Page 15 of Mafia Kings: Dario

I silently chastised myself for my weakness and added one more thing to the list I would have to tell the priest at confession.

…although I would leave out thedetailsof what Dario’s gaze did to my body.

The three men led me to a beautiful black Mercedes sedan parked in the gravel outside the café. Adriano went to the driver’s seat, Massimo took the front passenger seat, and Dario opened the back door for me.

“Such a gentleman,” I said sarcastically.

He just smirked.

I settled into the leather seat and marveled at how soft and luxurious it was. I had never felt anything so sinfully delicious before.

Dario closed the door, then went around to the other side of the car and got in next to me.

Adriano started the engine – which sounded more like a purr than a roar – and backed the car out into the road.

“Your phone,” Dario said as he held out his hand.

“What?”

“Your cell phone. Give it to me.”

“Why?”

“I can’t exactly have you contacting whomever you want, now can I?”

I grumbled and handed over my cell phone, which I had hidden inside my bundle of clothes.

It was my single luxury – the one thing I owned that was my connection to the outside world.

Adriano watched from the rearview mirror as Dario powered off the phone. “Howoldis that thing?! When did you get it, a decade ago?”

“I’m not as well-off as some other little rich boys in this car,” I snapped.

Adriano flushed with anger. I was afraid my temper had gotten the best of me –

Until Massimo snorted in amusement.

I glanced over at Dario as he pocketed my phone. He was suppressing a smile, as well.

Adriano grumbled under his breath, but he went back to staring at the road.

We drove for half an hour. Very little was said. Dario and the others made no attempt at small talk, and I was content to stare out the window at the moonlight on the Tuscan countryside.

Long after midnight, we finally turned off a small two-lane road onto a paved drive. We drove for a couple of minutes through rows of cedars, then came to a ten-foot-tall wall with a massive iron gate. There must have been a camera or some sort of sensor because the gate opened slowly and the Mercedes glided through.

Another couple of minutes went by as we drove past gorgeous vineyards and orchards. The road gradually sloped upwards, and we finally broke through the greenery and reached an open space – at which point I gasped in amazement.

There was a gigantic mansion at the top of the hill, three stories tall with two large wings. Its slate roof gleamed under the moon, and warm yellow light shone from a quarter of the massive windows.

The house looked like something out of a fairy tale… although I wondered if it would be one with a happy ending.

The Mercedes pulled around a circular drive in front of the mansion, where four men dressed in black were waiting. They opened the car doors for us and murmured things like“Padrone”and“Don Rosolini”as we exited. Dario clapped one of the men on the shoulder and nodded to the others as we passed by.

For a moment I thought that perhaps these were the other brothers – but they stayed behind as the four of us walked up majestic marble steps to a pair of bronze doors at the front of the mansion.

One of the doors swung open to reveal a huge foyer decorated with crystal chandeliers.

A handsome man in a white dress shirt appeared in the doorway. He looked closer to Dario and Adriano in coloring and height, though he was clean-shaven. His eyes sparkled mischievously as he looked me up and down.

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