The Don's Puppet

CHAPTER 5. INTO THE DEN.

“Did you have to hit her so hard, Darling?”

I heard a voice as my eyes blinked, struggling to come into focus.

“Did you not hear her insult Roman?” Darling replied, trying to justify her actions. “She’s lucky I didn’t shoot her with the gun instead.”

As soon as I heard the word ‘gun’, my body tensed and my eyes cleared. The first face that came into focus was the lady from earlier, the one with the toddler. Except this time, there was no child. The only other person in the room was Roy’s girlfriend, Darling, or as I’d prefer, the spawn of Satan.

We were in a big room, filled with expensive décor. The lights were dim, the air conditioner blasting at full speed. I could feel the hair on my legs stand in response to the chill, only then did I notice I was now in a gown with barely enough coverage. I watched as the unknown lady continuously dipped a moist cloth into a bowl filled with warm water, squeeze and then place it on my forehead. While Darling stood by a corner, cleaning a gun. No doubt, the same gun she had used to hit me outside.

Outside? Wait, where was I? Where was Alice?

I attempted to sit up but my head was throbbing with pain, I silently cursed Darling under my breath and hoped a bus would hit her soon. But with my luck, I’d probably be the one hit.

“Careful.” The lady said, helping me sit on the bed and placing the cloth on my head, making me wince a little.

“Where’s my sister?” I asked, looking at Darling for answers. For some reason, I didn’t think the lady helping me would know.

Darling stopped cleaning her gun and raised her head to my direction. “Good, you’re awake.” She dropped the gun carefully behind the band of her trouser and signaled for me to come, before moving to the door.

I stood up in a hurry, my legs leading me, my head screaming in pain. We left the other lady in the room and headed down a hallway filled with doors, occasionally passing uniformed servants.

“Are you taking me to see my sister?” I asked as we got to the end of the hall.

“Sure.” She replied nonchalantly, coming to a halt in front of a huge brown door.

Immediately, it swung open, a young girl that looked like she was in her twenties walked out, wiping the edges of her mouth and removing her hair from a bun, so it could drop to her shoulders. Her eyes were watery and she was dressed like a flight attendant. Darling paid her no attention, pushing me into the empty room instead.

She did not attempt to come in with me, but soon I heard the door close behind me and knew I was alone. I looked around the silence, gradually taking in the books on the shelves and the warmth coming from the fireplace.

Why was I here?

There was an armchair behind a desk and hanging just above it was a frame of an elderly man, probably in his early fifties. He looked like an older version of Roman. I moved forward to get a clearer view, picking up a picture frame from the table.

Someone cleared their throat beside me.

“You’re a curious little thing, aren’t you?”

Without looking at the contents on the frame, I turned around to see him. Roman Contini was standing in the shadows, staring at me, watching my every move.

Had he always been there?

“I wasn’t…I didn’t…I just…” I couldn’t find the right words to put together a meaningful sentence.

He said nothing, moving into the light, to the center of the room so he could pour himself a drink from the decante on the desk. “Do you drink?”

I remained silent, my mouth running dry with each passing second, wondering why I was in his presence. I watched him light a cigarette as I collected my thoughts. What was this man going to do with me?

He downed the drink at a go, then positioned himself on the hood of the table, exhaling smoke, his eyes scanning me like a hungry predator about to pounce. “Come closer.” He said softly, but firmly.

I found myself obeying him, my legs moving before my brain could order it to stop. Now, I was inches away from him, his cologne still strong in the air, despite the smoke. He was no longer in a complete suit, his white shirt was now undone three buttons from his neck and his sleeves folded up to his elbows.

My eyes darted down to his slacks. He no longer had a belt on, his zipper hung a little below the hook and his shirt was now untucked.

Roman inhaled a whiff of smoke from his cigarette, and then exhaled a fog. “Are you the second act? Because the other girl was quite shit.”

“Excuse me?” I said flatly, snapping out from whatever ruse I had been intoxicated in minutes ago. It was then it dawned on me, the girl from earlier was here for him. I didn’t know whatever twisted game they had gotten up to and frankly, I did not care. “I was told my sister would be here.”

He forced out a laugh. “And what exactly is your plan?” He stood up and started walking around me in circles, “Do you still believe you’ll both walk out of here?”

My mouth fell open, then shut. I stood still, staring ahead and refusing to follow his movements. No matter how intimidating he was at this moment.

He stopped behind me, placed his hand at the back of my gown and started to pull the zipper down. My legs trembled as I stood there, watching my dress fall to reveal my underwear. Everything I’d been wearing earlier had been changed, I was now clad in black lingerie that made me feel almost naked.

“You clean up nice.” He commented, standing in front of me to take in the view. He ran his hand across my cheek to my neck, and then to my exposed cleavage. “How do you plan on paying your father’s debt?”

“I’ll do anything as long as you let my sister go.” I choked out, his touch both electrifying and repulsive.

“You’re not in any position to make demands, Alexandra.” He grinned down at me, his smile as innocent as it could get. This was how he probably fooled women, making them think he was anything other than the devil. “But I do like what I’m hearing though, I like the idea of knowing I own you.”

“Is this how you get your women?”

“Do I look like I have trouble ‘getting’ women?” His emphasis was so smug, it visibly pissed me off. But what was I to do? My life was literally in his hands.

Another gift dear old daddy left me.

“What do you want from me?” I asked irritably, the cold seeping into my skin as I stood in nothing but lace, being stared down like a snack.

He paused for a few seconds. Then, as if the atmosphere around us had suddenly changed, his expression went from cute cat to an angry lion. He grabbed hold of my hair and tugged at it roughly, pain coursing through my veins like I’d never experienced. His lips found my ears, whispering the last words I’d expected to escape from his mouth.

“Didn’t you say you’d take your sister’s place?” I gulped, fear replaced the pain and I started to sob silently. This mad man was not kidding around. “So, get on your knees and show me how bad you want it.”