Page 62 of Mafia Kings: Dario

“But – ”

“GO!” Niccolo shouted, and I quickly scurried out of the room.

But as I left, I couldn’t shake the feeling that he hadn’t been entirely truthful.

19

Ifollowed Niccolo’s instructions and found a closed door down the hall. I knocked gently.

“Come in,” Dario’s muffled voice said.

I entered the room to see him glowering at me from behind an ornate desk. The shelves lining the walls were filled with leather-bound books and ancient marble busts.

“What do you want?” he snapped.

I held up the tray. Its contents rattled slightly in my trembling hands. “Niccolo said that… that I should come in and tend to your hand.”

Dario narrowed his eyes. “Is that all?”

“…and to say thank you. Again. For saving me.”

He stared at me angrily. “And?”

“…and to apologize. For running away.”

“For disobeying me,” he growled.

A couple of hours ago, those words –For disobeying you –would have stuck in my throat. If I’d said them at all, I would have spat them out from between clenched teeth.

But a lot had happened in the last two hours.

All I could smell was the stranger’s nicotine-stained hand over my mouth…

And all I could hear was theclinkof his belt buckle as he undid his pants.

“…for disobeying you,” I whispered.

That seemed to satisfy Dario somewhat. He gestured with his head, and I walked over next to him.

There was an ottoman next to his chair. I sat down on it while I did my work.

I took his hand tenderly in mine and examined it. He had washed off the blood from my attacker, but the knuckles were bruised, scraped, and swollen.

I packed some ice in one of the towels, wet the cloth with melted water in the bucket, and put it on his hand.

He watched me angrily the entire time.

I looked up at him, then averted my eyes as I continued to apply the ice.

Finally he spoke. “Do you understand now why I didn’t want you to leave the grounds? Why I refused your request to go to a church?”

“Yes,” I murmured with downcast eyes.

“One of our enemies showed up at your café two nights ago. Now we’ve found spies just a mile from my house – and one of them was masquerading as a priest, no less. When I order you to do something, it’s not just to protect the family, but to protectyou.The people who want to kill us would gladly do the same to you just because you’re staying here.”

I wanted to say,I think you mean ‘just because you’re IMPRISONED here’ –

But I decided now wasn’t the time to speak my thoughts.

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