Page 74 of Dirty Mafia Torment

Dante is on his feet, sauce dripping from his crotch.

Aunt Teresa’s blotting the mess with a cloth napkin while Camilla, not knowing what to do, hovers beside her.

And Renzo? I expected his laughter, not his silence.

That’s how I know this is bad. Boyfriend or not, you don’t embarrass the second-most powerful man in the Eleven.

Aunt Teresa and Camilla are as white as the tablecloths.

Bianca steps back, realizing her mistake.

But Renzo? He’s calmly speaking to the enraged man. Whatever Renzo says, Dante nods, and then sits back down like none of this happened.

“Nothing to worry about. Just a clumsy accident,” Renzo declares, offering a lie, and a story the gossipers can whisper about. “Enjoy your meal. Dinner and drinks on us.”

The guests return to their meals, and the shaken trio returns to the kitchen.

“You silly girl,” Aunt Teresa scolds.

Camilla exhales. “Dante looked ready for murder. Thank God he stepped in.”

Bianca is so quiet you can hear a pin drop.

I exhale. Crisis averted.

Except, is it really?

The rest of the evening blurs into motion, with Bianca leaving early and us covering for her. Camilla works the floor while I break down the kitchen, pretending I’m fine, though my mind won’t stop circling questions I don’t want answered.

Why was he here? Why ask about the blonde?

Rome is my fresh start,I remind myself.That asshole has no business being here.

It feels like hours before Renzo and Dante finally leave. I help Camilla clear the tables, trying to shake the weight of it all.

Which is how I end up standing here, hand trembling around an empty wineglass, staring down at the table they left behind.

His plate is clean—spotless—except for one thing.

Bright red. Juicy.

Not on tonight’s dessert menu.

Oh, sweet hell.

A strawberry.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

FINA

My obsessionwith Lorenzo Beneventi is pathetic.

I blame the renewed spark on the old Fina. The years spent tracking him, the adrenaline rush in watching him thumb his nose at the Eleven and do whatever crazy-ass things he liked, the bolder the better. Nothing ever worried him. His behavior enthralled me.

Until I ended up on the receiving end of his loyal-to-none philosophy.

He abandoned me. Fortunately, I wasn’t stupid enough to rely on him completely and had an escape mapped out. The only issue with my plan had been money.