Page 47 of Mafia Kings: Valentino

Like,Don’t fuck this up for me, Nic.

“I figured. My guess is you’d just set her up in an apartment in Florence and fuck her there. If we’re going to spend that much money, we might as well get some work out of her.”

I know Nic meant it as a dark joke, but it pissed me off.

“She’s not a fucking whore,” I growled.

“Oh – my mistake. Is she your girlfriend, then?” he asked with fake sweetness.

He kind of had me on that one…

And I hated him for it.

“…no,” I grumbled.

“Mm-hm. I know you, Val. You’re going to continue doing whatever you want, no matter what I say. So at least keep it quiet. It’s bad for the other workers’ morale for you to do it so openly. Got it?”

“…got it,” I seethed.

He turned to go.

I knew Nic was the newconsigliere –

But he was still the know-it-all brother who’d annoyed me my entire childhood, and his ordering me around stuck in my craw.

So I said something that I knew would stick in his.

“You wanted to fire Cat, didn’t you? But Dario wouldn’t let you,” I taunted him.

It was a guess more than anything –

But I’d apparently scored a direct hit.

Niccolo looked back and smiled coldly. “Given his recent experiences, Dario has a soft spot for men with… ‘problematic’ relationships.”

He was talking about Alessandra, and we both knew it.

But Nic being Nic, he had to get in the last word.

“Keep it in the bedroom,” Niccolo ordered. “If she’s not your whore, then stop fucking her like a whore.”

And he walked away, leaving me enraged.

I swore someday I’d make him pay for his snotty attitude –

I just didn’t know how quite yet.

But until then, I decided not to press my luck…

And started taking Caterina to spare bedrooms in the house whenever I wanted to be with her.

18

Caterina

When Alessandra first got involved with Dario, I told her to have fun.

But when she started talking about marriage, I warned her:

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