Page 136 of Mafia Kings: Valentino

For a second, I thought she was going to slap me for talking to her son like that –

And I’d have to take it.

No way I was going to do anything back to an old lady.

But instead, she patted my cheek softly.

“You a good boy,” she said very seriously.

Then she smiled sadly and walked out of the room.

42

Caterina

Alessandra told menotto tell the driver I was going to the airport.

The driver might tell Niccolo, who would get suspicious.

So I had the car drop me off in my old neighborhood of Santa Maria Novella, near the train station. From there I took a train to the airport and bought a last-minute ticket on a flight to Catania, Sicily.

Flying in a plane for the first time waswild.My heart was beating wildly as it took off – but once I could look out the window at a miniature version of Florence below, I fell in love with flying and decidedI want to do this MORE!

I stared out the window at the landscape below for the entire trip. My favorite part was seeing the big blue expanse of the Mediterranean, and then Sicily slowly getting closer like a 3-D map filled with mountains.

I freaked out a bit when we landed, but once it was over, I was sad that it had ended.

I got off the plane in Catania at 8:00 PM. Having never been in an airport before, I was a bit confused about getting my suitcase – but I figured it out.

Once I got my bag from the baggage area, I searched on my phone for hotels and booked online.

I still had my credit card from when I lived in Florence, so I didn’t need to use the cash Alessandra had given me.

Once that was done, I went to the taxi stand and got the driver to take me to my hotel.

It was a modest place run by one of the big American companies, but that was fine. I only needed someplace to sleep until I heard from my contact.

I wasn’t hungry – I’d completely lost my appetite when Valentino left – but I forced myself to eat dinner, which was basically just some crackers and peanuts from the lobby vending machine.

After that, I plugged in my phone to make sure it was charged and turned on the TV to distract me.

It was terrifying to trust some stranger whose name I didn’t even know –

Who might double-cross me and leave me hanging.

But what choice did I have?

I had to see Valentino again.

As long as there was a chance, I would doanything.

I foundLegally Blondeon pay-per-view – one of my all-time favorite movies – and settled in to watch it when my cell phone buzzed.

My heart skipped a beat, wondering if it was about Valentino –

But it was Alessandra.

Are you okay?she asked.

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