Page 16 of Trapping His Assassin

Mateo helped Don Ricci back to his seat, after handing him a handkerchief.

Tears welled in my eyes, but I wouldn’t allow them to fall.

“What are you talking about?” I asked as concisely as I could with a swollen face.

The Don sank into his chair, and one of his soldiers handed him a glass of water. Mateo took it from him and tasted it, before handing it back.

“You had one job,puttana.”

I wasn’t surprised by his use of ‘whore’. All men in this line of work perceived me as such.

“All you had to do was poison the boy. Get in, get out. No, you missed it, and he was picked up by friends. The cleaners had nothing to clean! They couldn’t even get in sight!” He was screaming now.

My eyes widened as soon as I learned Roman was still alive. My thoughts raced and my heart pounded. I missed it. I never missed a target. I’ve never failed a mission.

Mind reeling, I tuned out Don Ricci, until I suddenly became aware again.

“... good thing he hasn’t seen you. I’ll send you in again, and this time you won’t fail.” He glared at me from his desk.

“No, I won’t, Don Ricci.” He was no longer an uncle in my mind. He was only the Don. A cruel man who didn’t deserve my services.

“Don’t take this leniency for kindness. I want you to kill that kid before the meeting happens. It’s been pushed out for a few weeks. The only reason I’m sending you back in, is because all my other men are fighting a different battle against the Russian fucks.”

I gave a curt nod, shoving any thoughts of The Academy to the back of my mind. Don Ricci was not one to be crossed, and I couldn’t risk giving him any reason to see me as weak. It was clear to me that he held all the power in this situation, and I needed to tread carefully if I wanted to maintain my freedom.

“I won’t fail,” I vowed.

“If you do, you will be forced to work in The Academy until the day you die. Not as a leader, oh no. You can be their slave. They can use you for whatever purposes they need, and you won’t have my protection any longer.” His maddened gaze pierced me.

His earnest expression revealed that he truly believed he’d been safeguarding me. But if this was his idea of protection, I shuddered to think what would happen if he wasn’t around. I did not doubt that without him, I would be at the mercy of Headmaster Mikhail, and other nefarious men like him. A dark question flitted through my mind for a moment.

Did he know?

“She would bring in a good bit of coin in the brothels,” Mateo suggested.

The Don spoke softly. “But that goes against our Ricci values,” he replied. After a brief pause, he continued. “I could always have her stay in the Stables.”

I gulped. I didn’t know what the Stables were, and I didn’t want to find out. I opened my mouth to say something, when the Don waved his hand in front of his face, cutting me off.

“Get out of my sight.” Before I could turn, his eyes pierced me. “But know this, if you fail again, I will kill you.”

The guard shoved his gun deeper into me. A signal to move along.

The gun pointed at the back of my head lowered, and I slowly backtracked out of the office. I didn’t trust this monster. I didn’t want to leave my back open like that, but what choice did I have?

When I got into the hallway, I raced away, thankful for the credit card that would allow me to book another hotel. I went to grab a taxi, but we were too far out in the countryside for them to come.

A heavy exhale escaped my lips as I glanced down at my worn sneakers, grateful that I still had my trusty pair, despite the rest of my outfit being less than ideal.

I walked for a long time, wrapping my arms around myself until a car pulled up. I took a few steps forward, when it moved and pulled in front of me. Mateo rolled down the window.

“Get in,” he urged.

I scanned the area, my heart pounding in my chest, as I searched for any signs of the Don’s henchmen. My feet ached from the long walk, and all I wanted to do was return to the safety of my new hotel room, and come up with a new plan. But that would mean walking for hours in unknown territory. Against my better judgment, I cautiously slid into the back seat of the parked car. My mind raced with fear and doubt, as I hoped that Mateo wouldn’t harm me.

We drove silently for a while before Mateo broke it.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

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