Page 19 of Mafia Kings: Dario

Niccolo looked down at me. “Have you had brandy before?”

I shook my head ‘no’ as I coughed some more.

“Madonn,”he cursed again. “A babe in the woods.”

“And a beautiful one, at that,” smirked the movie star leaning against the wall.

“Hands off, Valentino!” Niccolo threatened him. “Stick to banging the help!”

“I wasn’t going to touch her,” Valentino protested.

“You touchanythingwith a pussy,” Niccolo snapped, then turned back to me. “Pardon my French.”

“Not ‘anything,’” Valentino said. “She has to at leastlookgood.”

“Oh, so you have standards – wonderful,” Niccolo sneered.

For the first time since I had entered the room, Dario spoke.

“Alessandra is our guest,” he said in his deep, smoky voice. “No one is to touch her. Understood?”

“I meant no disrespect,” Valentino said somberly to Dario.

“Don’t say it tome– say it toher.”

The gorgeous young man looked at me with wary eyes. “Sorry,signorina.I meant no disrespect.”

I just nodded mutely.

“Wonderful, everyone’s kissed and made up,” Niccolo said – then started shouting at Dario. “What the hell were you thinking?!”

Niccolo was certainly the most theatrical and loudest person in the room. And he was the only one who seemed willing to go up against Dario. Everyone else paid the mafia don deference, but not Niccolo.

It would have been funny if they weren’t a bunch of thugs and killers.

Dario replied in a slightly mocking tone of voice. “Her absence will loosen her father’s tongue – or don’t you agree,consigliere?”

Consigliere –

‘Counselor.’

It was the term used for a mafia don’s right-hand man, the godfather’s most trusted advisor.

So Niccolo was not only Dario’s brother… he was also the don’sconsigliereand the second-most powerful man in the room.

No wonder he joked and shouted while the others kept quiet.

“You could’ve done that without bringing herhere!”Niccolo fumed. “Have you forgotten what line of work you’re in?! A few threats would’ve worked nicely!”

Then Niccolo turned back to me hastily and said in a reassuring voice, “Not that we would have necessarily followed through on the threats, mind you.”

‘Necessarily’ was the one word that stood out.

I understood all too well the implied threat.

But despite the danger I was in, I couldn’t help but imagine the Seven Dwarves fromSnow Whitewhen I looked around the room.

Instead of Grumpy, Doc, Bashful, and Dopey, however, it went something like this:

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