AWAKENING (16 page)

“What
…
a what…
are you serious…when
?”

“I’ll check further into
it
in the morning
and see what I can
find out
then
get back to you.”

“Please
do
. This is ludicrous!”

“I suggest
in the meantime
you get in touch with your ex-husband
…
you know
…matter-of-fact don’t talk to him at all until you
secure a good criminal defense attorney. I can give you some recommendations.
You don’t want it to appear you’re engaging in a cover-up.”

“I can’t do that, we have joint custody of the kids.”

“It’s just my legal advice.”

She listened but that didn’t mean she heard. There’s no way in hell she wouldn’t confront Alfonzo about something as important as this!

“Alright, thanks.”

Dumbfounded, s
he
sat on the edge of the bed
wondering wh
en
Alfonzo
planned to give
her the heads-up
. Geez,
the bastards
were h
ijack
ing
her money. She’d been through this before,
and proved her business earnings were legit
imate
.
Thank goodness, she put the lottery winnings in an ironclad trust fund for the kids or they’d
snatch it, as well
.

“Oh my God, this is
crazy
!” She fumed. Even
after
a divorce Alfonzo’s troubles
follow
ed
.
She certainly couldn’t sit
around and do nothing. S
he almost called Alfonzo then
thought better of it. If the feds
had him under surveillance then they were certain to have
their ears open for cell phone conversations.
W
iretapping
’s old school
;
law enforcement employed
an arsenal of sophisticated
technology.
C
urrently
, they
used what’s known as
Stingray Towers.
They’re
small suitcase
size
devices
which
tricked cell phones into connecting with it as it would a real cell phone tower. Nico told her that and Alfonzo reiterated,
“Ne
ver
…ever
talk business
with me
over the
phone
..
.
any phone.
”

Damn, there were
a lot of
rules. She changed out of her
nightgown,
put on a simple dress,
quickly brushed her
hair, slipped
on
a pair of Prada wedges then went to find Anita.

She felt a nervous tension
when
she thought
about
confronting
Alfonzo
, especially after that damn kiss
.
S
he
questioned whether deep below the
abrasive
surface he may still be in love with her. So
metimes she caught him
staring in a sexual way.
Maybe, it
’s only her desire speaking she mused
and
held the corner of her bottom lip with
her
upper teeth. The anxiety began to build.
Sex
or the lack of it was the least of her worries. Hell, sex is what got her into this mess in the first place.
She
shook it off. Going to
prison
for something she hadn’t done and being taken away from her children was scarier than losing a man.
Ugh!

Co-conspirator
, that’s what the lawyer said. It
insinuated she plotted with Alfonzo. Plot what, a divorce to evade taxes
?
She
had money and
didn’
t need to plot
with him
, heck
, they
were
desperate
!
Besides, Alfonzo wasn’t stupid.
He wouldn’t leave crumb trails
for the feds. No, she knew him better than that. Someone in his camp was talking. She hadn’t heard anything on the news about an investigation, so this was a hush-hush situation. Then, she prayed Alfonzo hadn’t
slipped. With
the divorce, mourning Vincent and all the stress, it’s probable he may have stumbled and gotten careless. Damn, she missed Vincent. He would’ve watched Alfonzo’s back if she weren’t around to do i
t, now look at where they were. She had herself to blame for the distraction. Whatever, she had to do to fix this, she’d do it. She couldn’t let her actions take away both
of
their freedom
s
. Someone had to be there for the children. Maybe, this was her ultimate punishment.
Incarceration.
Maybe, she hadn’t finished paying for her sins and had to endure a living purgatory to gain absolution. For goodness sake, wasn’t Vincent’s death enough?

The fact
remained;
s
he could be in serious legal trouble and the thought of going to jail
sparked
dread
.
Alfonzo
better come clean on what was really going on. She w
ouldn’t allow
anything or anyone to sever her from her kids. If his actions could potentially put her in jeopardy she had a right to demand answers and if he didn’t give them, goddammit she’d stand there until he did!

The
fright came in
burst
s. It was imperative she speak with him, tonight. Tomorrow they
could
both have seat
s
in a jail cell
!

She gripped the side of the door
jam
and Anita must have read the panic in her eyes and stood.

“Is everything alright?”

“Anita, please listen out for the children, I have to run out
to talk to Alfonzo.
It’s urgent
and
i
f the babies wake, there’s breast milk in the fridge…okay?
”

“O
kay. You go
–go!
”

Selange hurried to her bedroom, grabbed the keys to her car and flew from the house. She ran to the garage and saw Crazy Nicky coming from the opposite direction of the guest ho
me.
Guest house was a misnomer since Crazy Nicky officially lived there. It was his permanent
residence and
a place where other bodyguards regularly
crashed. They were in her mind the lifetime Secret Servicemen who guarded former Presidents.

He
came toward her,
“Hey, where are you going at this hour?”

Those doggone security cameras!

“
Out
!”

“Let me get one of the guys to take you.”

“No, Nicky I don’t need any gun toting bodyguards. I’m fine.”

“That’s not the way of it missy.
You should know the rules
, being
divorced don’t change it.”

She wasn’t in the mood to argue security measures and tossed the
electronic
key at the man, “Fine, you drive. I have to get to Alfonzo’s. Let’s go!

CHAPTER EIGHT

Crazy Nic
ky
drove like a madman. Yes, she was in a hurry to speak to Alfonzo but damn, she didn’t want to die
in the process
. Th
ey reached Alfonzo’s smaller estate
in ten minutes, any other time it was double that
. Once the
guards saw
Crazy
Nicky and his passenger they were let in
except they didn’t get a chance to notify
Alfonzo.

Lou opened the door and Selange rushed past him, “Where’s my husband…I mean Alfonzo…I need to talk to him, it’s important?”

“Let me tell him you’re here, he’s sleeping.”

This was the first time she stepped foot in
side his home. It was very nice. The decorations were definitely tasteful, expensive and low-key. Yep! But she didn’t have time to take it all
in;
she was in a hurry and couldn’t wait for Lou. She bounded up the semi-circular staircase to the second floor, leaving Lou downstairs with his mouth agape and shaking his head. In the wide corridor she began peeking in doors. There were
five;
one was a linen
closet, which
she found out when a towel dropped from the shelf onto her head. Then a bathroom, ‘
oh
shit
this
is
nice’
, but
s
he
had to move on. The other rooms were bedrooms and a playroom. The last door in front of her
must be
the one.
Alfonzo’s leer where all the action took place.
She inhaled, took on her Brooklyn spirit then opened the door. The minute she did, she considered closing it. She hadn’t heard any noises before
entering
and assumed he slept. Well, just put it like this, no wonder the man hadn’t forgiven her. He was busy living out his fantasies.

T
he sed
uctive sound of Kelly Rowland’s
, ‘Motivation
,
’
played in the background a
s
Alfonzo ‘entertain
ed
’
guests
. The
soundproof bedroom
failed to
forewarn
her
.
A bottle of liquor dangled in
Alfonzo’s
hand a
s
he lounged
with one leg up on
an oversize settee
. He watched a female couple as they made out atop the plush rug in the center of the floor.
Empty b
ottles of sparkly
and glasses lay on their side nearby and her eyes widened
in
shock
.
He
took a swig of liquor as
his intoxicated
blues
remained fixated
on the lesbian action with bored amusement.

‘…
push
harder
;
you
’
r
e
almost
there
now
,

So go lover, make mama proud,

And when we’re done, I don’t
wanna
feel my legs…
’

T
he
draft
from
the door
caused him to
finally turn
in her direction and a naughty
smirk
appeared
when he saw her there
.
In
Spanish
he propositioned
,
“
Care to join me, babe?”

He
took another drink
which
emptied the bottle and rolled it across the floor and it clinked against the wall then rock
ed
back and forth
before
settl
ing
there. His eyes
dared
her to venture in
to
his den and
the devilish smirk was because he guessed her next move.
Her feet were glue, this was not her scene and he knew that, yet
he sought to tempt her by bringing his leg down and sitting forward studying her as he would a chessboard.
He challenged her and if he believed she was afraid to enter he was wrong.
Cocky bastard!

She hadn’t come for his sexual games and frankly, she reconsidered letting the children come here, now that she saw firsthand his debauchery. He’d sunk to an all-time low, no wonder his ass was in trouble and to think he called her a drunk. What the fuck was he?

She slammed the door and marched fearlessly past the unabashed couple.
L
ascivious
blue
eyes sparkled
,
he was getting a kick out of this, Selange noticed.
The aqua seas were
focus
ed, delighting in her
approach
.
The
lovers stopped
kissing
and rolled on their bellies,
their envious eyes
on
the statuesque beauty passing as if they were invisible
.