Page 15 of Mafia Darling

Something flashed on Fausto’s face at the sound, but he didn’t take his gun off Enzo. “I don’t think so. You are going to let her go.”

“Wrong, I’m going to keep her. I think I will let her watch as I kill you.”

“Marco!” Fausto shouted, his voice echoing in the large space.

Marco stepped into the doorway, but he wasn’t alone. He had a woman and two small children with him. Their mouths were covered with duct tape, hands bound, eyes wide with fear. It looked as if they’d all been pulled out of their beds, with the kids still in pajamas. Marco’s gun was aimed at the children.

Enzo went perfectly still behind me. His voice was low and angry as he slowly said, “You dare to kidnap my family?”

My stomach sank. Wives and children were supposed to be off limits. What had Fausto been thinking? Was he trying to get me killed?

“Drop your weapon and let her go,” Fausto growled. “I won’t ask you again. If you don’t, you know what will happen. I won’t hesitate, D’Agostino.”

The cool metal left my temple and I saw Enzo lower the gun out of my peripheral vision. Then his arm loosened and he stepped back. I wasn’t certain what to do, so I stood there, waiting. Was this it? Was I really free?

Giulio and two other soldiers hurried forward and quickly restrained Enzo. The D’Agostino children leaned into their mother, who tried to curl her body around them, protecting them. My heart went out to her. Soon I would be that mother, protecting her child at the expense of her own safety.

Fausto never took his eyes off Enzo. “Francesca, the car. Now.”

He thought he could order me around? Had he lost his mind in the last month?

“Francesca,” my baby daddy snapped when I didn’t move.

I lifted my chin and stared him down. “I’m not leaving until I know what you are planning.”

“That is not your concern. Go. Now.”

“What are you going to do, Fausto?”

“Cazzo,” he hissed. “Do as you are told. Get inside the car waiting out front.”

“If you are planning on killing this man in front of his children, I will not allow it. Also, if you are planning on harming these children, I will not allow it.”

His lips thinned as he stepped over to me, right into my personal space. Broad shoulders and a wide chest filled my vision.

Leaning close, he said quietly into my ear, “You think to tell me what to do, dolcezza? That is not how this works, if you recall.”

My mouth dried out as the familiar tug between us roared to life, but I stood firm. He’d lost the right to call me dolcezza when he kicked me out. “This doesn’t work at all, if you recall. We’re done. So yes, I will tell you exactly what to do.”

Shockingly, the edge of his mouth lifted slightly. “I am glad to see being kidnapped has not crushed your spirit.”

“Maybe you Italians just suck at kidnapping.”

He dragged the back of a knuckle across my cheek. “Dio, I have missed you.”

I shoved his hand away. “Don’t.”

His eyes lost their warmth, and it seemed the temperature in the room dropped by forty degrees. Stepping back, he said, “We will discuss this later. Get in the fucking car.”

I didn’t move, except to cross my arms over my chest.

Enzo chuckled, which probably didn’t help matters. Fausto stormed over to the other don and punched him in the face. Enzo’s head snapped sideways, but Giulio and the other soldiers kept him on his feet.

“Fausto, his family,” I hissed. No child should witness such brutality, even if their father deserved it. “Think about what you are doing for one goddamn minute.”

Fausto's gaze cut to me and we stared at each other for several beats. I didn’t flinch. Women and children were off limits, period. Just because Enzo broke that rule with me didn’t mean Fausto should, too. He was a controlling asshole, but he respected tradition and rules. He knew Enzo’s wife and children were innocent. If the roles were reversed, how would Fausto want his own wife and children treated?

Cursing, Fausto grabbed Enzo’s hair and tilted his head back. Blood poured from Enzo’s mouth but his eyes remained defiant. Moving in, Fausto spoke quietly, not loud enough for Enzo’s family to hear, but I caught every word. “I am going to gut you like a fish and feed your entrails to the pigs on my estate.”

---