Page 3 of Caesar DeLuca
Then Alfredo’s men step into my line of vision, their faces upside down from where I lay, and they wrench me from the trunk. I’m sent tumbling into the snow despite my best efforts to fight against their pull.
I land on my side. Freezing cold ice soaks through my clothes the moment it comes into contact with me.
The men grab me on both ends. By the collar of my shirt and by my legs.
“Get your grubby hands off me!” I roar, twisting any part of my body I can.
I prove to be a difficult hostage. More men surround me, delivering blows. Their shoes collide with my ribs, and I’m struck over the head by somebody’s pistol. Stars burst in front of my eyes as dizziness sweeps me up and I’m finally overtaken.
His men ziptie my wrists and carry me across the snowy landscape.
I realize it’s as I’ve suspected—we’re out in the middle of nowhere, trees for miles, mountains in the backdrop, surrounded by heavy snow.
The weather forecast did call for heavy snow tonight. For the foreseeable future in certain parts of New Jersey near the Kittatinny Mountains. They’re going to kill me and dump my body out here.
I’m dropped at the bank of a lake. It takes me a second longer to recognize it’s Kittatinny Lake. I’ve been brought out to the mountains, alright.
Alfredo walks toward me with a gloating grin on his pudgy face. Rocky is at his side, looking like the fucking pathetic beta male he is. All the muscles he’s built in the gym and pomade he’s put in his hair and he’s still a small-dicked imbecile with no real power.
I spit at his feet. “Rocky, you good for nothing piece of shit. After all I’ve done for you.”
“Sorry, Caesar. I go where the money goes. It just so happens that Carisi’s paycheck had more zeros on it.”
“You let me get my hands on you again and you’re done for. You hear me?”
“That doesn’t mean nothing coming from the loser,” Rocky says.
Alfredo holds up his hand to silence him like the pawn he is. My adversary is staring at me as if I’ve been the itch he couldn’t scratch, and now he’s satisfied to have done it. He’s eliminated the thing that’s been standing in his way.
The bane of his existence.
“You were a tougher nut to crack than I thought you would be, Caesar. But you still cracked in the end.”
“This isn’t the end. Far from it!”
“I say differently. Fellas, you know what to do.”
“You fuckers better not touch me!” I yell, but it’s too late.
His men close ranks around me again. I barely have a chance to thrash around before it happens—a sharp object pierces my stomach.
I’ve been stabbed in the gut.
Air vacates my lungs at once. I sputter for it, the pain taking a second longer to sink in. As I push back against them, still trying to fight, I can’t keep it up for long. My usual strength eludes me, my energy immediately depleted. Every move makes me more winded.
Every breath I try to take aches.
It doesn’t matter that it’s snowing. Heat sears me in feverish haste. I’m dizzy and staggering as blood wets my shirt.
Alfredo’s grin has only widened. “That was just the beginning, Caesar. Enjoy your swim with the fishes.”
I don’t understand what the bastard is talking about until I’m shoved by one of his men. I tip over with ease, falling backward into a large box. I’ve been pushed into a coffin.
Rocky, Alfredo, and his men cackle as they slam it shut. They begin pushing the heavy wooden box down the slight slope leading into Kittatinny Lake. I sense the moment the coffin reaches the tipping point. They give it a final nudge, and the box slides straight into the icy water with a big splash.
The sinking sensation joins the many other sensations I’m feeling. The sharp pain from my stomach wound has only amplified. I’m barely breathing, my vision blurrier by the second. The coffin will be at the bottom of the lake in no time.
My bound fists bang against the lid, testing if it’ll give on its own. Attempts that seem futile.
