I wanteddesperatelyto believe her –
But all I could see was Giorgio standing in front of me, his hands and white shirt smeared with blood.
My eyes blurred with tears, and I broke down sobbing.
Lucia pulled me closer to her, and all three of us embraced as Bianca started crying, too.
Lucia, though…
Lucia never shed a single tear.
I’d composed myself by the time we reached the estate.
I was glad I did. Otherwise, I would have missed out on one of the most spectacular things I’d ever seen – almost as impressive as the Boboli Gardens.
We turned off a small two-lane road onto a paved drive. We drove for a while between two rows of tall, thin cypress trees. Then we reached a tall wall with a massive iron gate. It swung open as we approached, and our car drove through.
Over the next several minutes, we drove past beautiful vineyards and orchards that blanketed the rolling hills around us.
Finally, we left the vineyards and reached a wide-open grassy hill.
Up at the top was a gigantic mansion – something out of a storybook romance. It was three stories tall and stretched for hundreds of feet. The Pitti Palace might have been bigger, but this place was far more beautiful.
We pulled up to a circular drive in front of the mansion –
And I immediately tensed when I saw four men dressed exactly like Giorgio approach the car.
Tailored black suits, white shirts, black ties.
Mafiosos.
I also thought of Maurizio when I saw them – and shuddered.
Two of them opened the Mercedes’ backseat doors for us to get out.
I was so nervous about the man holdingmydoor that I scooted out the other side and followed Lucia and Bianca.
As we approached the house, the huge bronze doors opened, and a man raced down the massive marble steps.
He was around my age and wore a white shirt and slacks. If it hadn’t been for the fact that I was in love with Giorgio, I would have said he was the hottest guy I’d ever seen. He looked like a movie star.
“Are you guys okay?!” he called out as he ran over and embraced Bianca.
“No, but I’m getting there,” she said sadly. “Valentino, this is Emilia. She helped save us.”
“Ohhh – Giorgio’s girlfriend! Well, on behalf of my entire family,thank youfor what you did to save my sisters-in-law.Come on, let’s get you inside.” He put a protective arm around me and ushered me up the steps.
As we entered the house, there were a number of people standing in the foyer – which was spectacular, by the way. Crystal chandeliers… a giant staircase that led up to the third floor…
But that wasn’t what drew my attention.
It was the man standing in front of me.
He was tall and devilishly handsome in averyexpensive suit. His shirt was open at the collar, exposing tattoos on his neck. His eyes were piercing, and his face looked grim. There was something about him – an aura of power that I’d never encountered in my entire life.
A shudder ran up and down my spine.
I knew in an instant that he was a mafia don…
