Dark Soul Vol. 1 by Aleksandr Voinov Page A

exchanged a few whispered words, then Rossi put his wine glass down, straightened his suit like a boy being called to the principal’s office, and followed the consigliere .
    Stefano was too low on the food chain to receive the call so soon. First the dying man’s old comrades, then the young Turks. No doubt the big pieces of the old man’s empire would be taken by the time his turn came. But even if there were only scraps left, he couldn’t afford not to be here. He had to circle with the other sharks.
    His cell phone buzzed. Just short; a text message. He fished it from his pocket and cast a glance at the screen.
    Having a great time, but the hotel bed is so empty without you.
    He smiled at the thought of Donata in that Parisian five-star hotel, wearing a silken negligee—maybe the one as red as spilled blood—her small breasts and hard nipples pushing against the barely-there fabric. He was damn lucky to have married her rather than taken her as a mistress, even if he did tend to send her away on shopping trips to London, Paris, or New York when he had to get this involved with the family business. Even if, as she put it, she only bought the clothes so she could take them off for him.
    His neck was cramping up, so he stood, stretched out, and then headed for the open balcony doors and the salty breeze. In a corner, two men were talking in murmurs, denying him solitude, so he headed down the broad stairs toward the front of the mansion.
    The white gravel driveway was lit all the way from the road. Above the rhythmic swell of the ocean sounding from beyond the house, Stefano heard the revving of a powerful, aggressive engine.
    A motorcycle, all sharp edges, painted black with white highlights. It zipped along the winding driveway as if it had a race to win, swerving dangerously and then stopping with a dramatic turn, spraying gravel everywhere.
    Including across Stefano’s polished leather shoes.
    The driver was hunched over the handlebars, wearing a matching full-body leather suit with Kevlar plates.
    Like some modernist centaur on wheels.
    The driver stepped off, displaying long, long graceful legs and a tiny ass clad in leather. Woman? Lean and angular, but feminine, even when kicking the stand underneath the bike. The helmet came off after a somewhat awkward release. Short, spiky hair beneath. Not a woman—and that jolted through Stefano just as hard as the driver’s cold, motionless, focused expression. In that pale face lurked the blackest, darkest eyes Stefano had ever seen, and lips like they’d been cut with knife blades, perfect, sharp, and deadly.
    The driver cast him an annoyed glance—At his proximity? His staring?—but then paused and regarded him longer. No smile, no recognition. Eventually, he turned to hang the helmet from the handlebar.
    Stefano backed away, but watched the man unstrap saddlebags just large enough for a proper suit and toiletries.
    The driver glanced at him again. “Old guy’s not dead yet?” he asked.
    “Not that I know of.”
    “ Bene. ” The driver shrugged. “I’ll go have a shower now. Wanna come?”
    What. The. Fuck. He forced himself not to recoil. Think, Stefano. Think. If he’s family. Son? Cousin? Grandson? He couldn’t afford to make enemies here, even if those words—that invitation—could get men killed.
    Wanna come? The way he’d said it could have meant anything.
    Stefano decided on a sneer. “That would hardly be appropriate.”
    The driver shrugged and sauntered past him toward the house. The guards near the door stopped him, but when he produced a piece of paper from inside his leather suit, they let him pass. They even looked a little impressed. Or was it bewildered?
    Stefano followed back into the house—not following the driver, though, of course not—and watched him climb the big central staircase inside.
    The leather played off his body in interesting ways. He tried to ignore the other details—taut piece of ass, broad shoulders, the