Page 23 of Mafia Darling

Acid burned my throat and I bolted for the toilet. I barely made it to the bathroom in time before I vomited. My eyes watered with it, my body heaving in absolute horror.

What the hell was wrong with that man?

I sat there, wrung out and exhausted, disgusted with the entire male population, when I heard a knock on the outer door. “Frankie, you up?”

It was Giulio, the only man in this household I liked. Getting to my feet, I leaned out of the bathroom to call, “Come in.”

Quickly, I rinsed my mouth out in the sink. I heard the door close and by the time I left the bathroom, Giulio was standing over the finger, frowning.

“What the fuck?” I asked, intentionally looking at Giulio and not the human finger on the floor.

“I tried to tell him it was a bad idea. He said you would appreciate it.”

“Well, now you may return that and tell him I didn’t. It made me puke my guts out. I hope he’s happy.”

“I’ll get rid of it.” Giulio bent to deal with the finger and I went to brush my teeth. I left the bathroom door open, so he came to find me when he finished. “It’s gone,” he said, dusting his hands back and forth. “Like it never happened.”

“But it did happen,” I said, putting Fausto’s toothbrush back in the cup on the counter. Yes, I used his toothbrush to brush my teeth, and if he didn’t like it he could fuck off. “He’s absolutely crazy.”

“I know, but he was worse after you were kidnapped.”

This wasn’t the first time in recent weeks that Giulio had mentioned his father’s mental state being unhinged, but I couldn’t allow myself to care. I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around his waist. “I hate being back here, but I’m happy to see you.”

“I am very happy to see you.” He pressed a kiss to the top of my head as he hugged me back. “I was scared shitless for you. Did Enzo hurt you?”

“No, other than to insult me and shove a gun in my mouth.”

“Fausto went berserk when he saw that photo.”

“Good.” Releasing him, I went to the bed and crawled back under the covers. “He shouldn’t have sent me away.”

Giulio sat on the mattress at the end of the bed. His hair was damp and he was dressed in a t-shirt and jeans. Not working today, then. He said, “I think he’s paid for that mistake. Repeatedly.”

“Except I paid for it, as well.”

He shifted, getting more comfortable, and I rubbed my feet against his hip. I liked spending time with Giulio. We’d grown close during those weeks while I’d been at the beach house. Most days, he’d been the only thing keeping me sane. “I don’t want to talk about Fausto. How’s Paulo?”

Giulio’s eyes turned bleak and sad, a look he only got when I brought up his former boyfriend. “Fucking every rent boy in town, from what I hear. He won’t even look at me. He’ll never forgive me and I don’t blame him. I’ll never forgive myself, either.”

“I’m sorry, G. That absolutely sucks, but you had no choice.”

“I know, but that doesn’t make it any easier. At least there’s no need to worry about marrying D’Agostino’s sister now.”

“Speaking of Enzo, is he . . . ?”

“Oh, he’s very much alive. Fausto plans to draw it out as long as possible. We were down there most of the night.”

“I don’t want to know.” Glancing over, I noticed that Fausto’s side of the bed hadn’t been slept in. What did that mean? If he was sleeping elsewhere, why make me stay here?

“How are you feeling?” Giulio asked. “I know yesterday was a lot to handle. The baby, he or she is okay?”

“Tired but fine. David came last night and said the baby sounds good, but I should see an obstetrician to be certain. I plan to call one as soon as their office opens.”

“I’m happy to take you today, if you’d like.”

“You mean I can leave this fancy prison?”

Giulio cocked his head and studied me. “I suppose this means my father didn’t ask you whether you’d like to stay or not?”

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