Page 32 of Mafia Kings: Dario

“You’re lucky you got to make itonce. Believe me when I tell you this,bella:I don’t knowanyoneelse who could have spoken to Dario like that and lived to tell the tale.”

I didn’t know how I felt about that.

On the one hand, Niccolo seemed to be suggesting that Dario had a certain weakness for me…

…and then he had to throw in some more insinuations about murder.

I didn’t want to think about anyof it, so I just ignored it.

As soon as Niccolo said the last bit about ‘living to tell the tale,’ he began to walk away from me.

“Where are we going now?” I asked as I followed in his footsteps.

“We?There is no ‘we’– I’Mgoing to go prepare for some meetings.Youcan do whatever you like except for come with me – or go into the second floor of the east wing. Dinner will be served at 8 in the dining room.”

“What am I supposed to do until then?”

“Anything you like – or nothing at all! Just don’t go into the areas we talked about… and don’t try to leave the grounds,” he said with a smirk.

With that, Niccolo disappeared around a corner and left me all alone.

10

The first thing I did was go looking for a telephone.

Dario had confiscated my cell phone, so I was without any way to contact the outside world – but my father still had a landline in the café. If I could find a telephone in the mansion, I figured I could call Papa to make sure he was alright.

I could have asked Niccolo, but I was almost certain he would have said ‘no.’

As long as I didn’t ask, I could plead ignorance. After all, they hadn’texplicitlytold me I couldn’t call anyone.

Better to ask forgiveness rather than permission.

I poked around until I found an open study with a telephone on the desk. I was a bit intimidated by all the buttons and lights on the console, but I picked up the phone and listened.

There was dead silence.

I pushed a button on the console, hoping that would work –

When suddenly a woman’s voice spoke in my ear.

“Hello, how may I direct your call?”

Heart thudding in my chest, I slammed down the receiver.

After that, I didn’t feel safe staying inside the mansion.

And whether it was Filomena’s warning or just not wanting to bother her while she worked, I thought I should leave Caterina alone.

I had nothing else to do, so I began to walk the grounds.

They were enormous.

There was an old horse stable made of stone set apart from the house, and it had been turned into a twelve-car garage. Inside were numerous black and silver Mercedes, a couple of Range Rovers, and several sports cars, including a midnight blue Bugatti.

The swimming pool was beautiful and pristine, with a marvelous tile mosaic under the crystal-clear waters – but the temperature was a bit cool for swimming.

Plus I didn’t have a swimsuit. I was sure one would have magically materialized if I’d asked… but I shuddered to think what a bunch ofmafiososwould give me. Probably tiny scraps of cloth that barely covered anything.

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