Page 10 of Mafia Darling

“Amore mio!” Mariella exclaimed, bounding into the room with a bright smile on her face.

He turned and opened his arms, and she came quickly, sliding between his thighs to press a deep kiss on his mouth. When they parted, he spoke in rapid Italian to her, too fast for me to translate, and she nodded before disappearing again. My stomach sank. Whatever he was planning must be truly terrible if he didn’t want her to see it.

“Listen, Enzo. Signore D’Agostino. There’s no reason to bother yourself with me. I’m sure you have better things to do. Let me go and we’ll forget any of this ever happened.”

He grinned at me. “You must have driven him crazy. I can see why he was staring at you like a starving wolf that day on the yacht.”

That trip seemed like a lifetime ago. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but it doesn’t matter. Fausto and I are through.”

Mariella returned, a long rope dangling from her fingertips. Oh, shit. I started to back up as Enzo stood. Except I was trapped by kitchen cabinetry and stainless steel appliances. I would need to sprint past them both and hope for the best.

It was now or never.

In a blink, I took off. I darted around the island and ran toward the sliding glass doors that led to the beach. No one tried to stop me, so I kept going. My feet slapped onto the wooden deck—and that’s when I saw two guards emerge from either side of the house, their guns drawn and pointed at my head. I hesitated. Would they actually shoot me? I wasn’t certain I could risk it.

That pause was all they needed to swarm around me. I tried to pull free, but they wouldn’t budge, dragging me back inside.

Enzo didn’t seem surprised. “Enjoy the fresh air?”

So many words burned my tongue. Most were creative versions of “fuck off,” but I had to be careful with this man. “What are you going to do?”

“Come. Stand here, Frankie.” He moved to the center of the room, the rope in his hand. Looking over his shoulder, he told his guards to bring me over. I knew there was nowhere for me to go, but I dropped back a step.

It did no good. The guards had a firm grip on me and they tugged me over to Enzo. “Hold her hands behind her back,” Enzo ordered.

“No, please.” I hated myself for begging, but I didn’t want this. My heart pounded, my mind scared out of my wits. Why did he need rope? Was he going to rape me? Torture me? Oh, God. I couldn’t breathe.

When the rope was around my wrists, pulled tight, Enzo continued winding the rope around my torso. His fingers brushed the underside of my breasts as he worked, and I tried not to react as revulsion ripped through me. Did he just cop a feel, the fucking perv?

The slight curve to his lips told me he had. God, how gross.

He’s going to kill you. Stop worrying about whether he touched your boobs or not.

Right. There were far bigger problems at the moment.

When he had me trussed up to his liking, he pushed on my shoulder and forced me to my knees. That put my face at his crotch level, and fear clawed in my chest. Was he going to shove his dick in my mouth? I wobbled and certainly would’ve toppled over if not for Enzo’s hand on my head to steady me. He ordered Mariella to get his phone, then held out his hand to one of the guards and a gun was placed in his palm.

Oh, Jesus. He finally realized I was of no use to him. “Enzo, no. Please, don’t do this.”

“Open your mouth, puttanella.”

A tear slid down my cheek, my lungs incapable of pulling in air. I was going to die. I was going to die before meeting my baby, before seeing my sisters again. How was this fair? “Please, Enzo.”

He pried open my jaw using his powerful fingers and shoved the barrel of the gun inside my mouth. The cold metal smoothed over my tongue and rattled against my teeth. It tasted like death.

I trembled, tears running silently down my cheeks. I couldn’t believe this was happening. Fuck Fausto for kicking me out. I was definitely coming back as a ghost to haunt his ass for the rest of his life.

My mind went blank after that. I could only stare up at Enzo, the harsh edges of the gun tearing at the soft skin of my mouth. I don’t think I was even breathing.

“So beautiful and so proud,” Enzo murmured as he dragged a fingertip along my jaw, caressing me. “How could any man resist you?” Then he told Mariella to take photos with his phone.

I knelt in a grotesque display of cruelty, my body vibrating in terror as I waited for Enzo to pull the trigger. No doubt it would be soon, my gruesome death captured for his enjoyment. Would he share the photos with other members of the ’Ndrangheta? With Fausto? Was there a mafia Instagram where they posted these after the fact?

“Basta,” he told his mistress, then slowly withdrew the gun from my mouth. He used his thumb to wipe the tears from my face while I tried not to hyperventilate. “You on your knees, so obedient. Did he like this, as well? I bet he did. This is why you are the perfect distraction.”

Distraction? Something about his tone caused my skin to prickle. Danger cloaked the room, so thick I could smell it. Would he take me against my will now?

The moment was broken when Mariella threw her arm over his shoulder and handed his phone back. “Baby, her hands,” she said in English.

---