Well, here it is. The opening half chapter of my first novel, Malavita. A tickling of your tastebuds. Can be brought from Amazon in traditional book and also e-book. (Newman is my maiden name, in case of any confusion!!)
The rear door of the black Lincoln opened and the young
English girl emerged from the
air conditioned coolness of the interior. She took in
the wild and isolated surroundings of
the Florida Everglades while she waited.
It was hot, far too hot to be
out in the open and away from shade or air conditioning. June in Florida was stiflingly hot and
notoriously humid. Already, sweat beads began to form and she felt the hot sun begin to
burn her bare arms and neck. She put on her new Prada sunglasses to stop her from
squinting in the glare of the sun as she looked to the other side of the car.
A tall, confident
Italian-American man appeared from the other passenger door and Sarah could not help but smile. Even after two years
of a rocky marriage, he still had an effect on her that made her grin at how lucky she was
to have married this man, with all his faults, and he had many. One of which was an
infamous temper, which he showed now by slamming the car door behind him.
The heat did not seem to bother
him, he had other more pressing things on his mind. He walked around to the same side of the vehicle
where his wife waited, and roughly taking her hand, he walked along the dirt track
that would take them deep into the Everglades, pulling her behind him. He turned to smile at her but the smile was
not full of the warmth he would usually reserve for her,
more the smile of a man possessed by Satan.
Sarah’s smile had disappeared
with the slam of the car door. She was confused - romantic walks were not usually Marco’s favourite
pastime. Neither was he dressed for a walk; his dark grey Armani suit and black Bruno Magli
shoes were not conducive to these rustic pathways in the ‘Glades.
Nonetheless, she followed him
albeit reluctantly, along the stony path of the swampy interior of Florida. The heat was debilitating
and the effort of keeping up with the fast pace of her husband made her pale pink silk
blouse began to stick to her upper body.
She felt the trickle of sweat
flow down her back before it was soaked up by the waistband of her white skirt. Her heels scraped against
the stones on the path and her feet, hot and perspiring began to slip around in the shoes,
making it almost painful to walk. The eerie silence began to
concern her slightly as they kept on walking, just the occasional call of a bird and a splash of some unknown
amphibian in the water that ran alongside the track that passed for a footpath on which
they were walking. Insects buzzed annoyingly around her face and she kept swatting them
away as they walked along, with Sarah beginning to feel very uncomfortable and extremely
agitated.
“Marco?” She tried to keep the
whine out of her voice but Sarah had had enough. This was no romantic walk. She was hot and fed up and
she wanted to go back to the coolness of the car. She had a can of cola in the car,
which she would devour the instant she got back there, such was her thirst.
“I just want to talk to you away
from any interruptions.” He continued walking without looking back at her. His steps were sure and
purposeful even on the uneven path.
On they went, further and
further from anyone, just ‘gators and other feral creatures for company. Crickets chirped in the
background. A snake slithered across their path causing Sarah to startle slightly; she had never
got used to their presence. Marco did not bat an eyelid at the snake’s intrusion but continued
walking, pulling Sarah along by the hand with a strength she hadn’t realised he possessed.
Eventually, they came to the end
of the path. The waterway alongside them joined another and then flowed even deeper into the heartland getting
lost forever. Marco looked around and nodded, satisfied of the location and he sat.
A tree had been felled, perhaps from the recent hurricane and the trunk provided
somewhere for them both to sit and talk although little shade was afforded the couple.
Sarah sat obediently next to her
husband, leaning backwards and turned her face up towards the sun. She relaxed slightly and stretched
her legs out in front of her, kicking off her shoes. In the far off distance she heard an
occasional shot ring out, probably an illegal hunter somewhere in the swamp. She was glad
to be sitting as their walk had exhausted her. It must be nearly one hundred degrees
today. Although it was hot and sticky, the wildness was beautiful. After the bustling
of Miami and the closeness of Palm Beach, it was nice to have some space. She was also
pleased to be spending time alone with Marco. He had just been released from Federal
prison after charges of tax evasion and other alledged crimes had been dropped. It had been
a huge relief to the whole family as he had been looking at spending the next
twenty years in prison, missing out on both seeing their daughter grow up and the opportunity
for more children. Sarah wasn’t sure how it had happened although she had some ideas but
she wasn’t one to ask questions of Marco Delvecchio. But it had happened and
he was back home with her.
Now they had their whole lives ahead of them to get back
to where they had been before this nasty business had arisen.
“It’s lovely out here.” Her
English accent was still perfect and not showing any lilt of the American vernacular despite living in the
Sunshine State for two years now. She reached for his hand but Marco abruptly pulled
it away.
"What’s the matter?” She asked,
suddenly uneasy with his reticence.
He stood now and turned to look
down on her, threatening and imposing. “While I was away, I have it on good authority that you slept
with my brother!” His eyes were black with anger, accusing. Gone was the twinkle that
usually resided in his beautiful brown eyes. His face was full of calm, a complete
antithesis of the rage burning behind his eyes and it was this that made Sarah’s spine tingle
with fearful apprehension. She knew what he was capable of when in such a rage.
“You are my wife and were supposed
to remain faithful to me. I was only away for a few weeks but you couldn’t stop yourself. Christ,
Sarah, of all people, you had to screw my BROTHER?!”
She snickered. “What makes you
say such a thing?” Sarah finally found her voice although her mouth was dry. Her heart was beating so
fast that she thought she would have heart failure and she felt sick. She was glad she
was seated as her legs had turned weak and her arms felt heavy. Unable to look him in the
eyes, she looked down at the ground crawling with fire-ants.
“Vinnie told me. His loyalty was
to me, in the end. You just couldn’t help yourself, could you? How many times? Where did you do
it, in my house? In my bed?” His voice was rising with ire. He leant down and was
just inches away from her face as he said his next words. “My father was right all along, you
know that? He said I should have married an Italian girl who would do exactly as she
was told and respect her marriage vows. A nice, submissive woman. Our daughter
deserves a better mother than you!” Spittle was leaking from his mouth in his
rage. He grabbed her long dark hair and with Sarah screaming his name hysterically, he pulled
her, stumbling, into the undergrowth. She lost a shoe in the process. “You are
evil!” He spat at her and pushed her away from him unable to stand her being too close
any longer. She fell towards the thorny brush and it scratched her arms as it tore
through the costly material, droplets of blood piercing through the flimsy silk.
With horror, Sarah saw Marco
reached behind him and take out his gun from the waistband of his trousers. He aimed it at her.
“Sweetheart, no! You don’t have
to do this. Whatever the problem is, we can deal with it! Think about Grace!” She pleaded with him but he
was unreachable. She began to sob with fear and turned to run from him.
Marco didn’t move but just
looked at her trying to run away from him, and shaking his head very, very slightly, he pulled the
trigger. He had the faintest trace of a smile of his lips as he did so. This was his business,
what he enjoyed doing. He felt a buzz as he watched the bullet tear into his slut of a
wife and suddenly felt free. He laughed out loud and turned to go back to the car.
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