The Don's Puppet

CHAPTER 10. BLURRED LINES.

The ride from the estate to the hotel was nerve-wrecking. How did Roman expect me to carry out his plans?

Me?

A twenty-three years old waitress, whose only criminal record was shoplifting a bottle of gin when I was seventeen. I didn’t even want it, I just wanted to prove to the girls at school that I was cool. Granted, I got arrested, but I was only at the station for forty-five minutes tops.

How was I going to back out of this one?

My chest was making weird noises, I felt sick to my stomach. We left the mansion with three black rolls Royce and a couple more armed men in suits, Roman and I were currently occupying one of the cars, being driven by Giovanni.

I looked out the window, contemplating how badly injured I’d be if I jumped out of the car while it was still in motion. My palms were sweating, my feet tapping loudly. The spit in my mouth refused to go down my throat, it felt like the interior of the car was closing in on me.

Roman placed his hand on my thigh to stop my leg from moving, I hadn’t noticed he had been staring at me. He reached into the pocket of his suit jacket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. “All you have to do is put this in whatever he’s drinking and we’ll take care of the rest.”

“I still don’t understand why Darling can’t do this.”

He handed me the substance and I buried it into my bra. “I want you to do it.”

“Because I’m dispensable?” I asked angrily. “It wouldn’t matter if anything went wrong and I got caught in the cross fire.”

Roman turned away from me, his lips in a thin line. “The only person allowed to hurt you is me.”

His response made me even angrier, was this all a game to him? “And does this man know that?”

The car came to a halt before he could say anything. However, I did not think he had any intentions to answer me. My thoughts traveled to my sister and what would happen to her if anything were to go wrong.

The side of my door opened and Darling’s head popped in.

“Tell the receptionist you were sent by the agency for Alberto,” she said, glaring at me. “You have fifteen minutes.”

I took in a breath and shifted to alight from the vehicle, when I felt a hand on mine. I turned back around.

“Don’t try anything stupid.” Roman warned, like this was the best advice at a time like this.

“What? No words of encouragement?” I retorted back, pushing Darling out of my way and sashaying out of the car and into the entrance of the building.

Getting past the front desk was easy, the lady asked no questions. She looked bored and maybe too underpaid to bother interrogating me, she also already had an idea of what the agency was all about. I made a mental note to rain havoc on Roman when I got back, for making me impersonate a p********e.

I had no trouble finding the room number she had given me, the hard part was convincing myself to knock on the door and go ahead with this ridiculous plan.

Finally, I summed up courage and pounded on the door, it flung open almost instantly and I found myself standing face to face with a big bald man.

“The agency….The agency sent me.” I stuttered, putting on my best seductive look.

His eyes flickered down both ends of the hallway, as if he was paranoid about something, before settling on me again. He moved aside, so I could go in and shut the door.

The room was not the most luxurious, but it was still stylish. It had a king-sized bed, a big mirror in front of the dressing table and an armchair. The TV was turned on to a sports channel, but the volume was muted.

“What do they call you?” He asked, his voice deep and scary.

“Al…Lilac.” I sighed at how nervous I was acting. If I didn’t get it together soon, this man was going to see right through my little charade.

He nodded, walking over to the armchair and making himself comfortable. He signaled for me to come forward. “Let’s see what you have to offer.”

I looked around, looking for anything I could turn into a weapon if I needed to. I walked towards him. “What would you like me to do?”

“I already told the agency what I want.” He said, his face straight, his eyes burning a hole in my chest. “I assume they sent someone suitable for the role.”

I nodded immediately. This guy was terrifying. “They sure did. But first, we should get a drink.” I moved over to the side table by the bed, grabbing the landline to order room service.

“No.” He roared. “I perform better without alcohol.”

My heart caught in my throat. If there was not going to be any drink, how was I supposed to drug him?

I turned around and smiled. “I need a drink, silly.”

Darling had said I only had fifteen minutes. Maybe if I stalled, I could give them time to barge in and stop whatever this was.

“Do you think I’m stupid?” The guy I can only assume is Alberto, asked, getting up from the chair. “The agency would never send anyone who drinks to me, I made my recommendations very f*****g specific. So now, my only question is, who the f**k do you work for?” He pulled out a gun from behind his shirt and started walking towards me, slowly.

“I told you.” I tried to keep the smile on my face as I moved backwards, but I was boxed in. Why did I move away from the door? “The agency sent me. They must have forgotten what you asked for or maybe no one fit the description.”

He laughed at my response. At least, even in a situation as hectic as this, it was nice to know he could still have a little humor. “Get on the bed.”

“What?”

“What are you, deaf?” He rushed over to me and threw me on the bed. The gun pointed at me as he began to undo the buttons of his pants. “That Contini brat sent you, didn’t he?”

“I don’t know who that is.” I sobbed out, denying. Struggling to get away from him and the pistol.

“Lying bitch.” He pounced on me, fighting to raise my gown above my hip. “This is NYC, Everybody knows who that fucker is.”

“No. Please.”

He grabbed my throat and squeezed. I coughed, feeling the light grow dimmer. He succeeded in getting my gown up, his weight pressing down on mine as I struggled for air.

“I’m going to f**k the s**t out of you. When I’m done, you can tell your boss we’re coming for him and everything he holds dear.”

I felt blood rush to my head, my hands searching for anything I could use to get free. The air was getting thinner, I was fighting for my life. By the time he was done with me, I wouldn’t be able to pass on his message.

I’d be dead.

Then, suddenly, I felt my body become lighter, the pressure holding me down had been lifted. There was noise around me. I couldn’t tell if these were the early stages of death or if I was just in a really bad dream.

The light above me shone brighter than ever, the face of a man appeared over me. An Angel, I thought. It felt like I was floating, the voices were fading.

The angel spoke. “I’m here, little lilac. You’re safe.”