Page 379 of Niccolo

Behind them in the hallway were Dante and Rachel. Her blouse was also stained red.

Once the brothers and Lars were all inside, Dante and Rachel closed the wooden doors with an echoing BOOM.

“…no…” Fausto whispered in horror as he stared at his nephews. “No – I saw youdie!”

“We got better,” Niccolo quipped.

“Actually,” Dario said to his uncle, “you onlythoughtwe died… when all that happened was a little bit of Hollywood magic.”

He ripped open his shirt –

Exposing pads beneath, taped to the skin, with burst balloons dripping red.

“You’ve seenThe Godfather,”Massimo said. “You showed it to me when I was eight years old. When Sonny gets shot at the tollbooth, I thought he died for real – but you told me it was just make-believe.”

“They call ‘em squibs,” Adriano said with a malevolent smile. “Tiny explosives and balloons filled with fake blood. Niccolo hired some movie guys here in Rome to come in last night and rig us up.”

“Hurt like a motherfucker,” Valentino grinned. “But seeing your face right now? Totally worth it.”

“Worth atleast28 million euros,” Roberto deadpanned –

The amount Fausto had stolen from them.

Fausto looked at the brothers frantically. “But – you couldn’t have done it without…”

Then he realized…

And he looked over at me with pure hatred.

“You fuckingcunt,”he snarled.

Niccolo’s face became a mask of rage –

And he raised his gun and fired.

Fausto’s left arm sprayed red –

And the old man cried out and grasped the wound.

I gasped as it happened – but not from shock.

My reaction came from a single thought:

He would KILL for me.

I felt a surge of something indescribable –

An emotion so primal, a desire so fierce –

An overwhelming feeling of being treasured –

That I couldn’t help myself.

I rushed into Niccolo’s arms –

And he kissed me passionately.

Then I broke off and stared up at him.

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