I wondered which of us was the ripper. It was probably even a scam, when she told men she wasn't one of those women.
I retreated a few meters, looking down at my pants. Why had I even given my dick a say in this matter? Maybe I should have kept my hands off her from the start.
My gaze slid back to Gia, who was about to stand up. "After that night, I wonder how much mafia is in you."
Images danced past my inner eye, which gave a straightforward answer to it. Murders. Cruel murders. Torture. Violence. Bloody money. Weapons that could wipe out a small town. Weapons that could cause a world war if they fell into the wrong hands. Drugs. Prostitutes. Blackmail. A crack in my morals and the part of the brain that influenced righteous action.
The people surrounding me had undeniably rubbed off on me, but I didn't remember one who had imparted positive qualities to me. My mother, perhaps– when I had been younger, naïve.
After a long while I shrugged my shoulders, as if the answer to that meant nothing at all. "My heart is as black as night and I sold my soul years ago. Not to the devil, though, but to someone much worse."
Gia raised both eyebrows before catching herself and thinking about my answer. "So you're the dark mafia prince and not a sonny boy."
I couldn't suppress a laugh. Did she expect me to go on a beach vacation with friends like a normal man my age and get drunk while watching the pretty girls play beach volleyball? I couldn't be further from that.
"I kill people, Gia. I make sure that I nip any threat to my brother in the bud. We have held the scepter for more than a generation for a reason. We are not to be messed with. You don'tplay with us. We don't joke around and most of all, we don't show mercy. I thought you would have realized that by now." Without batting an eye, I gave her a deeper insight into the life I was leading, although it was precisely these topics I kept silent about the most.
The enemy could infiltrate us, steal information. They could ambush us or wait with a knife in their hand for us to turn away.
"Have you ever saved a person? Anybody? Outside of your family?"
I snorted. "You. Very recent, if you remember."
She rolled her eyes. "Like I could forget about that. Anyone else, I mean?"
In which direction should this conversation lead? What did she want to get at?
Was she trying to prove beyond any doubt that I was a bad person and that in retrospect it was a mistake to have gotten involved with me? Or was she up to something else?
"Not that I can remember. Not like I did with you. And you can take my word on that. I mostly ask the questions after the questionable person is dead." Unless it was necessary to get some information in advance. But even then the result was the same.
"I don't understand where this conversation is going," I said, putting my hand on the back of my neck.
She shrugged her shoulders. "I'm trying to find out a little more about you. If we keep fucking in the future, I'd like to know a little more about you."
Irritated, I felt like she was giving me whiplash. Hadn't she just a moment ago thought I was messing around with her? Had the night gone to her head?
"Good," I said. "Then you can come with me right away, I have a few things to do. And afterwards I'll drop you off at your front door."
To my surprise, Gia rose and nodded. "All right. I'm curious to see what you do, mafia prince."
"If you ever use that name in front of my family, I'll cut your tongue out myself," I hissed, which elicited a fat grin from her.
"We'll see about that," she replied, eventually following me inside and to the car.
Maybe it wasn't my best idea to take Gia with me to the gangster boss who had tried to infiltrate my ranks. Instead of her, it would have been better if Casimiro or Silvio had accompanied me, someone who had assertiveness. With a fist. Or with a gun. And not Gia, whose appearance would cause more turmoil than was good for either of us.
Elsewhere, however, she would seldom get such a good view into my life, so what was a minor risk?
I felt the first rush of adrenaline in my veins.
"There are some rules," I said as soon as I had started the engine of my Lamborghini and maneuvered us out of the parking lot.
"Rules are boring."
"Not when it comes to getting out of this alive."
Her head shot around to me. "Dario, where are we going?"