Page 6 of Reign of Psychos

We talked and reminisced some more, but it was late, and the bar had begun to clear out. The longer we lingered, the more people would notice me.

“Francesco has a meeting in Milan in three days. I’ll see if I can find out the details and text them to you. In the meantime, if you need anything, leave me a message and I’ll get back to you.”

“I will do. Watch your back, Fausto. Dario would be devastated if anything happened to you. As would I.”

“Don’t worry about me,cara.” He sent a quick message to his driver, kissed me on the cheek, and left. The barman was too busy wiping down the counter to pay me any attention as I drained the last of my water and slipped toward the exit with my head down.

A few drunk students hovered around, laughing about some show they all liked. Just as I reached for the door, a black car sitting a few hundred meters from the bar blew up.

The blast threw me backward. Windows around us shattered and a wave of intense heat scorched my skin. People screamed. Car alarms along the street burst into life, and the stench of burning plastic and flesh assailed my nose.

The remaining patrons of the bar froze in shock. For a moment, nobody said a word, then a young couple burst into tears as we heard sirens approach. Knowing there was nothing I could do to help, I pushed through the shattered door and turned right.

Fausto and his driver were dead, and I had a good idea who was responsible.

4

Dario

Ilay on the sofa, staring at the ceiling. The apartment was quiet. The others had gone downstairs to the basement club for drinks. Probably to make plans without me listening.

They didn’t trust me despite the fact I’d been instrumental in Thea’s rescue from the sham wedding. Not that I blamed them. I still had one foot in Francesco’s camp, and as far as he knew, I had never stopped working for him.

A headache throbbed behind my temples. The remains of my hangover refused to go away, the conversation with Dad replaying on a loop in my brain. The fact Francesco had someone watching him meant he was in grave danger.

I needed to cut ties with Francesco once and for all. The only reason I hadn’t done it yet was it might be useful to have an ‘in’ with him. While I strongly suspected he didn’t trust me, he had no concrete evidence of my shifting allegiance. After all, I’d secured the video footage of Thea with the two assholes, which I would never have done if Thea meant something to me.

At least, that’s what I hoped he believed.

Knowing I couldn’t put it off any longer, I pulled out my phone to call the old bastard. Only when I did, I saw I had an incoming call from the man himself.

“Boss. I was just about to call you.”

“Dario, I have some…sad news.” I detected a hint of glee in Francesco’s voice, in direct contrast to his words.

“Sad news? Has Torrance had another accident? I told him to get his eyes tested after he crashed the car last year.”

I heard a growl in the background and grinned to myself. The psychostronzowas obviously listening in on the call. Knowing Francesco, he had it on speakerphone. He loved an audience when humiliating one of his men.

“It’s about your father.” I sat up, no longer feeling quite so amused.

“What about Papa? I spoke to him earlier, and he said he wasn’t well. Have you seen him?” I doubted he’d been to visit my old man. Francesco’s minions attended him, not the other way around.

“There’s been an accident, I’m afraid. It seems one of my enemies decided to put a hit on your father.” My blood turned to ice in my veins. “I regret to tell you he’s been killed in a car bomb attack.”

Papa was dead.

“How did you hear?”

“One of my contacts on the mainland called. Fausto was in Naples. We don’t know why. Do you have any idea why he’d be in Naples?”

The phone slid from my hand and dropped to the floor. I could hear Francesco calling my name in the background, but I tuned him out. If Dad had been in Naples, I had a strong suspicion that’s where Thea had gone.

I took a deep breath. I needed to hold it together and pretend I still trusted Francesco.

“Sorry,” I said when I retrieved my phone. “It’s a … shock.”

“I’m so sorry, Dario. I know how close you and your father were.” The sub-text was clear. He had reason to question my loyalty.

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