Page 42 of Mafia And Taken

“I hope you didn’t talk like that in front of Alfonso,” growled Marco.

“No, I didn’t. I just said that since we couldn’t go out to the movie theater anymore, we just thought we would watch a movie in Carolinne’s bedroom instead.”

But he and Carolinne didn’t tell her dad about their little weekly rendezvous. “Fuck, Danio, were you competing for moron of the year when you thought of that idea?” exclaimed Marco. “Danio, you help us with our Fratellanza work all the time now. You plan our drug shipments and keep our movements concealed from the authorities with all your computer hacks. But you can’t get in and out of a teenage girl’s bedroom without getting caught by her father for crying out loud?”

I looked at Danio. “And obviously Alfonso thought that maybe it wasn’t just a movie night and you had been getting up to other things with his daughter.”

When Danio didn’t respond, Marco turned to me. “So, while you were enjoying your honeymoon with your new wife last night, I was dealing with all this shit—an irate father and also Carolinne’s irate grandmother. And let me tell you, Nonna Tocchini is not a woman to be crossed, as I found out last night. Danio, you must have known after finding you in Carolinne’s room anyone’s obvious conclusion would be that you have been bedding her.”

Danio’s cheeks flamed red. “It wasn’t like that. You know we’re just friends and always have been. I wouldn’t do anything like that with her,” he spat out in anger toward Marco.

I could see that they had been arguing about this and Marco hadn’t been able to get through to Danio. Marco had a habit of getting worked up and speaking before he thought, but sometimes the kids needed a gentler approach.

Just then Marco’s cell phone rang, and he looked at the screen. “That’s Camillo. Damn, I need to take this call. He’s gone down to one of our hotels to sort out an issue and I need to talk to him.” It was obvious this discussion was over as far as Marco was concerned and he turned back to the office while Danio stomped off upstairs to his bedroom, slamming the door when he reached his destination.

Before I left, I checked in with Marco. “Do you need anything else from me?”

“No, I think we got the message across to Danio.”

“You think?” I asked skeptically. “Perhaps I should try to talk to him again once he’s calmed down a bit.”

“Yeah, maybe that isn’t such a bad idea,” he muttered after considering my words. “And, for fuck’s sake, give the kid a box of condoms.”

Typical Marco: he would rather hand over a box of condoms than have a proper talk with our youngest brother.

Marco gathered his phone and car keys. He and I needed to visit one of our clubs today.

Before we left, he walked through to the kitchen and pressed a lingering kiss to Juliana’s lips. “Please try to not burn anything today, okay?”

“Okay, honey,” she replied with a grin.

Those two were made for one another, but it still puzzled me how anyone could put up with my crazy brother.

CATE

After work, I came home, and the apartment was empty.

I made myself some dinner, although I didn’t have much of an appetite and I pushed my food around my plate.

By the time it was 11 p.m., Alessio hadn’t come back. Maybe he’d gotten the message and realized I didn’t want him here. I couldn’t have made it any clearer.

I got ready for bed and put on pajama bottoms and a vest top. After washing my face and brushing my teeth, I climbed in between the covers of my bed. The bed was blissfully warm, and it didn’t take me long to drift off into a delicious sleep.

I was dreaming that I was swimming in the clear ocean under a warm sun. The warm water was relaxing, and I turned over to float on my back.

Suddenly I couldn’t breathe.

Despite the ocean being calm, the water was holding me down. Panic was rushing through my veins. The weight of the water felt heavier as it pushed me down. I couldn’t push myself back up to the surface.

I forced all my energy into my muscles and jolted up. There was a hand over my mouth. A man with dark hair merged into the night and his dark eyes burned into mine.

I wasn’t dreaming any longer.

This was real.

Terror and adrenaline kicked in. I began to struggle and tried to scream.

“It’s okay. It’s me. Wake up.”