Page 47 of Mafia Virgin (The Kings of Italy)

The story emerged when I switched to the gardening shears. It turned out that Virga leaned on several of my second cousins for any secret to use against me, but Silvio was the only one who cracked. Instead of coming to me for protection, Silvio told Virga that Viviana was still alive. For that, I had no sympathy or mercy for Silvio.

I killed my cousin slowly, painfully. He was a bloody, broken heap when I finished.

I walked to my car and put on the clothes I’d stored in the trunk. Adrenaline was surging in my blood, a buzz under my skin that I experienced after a fight or a kill. It was like a high where everything was too intense, too fast. Sharp and unrelenting. In the past I would’ve called Theresa, gone to her and fucked this out of my system. But that was no longer an option, thanks to Silvio and Virga.

Merda. Having a wife was inconvenient for so many reasons, but this had to be one of the worst.

Except . . . maybe Zani was right.

Maybe it was time to exploit her building attraction for me–use it against her to gain her complacency.

Maybe it was time to bring her to heel.

* * *

I found Sal waiting for me in the kitchen. I went to the refrigerator and pulled out a sparkling water. “Why are you still awake?”

“To speak with you.”

I could feel the heaviness, the weariness pulling me under. Would this day never end?

Sighing, I opened the bottle in my hand. “And?”

“I caught her looking around your room earlier. She found a photo of you and your sister.”

Cazzo! It was the only photo I had of the two of us, and I kept it tucked in a boring military book. Sal had been around long enough to remember Viviana, and after my father’s death I’d confided in him that she was still alive. “I hope you didn’t say anything.”

“Of course I didn’t. She asked who was in the photo with you and I told her it wasn’t my place to share.”

I leaned against the counter and sipped my water. I didn’t like this. Emma shouldn’t be in my room, looking through my things. Fuck her for snooping in there.

I set the bottle on the marble counter with a snap. “I will start locking my door.”

“I don’t believe that’s necessary.” Sal shook his head. “She is desperate to help make sense of you, of this.” He gestured to the room. “She’s in a strange country, married to a stranger. If you helped her, talked to her, then she wouldn’t need to sneak around and look through your things.”

“Oh, so this is my fault? Che cazzo?”

“Yes, in some ways. You left her here and ignored her for more than a week. You’ve made no effort to get to know her or to make her feel comfortable.”

I didn’t like the sliver of guilt that worked its way under my ribs like a blade. I wasn’t here to babysit Emma. I had an empire to run, and Virga to hunt and kill.

Sal’s voice gentled. “If you’re going to have a baby, a family, with this woman, she needs to like you.”

“Why? The sperm and the egg don’t give a shit whether or not we like each other.”

“My nonna, she used to say that my father was so mean because she and Nonno hated each other. She always said you have to make love to make a loving and healthy child.”

Minchia, what nonsense. “You can’t really believe such things, old man.”

He shrugged. “It can’t hurt. They say if the woman enjoys herself, it helps conception.”

“Another wives’ tale.”

“No, it’s true. And would you want for your wife to not enjoy it? Dai, Giacomo. You’re not that cruel.”

Zani’s words echoed in my head.“Eat them out a few times and they’re like putty in your hands.”

And Zani wasn’t wrong. I knew this from experience. Theresa often said good sex wasn’t easy to find, and that’s why our arrangement had suited her perfectly. She put up with my moods and odd hours just for an excellent fucking.

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