I'm not sure what startles me awake but I bleat like a fucking goat when I open my eyes and Julez in the bedroom at the end of my bed, straightening his cuffs on his shirt under his suit jacket. His dark eyes flick up to mine.
"what-what are you doing in here?" I stammer as I sit up, pulling the covers to me.
"You are in my house...that...is what I am doing here." he says and my brows pinch in annoyance. Fair point, but he knew what the fuck I meant.
With his pointer and middle finger her curls them, beckoning me to move.
"Up. Out of bed." he says and then turns and walks across the room.
I squint and then quickly rub my eyes and slip out of the bed, still in my light blue sleep set.
He unzips a clothing bag hanging on the back of the door.
"Shower, then put this on." he says.
I walk over, my brows pinching.
"Where is the rest?" I ask and he turns to look at me, his own brows pinch in confusion.
"This is it." he says his hand gesturing to the unzipped bag that has a "dress" that enitrely see through and normally worn with at least a bra.
I look at him a long moment. Ignoring the dress.
"Am I going home today?" I ask.
"No." he says sharply and frown.
"but last night you said-"
He cuts me off.
"You are wasting my time and my time is expensive. And you can not afford it. Shower. Then dress" he says and turns abruptly leaving the room.
"Prick" I mutter as the door shuts.
My instinct has me looking for my cell phone, even though I know it's not here. Instinct has me wanting to call home, to call the guys. Call Lucky. But I can't.
I take a quick shower and then see a brand new packaged hair brush and comb sitting on the counter. A blow dryer and curling iron already available. I assumed they were courtesy of Alba. I don't bother blow drying my hair though, or curling it. Who was I going to impress?
-
"Jesus" I whisper to myself as I put the dress on. It's a long , shoulderless, chiffon dress. The collar of the dress buttons behind my neck, and leaves the rest of my back bare. The fabric is loose, and only cinched at the waist. My breasts were on full display. At least the lower part of the dress had more than the single layer of chiffon the top had, but still in the right light, im sure the rest was visible too.
Deciding NOT to piss the bastard cartel man off, I don't keep him waiting, and I don't argue about the inappropriateness of the dress.
I walk out, and take steps in my bare feet through the empty hall. Two armed men at each end of the hall and their eyes on me.
Again their faces don't show me any signs of emotion, but their eyes do follow me. I jump when they turn with the weapons, and follow me as I walk.
"Julez?" I call out, unsure of where he is.
"Julez?" I call again and then look to the men behind me.
"Um. where is he?" I ask.
The one juts his chin towards the hall Alba led me down.
I walk to the stairs and look at them pointing to the stairs in question. They nod.
I lift the dress slightly as I walk down the stairs, and am again met with four armed men.
"um, is he...i think he's waiting for me...I'm not sure." I say to them.
One of them steps aside and I push on the door as I open it and step inside.
He sits where he sat the night before, at the head of the table, except this time it's only him and four other men, who stand in the room armed.
He lifts his head up as the door clicks shut behind me. His eyes travel slowly, from my toes to my head.
He says something in Spanish and the guards all look to him. He says the same thing again, except louder, and meaner. All of the men nod and walk to me making me wince, thinking they're coming for me, when they walk around me and out the door.
I jump slightly when the door shut a bit too loud behind me.
He lifts his hand, with one finger beckons me to come to him.
I take a deep breath and move my feet as I walk over and stand near him to the side of where he sits.
"Closer." he says, waving me with his hand to come closer to him.
I swallow and step closer, he pushes his chair back slightly as he pushes back a folder on the table.
"The dress suits you." he says as he motions for me to stand in front of him, and I move my ass against the table as I stand there, hands at my side.
He looks me up and down. One of his hands slides off the arm of his chair as he sits up and bring it to the side of my thigh, a slight brush of his fingers along the fabric and my thigh makes my throat close up while I try to swallow down my nerves.
"You said I could go home." I say, his finger stops it's gentle carress and then his hand drops and he leans back in his chair.
"Because you remind me of her." he says.
My brows pinch. "Who?" I ask.
He ignores the question and points to the folder behind me instead.
"Take a look." he says.
I turn slowly, and then open the plain folder and gasp as I cringe at the photo laying ontop.
A naked, bloody woman, her body on one side of the photo, her head...no longer attatched, and in the corner of the photo. I slam the folder shut.
"What the fuck!?" I say angrily and turn to him.
"Why the fuck would you show me that?!" I say, holding my hand to my stomach.
"A few reasons." he says.
"That....is Marina." he says.
The name doesnt ring any bells, does he think I know her?
"She was my wife." he says and I feel a pull inside, a punch in my gut. This man had to see his wife beheaded? He kept the picture of it?
"Why are you showing me that?" I still ask, because his response doesn't answer my question.
"Because. A six months ago, ...when Carmine...your father thought he could get his own mules to lift my shipment to my own mules....he succeeded." Julez says, his eyes on me, then lowering them, his gaze on my breasts. He tears his eyes from them a second later and up to me.
"Your fathers men successfully lifted my product , and killed a dozen of my men." he says and I swallow hard. I didn't want to know the details of the things my father put in motion. I knew none of them were good, but I didn't want to hear them.
"While I dispatched a majority of my men to where the lift occurred. Myself included. I'd left my home...my wife...unsecured. There...wasn't enough men." he says and he stops a moment.
Then his gaze comes back to me.
"The men who had lifted from us...had additional men in wait...near my home....to wait...and then come into my home" he says his jaw clenching. "To send me a message."
"Your father...had my wife murdered." he says.
I have tears in my eyes.
"We just found out who the hit was from a few months ago. We planned to send him the same message. With your mother." he says
"But..." he says as I shake my head, ready to plead with him. I wasnt very fond of my mother most days, but I didn't want her dead.
"but.." he says again.
"You look like her." he says.
"Like who?" I ask.
"Marina." he says.
I just blink.
"You stay here. Your mother lives." he says.
"W-...what?" I ask and shake my head.
"I cant stay here, I have......I can't." I say.
He shrugs. "Then you have your father send me your mother so I can cut off her head." he says.
My brows furrow and I shake my head.
"Please!" I say, dropping to the floor, begging.
"Please, just let me go, don't hurt her, she didnt do anything" I say begging for myself and my mother.
"You know who else did nothing?...Marina!" he growls and then his hand grabs my jaw and he bends over his face in mine.
"She did NOTHING!!!" he yells in my face and I cry as he shoves my face away, then stands the chair skidding back as he walks across the room and pours himself a drink.
I sit on the floor, silently crying, and put my head in my hands. I hated my father, I hated my mother. I hated them from bringing me into this world, knowing that this would be my life.
"You are not weak!" he yells.
"GET UP!" he yells and throws his glass at the wall.
It shatters making me yelp and lift my hands over my head as I duck from the spray of glass shards and only cry harder.
A second later, I'm pulled from the floor by my arm and then his other hand is grabbing my face , making me look at him.
"You are not weak" he growls.
I lift my wet eye lashes and tremble.
"You are not weak." he says again, with less of a threatening tone, and then steps us back, making my feet move back toward the table, my ass hits the edge and his other hand on my arm, goes to my face and he's holding both sides of my face, his eyes on me as I try not to cry.
"Are you weak?" he asks, his voice low.
I blink, letting my last tear fall, and slightly shake my head. Even though I felt weak, far, far from the girl I thought I was before this week.
"No...you are not." he says. "You are strong Marina" he says, his eyes lost on my face and my brows scrunch.
"I'm not M-"
I'm silenced by his lips against my parted mouth. I squeak and try to push him off but his body moves in closer, wedging me against the table and I try to turn my head but he only grabs my face more fimrly, his tongue out, licking at my mouth as he groans.
"Julez-I'm not her!" I cry out, trying to stop him.
"BE HER" he growls at me.
"I-i cant" I whine and keep trying to push at him.
"Please-stop" I try to beg. But his mouth crushes mine.
"Julez! Pl-" he shuts me up again and keeps forcing my mouth, his tongue pushing and his hands pulling out mouths tighter, a clash of tongues and teeth as he pretends I'm his dead wife.
"mi amor, te he extrañado" he says and all I know is "my love" ...I don't know what else he says, but I can feel it. I can feel his sadness, his grief and pain, and he kisses me, except it's not me...he's pretending I'm her. He kisses me with fire and passion, and I know it's not meant for me, but it's still my mouth he's kissing. It's still my hips he has his hands on, my ass he's now grabbing and picking me up and setting me on his table. My dress he picked out, that he is pushing up my legs and it's my mouth, I notice that has given in to the power of his kiss. I knew his mouth wasn't for me, that his hands slipping between my thighs weren't meant for me either as he parted my legs and starts to undo his pants.
"I cant" I say shaking my head and he ignores me, kissing me.
"I cant do that" I tell him as he groans in Spanish , whispering things to me and he keeps going, taking his cock out and nodding as he speaks to me in words I cant understand.
"No" I shake my head. "Don't" I say and reach down, pushing at his hips.
"I'm a virgin!" I yell and he pauses, his breathing heavy and he looks at me.
I just stare at him, shaking, my hands trembling as I pull them back from him, no longer pushing him, thinking I've stopped him. But he just looks at me, eyes narrowed slightly, nostrils flared.
"It will be your payment to me,.... for not killing you instead of your mother."