by Sienna Mynx
Carlo continued to drive his erection deeply. Sweat peppered his upper lip as he kept the motion of his hips at a steady and even pace. Abruptly, she was aware of the way her internal muscles tugged at his cock and drew him deeper with each plunge. She felt him swell bigger and harder and cried out when her own pussy went into distress. His hot seed creamed her inside and she clung to his sweaty torso unable to verbally communicate her bliss. Instead she shuddered and licked at his flat nipple and sweaty chest. And he collapsed on her cursing and adoring her with words in Italian. Shae smiled. She shouldn’t be happy. It was only a short time since he lost his wife. But he was hers again and she couldn’t help but be selfish.
“HOW LATE IS IT?” SHAE asked.
“Late,” he said.
The darkness was so deep in the room she couldn’t tell if her eyes were open or closed. She kissed his bare chest and snuggled in even closer to him. He rubbed her back. They lay in bliss. Neither of them wanted to move.
“What do you do in America?” he asked. “Do you still work with children?”
“I started a non-profit of my own. We call it ‘New Beginnings’. I help girls the same way you saw me doing it before.”
“You’re good at it.”
“I have a daughter.” She lifted her head and looked down at him. She could see some of his face in the darkness, not much. “Her name is Jilly. I adopted her.”
“How old?”
“Fourteen going on Forty,” Shae chuckled. “She’s here. She’s watching Jewel. You’ll meet her in the morning.”
He nodded.
“Carlo?”
“Yes.”
“I’m not going to change your mind. Am I?”
He didn’t answer.
“If I do this. If I do. Then you have to do something for me?”
“Anything,” he said.
“You have to promise me that you’ll survive. That one day after you’re ready, you’ll find us. The same way I came back and found you.”
“I will survive. I know what you’re asking Shae and I can’t make any promises. But I also know you and... Adara are the only two whoever truly understood how hard I tried. When I was Africa I used to go visit a woman. She fed me opium. It was a terrible time. I saw this future. I didn’t believe it. I believe it now.”
“I don’t understand?”
“It’s okay. I will always love you and my children. And if I survive I will because of you.”
She smiled. It wasn’t the answer she wanted but it was close enough. She relaxed in his arms and closed her eyes. In the dark with his heart beating against hers she felt like they were the only people in the world. She didn’t care what he said, or how badly he’d slipped into his own personal darkness. She was not going to give up on him. Never again.
AFTER BREAKFAST THEY sat at the table and talked until she was out of words. Carlo told her everything. It was part of the deal, no more secrets. She learned of Marietta’s kidnapping and his failure to kill his best friend. She learned how he discovered she’d been pregnant and that Giovanni Battaglia was behind Umberto sending her away. She understood his marriage to Adara and his love for her, though he still struggled to admit to himself that when he felt love it was indeed real. Shae imagined this was two-fold. One, because he needed his guilt to manage his grief. And the other reason was because he was now convinced that he was cursed, and so was any love shared between them. She understood that curse, because it was conjured out of the deepest darkest place of insecurity a person could carry. So she agreed to do what he asked of her. And he agreed to stay alive until he could have faith in them again.
Omertà was the final lesson Shae received. It was a code of silence, of faith and loyalty to keep Carlo focused on the Mafias purpose. He could not break away from the Camorristi. He could not turn against his brothers or his Don no matter how much he wished too. He could not escape the vows he made to be killer. So the choice was made for them.
They sat in silence and digested everything they shared until there was a knock at the door. Shae looked toward it. Carlo did not. He stared down into the coffee mixed with butter that she made him drink.
“It’s her,” Shae said.
Carlo nodded.
“I’m ready to meet her.”
Shae got up from the table and walked to the door. She opened it to find Jilly with their armed escort. She held Jewel in her arms. Her baby girl looked up at her with the brightest of smiles. She reached for Shae.
“Morning, bubba,” Shae cooed. She took her daughter into her arms and then kissed Jilly’s forehead. Last night was the first night since Jewel was born that she spent away from her girls. She’d never do that again. “We’ll be ready in an hour,” she told the woman. The lady nodded and closed the door. Jilly walked in staring at Carlo.
“Is that him Ms. Shae?” Jilly asked.
Carlo pushed up from the table. He’d put on a pair of jeans a white shirt. He looked decent but rubbed his hands on his sides as if they were dirty. “You’re Jilly? Right”
She nodded.
“I heard so much about you,” Carlo said with his charming sly smile.
Jilly went to him and hugged his waist. Carlo eyes stretched in surprised. “I knew you’d be okay. I told her you would be. We’ve come to take you home with us.”
Carlo patted her back. Jilly stepped back and smiled. “Do you want to meet Jewel?”
He stared at Jewel. His daughter looked at him curiously then at Jilly. She then turned her round head and looked at Shae.
“It’s Papa,” Shae said.
Carlo didn’t dare take his eyes off her. A part of him still believed he was in African in Abedi’s hut smoking Opium. That this reunion was a facade and the devil would jump out as the real surprise.
“Go on, she won’t cry. She’ll let you hold her. She’s really friendly.” Jilly said.
Carlo smiled again. Jewel had the roundest face with chubby cheeks. She wore a pink bow at the center of her locs. Shae removed the pacifier from her mouth. Jewel immediately replaced it with her two middle fingers. When he was a boy his mother would put hot peppers on his middle fingers to keep him from sucking them.
She was his Jewel.
He was not sure what to say to her. What could he say? She was a baby. She was his baby. With his son it was different. His boy was too young to really know him. All baby Carmine wanted was a bottle or a changing. She was an Angel. And it was very hard for Carlo to look an angel in the face.
“Hold her.” Jilly said.
Carlo hesitated. Shae was patient enough to wait for him to make a move. But her adopted daughter was not. Jilly walked over and took Jewel from Shae. She came to Carlo and held his daughter up to him. “Jewel. This is your daddy.”
He took his daughter and held her out in front of him. She didn’t smile or cry. His girl stared into his eyes and he felt another deep pang of love. Carlo put her in his arms. Jewel leaned a little back to look up into his face. He feared she would reject him. She didn’t. She touched his lips and stared at his nose. She touched it next, giving it a squeeze.
Jilly laughed. “That means she likes you. I lied. She doesn’t let strangers hold her.”
Carlo laughed. So did Shae.
“That’s right Jilly. Jewel loves him because he’s no stranger. He’s daddy,” Shae said.
“I’m daddy,” Carlo said. He kissed Jewel’s cheek. He felt so much happiness it was hard to part with her. And for a while he didn’t have too. They sat in his tiny living room and Jilly did most of the talking. The young girl rushed through explaining everything from the birth, to Jewel’s lime green poop that she had to clean after feeding her breakfast.
He really liked the kid, adopted or not she was a little version of Shae. And he was hopelessly in love with his daughter. Which made him ache for his son even more. After an hour there was a knock at the door. Carlo felt his heart race. The love he felt in that moment almost made him reconsider. But when he stared down at his daughter and
saw how innocent and pure she was, he wanted to protect her more than ever.
“Will you call me?” Shae asked.
Carlo smiled. “I’ll be in touch. I called Arielle when you were sleeping this morning. She knows you’re coming.”
“But how do I take the baby? How is it legal?” Shae asked.
“Arielle has handled things of this nature in the past. She will have everything ready for you.”
Shae wiped her tears. She took her daughter from Carlo after he gave her a parting kiss. She then put Jewel in Jilly’s arms.
“Go wait for me in the car.”
“What? Why? Aren’t you coming?” Jilly asked him.
“Go, do as I say.”
Jilly nodded and left with their escort. Shae came over and sat on the sofa next to Carlo. She took his face in her hands and kissed him. It was one of many kisses from her that would be forever in his heart.
“I trust you,” she said. “I know why you can’t leave today. I understand. But I also know you’re not going to let us go. You could never walk away from your children. I’m taking them to America and I’m going to keep them safe. You know where to find us, when you can.”
“If I ever can I will. You’re right. I loved Adara. And love you, too,” Carlo said.
“Really? You seriously just started believing?”
Carlo gave her a sheepish smile.
“You are so full of shit.” Shae grinned. She hugged him and kissed him. She held on to him as long as she could before she forced herself to let go. And it was hard. She left him seated. She picked up her purse. She paused and stared at him. He stared at her. She wore his shirt over her dress to cover the front of her. She had her shoes in her hand and stood barefoot. But she was still so beautiful to him. Shae gave him another kiss and then left. Carlo slumped back on the sofa and fought the urge to go after them. It was hard.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Saying Goodbye
Two Days Later
GIOVANNI TOOK TO THE open road like a fish in water. His Ferrari accelerated and decelerated around the traffic. It smoothly glided around the winding roads at an expert’s speed. He knew the coastline pretty well. He knew the Amalfi pretty well. The last two days had been less dramatic than past weeks of hell he and his wife had been through. With her and the children secured in Chianti he felt clear headed and focused. And he needed to be.
Therefore, he broke his promise to not leave her. But he planned to return as soon as he was able. Business was business, and he could never really escape it.
He dropped his car into sixth speed on his Ferrari and let the engine purr. The car shot through the night like a bullet under a full moon. His gaze lifted to it. He remembered a moon that bright before. It was the moon that his Bella stared up into the night at after he seduced her in Bellagio on the palazzo balcony. He’d never wanted a woman who didn’t fall for his charm or power in the first greeting. The night he decided to make her his, was the first night he wanted to earn the privilege. Four kids later he felt blessed to have done so.
Renaldo delivered the update on Carlo. The drinking and opium had started again after he sent his children and woman back to America. He couldn’t change Lorenzo or Nico’s fate, but he had hope that for his friend Carlo he wasn’t too late.
The Gaiola was one of the most beautiful beaches in Napoli. At night, however, the tourists were warned to stay away. The clans ruled the night. Carlo had returned to work as well. But after only a few hours he’d escaped to the beach. Giovanni parked along the street and reached into his glove compartment. He removed the envelope and tucked it inside of his blazer pocket. Then he was out of the car into the streets. He was not under the cover of his men. He had no fear of the Santoro’s though they had been disruptive in the past few days with their retaliation. He was now in the heart of his organization. Even the migrants were paid by him.
On the concrete steps that led down to a den of tents on the beach sat the person he knew to look for. A man in his late sixties of East Indian descent. He thumbed his guitar that he played for tourists during the day. Giovanni walked over to him. The man looked up with cataract eyes. He nodded to Gio, stood with his guitar and headed out onto the sand.
Giovanni followed him. They walked around the maze of tents to the less populated stretch of the beach for ten long minutes. His feet didn’t completely sink in the sand but he did feel the grains invade his leather loafers. Renaldo offered to do this job for him. Typically, he would have agreed. But Carlo deserved his hearing. Giovanni removed Danny Boy from under his blazer and kept the gun pointed down next to his leg. In the darkness it was unseen. Though he knew the vagrants wouldn’t dare try him, every man could be tested.
The man they called Olu pointed to the rocky edge of the beach. There was another tent pitched. It stood alone.
“Did you tell the boys to be ready.”
“They are there, they see you,” the man gave a toothless grin. “They are always where he is.”
Giovanni nodded. He reached in his other pocket and removed some bills. Olu nodded in respect. He took the money and hurried off. Giovanni scanned the area. Carlo was never alone. Whether he wanted it or not his boys always followed. He didn’t see the young men but he knew the old man was right. They were close. He walked over to the tent. The moonlight was so bright he could see the coastline clearly. Half way there, Carlo came out of his tent with a bottle in his hand. He turned and he saw him approach.
When Giovanni reached him Carlo nodded that they should speak. He walked away from the tent to where the shoreline and the water almost met. Giovanni wasn’t sure who was in the tent but he finally did see Carlo’s lost boys on the rocks. They watched them but didn’t approach.
“I could have come to you, boss,” Carlo said. “You need some work done? I’m your guy,” he said after a long belch.
“But you haven’t come to me. Not even after what happened to Eve, and the death and the tragedy in the family. I haven’t seen or heard from you.”
“How is Evie?” Carlo asked.
“Alive.”
“I had my own death and tragedy to deal with.” Carlo tossed the empty long neck vodka bottle to the sand and it rolled out over the smoothed tide into the waves. Both he and Giovanni faced the ocean.
“I know you sent for her. My daughter. I am grateful.”
“Are you?” Giovanni asked.
Carlo cut him a sideways glare then returned his gaze to the sea. “Shae will be a good mother to my kids. That was the plan, right? Get me focused.” Carlo hit his bare belly and then his chest. “I’m ready boss. What’s the job?”
“So you sent her away?”
“You know I did,” Carlo said.
“And for what? More pussy from whores?” He glanced to the tent where a young woman ran out of it barely clothed. He turned his gaze back to Carlo. “More poison in your veins?”
“I’m clean.”
Giovanni scoffed.
“I’m clean!” Carlo barked. “I drink to take the edge off, but I’m not on that shit anymore. I’m out here only a few days a week. I have a room back in... I have a room, somewhere close.”
“I didn’t come here for your itinerary.”
“Why did you come? What do you need boss? I’m your guy.”
“Not anymore. You made that choice back in Africa when you let Lorenzo go.”
“But you knew. You knew it was the one trigger I couldn’t pull. Remember? You knew!” Carlo smirked. He looked down at the gun in Giovanni’s hand. An awareness flashed over his face. He got down on his knees before Giovanni and clasped his hands behind his head.
“Renaldo told me. The Generale and Carabinieri are building a case against you. They are going to use me. My charges, my mistakes. I’m a liability now, boss. I accept that. I’m prepared for it. I want my children taken care of. I want all my money sent to Shae in America. Renaldo has invested some of it, and some of it I have in cash. He’ll know where. Give half of it to my boys and
the rest to Shae. Will you make that promise to me?” Carlo glanced to the boys who now had numbered more than twenty on the rocks watching. “Promise to take care of my boys, too? I don’t know how, fuck I don’t. But get them off the streets. Do something with them.”
“I know you’ve tried to clean up. But you failed. The butcher is dead. There is no way to change or erase the mistakes of the past. I know that better than anyone.” Giovanni said. He put his gun to the back of his pants. He reached inside of his blazer pocket and removed an envelope. He tossed it to the sand between them. “We took oaths as boys, as brothers, we honored them. But we’re men now. And in this life there is no honor between men.”
“What is it?” Carlo asked.
Giovanni didn’t answer. Carlo reached for the envelope. He dusted off the sand. He went inside to remove two passports and a cheque book. He frowned.
“It is you. An American citizen born in Spain. Everything is there.”
Carlo looked up at him. “You’re letting me go?”
“The new man on that passport doesn’t belong to me. Carlo does. And I’m not letting Carlo go. It would cost us both too much.”
A man could be heard struggling and shouting for mercy. Carlo glanced back to see his boys dragging the man down to the sand. He was of the same height and build as Carlo. He looked to be about the same age. Carlo stood. He frowned and then looked to the man the young boys held. It was one of Santoro’s men. And he was desperate for forgiveness from Giovanni. He said and confessed to everything to spare his life.
“Carlo is dead,” Giovanni said and removed his gun once more. The boys let the man go who immediately ran toward the water. Giovanni opened fire. He blasted three to four bursts of bullets into the man’s back and skull.
“The boys will take care of the head and hands. When the authorities come what is left will be in the tent. It will be all that is left of the Butcher.”
