My Masters' Nightmare, Season 1 / Episode 13 (10 page)

“
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,
y
ou 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 late.” 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.

I glanced at it as I passed by,
disappointed that it looked abandoned. I
kept on moving, slowing down as I
neared a large barn on another property. Pure fear raced through me
at the sight. Not knowing why, but wanting to, I headed for the
door. My brain started screaming at me not to go inside. Ignoring
it, I pushed open the door. It swung inwards, the creaking
reminding me of the sound effects in horror films. And like the
women in those films, I knew I shouldn’t enter—even though I
would.

I
stepped inside, my eyes sweeping the
interior of the barn. It had a rusty tractor in one corner, dirt
and hay spread across the floor and… My eyes went to a row of horse
stalls on my left. I walked over to them, my heart rate picking up
the closer I got. Opening the one at the end, I stepped inside the
empty rectangle and closed the door. On autopilot, I bobbed down
and peered through the hole in the wood panel. I could see
everything clearly in my mind’s eye, the images from seven years
ago returning. And what I saw made me gasp.

6

SOPHIA

Christo
stepped into the barn with a
gun to Jagger’s head. “Are you in here,
schiava
?” he called out.

When I didn’t answer, he looked
at the ground. “I can see your footprints in the dirt.” His eyes
moved to the stall I was hiding in. “Come out, come out, wherever
you are, my sweet little
schiava
.”

I remained still, too terrified to move or
even make a sound, my heart almost bursting out of my
chest.

Christo
shoved Jagger to the ground and
cocked his gun. “If you don’t come out, I will shoot
him.”

Before I could change my
mind,
I
pushed opened the door and stepped out of the stall, unable to stop
from trembling.

He
smiled at me. “Bring her to me,
Jagger.” When Jagger didn’t move, he kicked him. “Get
her!”

Jagger rolled over, clutching his
stomach.

“
Now!”

Jagger struggled to his feet and stumbled
over to me. He had a split lip and a bloody nose, Christo obviously
having beaten him. It was the day after I’d made love to Frano by
the riverside. Jagger had shown up at my house after school,
barging inside, demanding to see me. That was when he’d seen
Christo holding me by the throat. He’d thrown his school bag at
Christo, making him let go of me, then had charged him, yelling at
me to run. And I had, not looking back even though I knew Jagger
was sacrificing himself for me, too terrified to do anything
else.

As Jagger came to a stop in front of me,
he whispered, “We need to charge him together.”

“
No, h
e has a gun,” I whispered
back

“
We don’t have a
choice—”

“
Hurry up!” Christo yelled,
cutting Jagger off. “Don’t try my patience.”

Jagger took a hold of my
arm
and
pulled me over to Christo. As we neared him, he let go of me and
yelled, “Now!” He rushed Christo, but I remained still, again too
terrified to help him. Christo kicked Jagger in the stomach,
lifting him off his feet. Jagger came crashing down, looking winded
and in shock.

Christo used his foot to push
Jagger onto his back. “Pathetic. No wonder my
schiava
chose Frano over you. You’re an
embarrassment to the D’Angelo name, boy. All you’re good for is
making my brother’s cock happy.” He prodded Jagger with his foot.
“Get up.”

Jagger remained on the floor,
clutching his stomach, looking in pain.

“
No more warnings, Jagger. Get
up. I want you to undress my
schiava
for me.”

“
No,” Jagger breathed
out.

“
I have plenty of bullets in my
gun
, but all
I need is one for a disobedient boy.”

“
You won’t kill me. The
Padre
won’t allow
it.”

“
I wasn’t going to kill you,”
h
e bent down
and placed the gun to Jagger’s crotch, “just make another hole for
my brother’s cock. So, how about you do as you’re told or become a
bitch for real?”

Jagger pushed up, struggling to his feet.
He placed his hands on his knees, looking like he was ready to
collapse.

Christo
pointed his gun at me. “Now,
undress her.”

Jagger turned around and reached for my
blouse, muttering, “I’m sorry.”

“
Don’t touch me!” I yelled,
batting his hands away.

“
Stop fucking around, Jagger!”
Christo barked.

Jagger went for me again. I pushed him
back, but he didn’t stop. He made a grab for my blouse. I yelled
out and struck him the face. Grunting, he took a step back, then
lunged for me as I tried to get past him. He shoved me hard into
the tractor and ripped my blouse open. I screamed, trying to get
away from him, but he spun me around, trapping me against the
tractor. He yanked my pants down, using his foot to remove them. I
started crying, begging him to stop, but he continued stripping me
until I was fully naked.

“
Turn her to face me,” Christo
said.

Jagger
spun me around, holding my arms so I
couldn’t get away.

Christo smiled, his eyes running over
me. “Push her to the ground.”

Jagger did.

Christo pointed his gun at my
head. “
Get
naked, Jagger, if you want her bullet free.”

Jagger removed his clothes.

“
Now, fuck her,” Christo
said.

“
I-I can’t,” Jagger stuttered
out.

“
You can, unless you want a
bullet in her head.”

“
Please don’t do
this.”

“
Stop whining like a little
bitch and fuck her like a man, it’s what you wanted.”

“
Not like
this!”

Christo’s eyes went to me as I pushed to
my feet, intending on making a run for it. “Get down!” he
yelled.

In the distraction, Jagger went for his
gun. Christo whipped to the side and hit him in the chest, knocking
Jagger backwards. Yelling out, Jagger stumbled, almost falling over
me. He righted himself, his expression pained.

“
Stop hi
tting him!” I yelled at
Christo.

“
Finally found your voice, have
you?” Christo said. “And I will stop hurting him once he learns he
can’t beat me. My brother did say he was stubborn. So, last
warning, Jagger: Fuck her now or she’s dead.” He cocked his
gun.