Page 9 of Mafia Darling

I chugged the rest of the wine and put the glass on the marble countertop. “I will have my vengeance and bring her home. D’Agostino will pay with his life first.”

“Bah! You men worry so much about your pride that you cannot see what really matters.”

Likely true, but this was all I’d ever known. “I am taking my pride and going to shower. You may chastise me more tomorrow.”

I left her standing in the kitchen and trudged up the steps. All of a sudden, my body felt exhausted, my muscles heavy. Each step grew increasingly more difficult, like I was walking through quicksand. Ma che cazzo?

I put a hand on the wall as I stumbled down the corridor, just trying to remain upright. Something was wrong. I was covered in blood and sweat, but I hadn’t been injured. I shouldn’t feel like this.

Once I was in my room, my bed swung up to greet me. As I closed my eyes, it hit me what had happened.

Zia and her sleeping tablets. In the wine.

Minchia!

* * *

Francesca

Clean and modern, Enzo’s beach home was the complete opposite of the castello. The property stretched out along the Gulf of Naples, each room boasting a magnificent view of the water and Vesuvius. Mariella lived here, while Enzo’s wife and children were somewhere else, and he had the luxury of going back and forth, the cheating bastard.

Even though Enzo was hardly around, his guards were always present, as was Mariella, which meant I was never alone, and I was exhausted from it. Most of my time was spent wondering if this was the day I’d be tortured or raped in revenge against Fausto. Or worse, the day Enzo realized I was of no use to him and put a bullet in my brain.

I hardly slept. I ate to keep my stomach settled, but I worried that each bite of food was poisoned. Every noise made me jump, and my nerves felt stretched to the breaking point. How much more of this could I take? How much longer before they realized I was pregnant with Fausto’s baby? What would happen then?

The possibilities were too terrifying to contemplate.

So despite Mariella’s repeated attempts to forge a friendship with me, I kept to myself. I needed to think and figure out an escape. All I needed was an instant, any window of opportunity where I could sneak away. Or for Mariella to make a mistake, like leaving her phone lying around.

Something would eventually happen. They would underestimate this puttanella and then I would run.

I was slicing a peach in the kitchen when the front door opened. Enzo came in, trailed by three of his men. Unlike Fausto, Enzo never wore a suit, at least that I’d seen. He was always in tight designer shirts and jeans or trousers, like a Hollywood movie star on vacation. “Good afternoon, Frankie. I would like a word with you.”

The peach turned to ash in my mouth and I watched him warily as I swallowed. “Sure.”

Enzo sat on a stool at the kitchen bar and snagged a piece of peach off my plate. I didn’t like how his eyes traveled my body as he chewed. He asked, “How do you like my beach house?”

“As prisons go, it’s nice.”

“Thank you. I would say you could thank Fausto for it, but he doesn’t seem to be in the chatting mood lately.”

Thank Fausto for kicking me out and allowing Enzo to kidnap me? Hell would freeze over first. “I told you he doesn’t care about me.”

Enzo didn’t comment on this. “Has my Mariella been taking good care of you?”

“I suppose, but if you’re taking requests I’d like a phone.”

His lips twitched. “Strange we’ve not heard from Ravazzani, don’t you think?”

Not strange to me. I knew him better than anyone, and Fausto never said what he didn’t mean. He was through with me. I tried to sound braver than I felt. “You should let me go.”

“Or perhaps I should send him a reminder.”

I gripped the marble counter so hard my fingers turned white. Was this where he cut off one of my toes and delivered it to Fausto? I pushed the peach away, appetite forgotten. “That’s a waste of your time.”

“I don’t agree.” His gaze was shrewd. “I think he will mind very, very much.”

I really liked having all five toes attached to my foot. “You heard what he said, right? He’s given his blessing for you to send me anywhere I wish to go. Well, I wish to go to Toronto, please.”

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