Page 44 of A Taste Of Darkness

That was yet to be determined.

“Listen, I need your help,” I said as I walked over to the windows. The building was quite modern, which was sort of a miracle for Palermo. It still fit in with the architecture of Palermo, and the traditional look, but on the inside, it was like entering Hollywood.

Of course, everything was way smaller than in Canada, less expensive and fancy, but it was enough for a month.

“My help?” Adriana sounded distressed. “How would I be able to help you?”

“Why are Pino and his guys looking for me?” I asked, ignoring my sister’s question once more. “I need you to tell me exactly what’s happening, Adriana.”

She stayed quiet for a whole minute, and if I couldn’t hear her breathe, I probably would’ve thought she hung up on me.

It was strange.

Sure, I hadn’t talked to her in a while, especially not on the phone, but Adriana was the only one who knew I was still alive, where I was. She was the one who kept me up to date; as much as she could anyway.

Her sudden silence was odd.

“Adriana,” I said harshly.

“You’ll die if I told you.”

I could feel my eyebrows fall into a frown. Not even the sight of perfect turquoise water could brighten my mood at this point.

Just a minute ago I wanted to tell my sister that I was in Palermo; wanted to ask if she would sneak out to meet with me. Now I wasn’t so sure if that was a good idea.

Adriana was acting strange. And the words that followed only proved my point. “I told you I’m getting married. So, leave me alone.”

“Is someone in the room with you?” I asked. Perhaps I should’ve considered this as my first question.

My sister sighed heavily, which told me she wasn’t alone.

“Dante, Alessandro, or Antonio?” Depending on which brother was with her, I’d have to decide my next move. One was easier to trick than the other.

“The first one,” she said quietly. “Just leave me alone, okay? I don’t want to speak to you ev—Dante!”

“What do you want, Fabio?” Dante’s voice came through the phone, angry as ever. He still sounded the same, at least something inside of me recognized the voice.

Fabio? Who the fuck was Fabio?

Perhaps an ex of my sister, but it’d be a miracle if she was even allowed to have a boyfriend. Stupid outdated traditions.

“I see,” Dante said, chuckling bemused. He always had a temper, but it was his biggest weakness. I used to really annoy him by testing the waters of his patience. “Now that I’m on the phone, you’re no longer finding your stupid, cowardly voice, are you?”

“Dante!” I heard Adriana say, probably to get her phone back but that was as likely to happen as my name being Fabio.

“Come on, fucker. Speak to me. What do you want from my sister?”

I remained silent. He should’ve known it was me on the phone, solely because I did the same when we were younger.

Dante demanded answers, always, so I never gave him any. To be fair, I had a higher rank anyway. I didn’t answer to anyone, and if I didn’t feel like talking, then I didn’t have to. He couldn’t command a reply.

“You know what, little bitch, you’re a whore.”

A chuckle slipped out. “I see your vocabulary is as bad as ever.”

Honestly, I wasn’t sure if he’d recognize my voice. It had gotten deeper over the years, if only a little bit. But I guess he was processing, trying to understand where he recognized my voice from, how he knew my voice when very clearly, I wasn’t Fabio.

When it finally dawned on him, I expected a more heartwarming greeting—I didn’t, actually—but he could’ve been a lot nicer.

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