AWAKENING (Alfonzo) (6 page)

His
mouth tugged at the corner,
as he considered
tell
ing
Selange
about the upcoming
legal issue
. It
’ll suck if she found
out
about it
through the media,
and then
decided
to
wait.
Yeah,
why burden her with his problems. That rat
Gregorio
would soon discover there
’s
no such thing as a Witness Protection Program. Nobody could protect hi
m.
The sonovabitch
hadn’t squawked on the Dominick murder
–nah
, instead he pulled a trump card
out
and
ratted
on the Senator.
His lawyer got the
news only hours before the arrest
of Liebowitz
and
several
other of his
political associates
. The charges ranged from
corruption, tax evasion,
insider trading,
and conspiracy
to
money laundering.
The arrest made international news and now authorities were looking to indict him on bribery charges
based on a phone call Senator Liebowitz made to his office and two questionable meetings.
Meanwhile, his assets were frozen, the
accounts
the government knew about, anyway. The ones they went after were legitimate accounts
. T
hey had no idea of the billions sitting all over the wor
ld he could access in emergenc
ies.
Financially, he was
fine
.
The
insurance
policy
he had on Gregorio was
being cashed in. Soon, the town crier would
find himself six feet under
for
snitch
ing.
A political corruption coupe
involving suspected mobsters
was like Christmas morning f
or the authorities
. Business tycoon and
alleged
ri
n
g-leader
, Alfonzo Diaz was an
added bonus
!

He stared at his ex-wife
; she
looked uncomfortable
.
Despite
everything
, he did have
compassion. Sure, he hated
her actions, m
an, he loathed it with a vengeance
,
but she was still the mother of his children
. For the sake of the
kids
he never
displayed animosity towards their mother
in their presence
.

Alfonzo rubbed his chin, damn woman was making him crazy.
He
bent
down and plucked
Selange from
the rocking chair
. She
mumbled incoherently
,
and
settled her cheek in the nape of his neck like
Allie d
oes.
Alfonzo frowned a
t the scent of her floral hair and the
feel of her soft ass
in his hands.
There was
an
instant tug in his groin
and an immediate a
rousal. It made him angry. Why the hell did his dick betray him every time?

‘
Damn, I miss you
–babe.
I miss us.
I miss laughing and making love to you.
L
ook who’s still here for you in the end. Nico wasn’t worth throwing us away. He never wanted permanency, you d
idn’t
know him
. He’s always been
restless,
didn’t you notice. Vincent could settle down and be happy but Nico…uh-uh, he was always
running from darkness
and bringing it to everybody’s door.
Nico’s got a lot more demons than I ever had and mine were slain the moment I fell in love with you, Nico’s weren’t.
Mierda
!
Y
ou fucked up when you chose him over me.
You really did!
’
His mind hollered as he carried her to the bedroom
, gently
placed her dow
n then
brought the cover up to her waist.
He lingered
there
, wondering what more he could have done to make her happy. His chest was
hollow;
she took his insides and made him a shell of a man. He didn’t hate her, unh-
unh,
real l
ove doesn’t do a drastic three-sixty like that. He was angry, hurt, disappointed, sad and confused. Her explanation of why was
too
damn weak. If she’d told him the truth, then his head could connect to his body but she hadn’t.

Yes,
her
trauma was real but her attraction to Nico had to exist as well. Otherwise, why continue a mistake
to
make it an affair
?

Selange’s
eyes were slits, not fully open
or
totally closed.
Her voice was husky
with fatigue
,
“
Alfonzo
?”

“
Yeah.”

“
I regret
hurting you,
b
ut I’ll never regret loving you
.
”
Then there was a sad whimper, “
I miss you so much,
why
’d
you give up on me when I never gave up on you…why?
”

A vein protruded down the center of
Alfonzo’s
forehead when he
recognized
she was talking in her sleep. He realized this when she rolled over, hugged the oversize pillow and was tugged into slumber’s abyss.

“
Y
e
p
…yep…yep.
I’m tripping
!” He
kicked out his leg,
this occurred days
ago and he still thought about it.
What the hell
did
she say
that
for?
Cono
!
It
messed with his head
and
crippled his resolve. When he kicked this time,
he sought
to shake
that woman
out
of
his system
then
switched to the kids. He
made changes
to
their schedule
. Selange
hadn’t protested
because
she knew he was right
. Ending the home schooling for Sal was long overdue. A
lfonzo
enroll
ed
the boy
in
private school
and
assigned
a pair of
bodyguards
to
escort
him
there
and
back.
He
took no
risks
when it came to
the
kids. Selange
did a
phenomenal job with
Sal’s
education
but
it didn’t take a genius to ascertain the woman
had
taken on too much responsibility. The kids required more socialization,
especially Sal. The boy
inherited his old man’s gene
, the
smart-
mouth and whole nine. Oh, then
there’s
Allie,
his angel. Of course, he doted on his little
girl;
she’s the only innocent female in his life and the most honest.
How could he not
find her
irresistable
? For his wayward angel, he put Anita on the case full-time and
hired another
housekeeper. 
The rambunctious toddler
was signed-up for the Bounce
Around
Program, three days a week at the Young Einstein Center. There she could run around like a wild thing and learn
.

Yep, changes…he’d gone through quite a few, lately.

He rolled on his side, tomorrow was Saturday
. Shit, tomorrow was today. He got the
kids for the weekend
. He growled not in anger but frustration. His foul
countenance grew at the thought of seeing the source of his misery and every glance socked him in the gut. The woman’s sensuality was a pheromone.
The inability to sexually respond, torturous!

‘…
I’m not
a
player,
I just fuck a lot…’

CHAPTER TWO

Sophie sipped the warm tea and put on her reading glasses to skim the local paper.
Amelda
often chided her about her old-fashioned ways, but Sophie scoffed at today’s youth. They were unnecessarily busy with their everything gadgets and lacked the capacity to enjoy a leisure read.
Amelda
was married and the large home which was once full of music and family
stood solemnly
quiet. She missed Carlo. So
,
lively and handsome of a man should have lived longer. “Ah,” she breathed aloud, pushing the melancholy out the door. She knew who he was. They had a good life together and for this she would not change anything about her life, except
…

“Mama –mama where are you?”

It was her son, who else dare
d to
walk
through her home bellowing
like a
goon
? She did not answer
, she’d let Giuseppe find her. She concentrated on the
political section. She stayed abreast of government. The players changed so often, this was the only way to remain informed.

Gi
useppe found her on the terrace, minutes later.
“Mama, Buongiorno.” He said then bent to kiss her cheek. He sat in the wrought iron seat with its fluffy cushion and asked, “More politics?”

“What else is there?” She quipped. “When will you settle down and give me grandchildren to fill this big house?”

“
That’s
what you have
Amelda
for. She’s eager for the job. Besides,
free spirits must roam with
out
chains,
otherwise they suffocate from the restraints, mama.”

“And now you are a wild horse, eh?”

“Of a sort
, I have yet to fin
d
the woman
to
break me.
”

The cook brought out a coffee and a plate of food for
Giuseppe
.
The cook pampered Giuseppe, eversince he
was child. He stood and gave the gray hair woman a huge hug and kiss. “
Ciao
il
mio
cuore
.”

The old woman laughed at Giuseppe’s reference to her as his heart. “
Ragazzo
dolce
.”

Sophie smiled at their mutual adoration. Seeing
the light-hearted side of
Giuseppe
gave her
mother’s
heart joy. There was hope for her son. When the cook sauntered off, she peered over her eyeglasses and watched him eat. “So, you visit your mama after days, is there something you want to speak to me about?”

“Um…Roberto.”

“What
about Roberto?
”

“He’s not a friend
. Someone saw him
in Venice talking to the DSS.”

Sophie sat down her newspaper. “About?”

“I’m not sure.” Giuseppe paused to drink, “Ah, bellissimo. I believe it may be about this case with Alfonzo.”

Alfonzo was under scrutiny. The political ramifications of the investigation could lead to Italy. Everyone, including the Minister of Finance
was
concerned. No one could risk exposure. “You may be right.
What do you plan to do about
it?”

“End the friendship.”