Page 23 of Dark Mafia Bride

His eyes narrow. “I don’t.”

“Then it’s none of your business.”

His lips twitch into the slightest hint of a smirk, and it hits me how handsome he is. For a moment there’s a thick silence between us before he speaks again.

“Is he your boyfriend?”

I blink, caught off guard. “What?”

“The man you were with at the bar,” he says, his voice hardening as he waits for my response.

I snort. “Again, it’s none of your business.”

A flicker of something—jealousy?—crosses his face, but he masks it well. A tiny thrill runs through me at the idea that he might actually care, but I force myself to stay cool, giving him a casual shrug.

“Why do you ask, anyway? You jealous?”

There’s a brief pause, and I swear I see a muscle tick in his jaw. But then he smirks, brushing it off like it’s nothing. “Not at all. Just curious.”

“Right.”

Before I can say anything else, headlights sweep over the pavement, and a sleek black car pulls up beside us. It’s different from the one he drove that night. A man like him probably has a whole fleet of cars at his disposal.

Ettore glances at it briefly before looking back at me.

“You’ll see me again soon, Kitten.”

That fucking nickname.

Grab the headboard, Kitten...

I groan inwardly at the intrusive memory. My thoughts scatter when he grabs his coat and stands up. My heart pounds in my chest as he approaches me, but then he just walks past. My breath hitches in my throat as his arm brushes against mine, but he slips into the backseat of his car. The vehicle drives off, leaving me standing there with a racing heart and a flutter in my stomach.

After standing motionless for a few seconds, I blink, snapping myself back to reality. I turn back to the empty street, but my heart won’t stop racing. What the hell was that? I start walking toward the bus stop again, my mind spinning with thoughts of Ettore. But as I near the corner, I sense something else.

A figure shifts in the shadows, followed by another. My breath catches. Two lanky men step into the dim light, their eyes cold and calculating. Their presence hits me like a jolt to the gut, and I freeze.

“Mirabella,” one of them says in a low, threatening voice. “We’ve been looking for you.”

I take a step back as my heart pounds rapidly for an entirely different reason now. They move closer, cutting off my escape route.

“You know why we’re here,” the taller one drawls, his eyes sweeping over me. “Abruzzi is really mad, princess.”

I assume it’s because the men he sent after me are now dead.

“You’ve got just twenty-four hours to come up with the money.”

“What?” I gasp, but before I can say another word, he pulls out a phone and shows me a picture on the screen.

It’s a picture of Giulia and Nonna from earlier today when they went grocery shopping. I know it was taken today because they’re wearing the same clothes. My heart stops, and cold fear crawls up my spine.

“Twenty-four hours, princess. If the money isn’t ready by then...” He lets the sentence trail off, the threat clear in the silence that follows.

My throat tightens. I can’t even speak. I can’t beg or plead. It’s useless.

Without waiting for another word, the men step back into the shadows, vanishing as quickly as they appeared.

I can’t breathe. Without thinking, I turn and start running in the opposite direction, one prayer racing through my mind.

---