Page 103 of Marcello

Raves are only good for one fuckin’ thing: selling ecstasy. That’s IT.

“So why do you think I would go with you?” I asked.

“Cuz you’re gay as shit, man,” Cicciobello joked with a big smile.

I stared at him –

Then laughed out loud.

Unlike everybody else in the Camorra, I didn’t see that as an insult.

If Ciccio had said it to Cesare, he probably would’ve wound up in the harbor with a bullet in the back of his head.

I looked at the castle and considered for a moment.

The last thing I wanted to do was go to a rave…

But it was a fucking amazing location. Nobody had been up there for years except construction crews.

The marina would be lit up…

Boats would be out in the harbor…

And I would have a stunning view of Naples.

Federica would have killed me if I didn’t take the opportunity. When we were together, she’d always shown me the coolest things in the city. This was definitely a chance to experience something nobody else had seen for years.

There was also one other major plus:

Cesare wouldn’t be there, seeing as he thought it would be ‘gay as shit.’

“…okay,” I agreed. “Why not.”

Cicciobello beamed. “Alright! I’ll meet you here at eleven!”

It was like Ciccio was the hand of Fate itself –

Because that night, my entire life changed.

34

Iwent home after the marina. After bingeing some Netflix to numb out, I ate some takeout leftovers in the fridge, took a shower, and got ready.

I wore a black silk clubbing shirt, black pants, and 500-euro black leather shoes. I wasn’t looking to get laid, exactly, but I hadn’t ruled it out, either. I figured I might as well be dressed to impress.

I almost said, ‘Dressed to kill,’ but stopped myself.

Bad choice of words.

Unfortunately, I was always dressed to kill. Whether I wanted to be or not.

I called an Uber at 10:30 and was down at the marina by 11.

The place was a zoo. Literally a thousand people were lined up along the stone bridge that extended across the water to the castle, waiting to get inside. Unlike your typical rave, though, there weren’t any pacifiers or mesh t-shirts to be seen. The women all wore little black dresses, and the guys were mostly in suits.

Guess that was the crowd that showed up when a billionaire threw a rave.

The castle walls were lit up with different colored floodlights – red, blue, purple, and green. Lasers shot up into the night sky from the top of the battlements, choreographed to thumping electronic music.