Shouts came from downstairs, my brother’s voice amongst them. I stopped at the top of the staircase, looking down at the scene before me, where three men were trying to restrain a disheveled looking Alberto, their guns useless against him, since he knew they wouldn’t shoot.
“Alberto!” I yelled.
He stopped struggling and looked up at me, his expression telling me he knew I’d found Jagger. I descended the staircase, my brother’s eyes not leaving me, the other men surrounding him forgotten, because they couldn’t hurt him like I could.
“You were meant to leave,” I said, keeping my voice calm, even though I was raging inside, both anger and love battling each other, neither wanting to relent.
He blinked, looking surprised, probably not understanding why I wasn’t hitting him or yelling at the top of my lungs. “I didn’t think you would return,” he finally said.
“And why is that?”
“I’d phoned ahead, pleading with the Donatelli not to hurt you.”
“You’re a liar, because no one was expecting me, I took them by surprise.”
He went silent for a moment, then shook his head. “Don’t kill me, Frano, I’m your brother—sangue.”
“Jagger is blood too, and I told you what would happen if you touched him again. And you didn’t just touch him, you brutalized him.”
“He refused my love.”
“How can you say you love him after what I found up there? The state he was in...” I breathed out, my voice almost breaking, but I reined it in, because I had to be strong to get through tonight—and the coming days.
“I wouldn’t have hurt him if he’d just let me love him,” Alberto said.
“He will never do that. Instead, you should’ve left when you had the chance.”
“I couldn’t, I’d finally got him. And it would be cruel to take that from me.”
“You speak of cruelty?!” I yelled, finally losing it. “What you did to Jagger is beyond cruelty!”
“I know, and I’m sorry, but he still needs to learn that he can’t keep fighting me, as his slaves have learned not to fight him.”
“He is NOT a slave! He is your cousin!”
“No. He is my lover.”
I let out a ragged breath, my brother beyond reasoning with his mind stuck on one thing—or person, his lust to keep Jagger knowing no limits.
“What would you do if you were in my shoes?” I finally said. “How would you act as the don after finding your cousin tied to a bed, raped, and beaten?” I asked, wondering whether I could actually kill Alberto, my closest living relative, someone who I loved more than myself. But I couldn’t ignore what he’d done, the irreversible damage he’d caused, and if he stayed alive, Jagger would continue to suffer—more than he was now.
Alberto frowned. “If I were you, I’d allow me to have him.”
“So, you would choose Jagger over walking out alive?”
“You cannot kill me, we are brothers. Instead, if I were you, I’d accept my relationship with Jagger and allow me to live with him in peace.”
“That doesn’t answer my question. I want to know if you will walk out of here now and never come back in exchange for me not killing you.”
He nodded.
“Then give me a hug goodbye, brother,” I said, knowing he was lying, but doing the only thing I could.
Alberto held his arms out wide. I walked into his hug, wrapping my arms around the big man, who I loved with all my soul. He hugged me back.
“I love you, brother,” I said, tears breaking free. I couldn’t hold it back anymore, because I knew Alberto was going somewhere I couldn’t follow. I dropped my right arm, but he continued to hug me, which I didn’t want to end.
“I love you too,” he said.
I squeezed my eyes shut, and lowered my face to his shoulder, doing the unthinkable, something I never thought I could do. “I’m sorry,” I said.
“Why are you—” He let out a gasp, his body stiffening against me.
I wrapped my left arm tighter around him, not wanting to ever let him go, because I knew when I did our life together was over.
“Brother,” he groaned. “No.”
I turned my head and kissed his cheek. “I will always love you.”
His body sagged, his weight becoming too heavy for me to hold onto. I yelled at the men behind Alberto to take him. His arms dropped from me, the men pulling him away. The knife came free from his stomach, my right hand still gripping onto it tightly, my knuckles white from the pressure. Alberto’s blood dripped off its blade and onto the floor, discoloring the rugs at our feet. I opened my hand, allowing the knife to fall, his blood smearing my hand, my tears cutting a path down my face. I didn’t care that I was crying in front of the men, only that I had killed my brother.
Alberto looked down at his stomach, his hands going to his wound, then he looked back at me, his gaze disbelieving. Still staring at me, he dropped to his knees, his eyes tearing me apart, the betrayal I saw in them unforgivable. I was going to Hell, no, I was already there.
He bent his head, a sob coming from deep within him, then he collapsed onto the floor. I dropped down in front of him, and blanketed his body with my own. I let out a wail, the pain coming from deep inside of me, the sound of my soul shattering.
I was my father now
A murderer of famiglia
Which I would pay for
My nightmare only just beginning
Episode 6 Coming Soon
About the Author
Marita A. Hansen is from New Zealand. She loves writing, creating art, watching and participating in football, and running. She ran her first marathon in 2012 and is now planning on completing many more. For more information on Marita check out these links:
Author Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Marita-A-Hansen/113130742120676
My Masters’ Nightmare Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/My-Masters-Nightmare/167338690126962
Blog Site:
http://maritaahansen.blogspot.co.nz/
Goodreads’ Author Page:
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5129673.Marita_A_Hansen
Artslant Page:
http://www.artslant.com/global/artists/show/74433-marita-hansen
Twitter Name: @MaritaAHansen
Other books by Marita A. Hansen
Behind the Hood
Graffiti Heaven
Behind the Tears
Behind the Lens
Don’t Peek (The Diaries of a Teenage Girl)
My Masters’ Nightmare Season 1, Episode 1 “Taken”
My Masters’ Nightmare Season 1, Episode 2 “Discovered”
My Masters’ Nightmare Season 1, Episode 3 “Betrayed”
My Masters’ Nightmare Season 1, Episode 4 “Poisoned”
My Masters' Nightmare Season 1, Episode 5 Escape Page 7
