Affirmation (15 page)

She flicked on the lamp to shine light on the living-room to find Giuseppe sitting
on her
brand spanking new loveseat
holding Gee
. Clad in a
black
tux and
clean-shaven, she barely recognized him. He stroked the dog and she screwed up her face at Gee’s disloyalty. “Little traitor.”

Giuseppe
craned his head to look around the room, “
Very n
ice.”

Shanda rested an elbow on t
he arm of the sofa, “Thank you. There’s no point in asking how you got in and made yourself at home. I guess breaking and entering is normal behavior for you.”

“I broke nothing to enter.”
He retort with a hissing as he tried not to explode and tear down her house.

“Thanks for not breaking anything,” Shanda remarked with sarcasm.

The attractive blue eyes raked her over
.
“What have you been up to these past few months?”

“Oh, I don’t know Giuseppe, a little this a little that.”

“
I notice you have
grown
fat
from the
little
this and that
’s
.”

Shanda scoffed, “
It’s what occurs
when a woman is pregnant.”

“Are you certain you are pregnant and not concealing a large meatball in your belly?”

She stood, “Talk of food, I’m hungry.”

He put the puppy on the floor and
stood. He walked around
the room
to shed the violent rumblings tak
ing
place in his head. He fingered the
knick-knacks on the end tables.
She liked crystal angels
and
African statues, interesting.
He flicked the little angel over and
it
rolled and
then
hit the floor. Shanda pretended she did not hear the noise and continued what she was doing which infuriated him more.
He stopped at the mantle to examine the pictures lined there.
There were p
hotos of
Shanda
and
her precious
dog
, yet
none of family. He wondered how long she thought she could continue this charade without being found
out.

The world she created was a solitary life. It was not for a vibrant woman from Brooklyn. There was a lot about Shanda he did not know. She was a curiosity and a mystery he sought to uncover.

Giuseppe strolled to the kitchen to observe the girl, just as he d
id
when she s
lep
t. He
restrained himself from slapping her
exposed
ass
or dragging her from the house and to the plane. She deserved a firm hand, but seeing the size of her belly, he calmed. He could not risk hurting the
mother;
doing so would endanger his child.

W
hen
Shanda had awakened, he
expected her to bolt for the door, but she
did not.
She wouldn’t have
escaped
far anyway
,
because
a man
was stationed out
front and
another guard
ed
the
rear
door
.
He sent
Tolo away
to return the car when he saw the luxury vehicle
parked in
her
driveway.
Shanda’s
car w
as what they’d use to reach the a
irstrip
in the morning
.
Yes, he was taking her out of this world of pretense, she just didn’t know it.

He practiced restraint and it choked him. Yet, he swore to his brother not to break her neck and what a lovely neck it was. He leaned on the counter and crossed
his arms as she busied herself like he wasn’t there.

Giuseppe squinted when she placed two plates and utensils on the counter like an Italian mother hen.

“Would you like a slice
of
pie
,
I baked
?
”

This surprised him. “You bake?”

“I do.”

She cut him a piece and he gladly
dug in to
s
ample the woman’s dessert. He enjoyed good food and being fed. He l
iked
her pie. It was actually delicious
and a
lmost as good as his mother’s.
“Buono.”

She smiled as he ate
and they sat briefly in silence in an unspoken truce until the food was consumed.

Giuseppe finished first and her
eyes
widened
when his fork hovered over her saucer
and she slapped
it away,
“Hey!”

He
took her
portion
and ate it
,
anyway. She had yet to learn he took what he wanted which included pies. He wiped his mouth on the dishtowel and tossed his fork in the empty plate. “Are you carrying my bambino?”

“You know I am. Why else would you be here?”

The eyes flashed, “And you know this for certain?”

“Yes, Giuseppe. I’m not a slut. I know who I fuck and when.”

“Then we have
a dilemma
.”

“We do?”

“Sí.
You will come to my home until the child is born and
the matter of paternity is settled.
”

Sh
anda scoffed
, “Wishful thinking.”

He leaned in and violated her personal space
with an intimidating glare
, “
When you fled
from me,
you sealed your fate
, donna. I will not let you out of my sight
again
.
”

She pulled the pie in front of her
and stabbed at it with her fork. Now, Giuseppe had her pissed. The verbal games were finished and she had to set him straight on a few things. “First of all I didn’t
flee
from
you
.
” She pointed the fork at his face. “
Secondly, how dare you think you can tell me what to
do?
I remember you gave me money and said ciao like I was a dollar store whore. Don’t confuse me with your bitches
Giuseppe;
I don’t take orders from you!”

He seized her wrist
and took the fork
. He didn’t like the
sharp
prongs pointing
in his direction.
“Be careful
donna
. I have chopped
off
fingers for less.”

Shanda rolled her eyes. Seriously, the scary mobster routine played out. “Look, we can compromise.
T
o put your mind at ease we’ll do a paternity test
when the baby’s born
, but I’m staying here. I’m not going anywhere
.
”

“You cannot stay here alone.” He exhaled. “
I will not debate with you.” Then he pushed away from the counter to get a beverage from the fridge. Water, juice and more water and not a single beer were there. He snatched a bottle of water and consumed every ounce. He needed something to cool hi
s temper
before he spanked her ass.
He had yet to beat a woman, but he could punish her in other ways.

Giuseppe tossed the bottle in the garbage and something she
mentioned produced a long
pause
before he asked
. “If you did not run from
me
, who
did you r
un from?”

Giuseppe interrogated enough people to
distinguish concealment from a lie.
Shanda
hid, and if not from him, then who?
When she did not answer immediately his patience evaporated. He slammed his fist on the counter, “Speak
ora
!”

Shanda failed to flinch. Giuseppe could yell a
t the t
o
p of
his
lungs,
as long as he didn’t
put
a hand on her, he could shout
until the cows came home.

An
yway, Selange
must have
already
receive
d
the letter
and Giuseppe was bound to find out why she split.
“
I planned to tell you th
e
day I
flew in about the
pregnan
cy. I spoke with
Selange
and she said you would be
visiting.
But, b
efore I got on th
e
plane I had unexpected visit
ors
,”
she omitted her father was among them
,
“the feds
.
”

“What?”

“Yes. The feds Giuseppe. I cut-out because t
hey knew where I was going and they wanted me to wear a wire.
They
said
Selange was in danger
by being with Alfonzo. They told me
to think about what would happen to her and the children and crap like that. They thought I bought their bull-shit but I didn’t. I met Selange at the airport to say good-bye
because I knew if I went to that house and you were there and they spied us talking they’d ask questions and t
ry to use me to try to put you guys in jail
.” She sighed, “Leaving Selange and those kids was the hardest thing I
did
in my life, but nobody is going to
make
me to hurt
her
. I’ll
die before that happens. When I spotted the agents
at the a
irport I
ditched their
dumb-
asses right there
and came here
!
”

Shock turned to anger and a string of obscenities
flowed from Giuseppe
’s mouth. He
paced back and forth running his fingers through his glossy black hair
, considering whether to phone his brother or not. Aye, the man was leaving
on his
honeymoon and it made no sense to tell him now. The feds were always watching and th
e information
wasn’t new, but to hear they sought to
use
Shanda
to infiltrate Alfonzo’s home
was
a surprise development
.
What else would they do?

The daughter of the polizei had become more than the potential mother of his son, she had become a
pawn.
No wonder she ran. Her actions were a sign of loyalty. She chose a side and he would protect her, no matter the outcome of the paternity test.

He would take her to Palermo.
The American government had zero jurisdiction in his home. She
was not considered a
fugitive;
an uncooperative p
awn is more fitting. He decided,
Shanda Johnson
, unlike Roberto,
or Geovonna
acted
to protect the family. Her motives were selfless and she gained his respect.

His shoulders protruded like boulders from the tux as he marched
to her side and peered at the pregnant woman whose belly may or may not be filled with his child.
“
D
onna. You should have told me this. My brother
and I would have protected you and saved you from this isolation.
”

“
Who’s your brother?”

“Alfonzo.”

“
I thought
you were
cousin
s.
”

He scoffed, “We are brothers donna, not cousins.”

“It’s Shanda, not Donna, remember?”
She said with a mouth full of pie.
“I know you probably fuck a lot of women and can’t remember their names but come on, at least try.”

Giuseppe s
mirked. Did she plan to save him any
of the delicious dessert
? “
Donna in Italian mean
s woman.
I will give you time to pack and tomorrow we leave.
”