My Masters' Nightmare Season 1, Episode 4 Poisoned (6 page)

With my heart in my mouth and
tingles running through me
, I picked up the tray and tiptoed to the door,
looking back as Frano let out yet another loud moan. My mouth
dropped open as he came over himself, even hitting his face, the
man certainly a shooter. Before he could open his eyes, I quickly
left the room, closing the door without a sound, but almost
dropping the tray in the process. I steadied the tray, then
steadied myself,
greatly relieved that the soup wasn’t garnishing the
carpet.

Taking a deep breath in, I knocked on
the door, calling out, “Frano, lunch!”

Swearing came from within.

I knocked again. “Frano, I have your
food.”

“
Un momento
.”

I waited, my heart pounding, what I’d seen
not easily wiped from my mind, my face still hot from the
encounter.

An “Enter” finally came.
Came.
Good Lord, I still
couldn’t believe I had seen Frano in the throes of an
orgasm,
and
coming on his own beautiful face. The guilt of seeing it
made me want to drop the tray and rush back to Jagger. I would tell
him everything, making sure he understood that I didn’t do it on
purpose, and that I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
He would probably laugh at me, then I would laugh back and all
would be forgiven, because I would never have touched Frano,
no, no, no,
not in a million
years, I’d rather put my hand in an open fire than cheat on Jagger.
Not that Frano would want me anyway, nor would I want
him—

“
Are you coming in?” Frano
called out, snapping me out of my thoughts.

“
Sì
, sorry.” Balancing the tray
carefully, I pushed open the door and entered. Frano was sitting up
in bed with the sheet covering his lower half and his face sperm
free. I walked over to him and placed the tray on his lap. “Would
you like me to feed you?” I asked.

He grimaced. “I’m not a
child.”

“
I didn’t mean to offend,
just you have been hurt and I thought…” I flinched at his glare. “I
apologize, I thought wrong.”

Frano continued to glare, basically
telling me to get out, which I couldn’t do until he had finished
the soup.

The phone
rang
.

“
Get that,” he snapped, the man
beyond rude, which was even worse considering I’d brought him his
lunch. I wasn’t a servant, yet did he appreciate it?
No.
He was an arrogant,
rude ass-hat and a few other unmentionable names. No wonder only
the bitches wanted to stay with him.

I walked over to the phone and
picked it up. “
Pronto?
”

A heavily-
accented Russian voice
answered, causing my spine to stiffen.

“
May I speak to
Frano?
” the
Black Russian said, the man the scariest person I’d ever meet. I
had thought the Donatelli were bad enough, but this man was
chilling, just looking at him made me think of death. I’d heard
many horror stories about the Black Russian, from mutilation to
cannibalism. Alberto had said they were lies, and that the Black
Russian had circulated the horrifying stories to install fear in
people, but just looking at the man made me believe the tales,
because he observed people like Hannibal Lecter with a bottle of
Chianti.

“
I’ll get Frano for you,” I said
to the man. I walked over to the bed and handed the phone to my
brother-in-law. “It’s the Black Russian,” I whispered to
him.

Grimacing
, Frano took the phone, then
indicated for me to go away. “Hello,” he said into the receiver.
His grimace deepened as I sat down on the chair across from him. He
shooed me again, but I shook my head, knowing I had to stay, not
only to make sure he ate the soup, but to find out why the Russian
was calling.

“
Can
you please hold on
un
momento
,” Frano said into the phone, “I need to get an annoying
woman out of my room.” He covered the receiver. “Out!” he
barked.

I shook my head again. “Sorry, Frano, but
I must make sure you eat everything. Alberto is concerned over you
losing weight.”

“
I’ll eat it, so get
out.”

“
I cannot, Alberto will beat me
if I don’t abide by his instructions.” I touched my bruised cheek
gently, pointing out the evidence.

“
Then go into the passage
while I’m on the phone, I’ll call for you when I’m
finished.”

“
Okay.”
I headed out of the room, closing the
door behind me, then quickly ran to my bedroom and picked up my
phone, dialing the connection that Alberto had told me to use when
Frano was taking a call. It went through without a hitch, Frano’s
and the Black Russian’s conversation coming over the
line—pleasantries and small talk at first, then the Black Russian
asked the question that I had been dreading: “Why hasn’t Sasha
phoned me?”

“
That is none of my business,”
Frano replied. “I’m not his keeper.”

“
In fact, you are. When I loan a
slave, the head of the household becomes their master for the
duration of their stay.”

“
Sasha’s a slave?” Frano
said, sounding surprised.

“
Da
.”

“
But ... I thought he was your
lover and the head of the guards.”

“
He is.”

“
Sorry for sounding confused,
but how can he be a slave and have such
authority?
”

“
Becaus
e he’s ascended to a higher level
where only his soul is tethered.”

“
I have no idea what you’re
talking about,” Frano said, the tone of his voice telling me he was
rubbing his sore head and thinking that the Russian was a lunatic,
which I totally agreed with.

“
It doesn’t matter whether
you understand,” the Black Russian said, “I just want to know where
my Sasha is?”

“
I will ask Alberto for
you.”

“
Why would you have to ask? You
are the leader, are you not? You should know everything that
happens within your household.”

“
I have been in
a coma for the past
three days.”

“
What
happened?!”

“
I incurred a head injury from
falling off my horse, which is why I would have to ask Alberto. But
regardless, I will make sure Sasha phones you back.”

“
Spasibo
,” the Black Russian thanked Frano.
“I have missed him; I don’t like being parted for such a long
period of time. If anything, if things have calmed down with the
Donatelli I would very much like to have him back. You can keep the
other guards for maybe a week longer, minus Yuri; I want him to
return too.”

I swallowed, my heart stopping at the
mention of Sasha’s brother, the Donatelli having killed him as well
as the other Russian guards, only Sasha surviving the massacre, the
poor man no doubt being abused like Jagger.

“
As long as everything
goes well tonight with the Donatelli,” Frano said, “your guards can
return home tomorrow.”

“
Why? What’s
happening
?”

“
Jagger is due to be punished
for what he did to their priest.”

“
How?!”

“
With ten lashes,
but—”

“
You cannot
allow that! I loaned you my men
so no harm comes to him.”

“
You did not let me finish. He
will not be harmed as he’s currently in New York, instead I will
take the punishment.”

“
That is very noble of
you, Frano, but you will be scarred.”

“
I will get the best treatment,
and it’s the only viable solution I can think of. The Donatelli
want blood, therefore I will give them mine
.”

“
I do not approve of
this.”

Frano’s sigh came down the line. “This is
my decision to make, not yours.”

“
Nonsense! Otherwise my
men wouldn’t be with you.”

“
Why do you care what
happens to my back?”

“
I don’t like true beauty
tainted.”

“
I am not
beautiful.”

The Black Russian laughed.
“
Da
,
you are, and so is your cousin, you two are aptly named. D’Angelo
means
from
the angel
,
does it not?”

“
Sì.
”

“
And angels should remain
untainted.”

“
I am not an angel and I
am already tainted.”

“
Not your
looks.”

“
This discussion is
becoming rather strange.”

The Black Russian laughed. “I’m a
strange man, and by the way, has Jagger considered my new
offer?”

“
He is not
interested
,
so you are wasting your time chasing him.”

“
I don’t waste my time; I always
get what I want.”

“
You already have a harem
of sex slaves. You don’t need Jagger as well.”

“
My needs are
great.”

“
Still, you have enough lovers
to satisfy a hundred people.”

“
I am never satisfied, which is
why I am always seeking new partners.”

“
Well, Jagger is not interested;
he has already turned down your offers.”

“
Then I will double the previous
one
.”

“
You can triple it and it won’t
make a difference. He. Does. Not. Like. Men. And no matter how much
you offer he will not accept.”

“
Then I will just
take.”

“
You will not!”

“
I am growing tired of
this courting.”

“
You are not courting; you
are trying to buy my cousin.”

“
All I want is one night
with him.”

“
You know that is not true,
because once he sets foot in your house you will not allow him to
leave—like Raphael. You never returned him, and now we are short of
trainers.”

“
Raphael stayed of his own
volition, his choice not yours. And, Frano, I am not a man who is
left wanting, and right now I want Jagger.”

“
Everyone wants Jagger, so stand
in the line.”

“
Do you not realize what I
can do for you and your family if you allow me this one
favor?”

“
I cannot force my cousin to do
something he doesn’t wish to do.”

“
I hear you force him to be a
trainer. Sasha tells me Jagger does not like his job, so I’m
willing to give you ten trainers in exchange for him. I know you
are depleted, which is why I am being so generous.”

“
I still cannot accept; he is
blood
.”

“
I understand, but
y
ou won’t
get this offer from anyone else, so think it through carefully. You
need me and I need Jagger. And if it makes him feel more at ease, I
will have women in the room. I know he loves blondes, I have plenty
of those. They will make him feel very, very
comfortable.”

“
Why does everyone want
Jagger? He is just a man.”

“
A beautiful
man
.”

“
There are other beautiful
men in the world, ones who would jump at your offer, so why do you
persist with Jagger?”

“
Obsession. If I want someone I
have them, then my obsession is appeased. But I have not been
allowed to do that with Jagger, which has started to anger me. So,
appease my obsession and I will shower gifts upon your family,
cleaning up all of your issues with the Donatelli as well as your
business woes.”

Frano exhaled loudly. “Jagger is a
stubborn mule, he won’t listen to anyone.”

“
I like that about him, but I’m
sure he will listen to my new offer. Tell him I’ll pay fifteen
million, five of which you will get, and a harem of blondes at his
disposal.”

“
He will still say no. He
has an intense dislike of men touching him.”

“
Just put the offer to
him, because every
man has a price.”

“
I don’t.”

“
Oh, you certainly do, Frano,
it’s just not monetary. Instead, it’s a gun to a loved one’s head.
And if I was so inclined to fuck you, which I am, I would put a gun
to your ugly brother’s head.”

“
Watch your
tongue!”

“
The only time I watch my tongue
is when I’m licking a beautiful body, and right now, I’m imagining
that body to be yours, so if you want to stay business partners you
will get me Jagger to save yourself from getting fucked over. After
all, you are only one of a handful of people I allow to contact me,
and I plan on finally calling up on that privilege. Also, Frano, I
expect to hear from Sasha by the end of the night.”

The phone went dead on the Russian’s end,
the other line filled with Italian curse words, Frano swearing
black and blue and everything in between.