The Don's Puppet

CHAPTER 7. KEEP YOUR FRIENDS CLOSE.

The room we entered was small and dark, it looked like a torture room with weapons arranged neatly on a table by the side. On another table were bloody tools scattered across, the room reeked of dead animal and sweat.

But thankfully, it was empty. I had expected the worst and gotten the bare minimum.

What if this room was for me? Did Roman bring me here to torture me, like he hadn’t already done enough of that.

The door opened behind me and someone hit my shoulder aggressively from behind.

“Set him over there.” I heard the voice before I saw her. Of course, it had to be Darling. Who else hated my guts more than my father did? She didn’t acknowledge me, maybe because what came after had her attention.

I saw Roy and another guy I hadn’t seen before, on their arms was a bleeding man. No doubt, the same person I had heard scream only moments ago.

“What happened to him?” I found myself asking, feeling sorry for the guy but thankful I was not in his position

Darling whipped her head in my direction so quick, you’d think she hadn’t known I was present. “What the f**k is she doing here?”

“Babe, just let it go.” I heard Roy whisper, amidst grunts.

“Boss, why’d you have to bring her here?” She went on, ignoring her boyfriend. “This room already smells like s**t, now we’re going to add her to the mix.”

Okay, now she had gone too far. I might have let all the bullshit she said before, plus hitting my head go, but what had I ever done to deserve this disrespect? I just met this b***h.

I didn’t know if Roman had plans to reply her and frankly, I didn’t care. Nobody has ever fought my battles for me.

So I moved closer, now head to head with her. “What’s the matter, Darling? Afraid I’ll take your place?”

She scoffed, sizing me up. “You think you can do what I do?”

“Can’t be that hard.” I continued to challenge her.

The new guy let out a loud laugh, breaking the tension. He laughed for a long time, it got annoying after a while. The rest of them didn’t seem phased, like this was another normal day at the Contini mansion.

By the time he stopped, Darling and I were no longer interested in our little squabble. I was intrigued, I wanted to know who this man was. With sandy blonde hair and blue eyes, he looked like he could belong in a boyband. I didn’t think they could be anyone as cute as Roman, but he was different. He had an air of mystery I couldn’t help but want to explore.

He moved away from the injured man, uninterested. “My work here is done.” He wasn’t asking, he was announcing. He walked past me, checking me out. When he finally stood in front of Roman, they shook hands. “I’d like to stay but I have a club to run.”

“You mean my club.” Roman corrected, his brows lifted in an arc.

“Come on, Contini. Don’t be like that.” He stared at me for a second over his shoulders. “Not in front of the new girl.”

Roman’s face hardened, “She’s not up for grabs, Gallo.”

The other guy cursed under his breath, in Italian. I smiled a little, the thought of this hot handsome guy wanting me and Roman saying I was off limits. Plus, I could get used to all these Italian men surrounding me.

If Darling wasn’t careful, I’d make a pass for Roy. Hopefully, I’ll live to tell the tale.

“You always take all the girls, Contini.”

Roman chuckled slightly, “I’m afraid you’re mistaking me for yourself.”

Once again, the pretty boy laughed and this time it was a breath of fresh air. I could listen to him all day. “I like this one though, she’s got guts.” He laughed his way out of the room and shut the door.

“That guy.” Giovanni said softly, shaking his head. Then, he turned to the guy that had been so badly beaten. “Now, what to do with you?”

It was now time to acknowledge the elephant in the room. I still had no idea why I was here or why Roman had stopped our session earlier just to come to this disgusting place. I didn’t know whether to be offended he’d rather be here or happy we didn’t go all the way.

“Mr Contini, I swear I didn’t do anything.” The man was sweating profusely, snot coming out of his nose. Somewhere, during the beatdown, he had managed to wet himself.

I tried to hide in a corner, unable to face whatever horror was awaiting this man. What had he done to deserve this?

“So you’re calling my man a liar?” Roman asked, calmly.

The man was shaking in fear. “No sir, I—”

I heard a loud whack and the man cried out in pain. Darling had gotten inpatient and hit him, who knew if she had been the one who inflicted all the rest of his bruises.

“Please, no.” The man tried again, his voice hard to understand as he began to sob. “I’m sorry, it won’t happen again.”

“So you finally admit it?” Roy asked, amused. “Wow boss, you have a way of loosening people’s tongues.”

I stared at them silently. Roman didn’t even do anything.

“So many methods of torture and you don’t talk till you’re in the presence of Roman Contini?” Darling exhaled, almost annoyed. “You just lost me money.”

Giovanni laughed. “The both of you need to stop betting on these poor souls.”

“I really thought he’d be the first to stand his ground.” Darling went on, cleaning and packing up the weapons. “I mean, we knew he was lying. Now, he’s going to die a pussy.”

Until this moment, I had joked about Darling being the spawn of satan but until now, that was all it was. But now, at this moment, I was certain of it. Her boyfriend, Roy, was number two on my list.

Because who in their right minds bet on someone’s life for sport?

The man had started to tear up the second Darling mentioned he was going to die, begging and cursing the entire time.

“Enough,” Roman yelled, he grabbed a chair from the side of the room, dragged it to the front of the man and sat. “Everyone out. Everyone, except Alexandra.”

I swear Darling gave me the worst look ever, grumbling as Roy pushed her out without complaining. If she didn’t already hate me, this would have been the turning point. A villain origin story.

I waited for everyone to file out, standing awkwardly behind Roman as he sat facing the man who was now hyperventilating in horror.

“So, you think you can walk into my bar, abuse a stripper and make a run for it?” Roman started, his tone soft and intentional. If I wasn’t standing here right now, taking in the scene in front of me, I would have never guessed this was an interrogation. “You not only put one of my girls in the hospital, therefore losing me whatever amount of money she could be making if she wasn’t stuck in a coma. You also thought it was a wise idea to not pay after you had been given a show.”

Wow.

This man was really asking for it.

“No sir, I’m sorry.” The man gulped, trembling all over. “Please, don’t kill me.”

“What do you think?” Roman turned towards me, his expression flat. I could see he was really pissed but remained composed. He gritted his teeth angrily. “How should he pay for his sins?”

I looked from him to the man, thinking up a humane way to make the situation less brutal. “Um…” I stuttered, looking elsewhere to steady my nerves. “He could pay her medical fees and whatever debt he owes.” I heard the man sigh in relief.

Roman nodded in agreement, his eyes distant, swimming in thought. “You could do that.” He said softly, absent mindedly.

“Oh! Thank you.” The man was now on his knees, his head bowed as he literally tried to kiss the ground Roman walked on. “I promise I won’t—”

“Unfortunately.” Roman interrupted, the man raised his head. “I’m not taking any more debtors today.”

And with that, he pulled out a gun from the heel of his trouser, aimed it at the man’s forehead and shot.