expression more than worried. “I
believe you.”
“ Then bring Gabriel to me
now.”
“ Only in regards to what the don
has agreed upon. I truly wish to repair the chasm caused by
Jagger’s insanity, and because of this he will submit to you for
punishment.”
The priest frowned.
“ Gabriel is
willing to be in my presence?”
“ As long as you do not touch
him, other than with the whip.”
The priest’s eyes narrowed. “I
have never touched him inappropriately. I am a man of God!”
“ I never said you did, Jagger is
just skittish when it comes to you, Padre. ”
The priest breathed out slowly, as though
he was using the time to think. “Okay. Just bring him
in.”
Frano nodded. “Federico, get
Jagger.”
My eyes moved to the large doorway as
Federico exited it. Several minutes later, Federico stepped back
through it with Jagger in tow, my eyes widening at Jagger’s
clothing—or lack thereof. He was dressed in tight black leather
pants while his upper body was naked, his dark olive skin oiled up.
He looked like a rock god, and one who was higher than a kite. He
wobbled on his feet, giving the impression that he was going to
topple over. Federico put his hands out to steady him, the guard,
my fellow-agent, not looking happy.
The priest got to his feet. “What is
wrong with him?”
“ He was given a sedative,
otherwise he would be fighting us,” Frano said, gesturing to
Federico. “Bring him here.”
Federico helped Jagger
over, Jagger’s eyes going everywhere, but appearing to see
nothing.
“ Jagger,” Frano
said.
Jagger’s gaze moved to his cousin. He
blinked as if he was seeing Frano for the first time.
“ Please tell the Padre you are deeply
sorry for the anguish you have caused him,” Frano said.
Jagger’s gaze instead moved to Alberto. A
jolt ran through his body as though he had been whipped. He raised
a hand and pointed at Alberto, screaming: “Rapist!”
The men surrounding the table
all turned to Alberto, who seemed to shrink in size, the look on his face
filled with guilt. The priest banged on the table, yelling at
Jagger in Italian to be quite. Jagger snapped his mouth shut, the
man finally realizing he was in the same room as his abuser. He
grabbed onto his cousin’s jacket, yelling: “You can’t do this to
me!”
Frano broke Jagger’s hold and pushed him
into Federico. “Tie him to the wall!”
Federico and a man who dwarfed Jagger,
grabbed him, forcibly carrying him to a wall hung with ropes.
Jagger tried to fight them, but his arms and legs were
uncoordinated, no doubt from the drugs. He was pushed face-first
into the wall, then tied to it. A different guard moved in front of
the priest, holding out a whip.
Th e priest frowned. “I don’t wish to
whip him, I have already told my brother this wasn’t going to
happen.”
Frano spoke. “He brutalized you, now it’s
your turn to brutalize him. You are permitted to take ten strikes
across his back however hard you wish.”
The priest took the whip off the guard and
threw it across the table at Frano, who stepped aside. “I am not
whipping him; I am a man of God, not a torturer!”
“ An arrangement was made,” Frano
said loudly.
The priest’s upper lip twitched. “You are
a fool to believe a whipping is what we came here for.”
The Donatelli family rose to
their feet. Frano’s head shot to his guards, who stepped forward,
their hands going to their guns.
The priest smiled. “It seems we have a
standoff. Now, Frano, if you order the first shot, you will die,
not at first, but after you watch all your men get cut down. Then,
we will make an example of you, so that the other families can see
that it’s not in their best interests to cross the
Donatelli.”
“ Then , what do you propose for us to do
instead? And don’t say to hand Jagger over.”
“ I don’t think you understand,
Frano, we are not giving you a choice. Gabriel will be coming with us, and this is the
last time I will hear you call
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