Page 106 of Mafia Mistress

I ripped the knife out of his leg, and blood surged down his calf and onto the ground as he screamed again. Then I plunged the knife into his partner’s leg. I knew exactly where to stab to avoid bone. “I will continue to do this until I get answers from one of you. Whoever answers me will die quickly. Whoever doesn’t….”

The first mate shook his head, breathing hard through the pain. “Please, il Diavolo.”

“Tell me.”

The captain’s head was hung low, saliva dripping from his mouth. “We-We saw him once. He was Italian. No names.”

“Young? Old?”

“Young. Early twenties, maybe.”

“And?”

When he didn’t answer, I jerked the knife out of the first mate’s leg and put it into the captain’s non-injured thigh. When the screams died down, I said, “What else can you tell me?”

“He sounded different than you. From a different region. North, maybe.”

“His shirt,” the first mate added. “It had a round circle, blue. With an N in it.”

I glanced at Marco. Sounded like the Napoli football club, Gli Azzurri. My cousin and I were both thinking the same, that D’Agostino was likely behind the theft.

I stood and began rolling my sleeves down. Then I put my suit jacket back on. The two men begged in Greek for their lives, but I didn’t reply. I instructed Marco and Benito to deal with them and then I went back upstairs into the club.

It was packed, as usual. Gratteri, my man who ran all the nightclubs, had turned this old warehouse into Siderno’s latest hot spot. My son did a lot of work here, as well. I headed to the VIP area to see if either Gratteri or Giulio was here.

Gratteri was in a booth with some of our men. They all had women on their laps, champagne bottles on the table. “Rav!” Gratteri yelled when he saw me, waving me over. “Vieni, unisciti a noi!”

I wasn’t in the mood for women and champagne. “Ha un momento?”

He got up and came to where I waited. I shook his hand and slapped his back. “The place looks fantastic. And the numbers are even higher than that club last year. You’ve done very well.”

“Thank you, Rav. Are you all finished in the basement?”

“Marco and Benito are still down there.” I filled him in on what we’d learned. I had always liked Gratteri, which is why I trusted him to teach my son. He was older and had seen a lot over the years, so I didn’t hesitate to ask his opinion on how to handle D’Agostino.

While Gratteri talked, I saw movement from a back hallway over his shoulder. It was Giulio and another man, one of Gratteri’s lower foot soldiers. My son looked to be in a hurry, his eyes on his phone as he texted furiously. I swear, I didn’t know how he and Francesca did it. I’ve never seen anyone text so fast.

Just as I was about to look away, I saw the foot soldier’s hand swipe across Giulio’s back. It was a familiar touch, one that spoke of intimacy and affection, and lasted a shade too long. Like how I might touch Francesca as I quickly walked past her.

It happened in a blink and I thought maybe I imagined it.

But I knew I hadn’t.

Italian men were demonstrative, even sometimes with other male friends, but this had been different. This touch had been more than friendly. I knew it in my bones.

He’s never one to play with the girls at the clubs or the waitresses. Never even accepts a blow job.

What did this mean? That my son...preferred men?

No, that wasn’t true. It couldn’t be. He was my son. The Ravazzani heir. He was not gay. I would know it if that was the case, wouldn’t I?

I watched as Giulio strode across the floor, still texting. He’d never seemed attracted to Francesca, which is a miracle in itself, considering her looks. Instead they had played in the ocean like siblings.

I shook off these thoughts. If he were gay, someone would have noticed. There would have been talk. Rumblings. The men gossiped worse than Zia and her friends when they were playing a game of briscola. Marco would have undoubtedly heard and brought this news to me.

Still, the back of my neck itched as I finished up with Gratteri. I gave him half of my attention, while the other half remained on my son as he left the VIP area and went downstairs. He never noticed me, which was probably for the best.

Bidding Gratteri goodbye, I went to find Marco.

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