Indecent Pawn: What price is too high to pay for another person’s debt? (6 page)

“Obviously.”

“While you were handling other business word has gotten to the states that either we have a thief amongst us or Franco has gotten old and senile.”

“My mother called expressing concerns over the same thing.”

“Hence this collateral could pose to be beneficial. At least for the time being.”

“You’re right. This could work out in my favor. Make the necessary arrangements. We leave immediately.”

“On it.”

Antonio wasn’t one hundred percent sure on how to explain the company of an African American woman traveling with him. His mother will surely have some interesting questions. Her inquiries will be endless and the fact that Mrs. Myers was a prisoner for lack of better words would not sit well with her. Somehow he needed to convince the woman to go along with no complaints. Any sudden idea that she was forced and he would be in a shitload of trouble. He may be the Don but his mother was still just that. A mother. He respected her too much to be disobedient and demanding.

“Was your dinner alright?”

“Yes, thank you.”

“Something has come up and we must leave the country for a bit.”

“Oh?”

“There is some business that I must take care of back home. Since there is no way I can leave you here, you will be accompanying.”

“Where?”

“Does it matter?”

“No, I’m sorry.”

“There is one thing that I request of you.”

“What is that?”

“Look at this print out and tell me what you see.” Antonio passed her a sheet that was sent over from his home office. There were obvious errors but he wanted to see where her head was.

“There are errors on lines five through eight. As well as the ending balance doesn’t match.” In fewer minutes than it took him to count the errors she had deciphered the problem. Along with finding an error even he didn’t see.

“When we arrive, there will be inquiries of who and what you are. None of the appropriate words for our arrangement will be discussed. You will be introduced as an acquaintance or an associate of mine. Maybe a traveling secretary. Am I making myself clear?”

“Yes?”

“There seems to be confusion from you Mrs. Myers. Do use this time wisely to speak freely?”

“I am not trying to be rude by any means but which one is it? An associate, acquaintance, or secretary? If we are business associates then it would be feasible to call me Mrs. Myers but if we are personal associates then you should probably call me Allison. Another thing is that I am afraid to fly. Just wanted to let you know ahead of time. What all is required of me if I won’t be considered as a hostage?”

“Actually those are good questions. All I ask is that you do as I say. No funny business. Everything that is done, said, and pretty much thought out loud will come back to me in Italy just as it is here in the states. You will be free to roam when you are not busy with whatever it is that I may have you doing. Business associates it is. You’re attention to detail is commendable.”

“Thank you Mr. Mucciono.”

“No need to thank me yet Mrs. Myers. I work long hours and have countless events I must attend.”

“I won’t let you down sir.”

“For your sake, let’s hope not.”

The very first time Allison woke up in the massive guest room she thought for sure her nightmare had turned into a luxurious dream. Looking down on her rags she was wearing when she was abducted from her home, reality soon set in. After leaving the warehouse from the only piece of familiarity she’s had in years, the ride caused her to become light headed. Added to the fact that she hadn’t eaten much in the last few days didn’t help matters much. Before she knew what happened she was knocked out only hearing the noise from outside of the car as they moved along the streets. Faintly she felt the car stop but the nudge for her to wake up forced her to become more alert.

Sluggishly she walked into a structure with the two men that took her. She didn’t observe her surroundings at all, mainly looked at the floor and grabbed at the wall occasionally to steady herself. Allison apparently passed out before seeing too much because she didn’t remember walking into a bedroom at all. What a comfy bedroom it was though. Definitely not how she saw herself as someone’s prisoner being kept. According to Derek, Mr. Mucciono and family was nothing to play with. They were mean, heartless, and some cold-blooded killers. Now thinking back though, how could she believe anything Derek has ever said in the past? Ever since she has married him, everything for her has turned to shit.

Unlike the things he has said, not once has anyone put their hands on her. By now Derek would have surly went upside her head for something idiotic. Instead of being greeted with cruelty, one of the men that was sitting in the room offered her the bathroom to freshen up. Even went as far as to offer her some sleepwear that was in the room already, a man’s shirt and a pair of boxers that surprisingly fit her. It was as if the room was prepared for anyone staying over who would need a change of clothes. It was better than laying in the same mess she had sweated, cried, and slept in. Surly she didn’t smell too fresh and the toilet was calling her name fiercely.

After a long hot shower, she felt a million times better. The only problem was that she was starving to death. Leaving the attached bathroom she found a sandwich and some chips in a Styrofoam container sitting on the nightstand. Having no sense of time, she just devoured the food being ever so grateful for her guard’s kindness. Once the food was done, she laid back down since it was still dark out. Praying that her treatment would remain the same when she awoke. Evidently, it was going to be time to visit with Mr. Mucciono soon. That unfortunately she was not looking forward to. His voice alone intimidated her to no end.

The next time she woke up, she was greeted by that intimidating voice that she feared. ‘How long had he been there,’ she wondered. The sleep was so peaceful and the bed was beyond relaxing. If she had to be a hostage, she just prayed the arrangements afforded to her were not changed. When he demanded she look him in the eyes when talking she nearly crapped her pants. The demand was in a hushed tone but clearly he didn’t need to shout to be forceful. Oddly enough adding his facial features with his Italian accent tainted voice did something extra to her. Her mind was a mixture of fear, obedience, and confusion. Confusion because she couldn’t figure out why her body was heating up as he spoke. The shiver that ran down her spine watching his lips move and his massive body glide gracefully across the floor. That is until the fear of being shot rang out loud and clear. Cold water put out that flame almost immediately.

Now here she found herself waiting to board a private jet that was the size of a couple of town houses. When he mentioned flying out of the country, of course he would be taking his very own plane. For some odd reason her mind was stuck on the huge commercial planes that she had only flew on once. That was the biggest mistake she had ever made. That one flight is what lead her into so much turmoil since then. The insane thing about it was that she is being treated so much better as this man’s hostage than all of the years she has been Derek’s wife. Being a sitting duck was causing her nerves to get the best of her. The food she had earlier was threatening to make an appearance any minute.

“This way.” Her trusty guard announced out of the blue. “Are you alright?” He asked lowly.

“I’m afraid to fly.”

“It’s not that bad once you get used to it. Have you ever flown before?”

“Once. And the experience wasn’t all that great.”

“How so?”

“I married the man that got me into this mess.” She said with disdain completely forgetting about her sickness.

“That is unfortunate but it had to be good at one point right? You did agree to marry him. You said ‘I do’ unless it was under duress.”

“He was different up until that night. That is when the monster arrived.” She said sadly before shaking off her prior trip down memory lane. Then is when she realized she was being seated across from Mr. Mucciono. On another row she saw the other guy who she now knew as Gio. The shock that she boarded the plane without throwing up as she thought she would was all too much. She wondered how much had they heard of their conversation. From the look on Gio’s face, he heard everything and looked to be curious for more. Mr. Mucciono on the other hand seemed unfazed as he did something on his phone as if he didn’t know his surroundings had changed.

“By the way the name is Rob.”

“Thanks for distracting me Rob.”

“No problem.” He smirked walking away to take a seat near Gio.

Allison got comfortable in the plush leather seat. The interior was beautiful further taking her mind away from the fact that they would be thousands of miles in the air soon. In the seat next to her were a stack of magazines. Her guess was they were left there from the last woman on the flight. None of these men seemed like the type to read about natural hair care. Upon further scrutiny she realized either there was another African American woman that frequented this aircraft or these were specifically there for her.

‘What would it be like to be doted on by a man of Mr. Mucciono’s stature?’ Allison found herself questioning as she took sneak glances in his direction. Thankfully he never seemed to notice but she did see that Gio was once again very alert. The curious stare on his face was nerve-wrecking. She wondered had he read her mind or figured out just what she was glancing at.

“Would you like something to drink Mr. Mucciono?” The stewardess asked rather seductively in Allison’s opinion. The pink tint of her cheeks made it plain and clear that she had a Jones’ for him.

“Guests first Marci.” He reprimanded.

“Yes, of course sir.” She said with shame before turning her gaze to Allison. The stone on her face hidden behind the fake smile was a clear understanding of her being jealous. Allison would gladly trade places with the woman if that meant her freedom. Marci had nothing to fear in her taking away the attention of Mr. Mucciono. “Ma’am?”

“Water please.”

“Are you sure? This is a long flight and something stronger will help you relax.” He said smoothly as if he really cared. Her own husband could care less in what predicament she was in and here was this stranger pretending he did.

“Yes just water.”

“And for you sir.”

“Brandy and a glass of chardonnay.”

“Yes sir.”

“You know if I wanted to drug you or poison you, I would have by now.” He said mockingly. The fact that he had humor almost made her giggle but she was still too afraid to do anything around him.

“I thought we couldn’t move around until we were in the air.” Allison asked to which the men only chuckled lowly. She didn’t get the joke.

“Here you are Mr. Mucciono.” Marci came back with the quickness. “Your water.”

“Thank you.” Marci didn’t even acknowledge the kindness before going back to fawn over the scary man across from her.

“Anything else I can get for you sir. The bedroom is set up if you would like to use it.” The fact that the plane had a bedroom was impressive but the thought of how many times had he used it was repulsive. Maybe even with Marci.

“Maybe later Marci thank you. That is all for now.” He dismissed the clingy woman. Allison didn’t know where the cattiness was coming from within herself but she didn’t like it. “Why don’t you lift the shade and take a peek out?” She did as he suggested and was astonished at the view. Nothing but clouds and the darkness of the sky. Flashing lights from the plane was bouncing off of the white and grey fluffiness. It would have been beautiful if she wasn’t so afraid of heights.

“Now something stronger will surely do the trick. Wine?” Without a second thought she chugged the glass of Chardonnay down her throat. The effects of the cool liquid was overpowering for a virgin drinker. A shiver went down her spine that was followed by a relaxing warmness.

“Thank you.”

“Maybe we should let that down now.” He moved over to lower the shade at the same time as she was reaching for it. She moved away with lightning speed. Mr. Mucciono chuckled in response.

“You are more than welcome to lay down for a bit. Although it’s nothing to us for this is our natural way of transportation but you may feel uncomfortable sitting for ten hours.”

“Ten hours?”

“Yes with a brief stop in Brussels to refuel.”

“I wouldn’t want to impose on your space. I’m sure I will be fine here.”

“Honestly I’ve never used the bedroom because I am always traveling on business. I have other beds for pleasure.” He winked, Allison was taken aback by his smoothness.

“What about rest?”

“Resting is for the weak. I will rest when I’m dead. Since I don’t plan on doing that anytime soon it’s a must I keep moving.”

“I will remember that.”

“Good. Enjoy your magazines. We didn’t know what you preferred so we picked up an array of things.”

“Thank you. These are fine.” She smiled at him for the first time since they have become acquainted. A blush covered her cheeks at the thought of crushing on her captor. If nothing else solidified her being crazy, this took the cake. Staying with the likes of Derek was enough but looking at this man as anything other than a monster is unthinkable. ‘He is fine though,’ she thought before digging into the magazines.

Allison had read just about all of the magazines between nodding off and star gazing at the men on board. A sandwich platter was brought out to sate the hungry bug that was brewing in everyone on the flight. Her drinks ranged from tea, water, and juice before they had to land to refuel. Taking off again, Mr. Mucciono insisted she have another glass of wine to relax. This glass however did more than help her relax it knocked her out. That’s why she didn’t drink, it made her sleepy. She couldn’t have been out longer than a few minutes before she felt someone shaking her slightly. Opening her eyes she saw it was Mr. Mucciono trying to get her attention.

He only wanted to escort her to the sleeping quarters of the plane. While they walked she saw that everyone was out like a light or at least they appeared to be. She wanted to protest and fight the sleep that was weighing her down. As soon as she touched the soft mattress all of her anxieties melted away. She is not even sure when he left the room because the sand man had lulled her to a peaceful sleep. In all of her years she doesn’t recall sleeping on anything so dang soft. It was like sleeping on a cloud.

This is what having money afforded the rich. Comfy beds on luxury jets, traveling like the real life ‘Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.’ Many nights she could remember watching the infamous show on late night television. The most prestigious people around the world allowed cameras and a host into their lives to get a taste of the ‘good’ life. Her imagination would run away and she would end up finding her real ‘parents’ who lived just like that. Either that or adopted into that lifestyle. Anyone of her dreams would have been nice but alas she ended up being nothing more than an abused wife afraid of her own shadow.

“Good morning.” Gio greeted as she walked through the isle way of the plane.

“Morning.” Looking around the cabin it was plain to see she had slept the remainder of the way. It was now daybreak and that could only mean they would be landing soon.

“Sleep well?” He asked without looking up from his phone.

“Very well, thank you.”

“You slept on the comfy bed so I would say that’s pretty good.” Roberto added.

“Yea, I guess you could say that.”

“Take your seat. We will land in ten minutes.” The rude attendant still had a stick up her butt. Allison didn’t award the woman with a remark or sideways glance. She noticed Mr. Mucciono wasn’t in his seat when she went to sit down nor was she going to ask. It was none of her business where he was. For all she knew he could have been recently hooked up in the bathroom by Miss Rudeness. At her wayward thoughts she had to shake her head because it was way out of line. Even if she did say it to herself.

“Mr. Mucciono, the plane will be descending in a few short minutes. The pilot has issued the buckle seatbelts notice.” The once rude tone was now replaced with a docile one. ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mrs. Hyde syndrome was beyond bipolar in this tart,’ Allison thought to herself. Giggling to herself was overthrown by an outburst of deep laughter coming from Roberto. Allison frantically looked around to see what the joke was, thinking for sure she didn’t say that out loud. From the amused look on Gio, the shocked turned bland look on Mr. Mucciono’s, and the appalled look on the stewardess face she knew she did indeed.