Dipping Into Sin 2: Digging Deeper Into Sin (18 page)

~****~

            Walking out of the hair salon, I couldn’t believe
that I cut inches off of my hair. Maybe it was a drastic move and maybe my
emotions were controlling my decisions, but I needed this. Ready for a change,
I drove over to the hair salon with Victoria after picking her up from the
airport. Getting a long layered bob, I couldn’t believe how revamped I look. I
felt sexy and great about myself.  

            “You look gorgeous Simone,” Victoria said as she
ran her fingers through my silky tresses.

            “Thank you, I absolutely love it. This is just
what I needed,” I admitted as I gave myself a once over look in the mirror.

            Hopping into the car, I dialed Andriano’s cell
phone. The phone went straight to a recorded message indicating that his
mailbox was not set up. Dialing the number that he gave me two more times, I
started to panic. Even after dialing the house phone number, the phone
continued to ring until my answering machine picked up.

            Cursing to myself, my hands fumbled as I
struggled to put the key in the ignition. Finally placing the key into the
slot, I turned the ignition on and peeled out of the parking space. Speeding down
the busy street, I could only think about one thing, my daughters.

“Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Simone’s what’s wrong?”
she screamed.

“Andriano is not picking up any of my calls.
I tried calling the house phone and his cell phone.

“I swear to God if this motherfucker did
anything to my daughters, I’m going to fucking jail tonight,” I threatened as
tears stung my eyes. Overcome with rage, I couldn’t even afford to shed a tear
because I was to blame if anything happened to them. After all, it would be my
fault if anything happened to them because I left my daughters with Andriano.

“Pull over and let me drive Simone,” she
said calmly. Ignoring her request, I continued to navigate aimlessly, bypassing
the moving cars. As the yellow light merged into red, I pressed harder on the
gas pedal, breaking all safe driving rules. From the corner of my eye, I could
see Victoria gripping her seatbelt and bringing her legs closer to her chest as
her breathing changed. The tirade of horns blaring and the flagrant angry voices
beckoned the air as all sense of reasoning simmered away from my overactive
brain. Victoria’s scream finally snapped me out of my trance. “You’re going to
get us killed with the way you are driving! Pull over!”

Reason finally seeped through as I pulled
the car over to the side of the road and quickly removed my seat belt strap.
Switching places, Victoria sped down the block but was more moderate than I
was.

“Andriano would never do anything to harm
the girls or you for that matter. I know that he would never put them in
danger,” Victoria said as she skimmed past cars. Unable to even speak, I
continued to squeeze my balled fists in the hopes of transferring the pain that
I felt internally. The truth is; I don’t know Andriano. I never did.

Victoria didn’t even get a chance to put the
car in park before I hopped out of the car, ran up the front stairs, and placed
my key into the slot. Twisting the handle, I ran into the house like a crazed
woman when I realized the house was completely silent. Calling out to the girls
as I began my search only heightened the emotions that overtook me. Looking in
the den, the family room, the kitchen, backyard; I couldn’t find them anywhere.
Grabbing a fistful of my hair, I wanted to yank every strand out. Taking in
deep breaths, I was determined to find my daughters. Running past Victoria, I
ran up the stairs and began to call out their names. Saying a silent prayer as
I turned the knob on their bedroom, I braced myself to run out of hope.
Entering their bedroom, I stopped immediately at the sight before me. They were
all sleeping. Andriano’s arms were stretched as Jasmine and Olivia snuggled
closely into him. Shifting my eyes to Acelia’s little body bunched into a fetal
position, she was sleeping on Andriano’s stomach.

“Did you find them?” Victoria said as she
brushed past me and entered the room. Halting all movements, Victoria stopped
and took in the sight of my daughters with their father. Turning to face me, a
smile hinted on her lips as I looked at them.

Chapter Thirty-Six

Vincenzo

New
York City

            After collecting my luggage, I made my way over
to the pickup ramp at JFK airport. Placing my sunglasses over my eyes, I nodded
to the other four men that came back from Italy with me from the Vallenti crew.
They each hopped into a separate cab, heading in the same direction that I was
going. Shifting my focus to the black SUV, the window rolled down with
Josephine sitting in the second row, smiling seductively at me.

            Strolling over to the SUV, I walked with an air
of arrogance that suited me. Never had I felt more at ease than how I was
feeling now. Things were finally falling into place and by tomorrow, Andriano’s
head would be at my feet. I hope that I get to stand before him moments before
his death, just to see his eyes. Just for once, I needed to see the fear in his
eyes. I needed to hear him beg for his life, give it all that he had left in
him. I would bring him to the brink, causing him to believe that I would have a
change in heart. Just as his hope was restored, I would tell him, “I got your
wife, I got your money, and I got your power.” My spit, staining his cheek,
will ensure that I would never miss the opportunity of taking out the infamous
Don Balducci.

            “I missed you,” Josephine said as she draped her
arms dotingly over my shoulders. Planting a meaningful kiss against my lips, I
slipped my tongue in between her delicate lips, capturing a mouthful of her
expensive flavor. It is amazing that Andriano could miss out on dining in a five-star
restaurant and settle for eating fast food. That’s what it appeared to look
like when he decided to give up the finer things in life for a taste of the
scraps on the streets. That black bitch was nothing compared to this beauty
that drizzled her body in my arms. Over the years, he allowed his pride to eat
at him, as he neglected to take care of the needs of his wife. Fulfilling every
ounce of her desire, I was determined to make Josephine my wife as quickly as
the time would permit me.

“Where is Andriano?” I asked as I slipped my
fingers through her soft caressing hands. Her fingers were delicate like flower
petals as I leaned down and kissed her inner palm.

            “He left again,” she moaned as her fingers she
stroked my hair.

            “What do you mean he left again?” I asked,
kissing her wrist and trailing my tongue up her forearm. 

            “He packed up his clothes and told me to sign the
divorce papers,” she said as her body quivered under my touch.

            Releasing her arm, I tossed it aside like it was
trash in my hands. “I thought that we had a deal. You were supposed to keep him
out here just long enough until I got back. What the hell Josephine? I only
asked for one thing from you.”

            “I tried,” she screamed a painful tune as her
petite body shrieked with hurt. “He told me to sign the divorce papers.”

            “Divorce papers?”

            “Yes, he had his lawyers serve me.”

            “Did he say where he was going?”

            “No, I’ve called and called. But he refused to
accept my calls.

            “I’ll find out from Nicolai,” I assured her. But,
first, I’ll check to see if he’s holed up in his loft. Maybe, I can lure him to
come to the door so that Vallenti’s men and I can tussle him onto the ground.
If that doesn’t work, I’ll have to arrange a plan to catch Andriano in an
unmarked area. Maybe I can persuade Nicolai to help me lure him into a remote
area. Shit, I’ll have a hard time convincing Nicolai when it concerns Andriano.
He remained protective over him like that was his actual brother.

Looking down at my watch, I shifted in my
seat as my sudden bliss eased away. I only have three days to pull this off
before Vallenti withdrew his men from my plot.

“Did you ask his assistant where he is?” I
asked after a moment of silence filled our reunion.

“I’ve been over there every day since I
received the papers. He insists that he doesn’t know anything about Andriano’s
whereabouts,” Josephine said in a choppy voice.

“Vin, I want to work on my marriage.
Andriano is the Don in this family, and I can’t just walk away from him just
because he’s in a confused state right now. I just have to give him some space
to cool down.”

“And what about me? What about us?” I asked
as the base of my voice built itself up with rage. 

Nestling her body into my opened arms,
Victoria nonchalantly said, “We can still continue with what we have. We can
keep it like this.” Anger boiled under my skin, forming air pocket of bubbles
that only I can see. Each time that she spoke, a bubble popped, and I was
feeling myself get to the point of putting my hands on her.

Shoving Josephine’s body away from me, I
reached for my phone and attempted to dial Andriano’s number. The line did not
ring, rather, a non-answering machine service blared out a recorded message
that the person needed to set up an answering machine.
Where is this fucker?
I questioned as I thought back on the areas that Andriano would most likely
be. Ignoring her soft whimper, I shifted in my seat with an edge of revenge
gnawing at my shoulders. I still have to prove to Josephine that I’m the better
man. How could she remain stuck on this motherfucker when he clearly showed no
interest in her?

Pulling out my main cell phone, I pressed on
the power button for a few seconds until the light appeared on the screen.
After a few seconds passed of loading and updating the time and location to New
York, a series of text messages flooded my mailbox with a few voicemails from
Nicolai. His last text message read in bold letters to contact him immediately.
What the hell does this man want now?  

Pressing on his contact, my thumb went back
and forth on between the text and phone logos.
Should I text or call him?

Deciding, I released a deep breath and
inserted the headphone earpiece into my ear.

“Where the fuck
have you been?” Nicolai immediately asked when he answered.
“
You missed
two pick-ups yesterday
.

“I was out of
town.”

“
Out of
town? Where?”

“
Miami.”

“
And you
wonder why Andriano is skeptical about giving you more responsibilities. You
clearly can’t handle shit.

“
I don’t
give a fuck what that piece shit thinks. I could run all of the businesses and
bring in more money than that simple minded jackass.”

            “You know what Vin?
Your mouth is going to get you in a whole lot of trouble if you don’t start
thinking clearly.”

            “You always stick up
for that motherfucker. I’m your brother, not him. Instead, you forget that
shit. You rather run behind his ass like his little bitch.”

           
“
I hear you,
Vincenzo. Loud and clear.”

~****~

Andriano

            Feeling her little body stir in her sleep, the
sound of a child’s fussing coos woke me out of my sleep. Both my eyes shot open
as I looked down at Acelia who was shaking in her sleep. Gently removing my
arms from under Jasmine and Olivia, I held onto her small body as I rubbed her
back in circular motions. Whispering in Italian to her, I dropped light kisses
over her head and tried to ease her fears with soothing words that my
nonna
used to tell me when I was her age.

“Angioletto, basta seguire la mia voce
(Little angel, just follow my voice),” I repeated until her shivers subsided.

Looking over on each of my sides, my heart
nearly skipped a beat as I watched Olivia nestle her body close to me while
Jasmine’s leg looped over my thigh. Never in my wildest dreams would I have
thought that I would enjoy working on art projects and playing with toys with
kids, much less my own kids. The more time I spent with my daughters, the more
I realized just how crucial it was to part ways with La Cosa Nostra. The rush
that I once felt from the power that I held did not come close the immense
emotions that came with being a father. I spent most of the day doing
everything that they wanted to do.

As I watched them add their artwork into a
box for their great-grandmother, I asked each of the girls what they liked. I
couldn’t believe that I was actually having conversations about colors and
princesses. While they ate their lunch, I researched interior designers. I
wanted the girls to each have their own bedroom, detailed with everything that
represented their personalities.

After observing each of them, I could tell
that Acelia was the most diffident out of all of my daughters. I sensed her
introverted demeanor the first time that I saw her. Somehow, her movements
spoke volumes even though she rarely spoke to me. Nicknaming her
tesoro
(treasure), Acelia would just smile when I would call her that. Jasmine was
more outspoken than her sisters. My
bella stella
(beautiful star),
surely lived up to the nickname that I coined for her. Her personality was as
loud as her energy, as she was beaming with confidence. Olivia’s personality
was more inquisitive, driven with need to understand everything. I truly appreciated
that she questioned everything, making her a leader. She’s my
testa
(head).

Cradling Acelia in my arms, I stood to my
feet and placed her on her bed. Feeling my cell phone vibrating against my
thigh, I looked down at the screen and answered Battista’s call immediately. “Battista.”

“The next hit is
on you.”

“
Who’s the
family?”