“Hell, no!” I said, shaking my head vigorously.
“Is it because she’s a woman?”
“No, she’s a freaking relative.”
He grimaced. “You Americans are such prudes.” His eyes moved to Thierry. “You sure you won’t share that one with me, priest? We can do him at the same time.”
“You can’t touch him.” The Padre’s eyes moved to me, a smile quickly following. “Though, we could fuck my nephew together.”
“No!” I yelled, taking a threatening step towards him.
The Black Russian yanked me back and put his arms around my chest, holding me tight, the man strong. “Don’t worry,” he whispered into my ear, “the bad priest won’t see us fuck.”
I shivered, all anger gone, the man arousing me. He turned me around and directed me to the plane, ordering the soldier to carry my auntie onboard. The soldier picked her up and carried her up the steps, while one of the Black Russian’s men helped the Padre into the plane, Thierry following close behind.
The Russian stopped at the bottom of the steps. “Good luck, Christo,” he said, extending a hand.
My uncle shook his hand. “Grazie, and take care of my brother and nephew.”
“Not your niece?”
“Just keep her alive to make my nephew happy.”
The Black Russian nodded.
Letting go of his hand, Christo turned to me, giving my cheek an affectionate pat. “Enjoy yourself and I’ll see you in a week.”
I nodded, leaning in to give him a hug. He hugged me back, then headed for his car with the soldier who’d carried my auntie into the plane.
“He’s crazy like me,” the Black Russian said, watching him get into the car. “That’s why I won’t kill him.”
I frowned. “Why would you even consider killing him?”
“That’s a mute point, plus he’ll be dead from the cancer soon,” he said, watching my uncle’s car drive off, followed by the other one. Once they had disappeared, he looked down at me. “I have a question for you. Were you at the D’Angelo house when your family took it over?”
“No. Why?”
He held out his right hand. “Grip my hand with both of yours.”
Wondering what the fuck this was about, I took a hold of his hand, yelping as one of my fingers touched something spiky. I whipped my hand back, seeing blood on my middle finger. “What the hell?”
The Black Russian turned his hand over. My eyes went wide at the ring on his middle finger. Its top was flipped open, a needle sticking out of it. It reminded me of the one I’d given my sister to inject the Landi soldier with.
“Did you poison me? I said, looking up at the Black Russian in shock.
He smiled. “No. I just gave you something to make you sluggish so you don’t give me trouble. I know about your fighting skills, and right now, I want you to be a pussy cat, not a tiger.” He closed the ring’s lid. “Hence, why this was necessary.”
I stepped away from him. “What the hell is going on?” I said, aware there was nowhere to run. Christo was gone, while the Russian guards were now pointing their guns at me.
The Black Russian reached out to grab my arm. “Calm down, pretty.”
“Like fuck I will.” I yanked my arm away from him, almost losing my balance. I attempted to steady myself, my limps feeling wobbly. “Why are you doing this to me? We’re meant to be allies.”
“Not after your family killed four of my Black Guards and kidnapped another.” He lunged for me as my legs gave out, stopping me from hitting the ground. He lifted me into his arms as though I weighed nothing. “You’re lucky you weren’t there when it happened, because I would’ve tortured you for it.”
I stared at him, the full brevity of what he was saying hitting me. I remembered seeing a stunning blond Russian in the House of Whores; I just didn’t realize he was a Black Guard. Numerous nationalities had occupied the cells, Slavic people amongst them, which had been why I hadn’t paid him special attention, even more so since he wasn’t my taste in men, plus the Padre had dealt with him.
The Black Russian grimaced. “I see understanding in your pretty eyes. You know what’s happening, don’t you? Vengeance.”
“You’re going to kill me?”
“Oh no, you’re too lovely to kill. Instead, you’re going to be my newest pleasure slave.”
“Let me go!” I yelled, now panicking.
He tightened his grip on me. “No, Matteo, you belong to me now, along with Jagger’s brother. I have waited a long time to fuck a D’Angelo.”
“The Padre—”
“—will get his just desserts at the hands of my sister. And really, I don’t understand why you Donatelli ever thought I would help you?”
“Because you’re friends with Christo.”
“If he was a true friend he wouldn’t have allowed my guards to be killed.”
“He had no part in what happened to them. He wasn’t the Don at the time. He wasn’t even in the fucking country. The ones responsible are dead.”
“The priest is still alive.”
“Then kill him and let me go.”
“You’re not a very loyal nephew.”
“I hate him, he raped me.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Your reaction to him now makes sense, Yuri.”
“My name’s not Yuri.”
“It is now. Yuri was one of the Black Guards murdered. You’ll replace him in my bed.” He brushed my ear with his lips. “So, Yuri, you do realize you’re not going to Naples? Instead, you’ll be living with me for the rest of your life.”
I breathed out, wondering how the fuck I was going to get out of this shit.
“Nothing to say?”
“I’ll do whatever you want,” I said, knowing there was no fucking way I was staying with him, because I was no one’s slave. I just needed to bide my time for the right moment to escape, which unfortunately wasn’t now.
He ran his lips over my ear again. “Good boy. At night you’ll be tied to my bed, while during the day you’ll be watched closely when I’m busy.”
“I won’t give you trouble.”
“No, because I punish troublemakers.” He bit my ear, making me yelp. He laughed. “And by the way, I use the whole chicken. I’m not kinky, I’m crazy.” He started heading up the steps, carrying me with ease. My eyes went to the Padre and Thierry as we entered the plane, their shocked gazes moving to me.
“Why are you carrying my nephew?” the Padre asked.
“I make people go weak at the knees.” The Black Russian lowered me into a seat and clicked my seatbelt on. “Two pretty Donatelli and one pretty D’Angelo, I got my money’s worth today.” He looked at the priest. “And you’re not one of them. Your face is too rough.”
The Padre pulled Thierry in closer. “I already said this one’s mine.”
The Black Russian sat down next to me, placing a hand on my crotch. “No, everyone in this plane belongs to me.”
“I only belong to God,” the Padre snapped, his eyes going to the door as it closed.
The Black Russian laughed. “And I belong to the Devil.”
“What’s going on?”
“Karma. Do you remember a blond man called Sasha?”
The Padre shook his head as the engines started.
“Do you remember a Russian man, then? He’s the beautiful blond your family kidnapped from the D’Angelo house.”
The Padre looked confused, then understanding crossed his face.
The Black Russian glared at him. “Did you have a taste of my beautiful Sasha?”
“No.”
“You lie, priest, I can see it in your eyes. You fucked what was mine and I bet you watched your ugly soldiers shoot my Black Guards, including Sasha’s brother.”
“I had no part in that; I don’t approve of beautiful men being killed.”
“Since you knew they were beautiful, it must mean you were there.”
“No. I was in a diffe
rent room when that travesty happened. When I found out about it, I raged at my brother.”
“I’m assuming you’re talking about the old Don, because this one,” the Black Russian patted my crotch, “said Christo wasn’t there.”
“Sì, my dead brother.”
The Black Russian cocked his head to the side as the plane lifted off. “Regardless, why did you get on my jet after what was done to my Black Guards? I understand Christo wasn’t aware of what happened, even your nephew had a viable excuse, but you, you were there when the D’Angelo house was overrun. Didn’t you even consider there would be consequences for killing my guards?”
“Again, I did not kill them. I have never killed a man in my life.”
“Your family, then.”
“No, the killers were guards doing the bidding of a higher power than me. I had no say in what happened to your men.”
“Which is why I’ll let you live. The master is the one who’s responsible, and for you Italians that’s the Don.”
“You cannot kill Christo, he’s your friend!”
“I have no intention of killing him; he wasn’t the master at the time. But you, stupid priest, should’ve told him what happened to my guards? It was very foolish not to give him all the information at hand.”
“I didn’t think to. Guards are hired help. Unimportant. We don’t retaliate if a guard is killed, only if family is touched.”
“I don’t share your way of thinking. My guards are my possessions, and when someone takes one of my possessions away from me, I get very angry. And worse, when they take a favorite possession away, I always retaliate. Two of those guards were my favorites. I loved them, yet one was killed without thought, while the other is being kept from me.” The Black Russian leaned forward, making the Padre push his head back into the seat. “And all because of your family.”
“No, because of my dead brother. You can’t punish me for his sins, plus you said he’s solely responsible.”
“I didn’t use the word ‘solely’ and you still deserve to be punished for using one of my possessions without permission, and when I find him, he better not be damaged.”
“You’re meant to protect me, not harm me. That was the agreement you struck with Christo.”
“I will do as I please.”
“You can’t! Put this plane back down, I refuse to go with you.”
“Are you giving me an order, priest? Because if you are, I will kill you instead of imprison you.”
The Padre shook his head, his eyes panicked. “We can fix this. Christo will find the soldiers who killed your guards and hand them over to you.”
“From what I hear, the D’Angelo Don has already had them killed. And what about what you did to Jagger? He’s the reason why my Black Guards were with the D’Angelos: to protect him from you.”
“I have freed him.”
“You had no right to claim him in the first place.” He pointed at Thierry. “He may be willing, but I heard Jagger was not. I know what you did to him and unfortunately for you, I like him very much. You will pay for hurting him by learning what it’s like to be used as a sex toy.”
The Padre’s eyes widened. “You wouldn’t dare touch me!”
“Don’t flatter yourself, you’re not my taste. I would sooner kill you than touch your body. I only touch beauty and you are not beautiful. However, you are muscular and my sister likes muscular men very much.”
The Padre’s eyes widened even more, looking like they were about to swallow his face whole. “I am a man of God! No Daughter of Satan shall touch me!”
The Black Russian started to laugh. “I love how you speak. You shall be very entertaining. I hope my sister doesn’t gag you.”
The Padre pushed to his feet, the fury on his face strong. The two blonds lifted their guns, barking at him to sit down. He flopped back in his seat, wincing, probably from his injury.
“See, priest,” the Black Russian said. “You have no power here, so if my sister wants to fill you with little blue pills to make your cock hard so she can ride you, you will swallow them as your nephew will swallow my seed. And if she wants to kiss and paw your body,” he laughed, looking like he was getting perverse joy out of the Padre’s horrified expression, “she shall. And she knows about your unusual cock. When I told her I was procuring you for her, she decided to invite all her friends over for some unholy fun with you.”
“I will kill any Daughter of Satan who touches me!”
“You won’t be able to if you’re tied to my sister’s bed. By the way, priest, I’m a twin too. My sister is my other half. Do you fuck your brother like I fuck my sister?”
“No!”
“Odd.”
“You’re the Devil!”
“Yes, I am, and welcome to Hell.”
5
RITA
I’d lost the FBI a while back, although one of the bastards had grazed my arm with a bullet during my getaway. I’d wrapped it with a strip of material I’d torn from my shirt. I just hoped like hell it didn’t get infected after I had to spend the night under a bush, hiding from Julio’s agents.
I took another bite of the apple I’d stolen from a tree further down the road. I was sitting behind an abandoned farm building, waiting for Christo’s call. A few minutes later it came through, his raspy voice instantly making me bristle.
“It’s been a long time, schiava,” he said.
“I’m not your slave,” I snapped, some of the apple spraying from my mouth.
“You have always been my schiava,” he said, “even in your mother’s womb. You were made for me.”
“You arrogant son of a bitch, you can’t own someone, let alone someone you didn’t even know at the time.”
“Our paths were always meant to cross, it was destiny. And I want to bring you back into the fold, so meet me at your childhood home.”
I went silent, the idea of going there frightening. Something at the back of my mind was screaming at me to stay away from it, I just didn’t know why.
“I demand an answer,” he said.
“I don’t remember how to get there.”
“If you’re really my schiava you will find it.”
“I’ve lost some of my memory.”
“Interesting. Do you remember the cottage you and Frano used to meet in?”
I stiffened, shocked he knew about it.
“Answer me!”
“Yes. How do you know about it?”
“I was following you around. How do you think I knew about you disobeying my orders?”
“I didn’t think.”
“Of course you didn’t. You were a stupid teenager. After the restroom incident, I thought you would’ve grown some sense, but I obviously miscalculated how unintelligent you Salvi are.”
“How dare you insult my family! Your family are nothing but disgusting pieces of shit!”
“Looks like you’re still stupid, considering I have your brother right next to me. So, insult my famiglia some more and then listen to your brother scream as I cut his throat.”
I went silent.
“Have you got nothing more to say about my famiglia now?”
“No. And if you kill Lucan, I won’t come.”
“You will come if you know what’s good for your brother. By the way, you should show some gratitude to your husband.”
“Why?”
“Matteo looked after Lucan, making sure my brother didn’t go near him. Lucan appeared to like him very much. Personally, I was rather surprised at how nice my nephew was to him. I could say he was even gentle. I’ve never seen him be so selfless.”
I remained silent, also surprised.
Christo continued, “But since Matteo flew out today, your brother’s now unprotected.”
“I’ll do whatever you say, just as long as you don’t hurt him.”
“Then show up at the house. I’m sure you’ll find your way there. It’s not far from the cottage. Meet me in the lounge at six tonight. And don’t be lat
e.” He hung up.
Stuffing the phone into my pocket, I pushed to my feet, wanting to get to the house before he did—if he wasn’t already there. I closed my eyes, attempting to bring up the cottage Frano and I used to meet at. From memory, it wasn’t far from the lavender forest. Opening my eyes, I started jogging across the field, relieved that the long line of trees on my left sheltered me from the road. Although it was the countryside, I didn’t want to take any chances, especially with the FBI on my trail.
Just under an hour later, I spotted a white cottage in the distance. Hoping that it was the right one, I picked up my pace. As I neared the fence, a figure rounded the building. I dropped to the ground fast, praying they hadn’t seen me. Luckily, they turned away from me as someone else rounded the building. My breath caught in my throat at the sight of Frano. Even from a distance, I could see he was upset with the way he was waving his arms about. The other man looked like he was trying to calm him down, probably a Landi soldier since Frano had been let out. Two more men joined them, one of them shaking his head. Frano started shouting, then stormed off, disappearing around the cottage. I bit my lip, willing myself not to go to him. I knew he’d be upset, he probably even thought I’d betrayed him. I just had to be patient. Once I killed Christo and got my brother back, I would return and explain everything. He would still be mad, but he’d forgive me, because without a doubt he loved me as I loved him.
I breathed out, again shocked to think that. Only a short while ago, I had wanted to kill him, now I wanted to marry him. My mind returned to all those years ago when he’d proposed. I could’ve been with him for the past seven years. I could’ve had his babies and lived a happy life. But Christo had stolen that from me and I would make him pay for it dearly.
As the men followed Frano around the building, I pushed to my feet and sprinted along the fence line, heading further into the field, wanting to use the trees on my left as cover. They lined the back of the property, giving me a chance to get past without being detected, because without a doubt, Frano was searching for me.
I rounded the fence line and ran behind the row of trees, catching glimpses of the property through the branches. I stopped as I neared the last tree and peered around it. Luckily, there was no sign of Frano or the Landi soldiers. Relieved, I kicked into gear again, spotting a different building in the distance. It looked vaguely familiar. As I neared it, I realized why. It was the old farmhouse where my mother used to buy eggs from … which meant I wasn’t far from my childhood home.
My Masters' Nightmare, Season 1 / Episode 13 Page 6