Men of Mayhem (57 page)

Insane. I was truly and utterly insane. There was no other possible explanation. I knew nothing about this man, apart from his father being the Don of the Calabrian mafia. I knew he was a playboy…but he could also be a psycho…or anything in-between. The business he spoke of before probably entailed torturing someone in the basement. But there was only one way to find out.

I didn’t talk much during the short drive to the café. I didn’t know what to say. I wasn’t ready to see him. Once we were seated, I fidgeted with the menu. Nerves attacked my body, making me hot, considering the coolness of the air conditioner.

“Nervous?” Fabrizio asked me with a grin.

“I guess.”

“So, I’m assuming you know enough about me to have agreed to this arrangement so readily?”

“I know a suitable amount.”

“A suitable amount?”

I gave him a crooked smile and nodded. “Mmm…I know enough.”

He laughed softly. “
Ardente
. I like my woman fiery. If you know a
suitable amount
, then perhaps we needn’t have a date. Perhaps we should seal the deal instead?”

His proposition shocked me. I wasn’t ready for that. I felt his attraction, but I wasn’t ready for him to flash me a sexy grin and weaken every ounce of strength I had left.

Fabrizio

Allegra remained quiet the entire meal, only speaking when she had to. I wasn’t sure if it was a ploy or if she was just shy, but she answered all my questions and we exchanged information about one another.

“You’re exquisite, Allegra.” The compliment seemed to catch her off-guard.

“I second that.” A man’s voice, deep and smooth, with a hint of an Italian accent spoke from behind me. I turned and saw some guy in a dark suit hovering over me. From the moment I set eyes on him, I detested him. “She looks too young for a man like you.”

“That’s none of your business,” I said, narrowing my eyes. “And you would be?”

“Joey Ventrice…I’m a general surgeon.” He offered his hand for me to shake. Being the arsehole I am, I refused. He grinned and returned his hand to his side.

“You look too young to be a doctor,” I said, standing and signalling for Allegra to rise.

“And you look too young to be a cold-blooded murderer.”

Losing my temper, I whipped my head around to face him. “What the fuck did you say?” I stepped in front of him, but Allegra pulled me by the arm, pleading with her eyes. No woman had ever interfered before. No woman had ever been able to calm me before. Yet, this woman, whom I’d known only for a few short hours, could. Forcing a smile, I looked at Ventrice. “Have a good evening.”

“I wish you the same. Until we meet again. I will be looking forward to it.”

Allegra

“Who was that guy?” I asked once we’d returned to the villa.

“No idea. Probably some enemy of my father who wants to piss me off.”

“Well, it seemed to have worked.”

The look he gave me was intense. Something I’d never felt before and it frightened me. Ventrice called Fabrizio a murderer. Even though it had never been proven, I knew it was the truth. He’d taken a human life, possibly more than one. As the daughter of a gangster, I knew this, but it didn’t stop me from wanting him.

“It’s all part of the mafia lifestyle. I understand.”

“You do?” He smiled at me and it stole my breath away. “At least I have one fan. I’ll get the housemaid to show you to your room. We can have a proper date tomorrow night. I don’t want to rush you.”

“Sounds great.” I expected him to want to have sex with me. I should be thankful he wasn’t some type of monster, trying to get me to bed the first night. I was relieved but sorely disappointed at the same time.

Fabrizio

That night, leaving Allegra was hard. I could tell by the look of shock on her face she expected me to take her upstairs and consummate our relationship. Instead, I sent her to her room while I had a raging hard-on. I wanted nothing more than to fuck her. But it was best I kept my distance from her for at least the first night. God only knows how long I would last. I briefly spoke with my father and due to his deteriorating health, he wanted the wedding to take place by the end of the month.

“Where’s your bride?” Luigi asked, stepping into the corridor as I left my father’s room. His raised his eyebrows at me. “I never thought you’d let her out of your sight. I almost had to pick your mouth up from the floor earlier.”

“Very amusing,
bastardo
,” I said, punching him on the shoulder. “Get in the car, so we can attend to that unfinished business for my father.

Stepping into the deserted warehouse, Rocco held a severely beaten man in front of me. The victim, Harry, had been one of my father’s best men, until he betrayed us. As sick as my father was, he could always smell a rat. A putrid smell led us straight to Harry, who had been informing the police about our
famiglia
’s activities.

“Fabrizio,” Harry begged through his bloody split lip, as he fell to his knees in agony. He had repeatedly been beaten, blood covered his checkered shirt, and both his eyes were swollen shut. “
Per favore
, spare me.”

Rocco, wearing gloves, dragged him outside to the grave he’d dug a couple of days ago. The
famiglia
made sure we dug graves so deep even a dog couldn’t sniff the body. Although we were out in the middle of nowhere, we always took precautions. We wore gloves, dug a deep grave, used a silencer, never left any incriminating evidence behind, and never hesitated to kill.

Which is exactly what I did. One shot and it was all over. Harry was dead the instant I fired the bullet between his eyes. His weightless body slumped to the ground. Rocco and Luigi stripped to their underwear, careful not to get blood on their clothes, dragged the lifeless body to the grave, and began filling it with copious amounts of dirt.

Afterward, Luigi and I drove back to the villa and I reported to my father, who was still up and on his ventilator. Beside him sat my Uncle Frankie, who stood and shook my hand vigorously.

“Enrico tells me you are marrying Gio Firone’s daughter,” my uncle said, with a broad smile. “That is fantastic news. She’s just what you need, someone who has grown up amongst the
famiglia,
and not to mention stunningly beautiful. You take care of her, Fabrizio, you hear me?”

“I hear you.”

“Bravo,” my uncle said, bidding us all goodnight.

Turning to my father, I noticed he looked paler than normal. His body thin and frail in comparison to the man he once was. He didn’t have much longer, maybe only a few months, but instinct told me it would be far less.

“You take care of business,
figlio
?” he asked, grasping my hand in his.

“All taken care of,
padre
, no need to worry,” I assured him.

“
Sono molto contento
. You are attracted to Allegra,
si
?” he asked, beginning to cough and gag. I offered him the glass of water from his nightstand and he resumed his smile once he’d taken a few quick sips. “You will make me proud, Fabrizio, you will be a great Don.”

“Grazie,
padre
. I’m genuinely attracted to Allegra, even though I’ve only just met her.” I smiled and wondered what she was doing all alone upstairs in her room.

“It was the same for me when I first saw your mother.” He laughed. “I was besotted with her and all she did was offer me a smile. I was ruined for any other woman within minutes. I miss her, but we will be united soon.”

“There’s a positive thing, even though I still think you’ll be around a while longer,” I lied. “You’re not going anywhere until I marry Allegra.”

Allegra

Tossing and turning all night from a lack of sleep had given me dark circles under my eyes. Getting ready for dinner, I made sure to take extreme care with my appearance, disguising any blemishes with concealer and wearing a short white dress, which hugged my body and accentuated my curves. I barely listened to anything he had to say the whole drive there. I was so nervous.

We arrived at the restaurant and he led me by the arm to the table, tucking my hand under his arm. I immediately pulled away, my fingers tingling. I had intended to push him back, but it felt like I’d touched a solid brick wall. He grinned, tilting his head as he looked at me as if trying to figure me out.