ASCENSION (33 page)

‘I won
’t leave myself open like tha
t
again,
I swear
hijo
!’

Exhausted, he closed his eyes and slept. Aware this m
ay have been
his final fight.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

W
hen
Selange
received
the
news
about
her husband’s condition
she was
home
in
San Juan
preparing to leave for Florida
.
She tried
get
information from the hospital but they were uncooperative and she lost it.
A
n
emotional erupt
ion
from the bowel
of her
stomach
burst
from
her
lungs. She screamed then flung
the
cell phone
at the
wall and
w
atched
it
shatter to the floor.
The assault happened three days ago
, yet they chose today to
give notification to the attorney and not his family.

How dare they do this
? She could not contain her anger at their callousness.
Alfonzo underwent emergency surgery and
was
under a strict no visitor order.
From
Martin’s tone it appeared Alfonzo was in critical condition.

Her a
ngry f
ists pound the walls until
her k
nuckles ached
then s
he collapsed
in a heap of despair to the polished floor.
Desperate
eyes
searched the corridor
for
a
focal point
, anything to silence the
shrill ring
ing
resonat
ing
in her ears.
She was angry
, sad
and
bewildered
. The feelings were
overwhelming;
she was drowning
. A
hand soothe
d
the pulsing
intensity of her heart
as she
mourned the loss of her parents, cried for her
son
,
wept for
Alfonzo
’s predicament
and
every tragedy heape
d upon her
.

She
loved
Alfonzo
without reservation. They were soul-mates. He didn’t deserve
this
. Beneath the surface
lie
a man who simply wanted
freedom
from
the
chains
of the past
. He was brought in this world like countless others without a say to his parentage. His destiny was predetermined, carved in blood as sure as the fetus growing within her body. She was pregnant again
and
happily
so. She was
willing to have many more children with the man she loved.
S
elange
sobbed
like a bereft soul
at the
thought of
Alfonzo’s
suffering
.
She allowed the tide
o
f
sorrow to pull her under
wanting the abyss to
swallow
her
up
.
Everyone she loved
was
ripped out of her life
!

S
he
felt
like
a photosynthetic organism
at the bottom of the ocean being
tossed helplessly
about
by
force
ful currents
.
F
or years
she lived with
remorse over
the horrible words
she said to her mother
before
she died. She
wished she
could rewind time to say
,
“M
om
I’m
sorry
,
it’s
great
you found love again
,
”
but she couldn’t, could she?

Selange never
understood the depths of loving
a man so much that
without him you
couldn’t breathe, until Alfonzo.
All t
h
e
dormant
emotions
and regrets
fed
her
despair
.
She breathed and heaved tears
of sorrow,
treading
life’s ocean
attempting to navigate to safe
shore
s
.
When s
he closed her eyes
to find
e
quanimity
she saw a
vision of
Alfonzo
. He
enter
e
d her life
and brought with it more love and
passion she expected in a lifetime. Now, he
lay
injured and
a
lone fighting for his life.
She stilled.

The attorney cautioned she would not be able to visit Alfonzo
for a few days, he was in
surgery and there was
a
strict no visitor
’s
policy.
S
he propelled
her body
off the
wall as the
tension quieted
. She pray Alfonzo forgave her for
the premeditated crime she was
about to commit.
She
pray
God grant her clemency on the day of reckoning but she could not live without her husband.
Her head flailed back and she stared into nothingness.
She remembered Alfonzo’s
expression
,
the
way
his mouth curled
i
nto
that
sexy smile
and
the
blue
reassuring eyes
.
There were options
and
she
chose
one
.
A deadly one.
The time had come for her to join Alfonzo in his fight if they were to have any chance at happiness. Yes, the hour was long overdue!

She
fled up
stairs and ba
rreled through the doors of the master bedroom. She hurried to the safe secreted in the faux floor of the
bathroom
closet, detached the sides then lift it
to
reveal
a
private safe. He told her about it, gave her the combination years ago and she remembered. The
combination’s alphabetic
eq
uivalen
t
was
U-N-C-L-E-A-L.
Uncle Al.

It clicked open and she leaned forward on her knees to lift the automatic from its shelter. She sat it aside and reached for his blade, the one lovingly inscribed with his name
.
A
gift from his Uncle.

Her finger
s
gently
caressed the hilt, it was beautiful. The pearl handle glimmered and the steel was sharp. A
B
owie knife he called it, often used for close deadly combat. The tears dried and her mind set
on a new course
. She arranged the items on the bed and changed into utilitarian wear. Dark colors and military style boots were preferable but in her assortment of designer clothes she found only cargo pants, a
dark
button down
blouse and hiking boots.

She adjusted the shoulder holster and slipped the automatic in then snapped it close. The blade was placed in a sheath secured to her belt. She looked around the room making certain she tidied it and left nothing amiss except for the manila envelope lying on the bed. In it was her will, instructions in case she didn’t make it home. She left it all to Abuela and Sal. Everything!

***

N
ico entered the house and saw the splintered pieces of a cell phone. He noticed the dents on the wall and figured she heard the bad news. Usually, he never got attached to work but this was different, this was family.

He climbed the stairs and stopped outside the bedroom door. He knocked,
“
Selange are
you okay
,
it’s
me Nico
?”

Th
e door opened and she stepped f
ro
m the room carrying a backpack. Her hair was pulled
into a
ponytail and despite himself his heart fluttered at how strikingly beautiful she was. He loved her like a daughter and seeing the sadness struck him
hard.

“Going somewhere?” He asked when she walked past as if
her
weren’t there.

Still, she said nothing and hurried downstairs. He caught up to her at the lower landing and seized her arm, “Selange…” his voice faltered when her black khaki
jacket
opened and he noticed the holster. He
lift
her arm to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating and true enough she was packing heat. She also sported her husband’s Bowie knife on her waist. “What are you doing?”

She tried to jerk out of his grasp but he held her easily pushing her to the wall and snatching the backpack. He
pinned her there
with one hand and unzipped the bag with the other
to
peer
inside. She pushed at him
trying to
grab it but his arms were longer and she could not reach.

Inside the bag
was
a small computer pad
and more ammunition. He frowned then snarled. “What the hell is this, answer me Selange, what are you planning to do?”

“What Alfonzo
should have
done!
”

She broke down crying and h
is tone
softened, “Se
lange whatever you’re thinking you have to stop and
consider Sal
!”

He
r
head snapped up, “I am. That’s why I have to do this Nico. If I don’t…if Alfonzo dies then Sal or
our
baby is going to endure the same fate as their father.”

“You’re pregnant
?
”

Tears flowed again as she nodded, “I was going to tell
Alfonzo
that night…” her lip trembled, “
but it didn’t work out that way.”

His hand relaxed
against
her shoulder
, geez, now he knew he couldn’t let her do anything foolish. He
embrace
d her and let her sob into his chest like a pitiful lost soul.

Finally, she pleaded
,
“
I need your help Nico, please
help me do this
?”

“Sweetheart, I can’t
Alfonzo will kill me if anything happens to you
.”

She
stepped away and
pulled her
backpack
from his grasp
. “Then I’ll do it alone.”

“
I’m not going to let you leave here and get yourself arrested.”

Her eyes blazed with determination, “
You can’t stop me.”

“Woman, you have no idea what you’re doing. A matter-of-fact, what exactly are you planning to do with that gun?”

“Kill Monticelli.”

Nico froze.
Monticelli?
He was under the impression she
might go after F
ranky. This changed the game. Nico leaned against the wall and crossed his arms, “And how do you plan to do it. He’s been untouchable?”

She opened the bag and withdrew the
computer pad. Her fingers moved
quickly
across the
screen
and
images appeared.
Schematics.
“Alfonzo had this. It’s where
Monticelli’s
been hiding. It’s in a secluded area
near the everglades
but
I can reach it by foot.”