My Masters' Nightmare Season 1, Episode 5 Escape (8 page)

The realization hit me
hard
, the
missing pieces of my memory finally clicking into place.

I
was
Sophia Salvi

Jagger’s
girlfriend

And Frano’s
lover

4

Frano

I turned into the Landi
driveway,
and drove up the steep incline. The Landi
famiglia
lived on a hill
overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Their three-story house and its
ten-foot wall were constructed out of imported white rock, an
impenetrable fortress, perfect for a
famiglia
of gunrunners and mercenaries.

I
parked next to a row of armored
four-wheeled drives. The front was a hive of activity with men
everywhere. Many were carrying guns while some were loading them,
getting ready to storm the House of Whores.

I
patted Thierry’s leg. “Time to get
out.”

T
he boy remained still. He was staring out
the window with eyes so round, his fear palpable.

“
They won’t
hurt you,
bambino
,” I said. “They will protect you with their
lives.”

He turned to me. Even after all
he’d experienced, his eyes were still brimming with innocence, the
boy such a sweet kid. It hurt me deeply to hear about what my
brother had done to him. I knew I should’ve killed Alberto for it,
but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it—he was my brother, my
closest relative, someone I had grown up with. How could I kill
him? But what he’d done was truly evil, something even I couldn’t
comprehend. Because no matter what Alberto had said, Thierry
was
a child, someone
who needed to be protected, not preyed upon.

Pushing my thoughts down, I got
out of the car and went around to open Thierry’s door, the boy
obviously too scared to get out. He was a timid little thing,
effeminate too. It was inherent in everything he did: the way he
talked and walked or even how his hand fluttered about when he was
excited, and most definitely in the squeals he made while playing
football. He wasn’t very good at sport, but still liked to kick the
ball around with me, his eagerness making up for his lack of
skill.

I held out a
hand for him to
take. He took a hold of it, allowing me to pull him out. He blushed
furiously, making me grin. He really was a peculiar kid.

Someone called out my name. I
let go of Thierry’s hand, and turned around to find Pedro Landi
heading for me. Don Landi was a big man, someone who enjoyed his
food and wine far too much, and his women even more, my friend
preferring hedonism over politics.

“
Frano!”
Pedro said, giving me a crushing hug.

I hugged him back, then pulled
away after some pretty hard, albeit friendly backslaps from the big
man. I placed my hand on Thierry’s shoulder. “I don’t believe
you’ve met Jagger’s younger brother, Thierry.”

Pedro’s smile widened, then
before I knew what was happening, he was hugging Thierry, probably
knocking the wind out of the poor kid. After a few seconds, he let
go. “What a beautiful
ragazzo
you are.” He took a hold of Thierry’s cheeks and
pinched them. “But you, my handsome one, are not to have any
hanky-panky with my daughters.”

I laughed, knowing that wasn’t
something Pedro needed to worry about. A few weeks back, I’d
accidentally walked in on Thierry putting on makeup in his room,
the boy too caught up in what he was doing to notice me. But what
made it even funnier was what he was wearing, something Bianca no
doubt would’ve told him off for. He had been dressed in one of her
shinning ball gowns along with a pair of her stilettos, the heels
sky high. He really was a peculiar boy, if I could even call him
one, because I was sure the kid didn’t own a set of
balls.

Pedro and Thierry both looked
at me, giving me quizzical
stares. I patted Thierry’s back and grinned at
Pedro. “I am certain that he will show your daughters the full
respect they deserve,” I said, restraining a snigger. If anything,
poor Thierry needed to be protected from those girls, because the
three sisters were spoilt tarts
.
I could just see them fighting over him, two of
them tugging on his arms, while the third screamed that he was
hers, like they’d done to Jagger.

“
Actually,” I
said to Pedro, “I think you need to have a talk to your girls, I
don’t want what happened to Jagger
happening to Thierry.”

“What happened to Jagger?”
Thierry said, looking worried.

Pedro laughed. “Don’t worry; I
will make sure my girls don’t fi
ght over you. Threatening to chop up their
credit cards will do the trick.” He laughed again, then indicated
for one of his guards to come over. “Davido, take this young man
inside and show him his room.”

Thierry turned to me, looking
scared, those puppy-dog eyes of his yet again begging me to save
him. “I want to stay with you,” he said.

I placed my hands on his
shoulders, massaging them gently. “You will be safer here, the
Landi
famiglia
are good people. They will protect you with their
lives.”

Thier
ry screwed up his face, looking as if
he was about to cry.

I
cradled his face.
“
Ragazzo
, I give you my word that the Landi will look after you
well, and at least they will put some meat on your bones. You’ve
become too skinny, you need to eat more.”

Thierry blushed
fiercely.

I smiled and kissed his
forehead.
“I
promise I will visit you tomorrow,” I said, letting him go. I
placed a hand on his back and directed him to the Landi guard.
“Now, go with the man, I have business to attend to.” I watched as
Thierry walked away, the boy glancing back at me. Once he was
inside the house, I returned my attention to Pedro. “Are the
Santini ready?”

“
S
ì
, they will head for the Donatelli
household while you and my men take the House of
Whores.”

“
Buono
,” I said. “And after I take over the House of Whores and
get my people out, I will go to the Donatelli household and stake
my claim.”

“
And about
time too. You should lead this island, not those perverted freaks.”
Pedro’s face soured. “I will take great pleasure in helping you
wipe out their line.”

I
shook my head, not wanting to go down
that path. “I cannot allow the women and children to be
slaughtered, and if your men are to help me, they must abide by my
wishes.”

“
Then you
will be putting your own
famiglia
at risk. You must wipe them all out so
that no one can take revenge, whether that revenge is now or in
twenty years time. If you wish, my men will take care of it for
you.”

“
No.
Anyway, Lucky has too many offspring. It will be impossible to get
them all. And if we kill the ones here, the others will return in
force, which means for the time being we can only take prisoners,
killing only when we have to. Except of course, that fucking
Padre
will be killed, but
by Jagger’s hand, and of course I will personally take out Matteo
along with Nino.”

“
But
what about Christo? If you kill his twin, you will have to take him
out too.”

“
I’ve
already ordered a hit on him.”

“
Buono
, and about time, he is a disgusting man. And what of his
son Mario?”

“
Mario won’t
take vengeance, he’s not a killer. And he hates his father, though
I don’t want him to learn from anyone who ordered the
hit.”

“
Still, it’s
a risk leaving him alive, because often s
ons become closer to their
fathers in death.”

“
I doubt
that;
they have him locked up in the slave cells because he chose
my
famiglia
over his own.”

Pedro’s eyes widened. “To
lock up and abuse one of their own: I cannot understand
that.”

“Me neither,” I said,
thinking about what Alberto had done to Jagger and Thierry. “Me
neither.”

Pedro nodded.
“
Okay, I
will think of Mario as a D’Angelo from this day forth. Now, go take
care of the House of Whores...” He laughed, “...because my men have
been looking forward to this very much.” He let out a loud bellow.
“Tomiso, take Frano to your vehicle.”

I
turned to address his
second-in-command, a tall man with a battle-scarred face. Tomiso
smiled at me, although it looked more like a grimace, the man not a
pretty sight. He directed me to a black armored vehicle,
instructing me to put on the body armor. I grabbed the bulletproof
jacket, knowing the Donatelli would curse the day they didn’t kill
me.

***

I frowned as
I neared the
destroyed gate leading to the House of Whores. I wondered what had
happened and why there wasn’t a guard like there usually was. I let
the bigger vehicles clear the way, then followed them down the long
driveway. Tomiso, Pedro’s right-hand man was in the passenger seat,
gripping his gun, looking excited over the battle ahead, although
right now I was wondering whether someone had beaten us to
it.

I pulled up in front of the
House of Whores, where gunfire was bouncing off the armored
vehicles—mine as well as all the others. Tomiso cracked his window
open, along with the other Landi soldier in the backseat, both of
them aiming their guns up at the windows. They fired off a hail of
bullets, their machine guns wiping out the windows on the top
floor.

Once all the gunfire had
ceased, the first wave of Landi stormed the door, their full armor
saving them as more gunfire started up. Tomiso fired off rapid
shots, then let out a whoop of joy. “I got the
bastardo
,” he said.

One
of the men at the door signaled that
it was safe for me to get out. I jumped out and ran for the door,
Tomiso and the other man covering my rear.

As
I entered the house, two Landi
soldiers emerged from a door on my left, dragging a Donatelli guard
behind them. They threw him at my feet, the man smelling of urine,
no doubt having pissed himself after seeing the vicious looking
men.

“
Where is
Jagger D’Angelo?” I
said, glaring down at him.

“
H-He’s n-not
here,” the guard stuttered, barely able to get the words out. His
face was red and his breathing was heavy, the fat man sounding as
though he was having an asthma attack.

“
Then where
is he?” I added.

“
I
d-don’t
know; a slave u-u-sed him as a hostage to-to escape.”

“
What
slave?!” I said, now alarmed.

“
The Salvi
woman. S
he k-k-killed a guard and beat Matteo Donatelli into
unconsciousness.”

My body stiffened, knowing he
was talking about the FBI agent. I turned to Tomiso. “Phone your
don and tell him to send out a search party for Jagger and a
brunette woman who resembles the Salvi,” I said, both furious with
Rita and proud of her, the woman having done what few
could.

I turned back to the quivering
guard. “Where is Matteo?”

“
In
hospital
.”

“And Mario Donatelli and
the Russian?”

The guard pointed to the door
he’d
emerged
from. “Two floors down in the women’s cells.”

I gritted my teeth, knowing
that my men had been slighted even more by their placement.
“Take care of him,”
I said to Tomiso as I headed for the door.

The guard started begging
for his life, a gunshot silencing him.

I
descended the stairs, coming to a
stop at the first floor. My eyes moved to the terrified group of
women huddled together on my right, the line of beds behind them
telling me what type of whores they were: the dehumanized
puttane
known as holes.
Their scared faces were all trained on the men surrounding them,
the Landi staring at them with pity rather than lust.

Not wanting to look at them, I
descended the next staircase, stopping on the
floor the guard had mentioned.
A few Landi soldiers were opening the cells, checking each one.
Mario’s shocked cry alerted me to which cell he was in. I rushed
inside, finding a soldier pointing a gun at him, Mario looking as
if he thought he was going to die.

“
Put
your gun down!” I barked. “He’s one of mine.”

“
Mi
dispiace
,”
the man apologized, “I thought he was Christo Donatelli’s
son.”