Page 352 of Valentino

THE ITALIAN LEGACY EXCERPT

T L Swan

CHAPTER ONE

HALLE

Excited chatter echoes from the nearby buildings and the line shuffles forward a little more.

11pm and we are lined up and waiting to go into a favourite haunt, The Esotico.

An elite nightclub for the rich and famous isn’t where we belong, but on Saturday nights we like to pretend. We dress up to the nines, wear our highest stilettos and pretend not to be excited when we spot a celebrity. We usually wait over an hour just to be let in and not everyone can, it’s a selected crowd but lucky for us one of the doormen has a thing for my best friend Allegra. “I fucking hate this strapless bra.” Allegra winces as she twists it under her dress, “Who invented this torture device?”

“A man, I’m assuming,” My eyes linger on the girls in front of us, one of them is a model who’s dating a formula one driver. She’s so stunning that I can hardly take my eyes off her, the people watching here is next level.

A blacked out SUV pulls up; the doors open and a group of men get out. Six men in their late twenties, all hot and gorgeous.

“Oh my fucking god.” The girl in front of us whispers. “They’re here.”

The friend she is with bounces on the spot, “Holy shit.”

“Who are they?” Allegra asks them.

“The Ferrara crew.”

“Who are they?” I frown.

“Girl.” She turns and tilts her head to the side as if I’m an alien, “Where you been hiding?”

I giggle, “America.”

She looks me up and down, “You look Italian.”

“Italian heritage but grew up in New York. I’m Halle and this is my friend Bianca, we’re here working for twelve months.”

“Hi, I’m Livia and this is Ginevra.” She introduces herself. Our attention goes back to the men who just got out of the car. Exuding confidence and power, everyone is line is watching them.

“So they work for Ferrari Motor Vehicles?” I ask as I watch them walk up towards the front doors. “No.” The girls both laugh as if I’m an idiot. “They run Italy.”

“What part?” I frown.

“The illegal part.”

“What?” I whisper, my eyes linger on the one at the back, black fitted button up shirt and dark hair with a bit of length to it. A jaw so square it could cut glass….. Fit, toned and as handsome as all hell. Fun written all over his face.

Fucking hell…..

They stop to talk to a man who is crossing the road, they obviously know him and are laughing as he tells them a story.

“What are their names?” Livia asks.

“The one in the white shirt is Giuliano Ferrara, the guy in the jacket is Valentino Leone.” She narrows her eyes as she thinks, “I don’t know the other two but the guy at the back is Bruno… at least, I think that’s his name, I’m not sure though to be honest.”

“Bruno.” I repeat as my eyes linger on the fine specimen. His sleeves are rolled up and rope like veins slink the length his forearms.

Another blacked out car pulls up and two men get out, these two are older.

“Good lord.” Livia whispers, “Who are these gods.”