Alfonzo (16 page)

Carlos punked
out last time and now he wanted a second chance, to do what?

He thought about hooking-up with Alfonzo’s crew and dumping Carlos’ ass!

Time to switch allegiance and roll with the big boys.

Time to get a place of my own
and get up out of the projects
!

Whenever
Shanda
visited
he felt a tinge of embarrassment.
Shanda
shared a fly ass crib out on the Island and owned a nice whip.
He lived with his mom in the projects and couldn’t afford a car. The girl
was going places and it was time
he got
his act together
before she got tired of his broke ass
.

Jay stubbed out the blunt, “
Yo
,
gimme
the address and whatnot, I’ll meet you ‘round one.”

Carlos leaped to his feet and rubbed his hands together excitedly, “
Yo
! Now that’s
what I’m
talkin
’ bout!”

Jay gave a lopsided grin as Carlos swaggered out the door. He dialed Shanda’s
number and waited.

“
Detective
!
Detective!”
Lieutenant Hanlon shouted at Detective Winoski
when
she
passed his office.

She
took two steps back an
d poked her head in the office, “You barked?”

H
anlon was a fresh faced thirty-something
with a devoted wife, two cute kids, house on Long Island and a reputation of being a ball-buster.
He leaned elbows atop the papers on his desk, “C
ome in, c
lose the door and sit down.”

She complied unfazed by his ill-temper, “
Is
this going to take long, I have a lead
I
wanna
’
check out?”

Detective Winoski was the most attractive woman in
precinct
.
Colleagues salivated for the opportunity to work alongside her
. A
side from t
he
obvious
physical attributes, Winoski possessed the ability to solve tough cases.
His eyes remained above her hefty cleavage, “I received several complaints regarding your unethical behavior.”

He sifted through the sheets on his desk until he located a complaint forwarded from the
Civilian Complaint Review Board, “It appears someone doesn’t like your police tactics
and complained you’re harassing ex-convicts.”

Carey
smiled,
complaints were the norm in law enforcement. Hanlon was wasting her time.
“Sir, I’m really busy,” she stood, “I would love to sit and chat but I’m trying to
solve murder cases.”

Hanlon rose from
behind the desk and the
six-three body hovered over her five-seven
frame
, “Carey I’m putting you and
Marchese together until Frank returns.”

Frank her partner of six
years,
underwent arthroscopic surgery three months ago.
Apparently, e
verybody couldn’t heal as fast as Jordan.
Hanlon only used
her
first name when he was concerned and beneath the abrasive exterior was a kind loving man.
“No disrespect L.T. but Marchese? The guy’s a prick!”

Hanlon shrugged, he had reliable sources that predicted a turf war soon and he didn’t
want any of his detectives going solo. He rubbed his forehead.
The air-conditioner was broken and technicians were on their way four hours ago.
Christ it’s the middle of
summer
!
“Carey no argument on this one,” his hands grasped her shoulders, “I want you to be
careful. We have a potential turf war about to go down, and if your theory is correct
, we have
a hired killer or two on the loose!”

Carey noticed the muscle in his
neck
protrude
over his starched collar
. What
’s
he hiding? He
returned to his seat
. Hanlon was worried
which
meant other agencies
w
ere
involved
somehow
or sniffing in his backyard.
“
Are y
ou going to fill me in or do I have to find out on my own?”

He and Carey went back a few years. Their fathers were assigned to the same precinct.
They’d see each other often at NYPD family
f
unctions. Back then he attended John Jay College and Carey was a senior in High School.
Her
beauty and intelligence were evident during those early days.
He was oblivious to her teenage crush until she cornered him near a hotdog vendor at one
of the annual NYPD vs. NYFD baseball
game
s
.The
memory of
her
soft body pressing against his sparked renewed arousal.
He quickly distracted himself by lifting a pen and tapping it on the desk.
“Carey,
Marchese’s
waiting!” He barked.

“But John.”

“Carey.”

In exasperation she flung her arms in the air, “O
kay
dammit!”

She exited the office in search of Marchese
leaving Lieutenant
Hanlon alone and relieved.
Marchese’s
primal instincts would keep Carey safe. He leaned back in the chair and stared at the ceiling.
Every precinct in the city operated on high alert in preparation for a
mob war. Notorious mob enforcers Nico and Vincent Serano were under FBI surveillance.
All this
troubled him, especially since the NYPD was losing m
any
of its experienced
officers to
at
t
rition.
Most of the officers on the street were too green. Frankly, he wondered if any were
qualified to wipe his ass
. Some
of
those Long Island
kids they
hired,
had never even stepped foot uptown in their lives
!

He’d instructed the
uniformed officers to
allow the
feds
to earn their government salaries and
make notification if they spotted the Serano’s. The
bureau guys
also reported a sighting of a
small-time hit-man name
d
Freddie
somewhere in Harlem.

What
’s
the coincidence of three hired killers surfacing in New York at the same
time?
Further inquisition only resulted in, “We’re handling things on our end, Lieutenant.”
In other words butt-out!

The telephone rang, “Lieutenant Hanlon.”

“Good morning Lieutenant, I’m naked and horny and need good phone sex, do you
have a minute?”

He recognized his wife’s voice. She possessed excellent timing.
He smiled, “I’ll give you two.”

CHAPTER
FIF
TEEN

Alfonzo
awoke to intense light. He squinted and shielded his eyes from the stinging
illumination. Sharp beeping sounds pierced the air, mingled with muffled voices from the corridor.
He tried to lean forward in bed and fell back from a stabbing pain to his torso.

“Don’t move,” a soft voice said nearby.

He blinked as
the
figure moved closer. An unexpected face hovered above him,
Selange.
“
Hola
!”
He said hoarsely, unaware of his b
ruis
ed appearance.

She took his hand and caressed it. A sing
le
tear dropped on the bed railing.
“I
’m s
o
glad you’re awake
..
.
oh…you scared the hell out of us.
”

He recalled being shot…the rest was a blur.

“How long
have
I
been here
,
bonita
?”

“Two weeks.”

“
I
’m
that fucked-up?” He asked.

An IV protruded from one arm and a catheter protruded from his penis.
Weak and somewhat disoriented, he rubbed his bandaged shoulder.
It itched like hell.

Selange responded, “You were in a coma and the doctors didn’t think you‘d make it.”

Another tear fell.

Touched by the display of affection he reached for her hand and squeezed it.
Once he got on his feet he’d take her out and show her a good time.

Two weeks! Did she say coma? Damn…I hope
someone
washed my ass!

“Can I have some water?”

She took a pitcher from the nightstand and poured water into a cup
the
n
raised
the hospital bed to an upright position.
“Drink slowly.”

He took a long sip and flinched as it scorched a path down his esophagus.
She was close, only inches away. The brand of fragrance she wore was unfamiliar, a light floral scent…it was nice…very nice.

Selange wet a cloth and returned to wipe his face. She then applied balm to his dry
lips and he smiled.
The intimate act caused him to warm over. His eyes traveled every inch of her face
and body. He liked what he saw.
He liked a lot of things about this
girl;
she was ‘
hold
hand
s
down
the
street’
type of chica.
Maybe I’ll take her to Puerto Rico.

Selange smiled, “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I want to spend time with you.”

“Oh really?”
She laughed, “Don’t you think you better concentrate on getting better
before flirting with me?”

“Flirting means I’m feeling better,” he said boldly, then added, “If you’re seeing
someone I’ll back-off.”

Her expression turned serious, “I’m not.”

“Good!” He said. “Now I need to get the hell out of here so you and
me
can
do
something fun
.”

She laughed, “You and
I
.”
There was no way in hell he was going anywhere today or tomorrow.
“Let me find a nurse
and
then I’ll call your mom,” she said.

“Hurry back,” he called to the retreating figure.
‘
Goddamn
that
chica’s
fine!
’

Gina
paced the floor while shouting in the telephone, “You
sonavabitch
! I paid in
advance and you have not delivered!”

“I assure you there
’s
no need to worry.” The voice on the line said calmly.

Gina kicked the bed, Evan was incompetent! “You have two days, that’s all.”

A series of knocks at the door interrupted the conversation.

How many times did she tell
Lisette
not to disturb her?

Gina yanked open the door prepared to reprimand the woman, instead Carlo
Dichenzo and his son stood in the doorway.

“Carlo!” She said obviously surprised.

“B
u
o
ngi
orno,” Carlo answered soberly as he stepped
into the bedroom
.

Impeccably dressed in a stylish blue suit and fedora, his presence filled the room.
The son followed and hovered in the center of the
floor.
Father and son lacked any physical resemblance. Carlo was short and chubby, his
son tall
and muscular with classic dark Italian looks.
Their commonality
,
a fierce expression that sent chills down her spine.
“It
’s
a pleasure to see
you,
” she said nervously, “Luzo said you have documents
for me, yes?”