Dipping Into Sin 2: Digging Deeper Into Sin (17 page)

Chapter Thirty-Three

Vincenzo

            “You can make this
easier on yourself. Just tell me where he’s at.”

His head hung low
as he used his last bit of energy to shake his head “no”. The kid had heart.
From the outside, Kevin looked like a wimp that moved wherever the wind blew
him. Surely, if there was anyone who knew where Andriano was at, it had to be
him. But, for the past 30 minutes Kevin has denied knowing about Andriano’s
whereabouts.

            “You leave me no other
choice,” I said, as I threw my cigarette on the floor and pressed my foot
against the bud. Leaning to the side, I shuffled through my bag of tricks and
pulled out a bushing hammer. Rubbing my fingers over the rigid ends of this
textured hammer, I watched as Kevin’s eyes became filled with fear.

            “HELP!” he screamed
out. He was so gullible, as I easily led him into the alley behind The Land.
Popping the trunk open, I snuffed him with the butt of my gun and pushed him
inside. Tying his hands with the robe, I masked his mouth with tape and wrapped
a scarf around his eyes. Driving to Jersey City, I dragged him inside of the
old abandoned factory. 

            Laughing at his futile
attempt, I had to enlighten him before he lost his voice. “No one can hear
you.”

Circling him like a predator, I
said, “You know, this old building was used as a safe haven, a bunker of some
sort. People—mainly the poor destitute class of the great USA would flock to
this tunnel when they heard about the possible nuclear war.”

Sighing, I looked
down at him before saying, “Now, it has become my own personal torture
chamber.”

            Slamming the bushing
hammer down on his kneecap, I watched as the pain distorted his face to be
unrecognizable. He was in so much pain that he couldn’t even scream, rather his
mouth became agape. The blood seeping through his jeans was now leaking onto
his sneaker.

            Looking at the center
between his legs, I asked, “Did you just piss on yourself?” Finding humor in his
plight, I continued to chuckle. Slamming the bushing hammer against his other
kneecap, I watched as Kevin’s head drooped low.

“Look at me,” I
commanded while grabbing a fistful of his hair. “Tell me what I need to know.” 

“He’s in...” 

Dropping the
bushing hammer to the ground, I grabbed his shoulders and shook him before
shouting, “Where is he? Tell me goddamnit!”

            Panting, Kevin’s head bopped
a few times before his eyes rested on mine, “He’s in Charlotte, North
Carolina.”

            “Liar! Do you really
have a death wish?” I shoved him and walked away. Running my fingers through my
hands, I could not believe the gall of this guy. “Tell me the fucking truth,
you lousy piece of shit.”

            “It’s the truth,” he
said breathlessly. Gasping for air, he continued, “He bought a house in North
Carolina. All of the paperwork was faxed over last week.

            Grabbing his chin, I
asked, “Where is the paperwork?” His head tilted back as his eyelids started to
become thin slits. “Answer me, damn it!” I roared.

            Slapping his face a few
times, he finally said, “It is in the safe in my office.”

            Gripping his hair
again, I asked, “What is the combination?”

            Wincing in pain, Kevin
quickly answered, “285964.”

            Releasing my grip on
his hair with a firm shove, I picked up the bushing hammer. The grimace of
horror that appeared on his face the moment he saw the hammer again was
completely priceless. 

“I told you
everything that you needed to know,” Kevin stuttered as he shifted in his seat.

            Walking around him, I
asked, “Did you really think that I would let you go?”

            “I promise,” he cried
out.  I won’t say anything,” I’ll do anything. Please,”

            Stopping in front of
him, I leaned close to his ear and whispered, “I promise to make it quick.”
Sliding my pistol out from the back of my waist, I pointed the gun at his head
and pulled the trigger.

~****~

Typing the code, I
held my breath as I awaited my prize. Hearing the vault door pop open, I
exhaled a sigh of relief. The vanilla colored folder was placed in the center,
as if waiting for me to find it. Lifting the flap, I brushed through the file
with my fingers in search for the address. Stopping, my eyes zeroed in on the
address next to Andriano’s name.

Reaching for my cell
phone, I angled my camera to capture images of the address.
Wait, this can’t
be right.
Skimming over the address once more, I couldn’t think of one good
reason why Andriano would purchase property in North Carolina. Something did
not feel right, and the only person who may have answers would be Nicolai.
Hearing commotions outside, I quickly placed the documents back into the vault
and closed the door.

Making my way to
the door, I slyly opened the door and stuck my head out to see if anyone was in
the hallway. Exiting the office, I closed the door and felt more determined to
carry out my plan.

“What were you
doing in there?”

Feeling uneasy,
the fine hairs on the back of my neck stood straight as my throat tightened.
Turning around to face my brother, I exhaled and said, “I was looking for
Andriano. I have this business deal that I wanted to discuss with him. Do you
know where he’s at?”

Nicolai’s cold
eyes bored into me, causing me to second guess my confidence. Frozen in place,
I waited for Nicolai to see through my deception. Walking closer to me, Nicolai
asked, “His door is always locked. How did you get in?”

Stopping in front
of me, Nicolai’s sturdy eyes tore through me as beads of sweat formed around
the nape of my neck. Wrapped in perspiration, I felt my whole body become like
a human torch. “Is this an interrogation? Why are you asking me all of these
questions?” I managed to ask as my frazzled mind drifted off to the endless
possibilities of how Andriano’s going to react. 

“Answer the
question.”

Turning to face
the door, I reenacted the whole scene. “I just turned the knob and found the
door to be unlocked. I walked inside and called out to Andriano, but found that
he was not there.”

“The camera showed
that you were in there for quite some time. Why?” He continued with the
questioning immediately after I answered.

 “I waited because
like you, I found it to be strange that Andriano’s door was unlocked. So I
waited. I thought that maybe he came back from…wherever the hell he was at.”

His face became relaxed,
as he replied, “No, he’s still out of town.”

“Do you know
where?” I asked, pressing my luck.

“No,” he said as
he pulled out a set of keys and locked Andriano’s door.

Turning away from
him, I exhaled and said, “Tell him that I was looking for him.”

“Where are you
going?” he called out from behind me.

“Out of town for a
few days. I’ll be back by the end of this week,” I responded as I walked away
from him.

~****~

Driving up the
hill, I watched as the rest of the world became more isolated as I neared the
mansion planted at the top of the hill. The large piece of property was gated.
Unable to drive any further, I parked the car alongside of the road and walked
the long trail to Andriano’s mansion.
This is so typical of Andriano’s style
,
I thought as I ventured up the hill. He lived a secluded life and extended that
trait to his home. From afar, the gates appeared to be about my height level.
But, the closer I walked towards it, the higher the gates appeared. It was
impossible for anybody to climb and jump over the gates. Eyeing the cameras
around the vicinity, I tugged on my baseball cap and straightened my collars to
cover the sides of my face. Adjusting my sunglasses, I did everything to make
sure that I concealed my identity. Unzipping my duffle bag, I pulled out my
technology disengagement device and cut the power on. Smiling, I waited for the
system to completely deactivate all codes. Walking closer to the gates door, I
smiled before wrapping my fingers around the handle and tugging.

“What the fuck?” I
mumbled under my breath as I attempted to tug again. Flicking the button on the
device once more, I knew that somehow there must have been a glitch the first
time that I flicked the button. Relaxing, I shook my head and attempted to tug
the handle again. The gate did not even budge.

           
Shit,
I thought
as I pulled viciously on the handle a few more times before walking away.
Turning around, I glanced over at the mansion and felt even more infuriated.
Feeling discouraged, I walked back to my car. Sitting in the car, I began
punching the stirring wheel to vent out my frustration.
How am I going to
get Andriano now?

Chapter Thirty-Four

Simone

Stretching my arms into the air, I counted
back from ten as I felt all of the bones in my torso release the tension that
hid in between. Wiggling my shoulders and bobbing my head, I finally felt ready
to hop out of the bed. Grabbing my robe, I wrapped the sheer material tightly
around me before making my way to my dresser. Staring at my reflection in the
mirror, I couldn’t face the shame that I felt. It seems like I was repeating
the same mistakes that I made five years ago. The only difference between then
and now is that I’m older and should know better. Being on birth control was an
added bonus.

No matter how I looked at it, sexually
frustrated or not, I knew better than to trust Andriano. Frankly, I didn’t
trust my damn body when he was concerned. He was the only man who could cause
my body to overheat like an inferno but have the right equipment water down the
blaze. Still, I had to learn how to avoid his sexual pull that seemed to
gravitate around the both of us. I don’t understand how he can confuse our
sexual chemistry for love. The only love that came out of us was our daughters.
But, a sexual language that only we were fluent in watered everything else down.
What love could be there when for almost a year, Andriano lied about everything?
I fell in love with the man he should’ve been. Being young, naïve, and
inexperienced back then, taught me greater lessons that pre-fixed my ideas of
the kind of man that I was seeking today.  In the end, I was left pregnant and
in the greatest battle with my heart while Andriano was marrying another woman.

Scoffing under my breath, Andriano must’ve
really believed that “serving” Josephine with divorce papers was going to
guarantee an all-exclusive pass to my heart and my life. He only has access to
the lives of my daughters, but that’s only under one condition…he must part
ways with La Cosa Nostra. He must choose a new set of values and loyalty for my
daughters. Making up my mind, I knew that it was time to tell the girls that
Mr. Balducci is their dad. I could only imagine how confused their faces will
be as I tried to explain this foreign concept to them. Looking at the time on
my table clock, I nodded my head as I thought,
I have enough time to get the
girls ready, grab breakfast and take them to their day camp before picking up
Victoria from the airport.
 

Grabbing my wide-tooth comb, I looked at my
hair and felt that I needed a change. Brushing my hair into a ponytail, I felt
confident with my newfound clearness.

~****~

Andriano

            Hearing giggles encircling my face like a mask, I
opened one eyelid and saw each of my daughters towering over me. Shutting my
eyelid, I stretched my arms and quickly wrapped them around their bodies. A
filter of laughter escaped their tiny bodies, causing my heart to skip a beat
at the indescribable sensation.

            “Do you know what happens to the little girls who
disrupt their daddies while they sleep? Huh?” I shouted in an animated tone,
causing the girls to giggle even louder.

            “No,” Olivia managed to squeeze out in between
laughing.

            “We have to eat their fingers and toes, like
this,” I informed them as I grabbed each of their feet and hands and proceeded
to bite them with my lips while tickling them. Each of their faces became red
from the array of laughter that escaped their little bodies.

            “Did you girls really wake up Mr. Bald—your dad
up from his sleep?” Simone asked as her eyes remained focus on me. The glint
that shimmered in her eyes left as quickly as it appeared.

            “Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!” each of the girls squealed
as they attempted to recover before finally jumping to their feet and running
over to Simone.

            Taken aback by Simone addressing me as their dad,
I was not prepared for the pride that surfaced from the depths of my skin.
There’s no other feeling that can relate to being called dad. Our daughters gathered
around her as they stared up at her in awe. Although the sight warmed my heart,
it couldn’t take away from the pain that lurked near my heart.
I truly
missed out on everything.

Chapter
Thirty-Five

Simone

            “Would you like some pancakes?” I asked Andriano
the moment he entered the kitchen holding Acelia in his hands with Jasmine and
Olivia trailing behind him. One after another, they each asked Andriano
questions about random things. I knew that they did not catch onto me referencing
Andriano as “dad”, but I planned to rectify that over breakfast.

            “Yeah, sure.” He answered as he sat down at the
kitchen table with the girls.

Peeking over my shoulder, Andriano took the
seat that had a full range view of me and the stove. Pulling the chair out, he
positioned himself to take a seat with his legs spread wide, aligning with his
broad shoulders. Even though my back was turned towards him, I knew that he was
staring at me. The thought of his penetrating eyes watching my every move sent
shivers down my spine. Last night was a reminder of how easily I can become
lost in Andriano again.

Placing a tower of pancakes on the table, I
went back to the stove and picked up the plate of sausage and the plate of
bacon and set it in the center of the table. Andriano’s eyes followed my every
movement as he brushed his fingers up my thigh when I placed the last of
Grandma’s homemade syrup on the table. Pushing the lump down my throat, I
cleared my throat in hopes that my tears would remain at bay. Standing at the
foot of the table, I prepared each of the girls’ plates before making my own
plate.

Snatching in air, I jumped slightly as I
felt Andriano palm a handful of my ass. Afraid to look down at Andriano, I
tried to remain neutral as our daughters tore into their pancakes while
occasionally giggling at one another. As I attempted to move away from him,
Andriano firmed his hold on my ass, applying enough pressure that sent a
typhoon of heat to dampen my soaked lips.

Standing to his feet, Andriano leaned into
my ear and circled his tongue on my earlobe before saying, “I can’t wait to
taste you again.” My breathing shuffled as Andriano released his hold and sat
back down. Making my way to a chair far from Andriano’s reach, I focused on the
plate in front of me as I occasionally looked up at my daughters. Andriano kept
them laughing as he made silly faces at them.

After a few minutes passed, I finally
gathered enough strength and said, “Jasmine, Olivia, and Acelia. I have
something important to tell you.”

Sweeping my eyes across the room, I settled
on Andriano’s eyes. Nodding his head slightly, I finally said what I thought
that I would never say, “Do you remember when I told you that some kids have a
mommy and daddy?”

Nodding her head, Jasmine said, “But we only
have a mommy, right?”

Wiping the tear that slid down my cheek, I
couldn’t believe how much damage I had done. Convincing my daughters that they
only had a mommy, led them to believe that they only had one parent.

            “Right, Jasmine. But, you and your sisters have a
daddy who loves you just as much as your mommy does,” Andriano responded while
he turned to face all three of our daughters.

            “Where is Daddy?” Olivia asked confused.

            “I’m Daddy. I’m sorry that I was far away from
you. But, I want you to know that I’ve always loved you. I dreamed about you
every night, wishing that I could be with you,” Andriano admitted as our
daughters hung on tight to his every word.  

            “Daddy? But, but, where have you been?” Jasmine
asked as she put a piece of bacon in her mouth.

            “I was far away, trying to make everything
perfect for you girls,” Andriano said as he captured my sight.

            “Will you be here for my birthday?” Asked Acelia
as she stared at Andriano with eyes filled with hope.

            “I will never miss another birthday ever again,”
Andriano promised as his index finger tapped lightly on her nose.

Smiling from ear-to-ear, Acelia screamed,
“Yayy!”

            “Can we make the box now?” asked Olivia as she
stood before him. Stretching his hand out, Andriano nodded his head as he stood
up with Olivia in his arms.

~****~

           
Grabbing my car
keys from the bowl, I looked over at Andriano, who watched me with desire in
his gaze.

            “I need your phone
number,” I said to Andriano.

            “Give me your phone and I’ll put it in,” Andriano
said as he towered in front of me, lightly grazing my chest with his solid
build. Handing him the phone, I moved away from him and walked into the den
where the girls sat on the couch.

            “I left my number on the refrigerator door.
Please don’t take the girls outside, I would feel more comfortable if they remained
in the house while I’m gone,” I called out to him from the other room.

            A few minutes passed, and I didn’t hear his
response. “Andriano did you hear me?” I asked as I leaned over and kissed each
of my daughters.

            “I heard you,” he said as he leaned against the
wall and watched me.

            “What’s wrong?” I asked alarmed.

            “Nothing’s wrong. Everything is perfect.
Everything is how it should be,” Andriano said as his transparent grey eyes
stared at me. “Almost,” he continued after his tongue swiped against his bottom
lip.

Sensing more meaning behind his subtle
statement, I turned towards the girls and said, “I’ll be back home soon.”     

Even though I didn’t want to leave the
girls, I knew that they deserved to bond with their father, at least while he
is out here. Taking one final look back at their giggling faces, I exhaled and
walked out the front door. Andriano came at the time when my daughters needed
their hearts restored. After all, they lost their Nana.

Although they are trying to adjust to life
without Nana being home all of the time, they would occasionally ask if I could
call Nana and tell her that they missed her. I just needed my daughters to fall
in love again, and I truly believe in my heart that Andriano was sent into
their lives for this very reason. No matter how many opportunities that
Andriano could have popped up at my house, he didn’t. No, not until after
Grandma was in the hospital dying. Maybe his presence meant something more…

Throughout my drive to the airport, I
couldn’t help the tears that clouded my eyes. I don’t know if I’ll ever forgive
myself for adding more confusion in their young lives. Entering the airport, I
drove towards the pick-up ramp. Parking the car, I pulled down my visor and
quickly dried my eyes with my fingertips. Smoothing away the puffiness from
under my eyes, I reached for my lip tint and rubbed some across my lips.
Pushing the visor up, I waited for Victoria’s flight to touch down. Shooting
her a quick text, I scrolled to Andre’s contact. He still hadn’t responded back
to my text. Not that I could blame him. Andriano acted like a possessive animal
when he attacked him last night.

            If he’s going to be in our daughter’s lives, we
are going to have to set up some boundaries. For starters, we are not living
under the same roof. Our daughters did not need any more confusion. Secondly,
we cannot sleep with each other. Although sex between us was full of passion, I
knew that I couldn’t resort to being only good enough to Andriano while in bed.
Lastly, he will have to make his decision between La Cosa Nostra and our
daughters by tonight.

            I could’ve kicked myself for revealing his
identity to the girls without making his decision between the mob and my
daughters. I guess,
somehow
, I wanted him to be aware that this time if
he chose the mafia over his daughters, they’ll always regard him as their
estranged father. He will surely have to live with the fact that he turned his
back away from his children. And I would have to pick up the pieces once again
and build their lives up.

            A knock on the window took me by surprise. I
turned to see Victoria bent forward and smiled brightly at me. She looked
better today than she did a few weeks ago.

            After she hopped in and we embraced each other, Victoria
spoke first, “How are you?”

            “It has been rough, but I’m getting through just
fine,” I answered as I started the car. “You look amazing,” I complimented as I
gave her a once over. Her hair, which she mainly kept in a ponytail since the
death of her father, had grown out as it barely grazed her shoulder blades. Her
skin looked rejuvenated, as the circles around her eyes were gone. She looked
refreshed and back to the Victoria that I knew.

            “How are the girls?” she asked.

            Exhaling, I searched for the right words to
describe the girls’ response to Grandma’s death. “They’re taking it one day at
a time. It was extremely hard trying to explain to five-year-olds that the
person they knew from the time that they were born was gone forever.”

            “I have to tell you something,” I braced myself
to tell her about the recent events.

            “What?” Victoria asked.

            “Andriano found out about the girls,” I paused
and waited for her to interject.

            “Wait, what?” Victoria asked, as she leaned
forward in her seat and snapped her head in my direction. “How the hell did he
find out?” Victoria asked in disbelief.

            Throwing my hands up in the mid-air, it was the
same question that I asked myself. “I don’t know. He just popped up at my job a
couple of months ago with intentions of ‘us’ reconciling and moving forward. At
that very moment, I wanted to leave with my daughters,” I paused as I shook my
head. “I refused to run away this time.

            “Why didn’t you tell me, Simone? If it was about
money, I would have gladly paid for your relocation. You know that,” Victoria
expressed earnestly. I knew that she would have, but that was not the reason
why I did not leave.

            Shaking my head, I said, “No, Victoria. Money was
not an issue. I was done with running. I refused to be run out of my own home.
Between everything going on with Kate, I didn’t even want to bring this up to
you. When two weeks passed, after our first encounter, I thought that I was in
the clear. But, then he sent roses to my job and started to leave letters.”

            “Simone, doesn’t it bother you that he could just
find you whenever he feels like it?”

            Nodding my head slowly, I responded, “Of course,
it bothers me. But, what can I do? I couldn’t call the police because I didn’t
want my daughters to see his ass hauled off in handcuffs. He refused to leave.   

            “Can you blame him? He refused to have kids with
Josephine.”

            “How do you know that?” I asked. Even though I
shouldn’t care, I was curious about why they didn’t have children throughout
the five years of their marriage.

            Taking in a deep breath, Victoria began, “Simone,
we never spoke about Andriano since the night of his engagement party, for
obvious reasons. I knew how you felt about him, and you were pregnant. None of
us were prepared to see Andriano completely torn up over you. Although my
father mentioned the change in his behavior, I didn’t think that it could be
that bad. But, it was. He was never the same and rumors flared up about Josephine
feeling like a stranger in her own marriage.”

            Shrugging my shoulders, I can’t say that I felt
bad. “Andriano lied throughout our whole relationship.”

“He’s still married to Josephine,” Victoria
pointed out after a few minutes passed.

            “I know. But, Andriano and I are not getting back
together. He’s just here for his daughters. I’m not an option.”

            Throwing me a look of skepticism, Victoria shook
her head before saying, “Andriano is not going to just walk away from you just
like that especially after what happened five years ago. Everybody that stood
in his way are now dead. When are you going to realize that a body trail is
always dragged behind Andriano? It wouldn’t surprise me if he had Josephine’s
father killed.”

            “Not that I could blame him, though,” Victoria
said after pausing briefly to shift in her seat. Her statement felt like a
bucket of ice cold water being thrown on me. Victoria was right.

“Did you listen to any of the tapes?” she
asked.

“I listened to tape C,” I answered. My eyes widened
as I recalled that night. “Andriano took the other two tapes before I had a
chance to listen to them.”

“Simone, seriously? How could you let him
take them?” Victoria stressed.

“I didn’t really have much of a choice,” I
explained as I recalled that night. “When I heard tape C, I couldn’t believe
how close I was to death. I couldn’t believe that your dad was the person who
sent me the photo. I always thought that it was Andriano. Even though it was
five years ago, I felt scared and began to panic. Andriano ended up busting
through my door like a lunatic and played back the tape before stuffing it into
his pocket.”

Rubbing the tension away from behind my
neck, I continued, “I just want my daughters to have their father. It was
something that I didn’t have and I don’t want my girls to make the same
mistakes that I made. Andriano knows that he has to make a choice.”   

            “Simone, wake up. This is the mob. No one walks
away alive,” Victoria said, as her statement lingered in the area between us.

            “You never told me that you sent the picture to
me,” I said after a moment of silence. “Why?”

            “My father told me to send you the photo. He made
it seem as if our lives were in danger,” she began. Sighing, Victoria said, “He
was only trying to save his boyfriend.”

            Chewing on the inside of my mouth, I could not
bring myself to be mad at Victoria. After all, she’s struggling enough with
dealing with finding out her father was living a double life.