Aftermath (13 page)

Tears shed
in the dark for his papa poured from his soul, worsened by the loss of Alberti who stood as the last of his uncle’s
and now they were alone.
Nico,
his
wicked
cousin
behaved as if
love for a father washes
away
with
time
. Only a heartless man would think that!

The
great enforcer
had become
a
piteous thing and he
felt
no relation to
him. H
e would never claim
a cold-blooded animal like Nico
as
his
cousin, anymore.
The
sonovabitch didn’t cry for his brother or display sincere repentance for any of his transgressions.

Cold.

Killer.

Monster.

Nico was not a man.

No sound emitted from Nico. He was being choked.

Giuseppe’s father was not an abusive man. He gave Giuseppe love and
lessons in life. To kill was always Giuseppe’s choice.
Erne
sto taught Nico
to
slaughter
and om
itted
love
.
“Clip a
man in the manner in which he’s lived,” was the sentence spoken
to
a frightened boy. The boy became the man and remembered everything he was taught.

Nico’s
victims were faceless and his indifference was a
soul
shield
. Today he placed it down
to confront
the naked truth. His eyes closed under the choking pain. He was not a victim, but a predator. That is what he became and Giuseppe was releasing him into the wild where he belonged.

Nico
was
n’t completely
heartless
;
he did feel.
The ache of
rejection
from
Ari
was real; the guilt each time he looked in Alfonzo’s face and now regret
for his treatment of
Giusep
pe who had always only sought the love of his cousin and received only scorn.

Nico relaxed his limbs. His legs dangled high above the bar
e
trees and jagged rocks
. The night was thick and heavy
like
his body
. Slowly, he peered down at the hard
sediment
and pointy spears of foliage. From such a distance he’d become impaled or
get his head cracked open. There’s no way he’d survive the drop.

The guilt
from
his transgression
slew his will to live.
Tonight he chose the
executioner and
the manner of
death
, he accepted
the punishment
.
He loved Giuseppe
.
He’d been tough on him because
he
was spoiled rotten. An ungrateful bully of a kid who required a
firm hand
, b
ut, perhaps he’d been too hard on the
kid a
nd not affectionate enough.
His sin toward his cousins, led him here and he saw no reason to fight. It’s a battle
he chose to lose
to
Giuseppe
who
needed
a
win
to gain salvation.

Nico closed his eyes, his throat burned and staying awake became difficult. ‘
Come on
do it Geo…
get it over with
. Exact
your
punishment
goddammit
. I deserve it…
send
me home
release me…I’m ready
.’

“
Why
are you
god
damn
heartless
cugino?
My father
said I
can
always
count on you
and Vincent
. You
were our protectors if anything ever went wrong. I looked up to you
…cugino
…
you are my family…I wanted to do as my father sa
id
and come to you, but you betrayed
our
family
when you took what was not yours…yet I love and hate you
cugino!” The sound from the bereft man shattered the calm air, “
P
apa I wish you were here
to see
Nico the protector…why did you not wait for me…babbo…I died with you…I did not want you to die alone…I am your son…we die together…never alone…
”

Giuseppe’s wound
s were deep and the
wail
ing sound were from the depth of a loving son
who missed the talks and laughs
of
the father
he respected.
The overwhelming misery caused
Giuseppe to falter
and
despair
clung to his chest like
razor sharp wires and his muscles convulsed. The arm slackened and
Nico
began to slip.

A musical overture resounded
. It carried on
the forceful
gust of wind
to
bl
o
w
across the
desolate
trees,
wilting the
weake
r
branches
and leaving t
he st
rongest
upright.

Nico inhaled oxygen and it brought renewed life,
his lungs
expanded and he heard his father
. It was Alberti’s voice
shouting, “Nico…
d
o not give up life…you are
loved and needed…grasp hold son…fight
!”

Infused with renewed purpose Nico grabbed hold of the metal rods jutting out from the railing.
He flexed his knees up and at th
e exact second
Giuseppe’s
arm
gave way.
His nostrils were gills from the exertion on his arms
. H
is spine
slammed hard into the metal grate foiling the drop
and he howled from the pain,
“Aaaahhh
dammit Geo
…
motherfuck
!”

Giuseppe’s
reaction was instant remorse
, “Nico!” He shout
ed,
when he realized what he’d done
. He grappled with his
cousin
’s arm
as he
swung
precariously
below
like an
anchor on a rope
.

Nico’s massive arms
power
ed
to hold on but
he was hurt and
winded
. Exhaustion weakened him and his
legs
simply hung. Veins
protruded from his neck
and
the burning sensation
branched from every part of his body even his throat.
He bowed his
head
under the exertion to hold his body up. May
be
this
was the
finale
, shit!

Giuseppe bellowed for aid
.
H
is
grunt
s were
hard
. Gravity tugged at him and bent him lower over the edge of the barrier
,
threatening to take him headfirst toward the darkness below. But, Giuseppe held-fast to his cousin and didn’t let go.
H
e clung to
Nico’s
limb refusing to let
him
die.

Finally, the men were there. The weight eased and they were being pulled to safety. When they got Nico onto the ledge then placed him to the ground, Giuseppe slumped to his ass panting like hell.

Nico sprawled on his back, heaving large volumes of oxygen. The
running through his chest was
tympanic
beat
ings
of a
racing
heart.
His throat, arms and fingers burned. Every muscle throbbed and his eyes were blurred from the oxygen deprivation.

L
ou
waved the guys back to give them space to breathe.
Their anxious expressions
were signs they were
inches from plunging to their deaths

They breathed in rapid unison.

Nico’s
body felt weak and he closed his eyes. Grateful for the voice that came when he needed it most. He was
sad;
it took this to wake him from the blackness and
to
give him hope. He wanted life, yes, he wanted love.

Nico’s
throat
was hot as burning coal,
but he extended the olive branch to Giuseppe and croaked
“I’m sorry Geo, I’m here cugino,
in nome dei nostri padri lo giuro.”

And it is these words that made the angry man
’s eyes water
. The tears he had not shed for so long
were
falling.
He blinked them away and drew in a long breath. The weakness passed and the purging made him strong.
K
ill
ing
Nico, felt wrong.
“
I did not mean to drop you, but you
were
heavy.”

Nico
slowly flexed forward. He leaned on his palm to stand and once vertical extended his hand to Giuseppe who grasped it and leaped to his feet.
“
I know
!”

Giuseppe chuckled
and his face transformed. He was glad he did not kill
Nico. “Famiglia!”

“Famiglia!”

Then the men walked unsteadily to the waiting car.

Th
ey crawled inside and fell against the battered leather interior.
Opera music
blared and Giuseppe kicked the back of the driver’s seat to awaken his sleeping cousin.

Alfonzo cleared his throat then peered around the side of
the seat
with bloodshot eyes. They widened at the
condition of his cousins. The formerly w
eary eyes
curtained
by
long masculine
lashes
flashed in the dark,
“
Somos buenos…
a
re we good
now
?”

The
men were
amused Alfonzo
actually
slep
t
.

“Yeah,” Nico grunt.

Their
clothes were
splatter
ed with blood
and ripped
,
hair
disheveled,
faces bruised and
in
Alfonzo
’s opinion,
a
double
sorry
mess.
“Are you sure
be
cause you look like shit?”

Giuseppe
smirked, “Nico
almost died
, cugino
.”

“Th
e bastard dropped me
off the bridge.” Nico’s hoarse voice confirmed.

“
It was an
accident.”

“Well, that’s really s
mart
Geo
.
Nico
has
the
contact info
programmed in
his big head.”
Al
fonzo sobered the
pair. “Since you’ve squashed
your
beef
,
is it okay if we get going?”

Twin nods, “
L
et’s go
.”

CHAPTER FIVE

St. Petersburg
at four in the morning was desolate, considering it was the most populated city in Russia and
the
cultural hub for Europeans. The trio flew in on an air cargo plane and changed into the company uniforms en route, memorized their fake ID’s and sat quietly
the last leg of 
the nearly three hour flight.