son a moment longer, and then left the office.
Nikki glanced at Marco, too, but hurried behind Teddy.
