Authors: S. W. Frank
Tags: #Literature & Fiction, #United States, #African American, #Romance, #Anthologies
Aftermath (12 page)
“You agreed. Didn’t I do the same thing for you when you wanted to go see an American
band?
This is the time you help me.”
“But…”
“No b
uts, let’s go.”
“Oh, okay.” The younger twin whined, then grabbed
her
oversize Bohemian bag from the dresser and slipped her feet in plain platform shoes.
Evie’s eyes widened at her sister’s attire. It was dull and lifeless and that hair, ugh! “I hope you have a brush in that satchel for your hair!”
“Do you want to leave or not?”
“Yes. I will make you presentable later. Let’s go.”
They
met Aaron in the corridor and the
trio was
quiet
as they hurried to the stairs. Suddenly,
the bathroom door opened and the little boy Sal emerged, fully clothed and asked, “And where are you
all
going?”
Evie fanned him away, “Go to sleep
brat
.” She said in English.
Sal overheard them plotting earlier and he wasn’t staying behind. They were going to a party
and
he wanted to go.
Aunt Carmen had
parties
all the time
and this was his chance at fun
.
“I’m going.”
“No you are not.”
Evie spat.
The kid crossed his arms, “Then I will have to disturb your mom
. Do you want to
upset her?”
“Let him come!” Aaron replied annoyed at the girls for wasting time, besides it was good to have Sal along. Another boy, even if he were only eight or nine, he wasn’t sure how old the kid was because he acted really mature, was better than riding with two foreign girls who’d talk in their language and shut him out. For all he knew, they could be talking about
him
.
Darren opted out of coming
.
He wa
s recuperating, plus he had some pretty nasty bruises on his face. They were ugly and might scare the girls away. He pumped fists with Sal as Evie, ‘humphed’ haughtily then led the way.
Getting around the guards was easy, her and Maddy did it a
lot.
Getting the car through the back gates was the challenge, but she figured it out when she
saw her brother leaving. All they had to do was get to the car.
****
Alfonzo
leaned on the interior door panel when Nico entered the car,
“What
’s the long face about, is everything still on
?” He asked
the stone-face
enforcer when
he slid in the
backseat
and sandwiched
Giuseppe
in the middle.
“
Nothing, we’re good to go
.”
“
He did not get pussy from Ariana. I had pussy and I know Selange took care of you, right cugino?
” Giuseppe said, n
udging Alfonzo in the side, “but Nico has been left out in the cold.
”
Nico sn
eered
, showing his
canines
like an angry dog. Tension exuded from
him
and Alfonzo surmised Ari’s rejection, the loss of Alberti and Geo’s incessant pokes were setting the man on edge.
Alfonzo experienced empathy for Nico and t
he emotional distance shortened
. Nico
would not exhibit his pain, but beneath the rugged exterior, Alfonzo recognized a desolate man. He’d been there, of course he could understand.
“Pipe down Geo.”
Alfonzo cautioned. Nico was on the precipice and one push of the magic button and all hell would break loose. Except, Giuseppe never listened, he was an antagonist and lacked the ability to truly read a
person
.
Giuseppe laughed, “Eh, to hel
l
with
Nico!”
The car rolled away from the guarded estate, protected in front and rear by two large SUV’s full of men. Alfonzo gave Giuseppe a stern glance then went silent. He’d said enough, he would not say anymore when Nico popped him.
They had a Russian to deal with and that took precedence over Nico and
Giuseppe’s
personal
problems.
“After this job you two, you need to keep the hands clean, capisce?” Nico voiced.
Alfonzo had already come to this
conclusion and
agreed.
“I send no one to deal with
a
personal offen
se
against me
,
do you
capisce?”
Giuseppe countered.
“Then find yourself in a daily fight,” Nico
answered,
“because there’ll be many more offenses coming your way
, you hot-headed
brat
!
”
“My father never sent a
flunky to
settle
a personal score.”
“And he
’s
dead.” Nico said matter-of-factly.
Alfonzo scoot
close to the door.
Yeah, here it comes
!
And
as Alfonzo
anticipated, fists went flying. Giuseppe threw the first blow, however Nico caught it
mid-air and side-butt the hell out of Geo’s jaw like a powerful bull
and blood tinged spittle struck Alfonzo
’s cheek
.
“
¡
C
oño
!”
Alfonzo exclaimed
just as Lou careened to
the
side of the road near
a
low barrier and they
both
leaped out the car. Alfonzo waved Lou back, “Let them alone Lou. Fuck it, let them fight!” The
n
he
wiped the spit from his face and kicked the door closed.
“
Motherfucking lunatics!
”
The lead vehicle’s break lights flashed then
the car
reversed
simultaneously
along with t
he
trailing
SUV
and they
skid to a halt
.
The m
en were out of their cars
with
guns drawn rushing over to see what the
emergency stop
was about.
Alfonzo put up his hand,
halting
the
guys
.
“Nobody intervene. It’s a family fight!” He leaned against the rocking car door
and c
almly spoke to Lou. “
How much time
do
we have before th
e
cargo plane takes off without us?”
“A
little over an hour
boss
.” The perturbed
Capodecima
answered.
“
We have
plenty of
time.”
Alfonzo paced. Those two had some deep rooted issues
. It’d been boiling over for a long time
. In the
streets,
sometimes
a
good fist-
fight was the only way to settle things. So, he removed himself and let the
men go
at it.
The loud
n
oises
emanating from
the interior
was proof the pair w
as engaged in
a
nasty
brawl.
It didn’t take long before the fight
spilled out
side.
Alfonzo didn’t care to watch, he wasn’t in the mood. They’d given him a headache and to think he left a warm bed with a hot woman for bull-shit. He claimed the empty driver’s seat and pushed a button to turn on the console. The thing lit up like a cockpit and he settled in and gave a voice command, “Opera.”
Orchestral music
cut through the air and he
grimaced. His skull connected with the headrest and he closed his eyes to mentally
block out the
fight. He was battle weary and preferred not to observe the
god of death
against the god of war.
In
his summation
they were kin and
equally destructive
.
The male tenor cried as loud as the violin and drowned out the
cousin’s
shout
s
.
“You sonovabitch, you care about no one!” Giuseppe’s voice boomed
and a
punch
collided with Nico’s chest.
Nico
moved backward, not by the force of the blow but
to gain
emotional distance.
“Since we were young, you have brought pain to me.” Another
strike from
his
raging
cousin
landed. This one rattled Nico’s jaw.
E
nraged
, Giuseppe boxed the m
urderous bastard
for speaking ill of the dead and unleashing his sorrow. To think Nico was the
favored
and
given an honor
many would have gladly died to uphold, yet he
trampled
it
to dust
and with it
Giuseppe’s
trust
.
Giuseppe’s
knuckles bled after
his
fist
impacted with
teeth.
Nico considered
blocking;
instead he allowed the hit to give Giuseppe the satisfaction he sought.
There was raw
pain
written on
Giuseppe’s
face and he lashed out.
Another pound from
Giuseppe
split
the corner of
Nico’s mouth and the
taste
of
blood in his throat
was
refreshing. He w
anted pain, he needed it, it was far better than being numb.
He
’d done
his damage to
the
youth, now he welcomed the consequences from the grown man. T
he will to fight
Giuseppe fled, replaced by guilt.
Giuseppe
grabbed
him in a chokehold
and
Nico
grunt
.
Giuseppe’s
mountainous
biceps expanded
to form
hills
and flexed hard on
Nico’s
throat.
In his fury, he wasn’t seeing his cousin but the man
his family
loved. The man his mother believed was good
beneath
his
murderous ways
and she
was wrong
.
They all were.
Nico murder
ed for
sport
and
bec
a
me an apparition of the man he
once
sought to imitate
as a boy. Yes, he actually
idolized Nico
,
believing as they all did he was the most loyal and unstoppable of the family, a guardian, their sword against whatever troubles were to come.
Even his father loved the violent man like a son. When Nico
betrayed
the family he became an affront
. The
resentment widened. Nico was void of a soul and a
killing whore.
He was an enforcer
without honor
and
should
be slaughtered like a dog!
They were at
the edge of the railing
which
over
look
ed a steep
bluff.
Giuseppe
became fueled with such hate he
flipped
Nico’s
solid
body
over the rail
and his arm hooked around the neck like a noose. He wanted Nico to
experience fear, pain, hopelessness and all the emotions many of his victims felt. Giuseppe growled like a ferocious beast, but he did not let go.
Precipitation
reflect
ed from the
rocks
and the shrubs below.
They were shimmering tears on a
hilly landscape
for what Nico had become. The despair in Giuseppe’s heart
from loss
peaked and he came undone.
