ATONEMENT (33 page)

Nico positioned himself on the east side of the cemen
t entry and listened. The running of boot encased feet drew near; it came close to the wall. The foot entered before the body followed and this is when Nico struck. A powerful
hand grabbed the man’s throat, lifting him off his feet and the bag crashed to the ground. He was quickly pressed against the cement wall and as Nico rapidly frisked him with one hand. He removed the gun from the man’s underarm holster, shoved in his pocket and asked, “Who sent you?”

“No English.”

Nico asked in Italian.

The man answered.
“No one.”

Nico squeezed until he choked, “I do not know. It was a call, a voice only. I do not know.”

“
W
ere
you
sent to kill me?”

The man said nothing.

Nico slapped the glasses off his
face
and asked again, “W
ere you
?”

“Yes, and
to
take the
woman
.”

“Then what?”

“I was to call when it was done.”

“Call, who?”

The man refused to answer. Nico’s eyes squinted. He rummaged through the man’s pockets and found no form of identification or numbers written on a card of any kind. The numbers were in
the man’s
head, memorized
, of course and he would not divulge it. Nico didn’t have time to
torture the truth
out of him and
opted to cut the tail
off instead
.

Nico
pressed
hard on the man’s face
with one hand and with the other
punched
with the points of his knuckles at a
strategic section of the sternum
. He
felt and
heard
the bone
fracture.
The man clutched his chest, his eyes wide a
t
the sudden pain and Nico knew he struck accurately.
Right now a sharp bone or two punctured the man’s heart and without immediate medical intervention he’d die.
The man could do nothing
under the intense pain
except
watch
as
his body was guided
sideways to the ground. His eyes followed Nico’s movements as he knelt to retrieve the broken
wine bottle. Wine pooled at the bottom of the bag and he used it to pour over the stricken man’s coat
. He also
dribble
d the liquid on the man’s mouth then placed the
bag within reach of the dying man
before
trott
ing
to the car.

A perfect day ruined!

.

                       
CHAPTER
TWELVE

Alfonzo finally received a text from his wife during breakfast. Last night he found it hard to sleep
, as usual
and spent most of the night staring at the ceiling debating on whether to call
her.
He’d called numerous times and she wasn’t answering
.
Fed-up with the silent treatment he text her
late, ‘contact me or I’
ll be there tonight!

Apparently the threat worked and her text read; ‘I NEED SPACE!!!!’ Yup, that’s what she replied in all caps and overused exclamation marks for emphasis.

Frustrated with
her
reluctance to
listen to his explanation,
he pushed from the table and dialed her cell. This time she answered. “Didn’t you get my text?”

Alfonzo slipped out the patio doors and walk
ed out to the lawn.
“To hell with space, either you listen to my explanation or I’
m leaving to come there and we’ll talk face-to-face!”

“You have a lot of nerve,
demanding I listen to you after you’re latest stunt. You don’t have the right to demand anything. I had it with you
r
lies, save them for the bitch you slept with!”

Alfonzo’s jaw muscles pushed out of his skin. He halted right there on the lawn and peered toward the house.
Thank goodness h
e was too far away for anyone to overhear his angry response. He was furious with her tone and her self-righteous attitude. “What the hell are you talking about
goddammit
,
está
s
loco?
”

“You
rehearsed the
lie
you want to tell me,
is that it?
”

The pressure boil
ed.
Alfonzo muscles constrict
ed
. Something
happened,
that much he knew
but calling him a liar crossed the line.
“
Esposa,
cuidado
cómo
me
hablas
!”
He
warned, “
I mean it, tread carefully how you speak to me
.
”

“By the way, I got your flowers. I threw them in the garbage!” She hissed, “You sleep around then
send me flowers, goddamn hy
pocrite!”
Then
Selange
hung-up.

That’s it, he dialed Nico.

“
You doing
security detail, that true
?”

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“
What’s my wife been up to?
”

“Sightseeing
.
Women stuff with the women.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

“
So wh
y do I get the feeling there’s a problem, huh?
”

Nico’s voice remained calm. “She’s fine
.”

“She doesn’t sound fine
.”

“
Talking
and walking
, I’d say she’s good.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about.”

“I don’t mediate personal problems, only security.”

Th
e
conversation had taken an interesting
turn;
apparently Selange fill
ed Nico
in on their marital issues
.
“And what problem is that?”

“
Whatever you’re asking isn’t for me to answer, got it?
”

“Are you
two sipping the same
agua
,
hombre
?”

There was an edge to Nico’s voice Alfonzo had not heard before,
“
Totally sober, I just don’t like the
line of
questioning.
”

A
lfonzo detected the subtle change in his friend
and
he knew why. “Look
,
sorry to hear things didn’t work out.”

“
Tell my brother he talks too damn much.
”

“Atleast he talks.”

“I talk when I
’ve got
something to
say.”

Alfonzo felt there was something Nico wasn’t sharing. Selange was too upset a few minutes ago.
“We’ll talk soon. Keep an eye on my wife.”

“Alright.”

“Listen, keep her safe,
”
t
he
n
he
added, “
if
there’s anyone who can, it’s you
.
”

There was a brief pause
, a somber release of breath
then Nico said, “You have too much faith in me
, sometimes
.
The truth is I bleed.”

“We all do.
Adios
.
”

Alfonzo
frowned;
Nico
was a man of few words. Yet, when he did speak the wisdom of them brought pause to the listener. In this case, Alfonzo realized he was right. Nico had given his life protecting him and his wife over the years. He bled more than any of them. Maybe, he was bleeding out
.

After his conversation with Nico he called
and
request
ed
the p
lane
to
be
on stand-by
for
a flight to Italy
tomorrow morning.
He
planned to leave
a
day earlier
.
This misunderstanding with his wife was killing him –and he missed her.

                        
***

Alfonzo’s mother, Maria
and Anita were looking through Sal’s clothes, choosing outfits and
laying
them on the bed. Sal
,
Allie
and his
goddaughters
were playing videogames
nearby
.

“
We’re leaving in six hours.” Alfonzo announced from the doorway.