ASCENSION (41 page)

CHAPTER THIRTY—
FIVE

T
he
car
lights
illuminated the gravel as it round a curve and put a spotlight on two figures engrossed in combat. One silhouette
Alfonzo
recognized instantly and
he
leaped
out
before the car
halted.
The man lunging for his wife was yanked
away
by the collar and a strategic kick
placed
just behind
his
knee joint
. Sinesi knelt involuntarily
as
another blow to the side of
his
neck
knocked him sideways. Th
is
did not kill him
; Alfonzo’s
concentrated fist strike
meant to
fracture
and shatter
the trachea
is the blow which
did.

Selange
’s grateful body
collided with h
er husband’s
. The anger fueling him caused his
nostrils
to
flare
. The
sight of her blood stained
and
disheveled
appearance
told him
a moment later the outcome may have been different.
He arrived in the nick of time.

Rapid breaths warmed his already heated chest and his anger cooled.
“
Are y
ou okay
, babe…look at me…are you okay
?” He hugged her
with his good arm and
kissed the
top of her hair
when she nodded
. He was silently impressed at the way
s
he f
ou
ght.

Vincent peer
ed
around for his brother, “
Where’s Nico…
and Giuseppe?”

This brought her alert, “Nico’s shot
.”

“Where?”

Her arm pointed to the thick foliage and Vincent took off
then she detached from
Alfonzo
, “I’m good now that you’re here but you look
like hell
.”

“So, I
heard
.”

She bent and rummaged through
Sinesi’s
pocket for the key, “We have to hurry before security
comes
.”

The moment she spoke these words in the distance appeared a set of headlights cruising in their direction. He followed her down the side of the road after
telling the bearded driver to beat it and they climbed inside the Mustang.
The powerful V6 engine revved in high decibels ready and waiting.

“Calm down babe, we still have some time they won’t get here for another three to four minutes.”

She took a soothing breath keeping her eye on the cars progression, “They’re getting closer.”

Suddenly, the trio of men broke from the brush and
hopped
in the backseat.
She floored it leaving
grass and dust kicking up
in the air.

***

S
elange
slept late into the afternoon
. She slid forward
and peered over at her exhausted husband beside her
.
They had one
helluva
night. They’d taken Nico to a discreet medical facility where he was quietly
treated for his
injuries sustained
in
a
fictitious
car accident. A gunshot victim required notification to the authorities
, something to be avoided at all cost
.

Alfonzo’s private physician was
notified
and
was there waiting w
ith a surgical room prepared. He
gave Nico a local anesthesia, cleaned the wound site, extracted the bullet from his leg then
sutured
him up before
any
hospital staff happened along. Nico’s wound to the head was a flesh wound
. He
cleaned and
bandaged this too then they slipped out as quietly as they came leaving him to fill out treatment reports.
Ultimately,
Nico
was
taken
to the guest room to recuperate.

Gosh, she couldn’t believe she actually did it. Who would believe she was capable of such a thing? Premeditated murder was a death penalty in many states. She slid out of the bed to shower, the invisible stench of death permeated.

The telephone rang.

She snatched it from the charger, hoping all was fine with her son
, “Hello?”

Franky’s voice or Christopher Hernandez said, “Selange don’t hang up this is important.”

She grit her teeth seething with anger, “How dare you call here…how fucking dare you?”

“Selange listen to me. Sinesi tried
to
kill
me
last night
.
I think he might be
heading your way
. You have to warn your husband.”

“Why should I trust anything you say?”

“Because…I love you and I’m breaking every goddamn code because of it.”

“Well, too bad for you.” She was about to hang up when his frantic voice stopped her.

“I’m in Miami, there’s something I need to give you. Proof Sinesi
is
involved with framing your husband
. Meet me at the Juice Bar in forty-five minutes.”
Then the line went dead.

***

A
lfonzo
blinked
then moaned from the pain shooting through his body. He reached for the painkillers and chewed two
before
forc
ing
himself out of bed to p
ee
.

He went to the sink to wash his hands and noticed the telephone sitting on the counter.
Curious
he
checked
the caller I.D. for missed calls
. The
first
number
he saw brought a rumble
to
his throat, “Chris Hernandez…sonovabitch!”

He redialed the number. It rang then a male voice, “You made it home
fast
Selange.”

“
Usted
es un hombre
muerto
!
”

“Alfonzo?”

“You’re a dead man.”

“
It’s not what you think.”

“
Tal
vez
…maybe, maybe not
but I’m going to kill you any fucking way
!”
Alfonzo sucked in air to control the rush of blood to his head.
“
Selange
,¿
lo
que
pasó
con la
confíanza
?
”
He
voiced
aloud,
what happened to trust?

***

The door opened
. He remained seated at the table ea
ting remnants of
a
hero
sub
when
his cunning wife entered carrying a
large
grocery bag.
He chewed to avoid speaking.
Very c
lever
babe, I give you that!

“I see you managed to find something to eat,” she said as she sat the bag down on the
c
ounter, “Emilio dr
o
ve me to
the grocer
then I
stopped to get a cup of coffee.
These are the times I miss Anita. I think I’ll call her tomorrow and ask her to return.
”

She
nervously explained the obvious, besides he knew she met with that slime but
why?

He
continued to
watch her lovely face and
in one bite finished off
the
sandwich.
He could’ve been chewing
a gourmet meal and it would still taste like wood.

“
I spoke to
Sal,
he
’s
enjoy
ing
the attention
from
Abuela.”

He concentrated
on
swallowing.

“I
’ll cook your favorite today.
Lasagna,
how does that sound?”

An eyebrow curved
sharply
up
ward
nearly touching his scalp
. He
nearly choked
from the dryness of his tongue.

“
Sorry I didn’t wake you
to ask what you wanted.
”

A gulp of beer
moistened it and
chased down the food
but not
his temper.

“Whew,” she said in exasperation as she put away the items then rinsed an apple
. She bit it and l
eaned
her elbows on the
table
smiling at him
, “Umm, would you like me to get you some ice cream?”

He
finished the beer in one swallow and sat the bottle hard on the table.

“
Alfonzo a
re you all right?”

He
growled
, “I’m good, how’s Franky
?”

The shock registered on her face and she rushed to explain, “I didn’t tell you
b
ecause I knew you’d get angry,” she
reached to her purse and dug out a manila envelope,
“
but he gave me these. They’re for your lawyer. Sinesi was taking money from someone to set you up.”

“You went behind my back. What the hell happened to no more secrets?”

She sat the papers in front of him, “…just look at it.”

He
crumpled the papers
in his fist
and
stood quickly
.
“You met with a federal agent who’s responsible for putting me in fucking jail. Are you crazy
,
chica
?”

“I’m sorry…I really am but I was trying to help.”

“Just like you did yesterday.
You nearly got yourself
and
Nico killed
,
now this!”

She circl
ed the table
dropping the apple there
and he stepped back. He didn’t trust himself. The anger was too high and he didn’t want to say
what was in his head
. He didn’t want to give voice to it instead he walked away from her.

She followed, dogging his steps, “
Stop Alfonzo
…don’t walk away…talk to me!”

He said nothing
but thought
. ‘
The only thing
I
want right now is a little distance
.
You
went
behind my back
to
m
eet with that traitorous bastard
.
Those papers
ar
e probably forged
and
another
a
set-up
. Selange, this
man came into
our
home and played
us, I let him live for you
!
You have no
idea how fucking a
ngry I am
that I did
!

She touched his arm and he recoiled, “Don’t, babe…don’t…”

But she didn’t retreat instead she came forward and blocked his exit
. She refused to give him space.
“I’ve sat here being the good wife, the quiet wife, the blind dumb wife for too long. I’m trying to help our family whether you want my help or not. You said no more secrets well I don’t have any. Yes, I met with Franky
but I took Emilio
and…” she scurried to the table and removed a pistol from her purse, “this!”

Despite his furor he chuckled, “And what were you going to do, shoot him
down
in public?”

“If I had to, yes!”

In exasperation he shook his head, “Babe, you can’t go around packing without a license
and
shooting people in cold blood. That’s not
what
I want, it’s not who you are.”