11. Jovani （Von） Bendetti
Chapter 11
Jovani (Von) Bendetti
I’d always been a street runner. My twin and I had been sprinting through Ausnor beach since before we could properly formulate a sentence. Sleepless nights that turned into early mornings used to be exciting. That shit came with the job so, I embraced it at one point. Strip clubs, bitches by the boat load, more drugs than we could sell, and the fast life was what a nigga look forward to each day. That was before her-before them. Seeing Girl in that fucking warehouse on that nasty ass mattress in fetal position and sleeping peacefully as if she wasn’t in grave danger unlocked something inside of me. That shit changed a nigga. Now, all the things I once looked forward to in this life weren’t thrilling at all. Fuck the bitches. Fuck the club. Fuck everything that wasn’t family, my daughter, and Voyage. Voyage. Pretty ass Bankhead bouncing Voyage was Girl’s mother. Voyage and Atlantis. I should have known her water loving ass would name her child some shit like that. The fucking girl that had been having my nose wide open, sneaking in the back office of a bookstore to suck on her pussy had been my baby mama this whole time. I guess that shit was true when they said you never supposed to trust a nigga with a baby mama.
“Damn. That sick ass nigga sold his fucking kid? I mean, we knew it was possible that a parent had sold her but I didn’t think that shit was likely,” Jeo shook his head as he settled into his seat. I’d already taken my seat and was ready for the flight attendant to close the door so that we could take the fuck off. Melissa had been waiting for us at the hangar, so I came straight here when I left Voyage’s spot. I had no plans on turning Girl over, but when that driver tried to gun me down in front of her I knew I had to get her to her mother until I killed every motherfucker that played with us. I couldn’t live like this and knew my brother felt the same.
“I told yo ass that a parent sold her.”
Jeovanni, now seated across from me, strapped on his seatbelt. He was dressed for war, in all black, making it a rare occasion that we were dressed alike. Rome and Deuce appeared from the back of the plane, and when Deuce gave me a nod indicating it was clear of threats, I could relax my shoulders a tad. Rome had done so well on the rescue mission that we also recruited him for this shit here. We needed all hands on deck.
“Yeah, you do be having those intuitions. You get that shit from Grams,” my brother joked, trying to lighten the mood. I loved my brother with all of me, but smiling and laughing was the last thing I was trying to do. I needed this shit done asap.
“He sure does get it from me.” All four of our heads snapped toward the door of the jet. I didn’t know if Melissa owned or chartered it, but it was all black on the outside and inside. My brother with his black loving ass had been raving about it since we pulled up. Yeah, it was nice, but it was out of my budget. I was rich, but I wasn’t buy-a-forty-million-dollar-plane rich.
We all straightened in our seats when we saw salt and pepper hair peek into the plane.
“Grams? What the fuck you doing here?” Jeovanni asked what we all wanted to know.
Our Grandmother walked the remaining steps and entered the plan with a frown on her face and hand on the dip of her back. Coming in behind her was Melissa who looked like she wanted to cry, curse, and kick my grandma’s ass all in one.
“Ms. Mitchell. Let me escort you back home,” Deuce attempted to unsnap his seatbelt and stand.
“You think I came all this way to be sent back home? Just like I told this Peperoni pizza-loving creature, I’m staying. Now sit down!”
Deuce plopped back down in his seat in a hurry. That nigga wasn’t scared of shit and I’d seen him kill muhfuckas for less. However, Joanna Mitchell had him snapping his seatbelt back on and going mute.
“I’m just saying, Grams-“
“Let her stay. I got her,” I spoke up.
Joanna approached me and kissed my cheek before sitting in the recliner chair facing the TV. I watched her until she flagged down the stewardess for a drink.
Melissa mumbled shit under her breath but the moment my grandma snapped her head at her she gave us her attention.
“The flight should take no longer than two hours. An hour and thirty minutes tops.”
“Where we going again?” I asked. My head was all over the fucking place. All I knew was that we were ending this shit.
“To see your grandfather.”
“That slave master ain’t my fucking grandkids granddaddy. Their Papa been dead a long fucking time.”
“Joanna, please. It’s not the time. Biologically, he is their grandfather. The only reason we are even allowing you to tag along is because this is a friendly visit. I believe my father when he says he has nothing to do with this, but I need to look his men in the face to see if I can get an inkling who might be going against my daddy to get at my sons.”
“You ain’t let me do shit. But you can let me mop this plane with your saggy face ass-”
“Grams. Chill.” My brother put that deep voice on like he was scaring somebody.
“Oh I forgot, you still got the titty in your mouth,” she pointed at Jeo before facing the tv and sipping on her cocktail. If I wasn’t so pissed I would be laughing at her in her bright white dressed just like she was headed to a wedding on the beach. The rest of us were in all black, including Melissa, yet Joanna stood out like a sore thumb. I had to school my grams on Murderville 101 because she was fucking up already.
“Since we all here, I may as well get this shit out. I don’t know what the fuck will happen when we land but I want y’all to know when I get back to Ausnor Beach, I’m throwing in the towel.”
Jeovanni was speaking to everyone, but he was looking right at me.
“This street shit? It was fun while it lasted. But I got a family now. Everybody on this plane has made enough money to be set for life. And if you haven’t, you can get in on some of these investments I have lined up. I can’t do this shit. It ain’t worth the woman I love and damn sure not worth the kids she and I created. I’m out.”
The entire plane was quiet with only the engine's hum filling the silence.
Melissa cleared her throat. She’d taken a seat closer to us and far away from my grandma, which was for the best.
“Joanna, I know you hate me, but I appreciate you so much for raising my boys.”
“I didn’t do it for your ass. I did it for my son.”
Melissa swallowed, “I know. I know you loved Jonah more than anything, and that’s why you were the only person I trusted with my children. Our children. When I walked away from the mafia, I knew that meant walking away from my twins. But I couldn’t stay away forever. I would pop in and watch you boys. I watched you turn from boys into men. I watched you demand the respect of everyone who doubted you. When I couldn’t take not being in your lives anymore, I made myself known. I knew you would only accept if I came to you with a proposition. That’s why I gave you the drug connect. If I could make my boys richer, I would do that, but overall, I just wanted to be a part of your lives. I didn’t care if that meant I was going to be killed. I needed to be a part of your lives.”
This was my third time seeing Melissa cry and each time that shit broke my heart. I gave her ass a hard time but, no matter howe bad I treated her, she never stopped trying. She was persistent as hell and adamant on making it right.
“I only gave you the connect to spend time with you. I have more money than I can spend and cannot wait to let my grandchildren run through it. Even when I’m gone, they’ll have it. I want to be a part of your lives even when the shipments stop. So, if you want to walk away, I understand—just as I told you, Jeovanni. I respect your decision. But if you’re done, so is your brother,” Melissa’s eyes drifted to me.
“That’s the problem, Melissa. You’re selfish. You want the world, and sometimes you just gotta be okay with having a continent. You should never have approached my child, knowing your family was racist. But you did. AND now look. I can’t keep the twins away from you even though I tried my damndest. You have them now. You have your sons, and where is mine? He’s in a grave.”
We all let my grandmother’s words marinate. My father was dead. We couldn’t bring him back. But had he and my mother not procreated, we wouldn’t have been here. Shit happens for a reason. Just like there was a reason I took Fine Shyt home that night. There was a reason I didn’t turn Girl over. Shit is divine timing. Our father’s sacrifice gave us a life beyond our wildest dreams. I would trade all this shit to let my old man slow dance with me at my wedding but, I couldn’t do that. What I could do was live for now and make the best of this shit – after I eliminated threats.
“I’m out too.”
Everyone’s head snapped to me. Jeovanni’s thick ass brow rose.
“You getting out the game?”
“Yeah. Like our mother said, you out, I’m out. When have we ever not did shit in twos? We made a vow that we would move as one nigga. That’s what we gone do. Plus, I got two girls that have been through enough for me to be bringing bullshit their way. Like you said, it ain’t worth it.”
Reaching over, my brother grabbed me by the back of my neck, and our foreheads met. Staring into eyes that matched my own, we stayed in place.
“It’s us.”
“Always.”
“Now let’s go end this shit so we can get back to our families.”
“Yeah,” I grinned. “Cuz I got some in house pussy now.”
“Jovani, please,” Melissa scoffed.
* * *
“North Carolina?”
When we got off the jet, a truck awaited us, bringing us to the grand mansion’s gates. I was so in my head that I didn’t even ask what state we were headed to. North Carolina was the last place I expected a ruthless mob boss to be.
“Diamond Cove, North Carolina. This is where my daddy lives. Come on. We have to walk up.”
Melissa’s heels echoed on the pavement, and we followed closely behind her as she approached a gate tower. I’d noticed this bitch was guarded like this nigga was the president. Two guards were at the bottom of the brick tower and two at the top. I didn’t miss those snipers in their hands either. I’d planned on coming in here killing shit but not only were we outnumbered, but we were out gunned too. I hated to say it, but I was following Melissa’s lead on this one. I had my girls to get back home to.
Our mother spoke with the guards and after looking us over in a way to let us know they didn’t fuck with us, I pulled my grams close as they granted us entry. She’d been standoffish since the jet, and it was because we were entering the gates of the man who killed her only child. I knew she was struggling.
The walk from the gate to the home was less than a mile, and when the house came into view, I think all of our mouths dropped. No fucking wonder Melissa wasn’t tripping about us leaving the game, her daddy was loaded. Me and my brother’s homes were big but this shit was four of them in one. This shit was something like a castle and was more long than tall but it was still humungous. Melissa walked through the double doors like she still lived there, making me uneasy. For her to not have the mafia on her side she damn sure was able to walk through the gates with armed niggas. If I had to kill my mama, I damn sure would. I liked her a little, but she wasn’t an exception to this gunplay.
“This shit tacky as hell,” my grandmother grunted as we stood in the grand entry. The inside of the house reminded me of an opera play. There was even some type of Italian music playing in the distance. You could smell a faint hint of cigar smoke over the cleaning products the maid used on the stairs. When she noticed us, she grabbed her supplies and scrambled up the stairs and down a hall.
“You lived here?” Jeovanni asked.
“For a time, yes. He lived in Italy, and this home was just our US estate. He’s settled here now.” Melissa smiled. It was apparent that she was a daddy’s girl and if she kept bigging her weak ass father up, I was going to let Joanna take off on her ass like a rocket.
Hearing footsteps we all clutched our guns as men appeared. I didn’t know what the fuck I expected Bendetti to look like but the nigga was the opposite. I’d seen baby pictures of our father and could see many of our features in Jonah. The rest of our looks came from our mother, or so I thought. Staring at this nigga in front of us was almost like looking in the mirror. He was the fucking Italian version of us down to the stature, build and the height. It didn’t look like Jonah fought back in the bedroom with Melissa.
“Daddy! How are you?”
Melissa opened her arms and fell into her father’s embrace. He had a total of twenty men, ten on either side of him and even though those niggas were in suit and tie they were strapped. I was starting to feel like Melissa had brought us into the den of a lion, and with the way my twin looked at me, I could tell he felt the same.
Bendetti gave us a look of disgust, even though his arms were wrapped around his only child. My grandmother clutched my arms, and I pulled her into my chest, kissing the top of her head.
“Melissa, what the fuck is this? You bring them here? To my home?”
Melissa’s grin fell from her face as her daddy princess moment was cut short. She removed her arms from his waist and stepped back, her heels echoing on the marble.
“Daddy, these are your grandsons, Jeovanni and Jovani,” she pointed so that he could identify who was who.
“I know who the fuck these monkeys are. Why the fuck are they in my home?”
“You think calling us racial slurs hurt? Nigga we the black version of you so what the fuck that make you?”
“An albino monkey,” I spat.
“Ooh ooh aah aah, looking ass.”
Bendetti’s pale face grew red. That nigga was so against black that he didn’t even have that tan glow most Italians had. He was white as fucking snow down to the hair on his head and beard on his face. You would think his ass had never step foot out of this house to get some sun.
“Daddy, we came here to interrogate your men. You said you didn’t have anything to do with sending the hits after my sons, but someone in the mob is doing it. Jeovanni and Jovani have no enemies, and they didn’t have any until I came around. I’ve been back in their lives for a few years now, and as soon as I sat down with you a few months ago and let you know I’d been building a relationship with them, we have enemies.”
I didn’t know that shit. I thought Bendetti always knew that Melissa had been sniffing around us. I guess you learned something new every day.
“Daughter,” Bendetti smiled.
Smack.
Melissa fell to the ground with a hard thud, and before anyone could react, he snatched her up by the hair and punched her in the face.
“What the fuck!”
Letting my grandmother go, I reached for my gun at the same time as my brother, but the twenty men lifted their weapons. Deuce and Rome had theirs drawn, too. Bendetti still had Melissa dangling by her hair as blood oozed from her busted lip and now swollen eye.
“It’s okay. It’s okay, sons. Daddy, they were just leaving. I’ll stay. It’s fine,” Melissa tried to reason.
“You bring them to my home and question me as if I had something to do with anything? Have you thought maybe associating yourself with niggers is the reason why you are having these mishaps,” he spat, spit fling into Melissa’s face.
“Aye, let our mother go. You think we give a fuck about being outnumbered? Your men can try, but I guarantee all of y’all are coming on that ride to hell with us. Won’t none of us make it out this bitch alive.”
“Facts! You know what-”
I snatched Melissa from his grip, and since he had her by the hair, some of her extensions were left in his hand.
“Fuck wrong with you putting your hands on our mother? Bitch ass white boy.”
Placing Melissa on her feet, I grabbed her chin and inspected her face. Tears were pouring down her bruised eyes; other than the busted lip, she would live.
“Stop trying to reason with his ass. We all leaving this bitch together. I know you think that’s your daddy, but the moment you chose our daddy over him, you were dead to him. He can lie all he wants but we know he the one behind all this shit. You don’t need the fucking Bendetti’s. You got us, aite?”
Melissa nodded.
“These are not your children! They do not carry my legacy! They are trash! Trash from the slums, just like their father was! That’s why I killed him and dumped him in the ghetto at his mother's porch! I hated his black ass-”
Poe pow pow pow pow pow.
You would have thought Fine Shyt taught Bendetti how to dance with the way his body was Harlem shaking. As bullets entered his chest, one ending his life with a headshot, his body fell.
Looking around, Deuce, Rome, and my brother were just as clueless as I was because none of them had ended his life. Melissa was still sniffling, so she hadn’t done it either. When Jeovanni’s eyes grew big, I followed his vision to the side of me.
“That was for my only child! You sick racist son of a bitch!”
Joanna had a small gun raised, one that she used to use to threaten men who got too drunk at the pool hall when Jeo and I were too young to defend her, even though we tried. Her hand was still shaking while she cried.
“Men. Stand down!” Melissa walked up. Her tears were now dried up, and she didn’t even blink as her daddy lay in a pool of his blood.
“My father is dead, so as you know, everything falls to me. I’m your boss now! You will not harm my children!”
The men looked around at each other as if they didn’t know what to do.
“Deuce, kill three men,” she instructed.
Deuce lifted his gun and let off on two while Rome killed one. When the bodies dropped, the rest of the men fell in line and dropped their weapons.
“Now, is there any confusion on who is in charge?” Melissa asked. The men shook their heads.
Her heels echoed as she walked to her father’s body.
She kneeled and looked at his body without an ounce of pity.
“You killed the love of my life. I hope you burn in hell, you stupid bastard. You lost . You lost, and now you get to mope for eternity, especially knowing two black boys are roaming the earth who share your genetics. They are Bendetti’s. When I join you in hell, I’m killing your ass again.” Melissa kissed his face and then spat on him.
When she stood, she faced my grandmother.
“You said I wanted the world instead of settling for a continent. I say I can have the world and the continents of all the other worlds out there, too—me and my sons.”
“Damn Gram. You wild for that shit.” It was so much going on that all I could do was laugh.
Melissa joined in on the laugh, and so did Jeovanni. The three of us were laughing while Rome, Deuce, and Gram, stared at us in confusion. Even the remaining men were confused. We laughed so hard that we had to lean on each other for support.
“Yeah, y’all are your mother’s sons for sure. Crazy pasta eating asses. Get me the fuck out of here. Me and Ida Mae are throwing a fish fry.” Gram walked out the door.
“Aye, make sure it ain’t no rabbits on y’all’s menu. You just killed that prick in cold blood, so I know Lola didn’t stand a chance,” I fussed.