Mafia Kings: Adriano: Chapter 68

My father got me alone after dinner and tried to convince me not to go through with it.

I argued with him in hushed tones. I can’t say I convinced him, exactly, but at least I held my ground – plus I extracted a promise from him.

“You can’t tell Mama, alright? Swear to me.”

Papa nodded miserably. “She can’t know about this… she’d be an absolute wreck. I’M an absolute wreck, knowing what you’re about to do.”

“It’s going to be alright,” I told him. “Adriano will keep me safe.”

He looked at me doubtfully.

I remembered what Adriano had done back in the hotel room before he’d even known me –

And I remembered what he had done to those two punks in the alleyway.

I shuddered a little bit…

But if there was anyone who could protect me in the coming days, I knew it was Adriano.

“He will,” I insisted. “He’s kept me safe through much worse… and I’ve seen what he can do firsthand. Trust me.”

My father still didn’t look convinced.

“You have to let me do this, Papa. The only alternative is for you go to Florence… and they’ll kill you as soon as they lay eyes on you.”

Tears welled up in his eyes as he hugged me tight. “I wish to God I’d never gambled… never played cards, never picked up a pair of dice, never made a single bet.”

That made two of us.

But I didn’t tell him that.

Instead, I had another thought:

I was about to gamble with my life.

Like father, like daughter.

At least I had an ace up my sleeve…

…and I had to talk to him next.