Page 93 of Mafia Darling

“You have to tell your father.”

“Sure, right. He’d love to hear it, no?”

“You’ve already proven yourself, G. You’ve worked for the ’ndrina for years. Marco has boys who could take over. So does Toni. This doesn’t need to fall on your shoulders.”

“You know Fausto better than anyone. Do you honestly think he’ll let a nephew take over?”

I grimaced. No, my man would not be receptive to this idea at all. “Probably not, but we can work on convincing him together.”

“I won’t put that on you. No, I need to stop complaining like a little bitch. I’m better off just accepting it.” He gave a rusty laugh. “Maybe I just need to get laid.”

“There’s always the hookup apps.”

“When the fuck would I have time? I’m guarded every second.” He scrubbed his face with both hands. “Another glimpse of my future as boss. Celibate, except for sleeping with a wife I don’t love.”

I lowered my voice. “You need someone on the estate. A man you can see here.”

“Someone I sneak off with, hoping not to get caught. Someone who can never tell anyone and risks death with every encounter. Sure, what man wouldn’t sign up for such an honor? It’s too depressing. Sometimes I wish—”

When he didn’t continue, I asked, “You wish, what?”

“Nothing. Forget it. Just pointless daydreams.” He drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I’m fine.”

He didn’t look or sound fine. “I love you, G. I’ll find a way to help you. Let’s just get through this and get him home, okay?”

He reached to rub my shoulder as I had done with his. “Love you, too, matrigna. Now, the reason I came in here was to ask about Enzo. Marco wants me to sit with you and see if you can recall anything else from your captivity. Anything that might help us learn who the traitor is.”

“Traitor? You mean the person who helped Enzo steal thirty million Euros?”

“That, and everything else. How was Enzo’s crew able to get onto the estate, get into the dungeon, and carry him off? And at the exact time Fausto was shot, no less.”

“A misdirection, Marco called it.”

“Yes. And someone helped to facilitate your kidnapping. The cameras cut out at very inconvenient times.”

“Then it’s whoever was on the cameras.”

“It’s not that clear. Vic was on the cameras when you were kidnapped, but he wasn’t anywhere near the estate when Enzo was released.”

“I see.”

“Let’s focus. Anything else you overheard or saw with Enzo?”

I repeated what I’d told Fausto and Marco, which was all I knew. “Enzo wasn’t around much. He was mostly with his wife.”

“That’s what I thought, but I had to ask.” He pushed away from the table and stood. “Your conference call is over, by the way.”

Damn, I hadn’t noticed. I logged off from the conferencing software as Giulio walked to the door. “Can we have dinner together?” I shouted to his back.

“Can’t. No time. I’ll see you later, bella.”

I watched him slip through the door, not liking this one bit. I knew it wasn’t forever, just until Fausto returned, but something needed to give.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Fausto

I almost died. Again.

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