My Masters' Nightmare Season 1, Episode 15 "Finale" (2 page)

“I’m not asking what you do for a
living; I’m asking if you or your family have spoken to the FBI.”

“I haven’t.”

“What about the others?”

“I don’t know.”

He squatted down in front of her. “I
don’t believe you, little girl,” he said, his voice menacing, “so tell me now
or I’ll get one of my agents to haul you into a room and interrogate you.”

Teodora started crying. “I’m telling
the truth, I don’t know.”

Camila shoved her face in front of
the agent’s. “She knows nothing, so stop terrorizing her.”

The agent sneered. “She does know
something; otherwise she wouldn’t be in the Spinelli dossier.”

“What’s her being a Spinelli got to
do with anything? They’re a peaceful
famiglia.
”

“They’re not peaceful, they’re
vengeful,” he said, pushing to his feet. “Over the past few months, the FBI has
been under investigation due to suspected mafia infiltration. My boss just told
me one of his superiors has been linked to the Spinelli. He was the one who
insisted that Rita be sent on this assignment. She doesn’t realize the Spinelli
have been using her to get to the Black Russian.”

“Why do they want him?” Camila
asked.

“For the deaths of Rita’s foster
parents. They think Maria and Marino Spinelli were murdered for helping Rita
escape the Black Russian. So, the Spinelli are setting Rita up to kill him.”

“How’s she supposed to kill the
man?” I cut in. “He’s usually surrounded by armed guards, and not to mention
he’s an incredible fighter himself.”

“The device in her leg.”

“A tracking device can’t do
merda
.”

“It’s not a normal one—it’s a
target.”

“What do you mean?”

“Once it’s activated by a phone
call, a bomb will lock onto its coordinates.”

My eyes widened. “They want to kill
her?”

“And the Black Russian. As soon as
she gets near the man, they’re both dead.”

2

RITA

“If you hurt Frano, you’ll
never
get your brother back,” I yelled. “Gregor will torture him and send you his
body parts.”

Christo kept staring at me, looking
like he was trying to decide if I was lying about being the Black Russian’s
lover. He was standing behind a tied up Frano, holding a knife to my
amore
’s
throat. A bead of blood was forming at its tip, Christo a second away from
slicing Frano’s throat open. “You’re lying,” he finally said. “You can’t be his
lover.”

“Well, I am. I’m the one who was
taken by the Donatelli. Your family took me to the House of Whores, but I
escaped with Jagger and went back to Frano. I’m worth more than a thousand Jaggers
to you. If you give Frano to my master alive, I’ll make him do whatever you ask.”

“It’s rather convenient that you’re
telling me this now. Why didn’t you mention it before when I was speaking to
him?”

“Because I was afraid he would
torture Frano.”

“Frano was already being tortured, so
what difference does it make?”

“You were about to kill him—that’s
the difference.”

“Gregor promised to kill him too.”

“I’m confident I can talk him out
of it.”

“If you truly love Frano you wouldn’t
want him sent to a monster like the Black Russian. If anything, the coin
falling on tails would spare him unbearable agony.”

“Why do you care? You hate Frano.”

“I care about your motive.”

“I’d rather see him in pain, than
not see him at all.”

“You were willing to let him die earlier.
What’s changed?”

“That was when I thought you were
going to mutilate him. He wouldn’t have been a man after that. I want him in
one piece.”

“That sounds like you’re more
interested in Frano’s body than his mind.”

“You were going to mutilate then
kill him, so I wouldn’t have had either.”

“I still think you’re trying to
fool me.”

“Then ring Gregor and ask whether Sophia
Salvi is his.” I inched closer, wondering how to get the knife off him, which I
needed to do before the Black Russian confirmed I was lying. I’d blurted out
the first thing that had come to mind, no thought involved other than stopping
Christo from slicing Frano’s throat open. Plus, if he phoned the Russian, he
would be distracted. I didn’t need much time to get the knife off him, a
second, maybe two.

“He’ll offer you money for me,” I bluffed.
“Don’t accept it; ask for your brother and the others back. That will show you
exactly how favored I am.” I took another step forward, hoping like hell
Christo believed me, because once that knife was lowered, I was going to attack
him.

Christo’s eyes flicked to the
soldier. “Point your gun at her. If she takes one more step, shoot her in the
leg.”

I glanced to my left, seeing the
soldier raise his gun. I swore in my head, having forgotten about that prick.
I’d been so caught up with what was happening to Frano that I’d failed to take
in my surroundings.

Christo sheathed his knife, then pulled
out his phone, ringing through to the Black Russian. A moment later he was talking
to the man himself. “I have an FBI agent with me claiming to be your lover. Her
name is Sophia Salvi. Is she telling the truth?” Surprise crossed Christo’s
face. “I must say, I didn’t expect to hear that. I thought she was lying.”

I willed myself not to show how
shocked I was. I might have only been hearing one side of the phone
conversation, but it sounded like the Black Russian had said I was his lover. Totally
confused, I continued to listen to Christo speak.

“And since she’s not lying,” he said
to the Black Russian, “it means I don’t have to get you Jagger. So, in exchange
for her, you’ll give me my nephew, brother, and his fuck toy.” He frowned.
“Then the first two.” He grunted. “You can’t care that much for her if you
aren’t willing to give them up. Okay, okay, I’ll throw in Frano.” He frowned.
“Who?” He glanced at Frano. “Do you know someone called Sasha?”

“
Sì
,” Frano said.

“Is he at your house?”

Frano didn’t answer.

“Tell me or I’ll get Ercole to
shoot your woman.”

“He’s there.”

Christo resumed talking to the Black
Russian, “I can get him. Who is he?” He laughed. “Christ, you have a lot of
lovers. By the way, your Sophia is madly in love with Frano. True, she only admitted
to being your lover to stop me from slashing his throat
.
So, how will
you torture him?” He listened intently, the grin on his face growing wider by
the second. “You are a genius. I wish I could watch that. No, I don’t trust you
enough to set foot in your home, so I’ll have to decline the invitation. Anyway,
I’ll meet you at the same airstrip.” He paused. “Tomorrow at three is good. I look
forward to seeing my brother and nephew again.” He frowned. “I don’t care if
you like fucking Matteo, I want him back. No! Find someone else to sodomize.
Okay, I’ll get you Jagger, but that means I only get three in exchange for four.”
He grunted. “Then throw in Andriena, at least it’ll make her bitch sister
happy.
Bene
, see you then.” He hung up. “Fuck, that
bastardo
is
the greediest
stronzo
I’ve ever known. He has a whole harem, yet he
whines about giving my nephew back.” He went quiet for a second, then realization
crossed his face. “
Cazzo
! He tricked me into getting him Jagger again.”
His eyes flashed angrily at me. “You obviously hold yourself in too high a
regard, because you weren’t worth much in the trade. I’m only getting my
brother and nephew back because of Frano and Jagger and possibly that Sasha
person. All I got for you was Andriena and I don’t even want her.”
His
eyes moved to the soldier. “Ercole, tie my
schiava
up like a pot roast.
I don’t want her getting out of her restraints again.”

The soldier grabbed some rope by
the door and headed for me. He yanked my arms in front of me and started
binding them. Once done, he laid me down on the dusty ground and bound my legs.
I stared up at him as he tied the knots, his name ringing a bell for some
reason.

“Ercole means a splendid gift,” I
said.

He ignored me, concentrating on
what he was doing.

“I’ve only heard that name once
before. Are you a Spinelli?”

“None of your business,” he
muttered.

“Stop talking and finish,” Christo
snapped. “You need to tie Frano up next.”

Ercole got up and walked over to
Frano. He detached him from the hanging rope with very little effort, the man strong.
I watched as he started binding Frano.

“Put him in front of my
schiava
,”
Christo said. “Tie them together. You can clean and bandage them after that. Give
them a sedative as well.”

Ercole laid Frano in front of me, joining
our wrists and ankles together with rope. After finishing, he pushed to his
feet and walked over to Christo.

Christo smiled at me. “I’d like to
see you try getting out of that.”

I grunted at him, knowing I didn’t
have a shit show in hell.

His smile widened. “I’ll leave you
two love birds alone.” He left with the soldier.

Once they were gone, I focused on
Frano. “I lied,” I whispered. “I’m not the Black Russian’s lover.”

He grimaced, the pain from the
whipping etched into his features.

“You do believe me?”

“Why did the Black Russian agree to
Christo’s demands, then?” he replied, his voice hoarse.

“I have no idea.”

“He must at least know you.”

“I met him once. After my father had
a falling out with yours, he started transporting slaves for the Black Russian
instead.”

“Why didn’t you mention knowing him
before?”

“One meeting hardly equates to
knowing a person.”

“You still didn’t mention meeting
him, not even once.”

“I didn’t remember until I went back
to my childhood home, and
meeting
is probably the wrong word to use. I
think he visited my home once when I was fifteen or sixteen. Yeah, I was
watching a movie with my brother, and my mother came rushing in, telling us to
get to our rooms quickly. We were about to head up the staircase when my father
and the Black Russian walked through the front door. I was freaked out by all
the tattoos on his face, so I ran up the stairs and into my room. That was it.”

“So, you’re telling me that the
Black Russian is willing to give up a slave just because he remembers seeing
you once?”

“I didn’t say that, I was just answering
your question. And Andriena’s not a slave.”

“She will be if she’s with the
Black Freak, along with Matteo and the others. So, give me something more,
Rita, because right now it feels like you’re playing me for a fool.”

“I’m telling the truth! I don’t
know the fucking man. I didn’t even talk to him, I just saw him.”

He grimaced, not looking satisfied
with my answer.

“You have to believe me.”

“I don’t have to do
merda
; you’re
the one who does. I’ve been an open book with you ever since I found out who
you truly were. But in all truth, I don’t really know who you are. Right now,
all I see are shattered pieces of Sophia merged with a stranger. For all I know,
you are the Black Russian’s lover, and have been using me to get back to him.”

“I am not his—” I stopped myself just
in time, almost shouting out something that could get us both killed. I lowered
my voice. “I’m
not
his lover, so stop acting like a jealous idiot.”

He sneered at me. “You arrogant
troia
,
I’m not jealous, I’m suspicious of the inconsistencies you throw at me. Half
the time you explain things away by saying you don’t remember, the other half
you contradict yourself. So, tell me the goddamn truth.”

“
I am
.”

“Do you know the truth?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I
asked, insulted.

“Do you have all your supposed
memories back?”

“They’re not supposed, and I think
so.”

“Thinking is different from knowing.”

“I
know
, then.”

“Why did you suddenly get them
back?”

“They didn’t all come back at once.
Ever since Jagger kidnapped me, bits and pieces have been resurfacing, then when
I came across this building, I remembered what Christo did to me, and when I saw
those people in my old home with their throats slit, I remembered what happened
to my parents. Certain things spark certain memories. And after all the shit
I’ve been through, it’s a miracle I remember anything.”

“What do you mean?”

“Not only did I suffer a horrific
attack, but I was also in a bad car accident.”