AWAKENING (Alfonzo)
Page 16
They were walking and laughing, slapping each other five when Darren checked his watch. He liked this watch; it’d been a present from his dad. It wasn’t one of those cheap ones either. No matter how many times he banged it or got water on it, the face never scratched and the timepiece kept ticking. He wondered where his dad was off to this time. He’d said good-bye yesterday morning and in his usual style, handed the boy a couple of hundreds, gave him a fist pump and told Darren he’ll be keeping an eye on him. Darren used to think his dad just said that, but now he started to believe, his dad really meant it. Anyway, it was getting late. Grandma always got bent out of shape when he didn’t get there in time for dinner. Aaron hadn’t come this weekend. He had a girlfriend!
He and Tim went in opposite directions at the corner after splitting their winnings and agreed to meet up tomorrow to go to the movies. “Hey Darren,” Tim shouted, “and guess who likes you?”
“Who?”
“Sasha, ooooh!”
Darren laughed, shook his head and continued on his way. The ball struck the pavement making, pap-pap-sounds. Two more blocks. He wasn’t paying attention to much. He never really did, unless it interested him. Sasha, now she was interesting. She put Aaron’s girlfriend to shame, plus she wasn’t easy like Aaron’s girl. No, he didn’t want a girl other boys said they had.
He rounded the corner and a van skid to the curb, the doors came open and two men jumped out. Darren held on to the ball and took off in a mad sprint down the quiet block. His dad always told him, follow your gut, something don’t feel right, listen. Well, his gut kicked like crazy and so did his young legs. The van roared ahead of him and the men who pursued were gaining. He twisted and threw the ball, striking one, slowing their momentum, unfortunately slowing his as well. When he turned around he was snatched off the ground by some huge dude. A hand pressed down on his mouth as he was carried toward the open door of the van. Darren fought, man did he head-butt, elbow, all the self-defense shit he’d been taught. The big man pressed down on his neck and sent him right to sleep.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
The late afternoon transitioned to early evening. The pony was gone and everyone sat at tables eating and chatting as music blared from large speakers. Domingo appointed himself DJ. Shanda eventually decided to return outdoors after some hot and heavy groping. Alfonzo went inside for a beer and found Giuseppe grinning like a Chester cat on the sofa. “Eh, cugino,” he called out.
Alfonzo reached in the fridge and took out a beer, unscrewed the cap, took a long gulp and asked, “Hope you guys didn’t hook-up on the couch.”
“With that one, cugino I would break this sofa.”
Alfonzo shook his head, “I bet you would.”
Then the intercom sounded, “Yeah, who’s at the gate?”
“Uh, Mister Diaz, Nico is here. He says if we don’t let him in, he’ll phone your ex-wife and let her know we’re refusing him entry.”
Giuseppe rushed to his feet, “Let the fucker in!” He advised.
Giuseppe’s anger was as potent as Alfonzo’s. How dare this bastard show up on Allies birthday, he wondered?
Alfonzo sat the beer down hard on the counter then flew through the front door in a rage, his cousin Giuseppe on his heels, also wanting a piece of Nico.
They were at the gate and Nico stood there; arrogant and stubborn in his resolve to see his children. Seeing both men and their angry faces caused him to grin, “Yes, it takes two boys to take on a man.”
Alfonzo nodded at the guard and Nico was let onto the property. He traveled boldly up the walkway then cut across the grass where the boys waited. “You have your people keeping me from seeing my kids, Alfonzo?”
“There’s a question about whether they’re yours, cousin. Until it’s settled I suggest you keep away from Selange.”
“Doesn’t she have a say in that? You’re divorced remember, kid!”
Alfonzo removed his shirt and his watch and tossed them feet away, “I haven’t finished kicking your ass you sonovabitch. This is round two.”
Since the kid wanted to go at it again, Nico obliged him and unbuttoned his dress shirt, fold it and placed it on the edge of the walkway, “Then expect to get the shit beat out of you, kid.”
Alfonzo didn’t wait for Nico to get close. He gave him a roundhouse kick to the face and he stumbled, yet recovery came with such swiftness, Alfonzo found himself being lifted and body-slammed to the grass. He rolled to the side as Nico’s fist came toward his face and answered with an elbow shot to the side of his cousin’s head. Nico went down and Alfonzo leapt to his feet, getting in a second hit to Nico’s flank. What Alfonzo didn’t know about his cousin was the man liked a challenge and the more shots Alfonzo got on him. Nico planned to return twofold.
The blow to Alfonzo’s abdomen was the first, the second went to the kids jaw, but his third was stopped when Giuseppe decided to join in and brought his fist down across Nico’s face. Nico brought himself up and deflected Giuseppe’s next blow grabbed him around the neck and flipped the large boy like a ragdoll. He caught Alfonzo in a headlock, took a nice jab to the stomach for it and a solid head-butt that brought Nico’s respect. The kid’s street-fighting skills were serving him well, yet the match remained uneven. Nico had years of death fights on his résumé and the fact he still breathed proves he was never the loser.
He had the boy in a sleeper hold and would have put him down, if not for Giuseppe and his pesty interference. He tackled Nico sideways and Alfonzo got loose and they double-teamed him like kids on a playground. Nico laughed in his head. The blows had some force behind them, but it was obvious they weren’t trying to do real damage. They were holding back. He decided to teach the pair a lesson, once and for all. If you throw down a goddamn threat to kick a man’s ass, then fucking do it. His adoptive father taught him that at twelve.
Nico zeroed in on Giuseppe, his swing was too wide. He considered breaking his arm, then figured he’d sprain the thing instead. He bolt forward, stepped back into the oversize kid, gripped the forearm, did a quick twist with enough force to strain the tendon then gave him an elbow to the stomach. He grabbed Alfonzo’s leg out of the air, but the difference between Alfonzo and Giuseppe is Alfonzo had real fight training and true skill. He used pure strength and agility to reverse against gravity, to flex forward, grab Nico around the neck and bring his other leg up to knee the shit out of Nico’s face. The kids’ knee drew blood and it poured from Nico’s nose. He replied with a solid punch to Alfonzo’s mouth and they were even now as a cut opened up and blood began to flow.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Maria noticed a commotion in the front lawn when she went inside to retrieve more napkins, she could see men, three of them, wrestling like grown boys. She could make out her son. He was the one with those tattoos like a gang-banger on his skin. Such nice skin he had, too. At first she thought the men were simply playing, but something told her, no, this was a fight. She’d seen the fights. She knew the real from the fake. Maria scurried from the house, her legs going fast until she closed the distance. The one Nico had his knee on Giuseppe’s chest and another arm wrapped around her son’s neck. They were bleeding.
“Stop…stop it. Get off my son!”
Alfonzo’s head snapped up at the sound of his mother’s commanding voice once Nico released the hold.
“Why are you fighting?” She shouted. She fumbled in her pockets and all six eyes questioned what the hell she reached for. Hopefully, the woman wasn’t packing heat. Instead of a weapon she waved a paper in the air. “This is what the DNA test says. Alfonzo –Angelina and Vincent are yours. You are the father. Selange is wrong.”
Alfonzo seized the paper, stepping over Nico and Giuseppe. He read it. The report revealed the test results were 99.9 % accurate. The samples given match….
“Mama,” Alfonzo sputtered, “what, when did you do this?”
Nico was on his feet. He peered over Alfonzo’s shoulder to read the report. “What samples did you give?’
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br /> “Alfonzo’s tooth brush and I swabbed the baby’s mouths.”
Nico sighed.
Giuseppe rose from the grass and held his injured arm. “Ha, you shit!”
Nico ignored Giuseppe’s taunt. Right now he didn’t know how to feel. Alfonzo was the father. Wasn’t that a bitch!
His cell phone vibrated and he answered. Only three people had this emergency number, Ariana and the boys. “Yeah?”
Nico’s eyes drew dark and his breathing calmed as he listened. “Ariana what does the note say, slow and easy?”
Alfonzo’s head swiveled, Giuseppe, too listened.
“How long has it been since you saw him?”
The cousins put aside their animosity toward Nico. Something, major happened. This is the only time they witnessed the stone eyes fill with a liquid shine. “I’ll find him Ariana. Get Aaron, leave there.” He turned to look at Alfonzo. The younger man nodded. He understood what Nico requested. “Charter a flight, nothing commercial. I’ll be waiting in Bayamón.” He shut his eyes and reopened them, “Sweetheart, do not tell anyone where you’re going. Let your office know you have an emergency and give your cases to someone else. You gotta’ get Aaron and leave, now. They know who you are sweetheart. If the note was in the apartment, they’re sending me a message. Call me when you’re at the airport. Don’t cry…I’ll get our son back, I swear I’ll get him back.”
Maria stood there. One minute the trio were fighting, the next they were huddled together, discussing business. She watched them, they were of similar height, and Nico was the tallest. They were dark haired men, strong cheekbones, builds of men who fight and war. Her son was the youngest of them, yet he possessed the gene of the others. It was obvious when she examined their faces. The one Giuseppe, he had the blue eyes, but it was something more they shared. They were a true family.
She did not need to stand and watch anymore. Alfonzo was safe. He and Selange could repair the broken strands and she would stand with them to guard against the evils coming. Familia. Sophie had been right. There was no escape from the Giacanti legacy. She ran and hid from it, yet it found her. She thought of her grandchildren. They needed their Nana. Alfonzo needed his mother. It was time she joined in their war. Love is always a battle.
She took one final glance at the men. Giuseppe’s muscles protruded from his upper torso. What held her eyes were the words: MORTE AI NEMECI DELLA MIA FAMIGLIA.
Luzo had the same words, later she learned the translation meant; DEATH TO THE ENEMIES OF MY FAMILY.
______________________
Novels by SWFrank
Alfonzo
Ascension: Alfonzo Volume II
Anarchy: Alfonzo Volume III
Atonement: Alfonzo Volume IV
A House of Brick and Mortar
The Sisters of Cain and Abel
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