Page 122 of Dirty Mafia Sinner

As for our enemies, they’ll shudder every time they hear one purr to life.

Don Gallo has been managing the local police for me, and the worms on his farm received something rotten to nibble on.

But I’m anxious to get home. Tommaso’s informed me Riley hasn’t come out of her bedroom in two days. “Traumatized,” was how he described her.

“Adjusting,” was my response. Because it’s not every day you view the man you love in full villain mode. My girl’s been through a lot of shit and recovered fine. She’ll get over this.

We all do.

There’s also a present waiting for me at the villa. The final feather for my cap. Given all my success, maybe my father will bemore reasonable? I’m running out of time for him to realize what a huge mistake he’s making.

Because only one issue remains.

My upcoming fucking nuptials.

RILEY

The wailing beginsat two in the morning.

Coming from a man in a room nearby, who’s in complete and utter agony and making terrifying noises mixed with incoherent words, all except for one.

“Motherfucker!”

He bellows it with such a gut-wrenching emotion, I shoot out of bed.

Alessandro warned me this world is violent. I witnessed it with Ciro’s lifeless body swinging from the warehouse rafters. Nothing, though, can erase the image burned into my memory banks of the man I love splattered in blood after viciously beheading his enemy.

It’s been a few days since he dropped me off with his man, who escorted me back to the villa. Unnerved, I’ve kept to my room and balcony in Alessandro’s absence.

He arrived home yesterday but has left me alone.

I’m both disappointed and thankful.

I pace back and forth. Is this prisoner a Conti associate? Or is Alessandro eradicating all his enemies in one sweep?

“Aahh. Ohhh.” And then a thump.

The silence afterward is positively ominous.

I wait, listening. God, I’m delusional for loving a coldhearted monster.

“Help. I’ll die if someone doesn’t help me.”

Before I lose my nerve, I’m out the door and heading to Alessandro’s bedroom. It’s locked, so I knock and wait.

Either he’s in a deep sleep or elsewhere.

With leaden legs, I trudge back to my room. Except downstairs in the living area, all the lights are on.

I pause as Alessandro’s men cross the room, deep in discussion. I sense a shift in the air as bits of conversation drift through. “Funeral.” “The Eleven decide.” “New capo di tutti capi.”

A few more men appear. Strangers I’ve never seen. The villa walls can barely contain the undeniable tension building.

What’s happening?

I pull my new robe closed, and head downstairs to Alessandro’s office.

A man stops me outside. “He’s busy.”