Page 53 of Mafia Kings: Valentino

“Val, you’re scaring me,” Cat whispered.

“Something’s wrong,” I said as I pulled up my pants and tried to hide my erection beneath my pulled-out shirt. “Get dressed, we’ve got to go.”

She looked at me fearfully as she pulled on her panties.

A second later, my suspicions were confirmed.

“Valentino!” a man’s voice yelled out in the hallway. “Sir, where are you?”

One of my family’s foot soldiers – a guy named Roreto.

He’d known exactly where to come looking for me, so I guess my little romp with Caterina wasn’t exactly a secret.

I opened the door just enough to look out. “What’s wrong?”

Roreto spun around to look at me. At least he hadn’t known exactlywhichroom we’d been in. “Your brother – Don Rosolini – someone tried to kill him.”

HOLY SHIT.

I opened the door and stepped out into the hallway, not giving a damn if he saw Caterina behind me. “Is Dario okay?!”

“He’s fine,” Roreto said as he glanced behind me into the bedroom, “but I’m supposed to take you to the safe room.”

“I’ll be there in a minute. You can go.”

When Roreto didn’t move, I yelled at him.

“I SAIDGO!”

He nodded and hurried away.

I turned back to Caterina. She’d heard everything, and her face was pale and terrified.

“I have to get you somewhere safe,” I said as I grabbed her hand and pulled her along behind me.

“But your brothers – you have to go to them!”

“After I get you somewhere safe!”

I hustled her down the hallway until we reached a room I knew didn’t have any windows. “Stay in here and lock the door until I come back for you – or you hear the all-clear.”

“The ‘all-clear’?”

“Somebody will shout that it’s safe to come out. But until they do, you stay in here with the door locked – understand?”

“Val…” she whimpered, her voice trembling.

I kissed her hard, then pulled away.

“It’s gonna be okay,” I promised. “Just stay in there with the door locked, and don’t come out until you hear from me or one of the soldiers.”

She nodded and stepped inside.

The last thing I saw was her ghostly white face as the door closed –

And then I ran for the panic room.

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