My Masters' Nightmare, Season 1 / Episode 14 (9 page)

“
Don
’t listen to her,” Christo said,
“because if she doesn’t drop it I’ll shoot Frano.”

“
Then he’
ll die a less torturous death.
A second later this piece of shit in front of me will meet the same
fate. Then I’ll take you out, Christo, before Don Rosso shoots me.
So, make a decision, Don Rosso. What will it be?”

“
Let Frano go,”
he
replied.

“
No,” Christo snapped. “You
wanted vengeance; I’ll give it to you.”

“
Drop the gun,
Christo!”

Christo whipped his gun around, shooting
Don Rosso. The old Don fell backwards, his hand going to his chest.
Guido yelled out and ran for his father, my gun meaning nothing to
him now.

Christo
re-aimed his gun at Frano.
“Drop the gun,
schiava
, or Frano’s the next one to die.”

“
You kill
ed my father!” Guido screamed
out.

Christo smiled at him. “I
planned on killing him anyway, you too. My
schiava
was right: I framed your
famiglia
. I let the oldest Landi girl live so she could tell her
father what your foolish
famiglia
did.” He laughed. “Fuck, you are all so
gullible.”

Gu
ido jumped up and charged at Christo,
his face vicious. In the blink of an eye, Christo had a knife to
Frano’s throat and his gun pointed at Guido. He fired off a shot,
hitting Guido in the forehead, the man falling dead within inches
of him.

Christo returned his gaze to me. “Since
those two are dead ahead of schedule, my plans have changed. I can
now trade Frano for my nephew. I will also throw you in so my
brother can keep his little fuck toy. So, drop the gun if you want
Frano to stay alive long enough to send to the Black
Russian.”

My eyes went to the
soldier. He had his
gun pointed at me. Knowing I didn’t have a choice, I dropped
Guido’s gun.

“
Actually,” Christo said,
placing his chin on Frano’s shoulder, “maybe I’ll send Frano
to the Black
Russian in a body bag instead.”

“
You said—”

“—
a lot of things. Though, I’m
not sure about this idea, so I’ll flip on it.” He focused on the
soldier. “You got a coin?”

The man pulled one out of his
pocket.

“
Heads: Frano goes to the Black
Russian alive, tails: he goes in a body bag.”

The soldier
thr
ew the
coin up in the air.

7

JAGGER

The sound of water woke me up.
I opened my eyes, not finding Camila
lying next to me. Getting out of bed, I
opened the bathroom door, instead finding her sitting in the
shower. She had her back to me, the water cascading over her. Her
shoulders were shaking, suggesting she was crying.

I walked across the tiled floor and opened
the shower door. She looked up at me with a tormented expression. I
turned off the water, then grabbed a towel and bobbed down,
wrapping it around her shoulders. “We’ll get Andriena back,” I
said, pulling her into my arms.

She leaned her cheek against my
shoulder. “It’ll be too late; the Black Russian will ruin her.” She
let out a sob. “When she came to live with my
famiglia
, me and my other sisters had
to protect her.”

“
What do you mean, when she came
to live with your
famiglia
?”

“
One of my aunties was barren.
My mother allowed her to raise Andriena.”

“
She gave up her own
daughter?”

“
She got postpartum depression
after giving birth to Andriena. My auntie said my mother couldn’t
bond with Andriena because of it. She wouldn’t even look at her,
making the maids take care of my sister. When my auntie saw what
was happening, she offered to raise her. My mother was happy with
the offer, while my father didn’t care. Boys were everything to
him. Girls in comparison were just an inconvenience he had to bear.
If anything, he was probably the reason why my mother went into a
depression after Andriena’s birth. He wanted more boys, yet she
could only give him two. Anyway, Andriena was raised by my auntie
until she died from a heart condition. She returned at fourteen,
far too innocent to be living with us. She was terrified of our
household. So, my two oldest sisters and I cocooned her, trying to
protect her from everything.”

“
I had no
idea.”

Camila’s sobs started up again.
“It’s why she’s so sweet. No one in my
famiglia
is like her. She’s good, unlike the
rest of us.”

I ran my hand down her wet hair.
“You’re good.”

Camila let out a half-laugh,
half-cry. “
I
know what I am, and it’s anything but good.”

“
You helped me. You
defended me against Honey.”

She let out a choked sob. “No, I’m a
murderer.”

I continued to run
m
y hand over
her hair, wanting to comfort her. “I’ve killed before, snapped a
man’s neck. It was at the House of Whores. We do things we have to.
You did what you thought was right, so did I. Don’t feel guilty.
Honey drugged and abused me.”

She shook her head. “She didn’t abuse
you.”

“
But, you
said—”

“
I lied. I panicked and killed
her, because she saw me covered in the soldier’s blood.”

I retracted my hand. “What?”

“
I said anything to get you to
help me. I’m despicable.” She wiped her face. “I killed an innocent
person all because I panicked. I was scared she’d tell the other
soldiers what I did. I should’ve spoken to her, not attacked her.”
She squeezed her eyes shut. “And now karma is punishing me through
Andriena. It should be me suffering, not my sister. One sister
dead,” she sobbed, “the other in the hands of a monster. I hate
myself so much. I should be there in her place. I deserve to be
punished for all the evil I’ve done, not Andriena.”

Taken aback,
I stared at her,
unsure of how to react. She’d used my fears of being abused against
me … but seeing her in torment … I couldn’t be angry with her.
Although I felt bad Honey was dead, I was also relieved she was
gone. She irritated me, and even worse, she’d drugged me, which
meant she probably would’ve abused me eventually. I had
victim
stamped on my
forehead, because no matter what I did, people became infatuated
with me. And because I didn’t want them back, they usually ended up
hurting me. I knew Camila was capable of doing it too, but for some
reason, it didn’t worry or scare me. Maybe it was because she was
the first person since my ex that had fully captured my
attention.

I wrapped my arms around her
again. She jerked in my hold, probably surprised I wasn’t throwing
a fit over her lie. I didn’t like that she’d lied to me, but I
could understand it. I’d lied numerous times to cope with all the
abuse I’d suffered. I’d lied about the bruises my mother used to
give me when I was a child. I’d also lied about what the
Padre
had done to me when
I was younger, fearing he would hurt my family if I didn’t. In
addition, I’d lied to women so they would do what I wanted. The
list went on. So, I couldn’t judge Camila, especially since she’d
admitted to it.

“
I understand,” I
said.

She moved her head back, her expression
confused. “But, I lied to you about something really
horrible.”

“
You panicked, now you’ve owned
up to it. It’s more than I ever did. That’s why no one believed me
when I finally told them the
Padre
abused me. I lied for so long that when I finally
got the courage to tell the truth, it was too late. Frano never
believed me until the house was taken over. No one but my uncle
believed me, and he kept it a secret too, not wanting people to
know I was abused under his roof. He was ashamed of what he’d
allowed to happen to me. But hiding it was wrong. If Frano had
known the truth, then he could’ve been more prepared to defend the
household. Which is why I can’t judge you; if anything, we’re
similar in a lot of ways.”

She shook her head. “We’re
nothing alike. You’re fascinating, beautiful, the type of person
people get obsessed over. You’re fragile, yet so strong—you’re a
complete paradox. Me, I’m just Camila Donatelli, the rotten,
spoilt
troia
who will lie and cheat to get what she wants.”

“
You hold me in far too
high a regard. I’m crazy, not fascinating.”

“
The crazy ones are always
fascinating.” She smiled sadly. “I like your
unpredictability.”

“
You have strange
taste
s.”

“
No, you are a lot of
people’s tastes. In case you haven’t noticed, everyone wants
you.”

“
Not Rita. She always
wanted Frano.”

“
I used to want Frano.” She ran
the back of her fingers down my cheek. “Now, all I want is
you.”

I frowned at her. “Why?”

“
I already told you, you’re
beautiful—”

“
No, I meant,
why would you want
me more than Frano? He’s stronger, has more power, and is better
looking.”

She smiled. “In case you haven’t
noticed, you’re drop dead gorgeous.”

“
He’s more masculine
looking. That’s what women should want, not someone who’s
pretty.”

“
You’re not pretty like a woman,
if that’s what you’re saying. You have a masculine beauty that’s
intoxicating. Also, Frano and I can’t get along. He’s too
strong-willed and not to mention arrogant.”

“
Then why did you go after him
instead of me in the beginning?”

“
I never considered you because
you’re so much younger than me, plus no one was allowed to touch
you because—”

“—
of the
Padre.
” I frowned.
“You probably assumed I was gay
because of him.”

“
Actually, I thought you were
bi, since I’d seen you with women.”

“
I’m completely straight, but
regardless, men still used me.” I breathed out. “It’s because I’m
weak.”

“
No, you’re not.”

“
I am. I’m a loser in
life.”

“
You’re wrong,
you’re a
survivor.”

I pushed to my feet, pulling her up with
me. “You should dry yourself, you’re shivering.”

She looked straight at me.
“You
are
a survivor, Jagger. Not many people would still be alive
after what you suffered.”

I frowned. “Do you know what was done
to me at the House of Whores?”

“
No, b
ut I can imagine it, as well as what
you went through when you were younger. You survived all of that
and are still alive—that’s true strength.”

“
Get dressed,” I said,
not agreeing with
her. Finished with the conversation, I went to leave.

She grabbed my
arm
, making
me stop. “Why are you angry?”

“
I’m not
angry.”

“
You look it, and
I’m sorry if I
upset you, I didn’t mean to. I just wanted you to know how
wonderful you are.”

I breathed out. “Again, you think far too
highly of me.”

“
For good
reason.”

“
No, you’re blinded by my looks.
If anything, I should cut up my face like Matteo suggested, then
see whether you think I’m still wonderful.”

“
Don’t say
that!
”

“
It’s the
truth
,
because my face is the only thing that people truly care about.
What am I even alive for other than to be used as someone’s fuck
toy or obsession? I have no fucking purpose in life other than
that. I’ve also made women miserable by turning them into mindless
sex slaves, while I’ve wandered around feeling sorry for myself.
So, tell me exactly why I’m so fucking wonderful and not a
goddamned loser?”

“
You’re only twenty-three. If
you’re not happy with what you’re doing, change it. You have a
whole lifetime ahead of you.”

“
I turned twenty-four
yesterday.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “Why didn’t you tell
me?”

“
I don’t celebrate my
birthday.”

“
Why not?’

“
Because being born wasn’t
a good thing.”

“
Is it because of my
uncle?”

“
No, my mother never wanted me.
She abused me well before the
Padre
got his hands on me. I was so used to the abuse
that when your uncle
started hurting me, I clamped up the same way as I
did with her.”

“
She sexually abused you?”
Camila said,
looking horrified.