Page 90 of Mafia Kings: Dario

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The trip to Florence took an hour. Valentino drove the Mercedes, and Massimo sat in the passenger seat up front. He was so tall that he had to move the seat all the way back – and yet hestilllooked cramped.

I sat in the backseat and watched the scenery go by.

The landscape of Tuscany was truly beautiful. Wheat fields that rippled in the wind… silver-green olive groves… the occasional patch of red poppies or yellow sunflowers.

There were sprawling vineyards with their orderly rows of grape vines…

Cypress trees, tall and slender…

Ancient farmhouses of terracotta and stone…

And every so often there was a castle on a hilltop, straight out of a fairy tale.

But eventually I got bored. After all, I had grown up among all of this… even if I had never seen it while riding in a car.

So instead, I started up a conversation with Massimo and Valentino.

“Tell me,” I said, “whose idea was this little trip?”

Massimo shrugged. “Does it matter?”

“I’d like to know who wanted me out of the house.”

I could see Valentino’s smirk in the rearview mirror. “Well, it definitely wasn’tDariowho wanted you gone.”

My face flushed bright red as I remembered Niccolo’s comments about my screaming being audible throughout the house.

“You’re awful!” I said with embarrassment, indignation, and a little bit of humor.

He just laughed.

“Besides,you’reone to talk,” I shot back.

“How’s that?”

“I know what you do with Caterina.”

Massimo snorted.“Everyoneknows what he does with Caterina.”

“At least you can’t hear her through the entire house,” Valentino said with a pointed look at me in the mirror.

I burned bright red –

Until Massimo came to my rescue.

“Maybe you’re notgood enoughto make her scream that loud,” he said to Valentino.

I stifled a giggle.

I knew it wasn’t true – I’d seen Caterina biting Valentino’s shoulder to stifle her cries of passion – but it was funny to hear.

Plus, I wasn’t about to admit I’d seen Caterina and Valentino having sex.

“Fuck you!” Valentino said playfully as he smacked his brother in the arm.

“The only reason I’m not hitting you back is because you’re driving,” Massimo said.

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