Page 194 of La Dolce Vita

He kissed her. And then he kissed her stomach. Marietta smiled for him. “Don’t worry. I’ll be back before you miss me.”

***

Eight Hours Later –

“Look out!" Jerome shouted. He grabbed the wheel in a state of panic. Evan hollered in what sounded like a high pitch squeal. It wasn't until the first bullet shattered the windshield did Cutter know why. The slam on brakes and sharp jerky turns of the wheel in the men's hands sent the car into a tailspin. And there were more gunshots.

“Motherfucking Gadson brothers have set us up!” Jerome yelled.

The car careened over on two wheels and began to flip into a roll. Evan’s sharp screaming was cut off. Jerome went crashing out the front windshield. Cutter was knocked unconscious.

It was dark. He couldn't tell if it was cloud coverage or just a starless night. They'd waited for two hours on the side of the road. No cars came. The only ones he'd seen were the ones that dropped them. Henry made the introductions. Giovanni had a closed door meeting with a man named Opie. Lorenzo wasn't sure if it was his name or a nickname. He and his brother Ritchie were over an organization known simply as the Gadson brothers. And these men had blood ties to the Irish, called the Westies. For some reason they wanted to meet Giovanni and Lorenzo was kept from the table.

It pissed him off.

There was a whistle in the night. It sounded human. It was his signal. Lorenzo couldn't be sure if the car approaching was Cutter and his men. But there was no time to delay. He stepped from the shadows of the trees out onto the road with his gun raised. He didn’t hesitate. He fired as soon as the headlights drew near. The driver swerved left. A common reaction to shots being fired from the right. If the bastard was smart he'd swerve right and run over the gunman. But no, weak men didn't think when their lives were in peril. Weak men just reacted. And most weak men made the wrong choice.

Lorenzo dove out of the way of the spinning car as to not be hit. There was more gunfire at the car. Lorenzo remained down until the gunshots ceased. And then silence, more deafening then the cannon shots from the guns in the night descended on them. The engine was running on the car. It's wheels spun, but it rested on its roof.

When Lorenzo lifted off the ground a dead man was only a few feet away from him. His head was split and oozing blood from being thrown from the car. However, Lorenzo stood, picked up his gun, and fired a shot into the back of the dead man to be sure.

Giovanni stepped out of the darkness of the trees with several men. Lorenzo glanced back to him and nodded they had gotten the target. His cousin left the men and approached. Giovanni ripped open the driver side door and a man fell out. He began to crawl away. Spitting out his teeth and blood as he went.

"Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuc--" Giovanni put two bullets to the back of the man's head and it split like a melon. He then went to the back passenger door. Lorenzo didn't have to see who was inside. He knew. They had the right car. Giovanni pulled Cutter out and tossed him to the ground.

"Is he dead? That would be a fucking waste of time if he's dead," Lorenzo said.

Giovanni checked. "Not yet."

He dragged Cutter around to the front of the car where the headlights beamed brightly. He dropped him in front of the car and Cutter groaned. Lorenzo checked his watch. It came down to a matter of time. They didn’t have the kind of time they would usually spend to teach a man like Cutter a lesson. They would have to get on the road within the hour to make it home before sunrise.

Whatever Giovanni wanted it had to happen now. He glanced up to see the men who were given to them for the night approaching. They needed to get the dead men off the road. He tucked the gun in the back of his pants and grabbed the first man by his armpits and dragged him away.

“Svegliati--wake up!” Giovanni delivered a hard slap to Cutter’s face.

The man gasped. He spits up blood. "Fuck! What the fuck? Hey man, what the fuck is this?"

Giovanni held him by the collar. Cutter's head was raised from the ground. He wanted Cutter to see him--know it was him. To understand the consequences of his actions. And it only took a matter of seconds for Cutter to see clearly.

"Are you fuckin’ crazy, man? You could've killed me. Fuck! I'm bleeding. What the fuck are you doing here?"

"You always talking,pigliainculo--spineless coward," Giovanni said with a smile. He let Cutter go. The coward tried to move but he apparently had internal injuries so he scooted back. The exertion caused him to cough up blood.

"Man, I'm hurt. Really bad. Look, man, I didn't mean it. I got a family and kids. I don't want no trouble. Mirabella and I happened a long time ago. Please! Please!"

Giovanni pointed his gun at Cutter.

“Please! I’m begging! Please!”

"You never happened. That kid you think you had with my wife?It never happened.She's mine.”

“Okay! Fine! Fuck man she’s yours!”

“And you... you're nothing to her. Say it."

“I’m nothing! I’m nothing to her! I never was!” he shouted through his staggared breathing.

“Puttana!” Giovanni spat.

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