ATONEMENT (6 page)

The wisdom of Alfonzo’s selection w
as
vital.
He didn’t want the feds picking him up on their radar. Senator
Liebowitz
often got word to him when
any agencies gravitat
ed
his way. Last
month it was
the
IRS
and a
so-called
‘
audit.

Surprise! They found his accounts above reproach. The month before that, an ATF raid. Once again, surprise!

His security were all licensed to carry, he was a
multi-millionaire
high-profile businessman.
Anyway, they didn’t find anything
illegal on the premises.
There wasn’t a
stockpile of weapons in a backroom
in
anticipat
ion of a
war or something.
W
ho
’d
they think he
was
a
paranoid
rapper?

It
’s
all a form of government harassment
. They wanted Alfonzo aware of their presence and were sending a message that no one is untouchable.
T
hey weren’t
wrong
about
everything
but it
’s
a matter of proof,
right
?

“
Alright
, I’ll make sure it gets handled.” Vincent said jarring
Alfonzo
from his thoughts.
“
But, kid, in my experience it’s better to rid yourself of a potential rat then have it come back and bite your ass later.”

“We have different experiences, then.”

“Trust me; we’re all in the same cut-throat business. Just my opinion but hey you’re the boss.”

In parting Alfonzo said, “
And oh yeah, stop ogling my wife
’s tits
,
fucking
pervert!”

Vincent’s boisterous laugh
re
sounded
across the warm evening wind
, “Just admiring perfection…nothing wrong with looking
. Maybe, y
ou should’ve married a troll
!”

                             ***

Nico walked downstairs, spotted Ariana in the corner of the sofa
staring at
her computer and strolled over, “Morning
sweetheart
, where’s the
boys
?”

Her head swiveled to face him
,
anger
unmistakable
in the
intelligent brown
eyes
. “The boys are
out
in the car
. I’m leaving and taking them back to New York.”

He noticed she was fully dressed, how this detail slipped
his attention
was primarily
due
to the aberrations of sleep deprivation. He wasn’t sleeping
much
lately and
began to pay
for it big-time. “
You’re l
eaving
,
for how long?”

She hissed, “For good!”

Fatigue
cleared from his eyes and he leaned forward, the impact of her words like an alarm clock at eight in the morning. His senses told him she knew
everything, or part of it, anyway,
but for clarification he asked, “Why?”

The computer notebook angled in his direction and she hit the play button. H
e maintained a
stone
-face
. Outwardly, he appeared unemotional, even unapologetic but internally he cursed himself for not discarding the security disc
.
The video’s clarity showed
everything.
Selange’s
long hair flow
ed
down
Nico’s
shoulder
during
a loving embrace
and the
exchange of whispered endearments during their intimacy was overheard as if on loudspeaker
. These were c
onjugal
scenes;
y
et, the woman he
made passionate
love
to w
as not his wife. The woman sitting at arm’s length with the pixie haircut and scowl
was
and her name’s
Ariana
.

“You’ve screwed around on me before Nico and I accepted it. I
wasn’t a
fool a
bout your needs
, b
ut
this
…this is
different,” her anger rose, “Nico
this
is
n’t
a quick fuck
.
You didn’t even think to wear a condom. You’re
making
love
to her and
it’s crazy because she’s
Alfonzo’s
wife
.
It
explains the scratches
on your back
and
the
distant behavior
. N
o wonder you can’t sleep
!
” She pressed eject and the disc holder popped open. She removed
the small
shiny object and
put it on his thigh
then
slammed the laptop shut
.

Ariana felt betrayed
.
Alfonzo’s wife was
drop-dead gorgeous. My goodness, she’d never seen a more prefect woman. Everything from the lustrous brown skin, sen
suous curves and
a mane of
hair
women envied. H
ow
in hell
could she compete with that
, huh
?

The hurt
and humiliation
escalated. The video
didn’t lie, the pair were love
rs. And
since when did
Nico forget to put
a prophylactic on that anaconda? D
ammit
,
she
refused to live with someone who wanted another woman.
Frankly,
she wasn’t
about
to share
Nico
…not anymore
!

Finally, she
exclaimed, “I’m not stay
ing
here watching you
pin
e
over
another
woman.
I’m
done
,
Nico
,
we’re
over
!”

She
got to
her feet clutching
the
little computer and
marched
out the door
.
Nico
took a minute to get over
what just happened and took
up pursuit.
He got to the
driveway
and
blocked the car
,
tapped on the hood and the engine
died down.
Ariana w
oul
d never
intentionally
run him over in front of the boys, just like he’
d never intentionally hurt her. He only wanted to say good-bye to his
sons and
express how much h
e loved them.
She let him do this,
kindly
g
i
v
ing
him
a
small consolation
.

Nico
opened the backdoor, knelt inside the car and
made a joke of it, “Mom hates it here, she’s a New Yorker
and they
detest
the tropics.
I knew it was only a matter of time before she
craved the city
’s
pollution.
Hey, your old man hates New York, so I guess we’re at an impasse.”

“It’s not funny dad, what happened, why’s mom mad at you?” Aaron asked bluntly.

Nico’s
jovial tone became more serious as he
looked in the boyishly
sad faces, “Dad fucked up, it’s not your mom’s fault it’s mine. You
guys
are old enough to understand
how it is.
I
mess up a lot. One thing I did right
though is
having you
. So, i
f you ever need
dad
,
call and
I’ll move mountains to get to you
.
On the blood of
my father
I’ll be there
.”

They were better off with
Ariana;
at least with
t
he
i
r
mom
they
were
safe
. S
he’d
raise them to become
respectable
adults,
mainly
because their father wasn’t
.