Chapter 20: Mafia Kings: Massimo: Chapter 20

Heaven did not last.

As we wound along the mountain roads in the dark, cold air spilled through my busted-out window.

I didn’t mind –

But someone did.

“It’s summer!” Lucia complained as she zipped up the front of her red leather jacket. “Why is it so cold?!”

“Because we’re a mile above sea level,” I said as I turned the car’s heater on full blast.

“Ohhhh… that’s nice…” she murmured, putting her hands up to the vents. “Is it always this cold at night?!”

“This is unusually cool for this time of year, but, yeah, it’s generally chilly at night.”

“Wonderful,” she griped.

We passed through the village of Padola on the way to my cabin. It’s a small ski resort during the winter, but during the summer, fewer than a thousand people live there.

My place was up in the woods. As soon as we turned off the main highway onto a gravel road, Lucia freaked out.

“What’s that?!” she cried out.

“What’s what?”

“That crunching, popping sound!”

“We’re driving on gravel.”

She looked at me like I was speaking Mongolian. “Like – little rocks?!”

“Yes – haven’t you ever driven on gravel before?”

“NO, dumbass! I live on an island where you get around by boat! When the fuck would I drive around on a lot of little rocks?!”

I shook my head and sighed.

If she didn’t like the gravel road, she was going to love the cabin.

The gravel quickly gave way to a dirt road – and the car’s shocks were pretty bad.

“What is this?! Why is it so horrible now?!” she cried out.

“We’re on a dirt road.”

“I thought dirt was soft!”

I didn’t say anything and just let her yammer on.

After about 10 minutes, we finally reached my place. I pulled up just outside the front porch.

Lucia sat there, eyes wide, staring at the house in the car’s headlights.

“…are you kidding me?” she asked, stunned.

“Nope. This is it.”

It was a one-story with a sloping tin roof covered with dead pine needles, a crumbling brick chimney off to the side, weathered wood planks on the exterior, and a small front porch with a rickety railing. Everything was built on short columns of stones so that mice would have a harder time getting into the floorboards.

Basically, it was a rustic wood cabin out in the middle of nowhere.

Not something a spoiled rich girl from Venice would care for…

Which was evident from what came next.

“ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!” she screamed. “WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?!”

“It’s where we’re staying.”

“I am not staying in a third-world SHACK!”

I gripped the steering wheel and gritted my teeth. “It is not a third-world shack – ”

“Who the fuck would live here?! Inbred mountain weirdoes?!”

“I stay here a week or two every year.”

“You must be an inbred mountain weirdo, then! I thought your family was RICH!”

I frowned. “We do just fine – ”

“Then WHY would you stay here?! Why not just find a CAVE somewhere?! It’d probably be NICER!”

“I told your grandmother I would keep you safe, princess – not get you five-star sleeping accommodations.”

“This is negative five stars! This is negative TEN stars!”

I’d had enough.

“Come on,” I said as I got out of the car.

“NO,” she said, folding her arms over her chest. “You’re going to take me back to whatever that little town was we just passed, and we can find a hotel and stay there.”

I leaned over so I could peer through the open window. “We’re staying here tonight.”

“The hell we are.”

“Can you drive a car?” I asked.

She looked at me like I was crazy. “No.”

“Then you’ll have to walk about 10 kilometers to get back there… through the dark and the cold. Better start now if you want to reach it by 4 AM.”

If looks could kill, hers would have disemboweled me. “You son of a bitch.”

I smiled sweetly. “Welcome to my home away from home.”

I turned, walked up the steps to the porch, and started searching for the spare key. I always wedged it in a crack in the wood siding above the door. The hiding spot was seven feet above the ground – so not exactly something most people would be able to find unless they knew where to look.

“I’m sleeping in the car!” she shouted from the passenger seat.

“You’re welcome to,” I called out as I found the key. “Just know there are wolves and bears up here, and they could probably get through that busted-out window. Especially if they were hungry enough.”

There actually weren’t many wild wolves in Italy anymore. The ones still left had to be carefully maintained through conservation efforts.

And the brown bears up here were far more interested in people’s trash cans than the people themselves.

But still, it was fun to say… and it provoked an immediate reaction.

I don’t think I’ve ever heard a car door open faster –

Or slam as loudly.

“I fucking HATE you,” she snarled as she tottered unsteadily towards me on her fancy stilettos.

“Yeah, I figured,” I said as I unlocked the door, flicked on the light, and walked in.

The interior was much nicer than the exterior. I’d kept the outside looking rundown because I liked the natural charm. Plus, it discouraged people from breaking in if they thought it was a shack.

But I’d put tens of thousands of euros into renovating the inside and was pleased with the result.

The floors were hardwood and polished to a sheen.

To the right of the door was a kitchen with a modern electric stove and cooking range. There was also a small refrigerator, though it wasn’t plugged in at the moment, and the door was open so it wouldn’t get musty.

There was a combination eating/living area just beyond the kitchen. No TV or computer – I came out here to disconnect.

Just a simple table, wooden chairs, and a recliner, which sat by a stone fireplace – perfect for relaxing on a cold evening with a glass of good scotch.

Speaking of scotch, there was a bar stocked with alcohol. Good shit, too. That was the only thing people would steal if they broke in.

A short hallway went past a bathroom. The cabin was on well water with a filtration system and a septic tank for the toilet. Despite being out in the woods, I was still on the power grid in Padola.

In the back of the cabin was the bedroom, which contained a king-size bed, a trunk for storage, a wardrobe –

And a massive gun safe in the corner.

That would be important tomorrow.

While I was waiting for Lucia, I went over to a closet that housed the water shutoff valve and circuit breakers. I turned on the water and flicked a few switches for the pump and water heater. Once I heard water begin to flow through the pipes, I closed the closet door.

Lucia pulled off her shoes once she reached the porch, then walked into the cabin and crinkled her nose. “Oh my GOD, it stinks in here.”

It was a tad musty. I’d give her that.

“I’ll open the windows,” I said as I unlatched the one next to the front door.

“I would say, ‘don’t let in the cold air,’ but it’s already cold as fuck,” she complained.

“We’ll make a fire tomorrow morning.”

“Why not now?!”

“Because I’m exhausted, and I’m going to bed.”

“Well where am I going to sleep?!”

“In the same bed.”

“OH NO. Unh-unh. No, you can sleep in that chair over there.”

“YOU can sleep in the recliner if you want, but I’m stiff from driving four hours, and I’m not sleeping in a fucking chair.”

“I should get the bed.”

“There’s plenty of room for both of us – it’s a king-size.”

“I don’t give a shit,” she said in a snotty voice. “I don’t want you perving out on me in the middle of the night.”

I looked at her in disgust. “I just saved you from being kidnapped today. You would think you might show some fucking gratitude and not accuse me of wanting to rape you.”

She gave me a bitter smile. “If I’d known you were going to bring me here, I would have gone with the fucking kidnappers.”

“I can call up my cousin and get that arranged,” I snarled.

“Does your bathroom work, or do I have to use a fucking outhouse?”

“Down the hall,” I snapped.

As she walked towards the bathroom, I started to open a second window –

And then thought, No, fuck this – she can breathe musty air.

Fuck her.

Then I closed the window I’d opened and headed for the bedroom.