Aftermath (21 page)

Alfonzo took a seat, keeping his eye on Giuseppe’s hand and the gun on his lap, “Nice piece. Do you mind if I put it away?”

Giuseppe did not protest when Alfonzo
quickly removed the weapon, took out the magazine clip and sat it on the coffee table, then relaxed. “It’s disrespectful to call your mother vile names Geo. Censor your mouth in front of the guys.”

“Eh, bull. She is what she is.”

“What’s goin
g on that’s making you talk this way
?”

“Did you not understand…Carlo is not my real father…we share the same father you and I. The great Luzo Palazzo was a busy man.”

Alfonzo crossed his leg. The news shocking, yet not earth shattering. Luzo Palazzo was the whore, not the women in his opinion. In any event, he and Giuseppe
inherited
similar traits
.

The first-aid kit arrived and Alfonzo told Giuseppe to raise his foot and t
he drunk man put the bloody thing right on the knee of Alfonzo’s
Norwegian
tweed pants. He shook his head, gripped the man’s large foot and yanked two pieces of glass out then applied antiseptic. He bound it with gauze like a pro and ordered the guard to get someone to clean the place up. “Matter of fact, you do it!”

I almost had my fucking head
blown
off
.
That’s right you clean the shit up,
dumb
prick!

Lou and
his men would’ve been on top of things
. Hell, Lou, Vincent and his
entire crew
wouldn’t have
stood by as he got wasted like that and not put away his goddamn guns!

That’s the type of soldiers he had watching his back. These
guys
weren’t up to the task. When Giuseppe sobered, he’d advise him to give these guys
a lesser
assignment.
Matter-of-fact, he’d take care of it before he departed.

“We are brothers…I once prayed for a brother.”

Alfonzo pushed Giuseppe’s foot
away
and c
ast a look
in his direction, “It was answered.”

“We could have made mischief together.”

“Yeah
, t
wo assholes in the same place,
it
would
n’t
have
work
ed
.”

“It would have been fun.”

T
he guard appeared with a trash bin and swept the glass.
Alfonzo
ignored the man
and
frowned at Giuseppe.
The would’ve, should’ve, could’ve were only contractions and didn’t change anything.
“Let me have what you
’
r
e
drinking big brother
.”

He watched Giuseppe’s face
as he poured liquor into
an
empty shot glass.
 

Giuseppe was his brother, hot damn. It explained the instant connection between them. Yeah, he could see the resemblance when he studied the man’s profile. The blue eyes sort of screamed Luzo, didn’t it? Shit, now that
he thought about it
, all of Luzo’s children inherited the gene. The truth’s
stared him in the face
for years and
he
missed it.
“Take those contacts out already. You forgot or what?”

“Guess so
,
”
he
a
nswer
ed
, yet he took no action toward removal.

Alfonzo downed the shot. Oh yeah, that Russian Vodka burned like a mother-fuck. “Hey, did I tell you how this Russian
and I
had a drinking contest?”

“No, who won
?
”

“I had the Vodka
and
he had the Puerto Rican Rum.”

“The rum is better.”

“Depends on
a man’s
taste
in spirits
.”

“The rum is sweeter.”

“Are you going to shut the fuck up and listen or
keep
comment
ing
?” Alfonzo joked.

“Tell me who won, I don’t have all day. I need to take a
wicked piss.”

Alfonzo’s eyebrow rose and he chuckled, “
W
e’re definitely brothers. I say the same
line when I’m wasted.
”

“Who won
, tell me
?”

“No one.”

“No one
, really
?” Giuseppe guffawed
and
begun to relax. Having Alfonzo around during his time of crisis made the sting of his mother’s deception less painful. He reclined and put his bandaged foot
back on his little brother’s expensive pant
leg
. He loved messing with
Alfonzo,
he was too serious
.
Sometimes, when lying alone or waking to a quiet home, h
e somewhat envied
Alfonzo. He had a loving family and a
dorable
kids
.
If he ever had children, he would want a son like Sal. He had to admit, seeing Alfonzo with his family, even the troublesome Selange had him rethinking the bachelor life, except, there wasn’t a woman with who
m he chose
to
make a fool of himself for…or as they say –commit. Commitment equals insanity. Anyway, n
o
woman
burned his insides like the Vodka or made him blush with a glance. If he
were to go insane for
a woman, she must be sweet and loving and not cunning like Geovonna. Women such as Geovonna were exciting to fuck but a lifetime in her presence would sour a m
an. Honestly, he liked Selange
,
before the woman fell in bed with Nico, she had been quite sweet.
It
was
evident she love
d
Alfonzo until
Nico
’s dick protruded in the
middle
. Eh, but
his love-sick brother forgave her despite
his
attempts to sway him otherwise. The man could not help himself and was lured back in.
H
e did not understand
all-consuming love
, perhaps because he never
would. It bordered on insanity.

In his
drunken philosophy
he
queried whether he
ever
experienced love at all. But of course, he had. His family he loved very much
beyond reason. He would kill and die for his family, was that insanity? Then yes, he could somewhat understand the effects of a potent love. Except, he had no such compulsion for one particular woman.
There were numerous women and each one was potential tinder, yet it’s Shanda who created the spark.

Ah, the thinking on the topic was madness. Alfonzo and his little Delilah were fucking happy and nothing else mattered.
He planned to
visit more often and
put the fear of Giuseppe in that alluring head in case she had another foolish notion to stray on his
brother
,
again
.

“We were both smashed, so we called it a draw…but…”

“But –what?”

“
You see that brand
o
f vodka
, right there, the one you
love to hate
but keep drinking
?”

“What about it?”

“He owns it and the
inebriated
sonovabitch gifted me twenty percent in shares.”

In a
n intoxicated
display of affection
Giuseppe
grabbed Alfonzo
’s
neck, “Come here
!” He
said roughly and rocked
Alfonzo’s
head
from side-to-side
. It wobbled and reminded Alfonzo of an earlier scene with his son. Now he knew how Sal felt. “
That is why
I love you fratellino…
you are smart
…I will watch out for you
now
…
brother is better than cousin…
right
brother?”

Alfonzo sighed as Giuseppe
continued to shake his freaking head.
Giuseppe officially became the
mushy drunk
and those were the most emotional
kind
!

CHAPTER T
HIRTEEN

Darren’s physical
exam
went
well
, considering the teen had a cracked rib and couldn’t play ball until it healed. The boy was angry, basketball was his life and Nico felt for the kid. He drove the rental car, glancing occasionally at the sulking boy as they traversed
from
T
hird to
Second Avenue
toward the Fifty-ninth Street Bridge.

Darren insisted on going to school after the exam, it was late morning so he told Ari he’d take him. She wanted to ma
ke an appearance at the office and try to assimilate into her normal routine, especially after the drama with Gregory.

Aaron had skipped out early, hopped the train to school but not before a stern warning that his dad was going to be on his case and
he
better improve academically or he’d have hell to pay. Yeah, Nico grunt, that
kid of his
had the thrill-seeker gene
and a
Giacanti to the core.

Darren spoke, “What were you like when you were my age dad?”

Whoa, this was an out of left field question and Nico pondered it. “What do you mean?”

“Like, did you play sports or have a hobby, things like that.”

Learning how to k
il
l is that a sport?

“I played soccer
and drew pictures in my spare time
”

“Why didn’t you become an artist?”

“Humph, long story.”

“We
have an hour.
”

The boy’s putting me on the spot.

He decided not to lie to his son anymore. The
truth
surfaced.
“My adoptive father said it
would only detract
from what I
’m
meant to do.”

“And what were you meant to do?”

Darren
sat up, listening with rapt attention. He didn’t know much about his dad’s life and spending time in Palermo and hearing everybody talking, he sort of wondered was there more to his dad than he shared. He loved his dad and wanted to get to know him better. Not
only the surface
image but the pain that forged the killer people feared
. To D
arren
, the imposing man had always been just dad.

“Da
rren
…I had a complicated childhood. It’s not
easy to talk about son.
” He went silent. His mouth held tight in a thin line. What was the kid doing to him?

“Dad, it’s okay. Whatever you tell me is confidential. I won’t love you less. I promise…
I just want to know.”

He told Darren some of the family history in a condensed version. The violent parts were omitted. Semira and her affair with the king of Italy and their love children were the feature attraction. He shared how his father, Alberti gave him to Ernesto, the Butcher to learn the ways of a protector of the Giacanti family. An honor bestowed upon only a blood relative. Something he did not know then.

“The things I had to do
Dar
r
e
n, I don’t want to talk about. I just don’t want you to ever be like me.”

“Did he
beat
you dad, that man
, the Butcher
?”

“
He treated me like a son, except the lessons were harsh and
sometimes I feared I wouldn’t survive.
” Nico said, shifting in his seat at the uncomfortable line of questioning. No one dug as deep as this kid and the shit was getting to him.

“Did he
hit a lot
?”

“There are some things worse than beatings.”

“Did he make you kill people?”

“Yes
and also
watch.”