Two.

(Alfonso’s POV)

I lowered my hood down so no one could see my face as I followed the lady at a safe distance. I had tried so hard to leave this life behind but it seemed like the life didn’t want to let me go.

I watched as she looked around and knocked on a door at a shady apartment. This entire location seemed shady but the apartment building she walked into was known for its drug dealing.

“Did anyone follow you?” The thin scrawny man asked as he looked around and pulled her inside.

I did, I thought with my hands inside my hoodie.

“No.” She yelped as she was pulled inside the apartment.

I slowly made my way to the apartment. I knocked on the door paying close attention to the sound of footsteps approaching the door. I put my hand on the door handle and as soon as it turned I pushed it hard knocking the man to the floor, as I stepped inside and closed the door behind me.

My eyes wandered across the room to see who else was in the apartment, just the lady I followed here getting coked up, as I pulled out my gun with the silencer on it.

“Do you know who I am?” I asked as I pointed the gun to the man’s head, who was covering his bleeding nose.

“The Iceman.” He replied with his bloody hands held out. “Man, I thought you were no longer in the game.”

I put my foot on his throat as I stepped on it slightly, just to show him that I wasn’t messing around. “I’m the one asking the questions.” I stated, “I’m looking for my wife, do you know where I can find her?” I asked.

He scoffed, “you aren’t even in the game anymore, why would I tell you?” He asked.

I lowered the gun and fired a shot on his foot as he screamed out in pain.

“I hate repeating myself.” I stated as I pointed the gun back to his head.

“Okay, okay. We don’t have your wife. You left the gang man, why would we want to mess with you?” He replied.

He did have a point. I was loyal to the gang when I was in it and I didn’t see why they would want to come after me now.

“If I find out you are lying, I will find you and this time I won’t hesitate in putting a bullet between your eyes.” I warned him as I turned around and walked out of the door pocketing the gun.

I didn’t have an idea of where to find Lily anymore and I was running out of lies to tell our son about where she was. Granted he could barely understand what I said to him as he had just started talking but he would ask for his mom every day.  

I decided to let the police handle it but it’s been almost a month and they weren’t able to find her, which only made me think the mafia took her in an effort to try and force my hand to get back into the mafia business and I think with the stunt I pulled today I might already be back inside the mafia.

I entered my car and started driving back home. Frank, my son, always wanted me to be there when he fell asleep since his mother wasn’t around.

I was driving back home when I got a call from my assistant back at the office. I sighed, it took some getting used to being behind the desk but I wanted my son not to have to live his life always looking behind his bag or getting into anything shady, so I made sure to pour all my blood, sweat and tears into this company and it was a success.

“What?” I asked as I answered the phone.

“Um… I just got a call from one of your meetings tomorrow and he wants to move the meeting to eight in the morning.” Gloria, my assistant, stated.

I frowned, I didn’t like having to wake up early in the morning but I was used to it by now.

I sighed, “just send me the details on my email I’ll look over it after I put my son to bed.” I replied.

What I didn’t know was just how much public attention I would gather when my company took off. Hence why the police were involved in the first place when my wife went missing.

“I’ll do that right away.” Gloria said. Just as she hung up I heard something hit my windshield with so much force that I stepped on the brakes and whatever it was fell to the ground.

I didn’t know what happened but based on the damage on my windshield, it’s either the van that was in front of me had dropped a package or for the split second I was looking at my phone I hit someone with my car.

I stepped out of my car and when I saw who it was I was shocked.

“Lily?” I asked in shock as I bent down to check on her, as I looked at the van that sped away and her eyes closed.

On instinct, I carried her to the passenger side of the car as I quickly walked back to the driver side and I just sped to the hospital.

Her face was swollen, her lip was busted, her wrists looked like she had been tied up somewhere, her hair was messy. She looked like she had been through a lot and I was beginning to think that it was all my fault, maybe if I didn’t leave the mafia she wouldn’t gone through whatever it was that she went through and it wouldn’t have taken over a month to find her.

My car came to a screeching halt in front of the hospital as I carried her inside screaming for a doctor.

“What happened to her?” The doctor asked as she was being wheeled into the emergency room.

“I don’t know. She has been missing for a month and tonight while I was driving back home she was just thrown in front of my car.” I replied frantically as I held her hand.

The doors to the emergency room opened and I wanted to walk in with her but I was stopped.

“You aren’t allowed in there Mr. Gambino. You’ll have to wait out here, we’ll do what we can for her.” The nurse explained as she walked in and I watched as she disappeared.

I was mad at whoever made my wife look like that and I was going to find them and make sure they paid for it.

I was pacing around the waiting room when I remembered that I was to go home to my son who was with his nanny. I walked to my car, grabbed my phone and she had already called me thrice.

“Sir, are you okay? Your son has been asking for you.” The nanny said immediately she answered the phone. Hearing her speak like that, worried about my son just reminded me how much Lily didn’t care about him but rather preferred going shopping and clubbing. But she was his mother and I couldn’t do anything about that.

I sighed, “Lily was found and I’m at the hospital with her right now.”

“Oh my God!” She exclaimed, “is she going to be alright?”

“I don’t know the doctors just took her to the emergency room. I hope you can tell…”

“I understand. I’ll stay with Frank. You take care of Mrs. Gambino.” She answered before I could even finish my statement.

“I’ll let you know how it goes Catherine.” I said, “kiss Frank goodnight for me.”

“I will.” Catherine replied then I hung up.

I expected the operation to take longer but the doctor was out within an hour and I thought of the worst. I was sure she was dead and I wondered how I was going to disclose the news to our son.

“Mr. Gambino, fortunately for you, she only has a few cuts and bruises. She has a concussion and we have put her under a medically induced coma to make sure that no damage is done to her brain as she was pumped full of different sedatives, if you didn’t rush here she might have had brain damage or died.” He explained, “you are free to see her, and tomorrow we’ll be able to know just how much damage was done.”

I nodded as I asked the doctor to show me to her room.

I sat beside her as I held her hand.

“I promise you that I’m going to find out who did this to you and they are going to pay.” I said as I gently brushed her hair aside.

Even with her face swollen like that, she looked beautiful.

I must have fallen asleep because I was woken up by the sound of the door swinging open, I was immediately in a defensive mode as I thought that whoever did this to her had come to finish the job.

“There is no need to be alarmed.” The old man said as he walked into the room.

“What are you doing here?” I asked as I glared at him.

He looked down at Lily, “I see you were able to find her.” He commented.

I scoffed, “I know the mafia was behind this.” I stated, “if this was an attempt to try and get me to come back into the mafia or let you launder money through my company, you can forget about it.”

The man chuckled, “you aren’t as important as you make yourself seem.” He replied, “and if we were the ones who took your lady here, I am sure we would have found a way to let you know we had with her. This isn’t our work, you left to try and make a better life for your son and we respect that.”

“Just get to the point of why you are here.” I stated.

He snickered, “you were always known to go straight to the point.” He said as he walked even closer to Lily’s bed, “tonight you messed up by shooting that young man. He so happens to be Don Luis’ son and he offered you an ultimatum; you either join the mafia again and be ready for when we need you or he is going to put a bullet through your son.” He shrugged, “an eye for an eye.”

“I was trying to find my wife.” I snapped, knowing the mafia didn’t care that my son was only three-years-old.

He looked at me with a smug smile on his face, “since when has that ever mattered.” He stated.

I sighed, “I will come back under the condition that my wife, son and company aren’t part of the deal. They are out of the question.”

The old man patted Lily’s leg, “I’m sure that is a fair deal.” He said as he made his way to the door. He tilted his head slightly to look at me and I could barely make out the smile on his face, “welcome back to the family.” He added as he walked out.