Page 86 of Mafia Don's Secret Twins

Today’s conversation confirmed it.

I set off on another lap, unwilling to look up from the pool. There’s no one in here except me. Andrei doesn’t watch me while I swim, which is a relief.

My hands slice through the water. I’m almost to the edge of the pool. I reach forward, expecting to connect with smooth tile…

Instead, I feel something else.

A body.

A very, very firm body.

Startled, I rear back. My eyes snag on a man’s chest, covered in tattoos…

And bruises.

I look up.

Standing in front of me, in the shallow end of the pool, is a familiar face.

Too familiar.

Dino… Drakos, I guess, is staring at me from the pool.

For a minute, I don’t know what I should do.

Then, I realize what I shoulddefinitelydo.

I open my mouth to scream.

Quick as lightning, Dino’s arm snakes out and he pulls me close, covering my mouth with his hand. I struggle, making noises, and they echo in the hall.

“Stop,” he rumbles in my ear. “I’m not going to hurt you. I just want to talk.”

I must be insane. That’s the only explanation.

Because when he takes his hand off of my mouth, I don’t scream.

I just nod.

Dino takes a breath, but I shake my head. My eyes dart to the door, where Andrei is definitely standing outside.

If he finds Dino in here…

Fear makes my chest ache.

Dino nods. He gets up and looks around, poking into the little baskets around the edge of the pool. Eventually he comes back…

With a wind-up toy.

I have no idea why there’s a toy down here. I’ve never played with it, even though it looks to be a little old. Dino winds it up, then sets the little boat in the water.

It makes a sound…

But most importantly, it creates a rhythmic wave that slaps against the sides of the pool.

Just like someone swimming.

In the space, the noise of the toy sounds just like me doing my laps.

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