Aftermath (32 page)

Selange listened, which was damn good, because Shanda had a lot to say. She was nervous and excited and mad all at
once.
How the hell could one night with Geo get through her protection, huh?

She wore a diaphragm and this shit wasn’t supposed to happen. Oh, she wasn’t feeling this baby shit at all without a man and she didn’t want Geo if he didn’t want her. That was her dilemma, tell him about the pregnancy or not
, be a single mom or go after him for child support
?

“So, should I call him girl, what should I do?”

“I think
…
”

“But if I tell him and he pulls that male denial
crap and asks,
how
I
know it’s
his
baby
,
I might get a gun and
blast the fool
!”

“Well, if I were…”

“Nah, see this is
Alfonzo’s
fault. If he’d kept his mouth shut I would’ve had more than one night with Geo and we could’ve bonded
and I’d know where his head is at, do
you hear what I’m saying
girl
?”

“There you go blaming
…
”

“I’m so glad everything’s calm between you and
Darth Vader
and ya’ll back to doing the nasty, but there’s a fire brewing in my life girl and I swear I’m
becoming
a raving lunatic!”

“It’s hormones.”

“That and then some. I’m not saying a word to my parents until I’m about to drop the load. They’ll go hard. Who’s the
daddy and where is he, type of shit and I don’t need that crap on my shoulders.”

“Shanda…I mean…if you’re going to have a baby…I mean you are an adult…you can tell your parents.”

“You know what, fuck
it;
I’m not telling
Giuseppe a damn thing!”

“Shanda, I swear sometimes I think you have ADHD.”

“Whatever. Anyway,
I’ve always wanted a baby
, heck you have four. I’m late in the game.”

“Children aren’t a game
and we’re not in a contest
Shanda
.”

“I know that!”

“I’m just checking to make sure.”

“You know
what;
I
’ll raise
this
kid on my own
, forget Geo-Giuseppe or what
ever
the he
ck
ya’ll call him
. I don’t want the hassle of
baby
daddy drama.”

“Shanda, that’s not fair. Learn from my mistake. I’m your best friend and I love you like a sister
and
I’m
warning
you,
please
do
not go there.
Geo
will be here tomorrow, jump on a plane and come out her and discuss this with
him
.
Si
t down like a woman
and have
him agree to a paternity test
. If
it’s his
,
you
guys
take it from there –but please get
a
DNA test first!”

Shanda sighed, “I don’t know.”

“I miss you, at least come and visit.”

“I did miss you
, no
lie.”

“Sal asks about you all the time.”

Shanda’s tone softened at the mention of her godson,
“The boy
’
s nothing like his
mean ass papa
, he’s actually sweet.
I
do
miss him and Allie-cat
and the cutie twins
.
”

“Tell you
what;
I’ll splurge for the ticket. First class seat.
The tickets will
be at the reservation desk at JFK,
same deal as before, okay
?”

“First class, huh?”

“You deserve only
the best and it’s
my
apology gift for hurting your feelings. You were there for me and I’ll always
…always
be here for you. BK ‘til we die, remember?”

Shanda fanned her eyes trying to stop the emotions
coming in tears, “You trying to make me cry Sela. Don’t do that shit. Now I feel bad for not calling you.
Damn!
”

“Is that a yes, you’re coming?”

“Book a flight for tomorrow morning and I’m there.”

“On it. I’ll send a
confirmation
alert to your cell
.
”

“All right. See you soon
and Sela
.”

“Yes, what’s up?”

“I’m sorry, too.”

“Now
you’re
trying to make me cry?”

“I had to return the favor, see ya’.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Cars and trucks rumbled
by parked sedan
.
Horns
blared an annoying melody that became synonymous with everything
Nico
disliked about the city but tolerated.

Noise.

Incessant.

Always present even during sleep.

Manhattan, Ari’s stomping ground, her fast-paced home.

The woman loved it here and he was a nomad who loved to roam.

He
hung
around
longer than he should for her and the boys. Slipping out at odd hours when duty beckoned and returning hours or days later for him was the norm. This family man she wanted didn’t exist. Nico’s profession and responsibilities were far from the norm. He was trying to strike a balance and could not do it here in this city in a small apartment like a caged dog with rabid human animals
in suits pretending to be upstanding men.

Hypocrites and rule-makers seeking to contain the very lawlessness they created.

Men created jails and guns and war. They plundered and robbed the land and now sought to hold in check the
ir man-made
evil
.
He scoffed and it’s here in the bowels of shit he sat watching the building
for the underpaid flunkies who were as ignorant as those who gave them orders.

Gregory was scum. His death was a blessing, yet the law would not see it that way. He is a human being is what they’d say. Kidnapping a child, blackmailing the mother who was duped into his bed is a death penalty. There aren’t any deterrents for trash like him in a society filled with bleeding hearts. No wonder crime flourishes. Excuses are made, justifications are long and pity is in abundance.

God cannot help a fool, there are far too many in existence.
Every death is not murder, some are acts of justice.

A homeless man dug in a garbage bin on the north side of the street. A traffic agent scanned VIN’s
w
ith dutiful focus,
and
snapp
ed tickets
under
windshield
wipers
of each
car found in violation of the never-ending parking rules
.

No Parking
between
12am to 3am.

Street Cleaning; No Parking Between 6am to7am.

Snow Removal Zone.

No Parking Anytime.

And there wer
e
a
combination of overlapping signs. Parking meters and kiosks and utter fucking bureaucratic confusion.

Nico
’s
eyes were trained to absorb every minute detail in his environment.
It’s
how he stayed alive.
The text from Ari brought him here
. He had one foot on the step o
f the
jet
…one foot…
perched to leave this bowel of refuse.

The men were easy to spot. It’s the cohesion of cops. They walk like cops. Dress like cops, even undercover, Nico sniffed them out like a predator. And the two emerging from Ari’s building were definitely detectives. Different heights, same walk, similar non-descriptive dress and the perfunctory scanning. They looked at people and cars but missed important details. 

They missed Nico sitting four cars
in front of them
,
watching
from
the rearview mirror, memorizing their faces, studying their mannerisms from the short preview and thinking far…far ahead.

Their company regulated vehicle with its ‘I’m a cop’, antennae rolled by and not one glance from the passenger detective into the parked cars. An opportunity missed, a sign of substandard training and what set men like Nico apart from amateurs.

He text Ari to come out once he ensured there weren’t any undercovers posted in surveillance and told her
to walk south.

A few minutes later she appeared in
a
stylish little fedora and
a
three quarter length black coat cinched at the waist, looking hot as hell and
began
walk
ing
in the direction
as instructed.
He stayed put, checking around to see if she were followed. He started the engine and pulled out. He knew her destination and at a busy cross section on Third Avenue he honked and moved to the curb and she climbed in.

“Hey, how are you?”
He asked, stepping on the gas before she was belted.

“Crappy.”

He maneuvered
to
the l
e
ft
lane
, checking the mirrors. Nothing.

“Pregnant, huh?”

“That’s what the doctor said.”

“I’m happy about it, you?”

She shook her head and a thin line of amusement touched her pretty little mouth, “Shocked. Kind of overwhelmed. Happy,” she sighed, “is not the word, yet.”

“I’m not leaving this time Ari, I’ll be right here.”

Then she changed the subject, “The
y questioned me about Gr
egory
again.”

“Hmm
.” He felt more was coming and waited.

H
er voice grew somber, “Nico,
Gregory was a snake. He took something
from my apartment.”

Nico’s ear perked up, “What did he take Ari?”

Her tone became earnest and she shared her mistake, “
They
found our divorce papers
and they asked whether Gregory was blackmailing me
and
then they
questioned me about you and Alfonzo Diaz.”

“And your response?”

“I told them I have no idea why Gregory
my
document
s
and as far as my acquaintances, I meet lots of people and can’t remember
everyone’s
names
. Then I informed them that I couldn’t answer any more of their questions
without my lawyer.
”

The news registered, but he did not let on
about
his concern
s
.
She had slipped.
It would have ended differently, had it not been for her one mistake and that’s
all it took to become marked for death.
She was a
link;
they had found a connection in the chain
.

He drank in her vision and saw the conclusion of possibilities. The end of their new beginnings and life's climax
was
the red stain of their blood
. He'd stand with her,
as a
doomed protector who
’d
chosen his fate. Duty or honor, he'd come to this place
before
. His position is one
in which
no man
wishes to find himself.
The dark would come in daylight to blanket them both
and w
hen it did he'd hold fast
. He’d
take up arms
and
stand
as it exacted its worst
. H
e’d remain
...unbroken... unrepentant...defiant...fighting
for honor and duty. He swore
to be true until his dying
breath.

Nico saw
the woman in the closet
again
,
e
xamining him with
pleading
eyes
in search of a soul. Hoping, beneath the blank features was a man
and not ice
.
Certainly, a human being could not be completely
encased in
frost
.
But he was
unrelenting
in matters of prudence and
silenced its sound with a smooth cut across the heart.
Ari
did not hide, his
sweetheart failed to fully grasp there were dangers beyond legal ones, death is the law for someone who knows
too much.