My Masters' Nightmare Season 1, Episode 2 Discovered (8 page)

“
I can speak whenever I
please.”

“
No, you can’t, the master
hasn’t given you permission.”

“
My m
aster is Jagger, and he allows me to
speak.”

“
Master Mario is in charge, so
you have to adhere to his rules, otherwise we’ll all pay for your
insubordinance.”

“
Insubordinance?
Who speaks like
that?”

“
Me, because I don’t wish to be
tortured because of you,” Red said. “So, please be quiet before the
masters return.”

“
Can’t you at least tell
me your name?”

“
Red.”

“
No, your real
name.”

“
It is my real name, Master
Mario gave it to me, so
please
be quiet, the servants are watching
us.”

I looked over at the waiters, who were
throwing curious glances at us, no, it was only one of them: a
teenage boy who looked about eighteen. He was slim, his face not
that much different from Jagger’s, just with a few adolescent spots
and darker eyes. I wondered whether he was related. The boy smiled
at me shyly. I smiled back without thought, although I didn’t know
why, other than he seemed sweet, and at least he wasn’t ogling my
body. Gay, I thought. He had to be.

A l
oud male voice came from the
adjoining room, then a second later an elderly man in a well-cut
black suit appeared with Frano. He had grey hair and was wearing a
hearing aid, which was probably the reason for his loudness. I
instantly recognized the Donatelli don. I had read about him having
ordered a hit on a whole family, even the children being
slaughtered, because a woman who was from that family had escaped
from his slave cells. The woman had gone into protective custody,
but had been gunned down before the trial had started, which meant
that the old man and his family had gotten off scot-free, no one
being able to prove anything against them.

A taller man came up to flank the don,
just twenty years younger, at a guess his son. The elderly don said
something to him, then headed for the table, while Frano, the
perfect host, ushered more men to their seats, the prick looking
pleased with himself.

My eyes went to the man
at
the end
of the line, a priest dressed in a black garb. He looked like the
elderly man, but considerably younger, in his late forties at a
guess. His hair was completely grey, while his pale eyes were the
same blue as Mario’s. He stopped and looked around the room as
though he was searching for someone. His expression turned to shock
when his gaze landed on me. He stared at me openly, the man saying
what sounded like a pray in Latin. Alberto, who was dressed in a
tuxedo, came up behind him. He placed a hand on the priest’s
shoulder and leaned over, whispering something into the man’s ear.
The priest looked uncertain, then a smile surfaced. He nodded, and
headed for the seat next to the elderly don.

Frano walked to
the other end of
the table and placed his hands on the back of his chair. “I am very
humbled that you, the esteemed Donatelli, have graced my household
with your presence. You are
famiglia
, but like all
famiglie
we quarrel.” He looked at Alberto, who
frowned back. “But we shouldn’t let our quarrels tear us apart;
instead we must move past them, which I hope we can accomplish
tonight.”

“
Only giving us Jagger
will
allow
this to happen,” the priest spoke up, his Italian accent
thick.

“
I’m afraid,
Padre
, that is an impossibility, and your
don has agreed to something else. But, I would like to give
your
famiglia
more.” Frano pointed to me and the slaves. “With the
exception of the brunette, who is new to us and is destined for the
Black Russian, you may choose any two of Mario’s slaves to
keep.”

The priest banged the table. “Offering us
the Devil’s whores will not appease what was done to me. Now, put
Gabriel in their place and I will gladly take him as a slave,” the
man said, using Jagger’s real name.

Don Donatelli
placed a hand on
the priest’s arm, whispering something to him.

The priest’s jaw clenched. “If he had done
the same to you, you would demand his head. All I demand is for him
to be handed over. I will not kill or maim him—that is not my
intent.”

Don Donatelli
turned his gaze to
Frano. “What Gabriel did to my brother does need to be met with
more than what you have offered.”

“
You were the one who suggested
the whipping,” Frano said, looking worried. “I am just giving you
more out of courtesy.”

“
I understand that, but on
reflection it appears that I was being unfair on my brother by
going easy on you.”

“
You haven’t been going easy on
me; you’ve been running my
famiglia
into the ground.”

“
Then
hand us Gabriel, so we can build your
business back to what it was like in your father’s
prime.”

“
I cannot hand over
blood
, and
you gave me your word that Jagger’s whipping would be the end of
this matter.”

The priest stood. “The crime
was done to me; therefore it is my word you must adhere to,
ragazzo
.”

Frano straightened. “I am not a
boy! I am the don of my
famiglia
.”

“
If you want to be respected as
one, hand Gabriel over.”

“
My father was respected and he
never curtailed to your demands.”

“
You, Frano, are not your
father. You cannot command or strike fear into me or my
famiglia
like he did. You
are just a boy playing in his father’s shoes.”

“
How dare you!”

“
I will dare all I please,
godson, and if you truly believe I am innocent of the crimes that
Gabriel used as an excuse to mutilate me, then you must hand him
over.” The priest cocked his head to the side. “Do you believe I am
innocent or do you want a holy war on your hands for smiting
me?”

Frano looked over at the Donatelli don,
then back at the priest, his expression more than worried. “I
believe you.”

“
Then bring Gabriel to me
now.”

“
Only in regards to what the don
has agreed upon. I truly wish to repair the chasm caused by
Jagger’s insanity, and because of this he will submit to you for
punishment.”

The priest frowned.
“
Gabriel is
willing to be in my presence?”

“
As long as you do not touch
him, other than with the whip.”

The priest’s eyes narrowed. “I
have
never
touched him inappropriately. I am a man of God!”

“
I never said you did, Jagger is
just skittish when it comes to you,
Padre.
”

The priest breathed out slowly, as though
he was using the time to think. “Okay. Just bring him
in.”

Frano nodded. “Federico, get
Jagger.”

My eyes moved to the large doorway as
Federico exited it. Several minutes later, Federico stepped back
through it with Jagger in tow, my eyes widening at Jagger’s
clothing—or lack thereof. He was dressed in tight black leather
pants while his upper body was naked, his dark olive skin oiled up.
He looked like a rock god, and one who was higher than a kite. He
wobbled on his feet, giving the impression that he was going to
topple over. Federico put his hands out to steady him, the guard,
my fellow-agent, not looking happy.

The priest got to his feet. “What is
wrong with him?”

“
He was given a sedative,
otherwise he would be fighting us,” Frano said, gesturing to
Federico. “Bring him here.”

Federico helped Jagger
over,
Jagger’s eyes going everywhere, but appearing to see
nothing.

“
Jagger,” Frano
said.

Jagger’s gaze moved to
his cousin. He
blinked as if he was seeing Frano for the first time.

“
Please tell the
Padre
you are deeply
sorry for the anguish you have caused him,” Frano said.

Jagger’s gaze instead
moved to Alberto. A
jolt ran through his body as though he had been whipped. He raised
a hand and pointed at Alberto, screaming: “Rapist!”

The men surrounding the table
all turned to
Alberto, who seemed to shrink in size, the look on his face
filled with guilt. The priest banged on the table, yelling at
Jagger in Italian to be quite. Jagger snapped his mouth shut, the
man finally realizing he was in the same room as his abuser. He
grabbed onto his cousin’s jacket, yelling: “You can’t do this to
me!”

Frano
broke Jagger’s hold and pushed him
into Federico. “Tie him to the wall!”

Federico and a man who dwarfed Jagger,
grabbed him, forcibly carrying him to a wall hung with ropes.
Jagger tried to fight them, but his arms and legs were
uncoordinated, no doubt from the drugs. He was pushed face-first
into the wall, then tied to it. A different guard moved in front of
the priest, holding out a whip.

Th
e priest frowned. “I don’t wish to
whip him, I have already told my brother this wasn’t going to
happen.”

Frano spoke. “He brutalized you, now it’s
your turn to brutalize him. You are permitted to take ten strikes
across his back however hard you wish.”

The priest
took the whip off the guard and
threw it across the table at Frano, who stepped aside. “I am not
whipping him; I am a man of God,
not
a torturer!”

“
An arrangement
was made,” Frano
said loudly.

The priest’s upper lip twitched. “You are
a fool to believe a whipping is what we came here for.”

The Donatelli
family rose to
their feet. Frano’s head shot to his guards, who stepped forward,
their hands going to their guns.

The priest
smiled. “It seems we have a
standoff. Now, Frano, if you order the first shot, you will die,
not at first, but after you watch all your men get cut down. Then,
we will make an example of you, so that the other families can see
that it’s not in their best interests to cross the
Donatelli.”

“
Then
, what do you propose for us to do
instead? And don’t say to hand Jagger over.”

“
I don’t think you understand,
Frano, we are not giving you a choice. Gabriel
will
be coming with us, and this is the
last time I will hear you call him by that evil name. He was born
an angel and he will stay one until I deem it is time to send him
back to God.”

“
No,
you
do not understand. I am the don of this
household and will not be dictated to in my own home!”

The priest laughed. “Maybe you do have a
little of your father in you after all, but still, my men outnumber
yours.”

“
Sasha! In here.
N
ow!”

A man rounded the corner, five other
men following after him.

The priest
turned to look at them. “Why do
you have Russians here?”

“
Jagger
is wanted by the Black Russian, and
because I will not hand him over to him, he will not allow anyone
else to take him. So, if you attack me and my own, you will be
attacking the Russians as well.”

The priest’s jaw clenched. “I
have underestimated you, godson, but I hope you understand that
my
famiglia
will continue to interfere with your business until you
right the wrong that was done unto me. Or are you going to cut
us
down in
cold blood?” He gestured to the Russians, who were pointing their
guns at the Donatelli. “Because if you are, you will start a war
that you cannot win. My family’s allies will come after you twice
as strong, which will end in your death. So, will you give up your
pawn to save your king?”

“
Jagger is not a pawn, he
is my cousin.”

“
As I am your
godfather.”

“
Give him the whipping, then
leave, I don’t wish for you to be in my household any longer, since
you can’t abide by my rules.”

“
Only God makes the rules, but
regardless, I have another solution that might appease your
stubbornness.” The priest walked over to Jagger and placed a hand
on the back of his head, making Jagger jolt and yell curses.
“Contrary to what you believe, Gabriel,” the priest said, “I have
always loved you as one of my flock, but I see you are unwilling to
let go of the Devil’s tail.” He removed his hand and looked back at
Frano. “Every Sunday I will come to your house to teach Gabriel the
errors of his ways, but for my own safety, he must be restrained
down in your cells.”

“
Teach him how?”
Frano
asked.