Page 99 of He Should Be Mine

“Dario!” he greets warmly. “This is a pleasant surprise. I’ve been meaning to meet with you, come.” He gestures for me to walk beside him.

I obey, and we enter the house. Two of Riccardo’s men see us, pale, give hasty greetings and then flee. They know that their boss is in serious shit if the Don is turning up unannounced. I’m itching to know what Riccardo hasdone, but I’m going to have to be patient. I will find out. It just might take a while.

The Don strolls into his son’s study as if it is his own. He sits at the desk and helps himself to a cigar from the drawer.

“Sit.” he nods at the chair in front of the desk.

I sit.

He looks at me and waits.

I swallow. There is every chance he already knows about Molly. It might be one of the reasons he is here. I think my best move is to go with it. Show who I am loyal to, and keep things as close to the truth as possible.

I inhale deeply. “Your son is gay.”

The Don’s eyebrow twitches. He takes a puff of his cigar. Then he sighs.

I blink. That was not the reaction I was expecting.

He chuckles at me. “You thought I would be shocked?”

I swallow my tongue.

“I am not so old as all that,” The Don says. “It is a modern world. We live in modern times. I truly think most mafia men no longer truly care. Being gay has simply become an excuse to attack someone and bring them down. Because men are savage like dogs.”

I have no idea what to say. So I say nothing. Shock is pinning me to my seat and holding me immobile.

The Don takes another long inhale of his cigar. “My son is a top, yes?”

“Yes,” I manage to rasp.

He nods. And in that nod is acceptance. He doesn’t care that his son is gay.

“And he is being discreet, with your help?”

“Yes.” I clear my throat. “But Isabella discovered it.”

The Don smiles. “That girl knows everything.” The embers of the cigar glow red and he sucks in some more smoke. Outside the large window a bird is singing.

“Anything else to report?” prompts the Don.

I rouse myself and force my mind to engage. Despite my shock and the failure of my first feint, this is my moment. This is where it all truly begins. The Don may not care about his son’s sexuality, but he will care about his incompetence.

“He lost a consignment at Tilbury. Looks like a betrayal.”

Incompetence. An inability to hold men’s respect. If Riccardo was a worthy heir no one would dare defy him. They’d be too terrified to even dream of betraying him.

The Don frowns.

“Tell me everything.”

I take a deep breath, and I begin.

Cold sweat is dripping down my back as I run up the stairs. It feels like I was with the Don for eternity, but in reality it was thirty minutes.

I check my phone. Nothing from Molly. But a frantic,Get him the fuck out of here,from Riccardo.

I slip into the bedroom and carefully shut the door behind me.