Chapter Six

I woke up to Emiliano staring at me from the same chair Mario sat in. I wanted to ask him if he had any success in finding her and how numbered my days were here with him. He stared at me for a moment, studying my face.

“Get ready. We’re going to a club for a meeting. You got the black bag?”

I nodded my head. He continued,

“Good.”

He looked at me for a few moments longer then headed for the door to the room. He put his hand on the door knob and paused,

“We leave in two hours.”

Emiliano closed the door behind him as he left and I jumped up to get in the shower. Thanks to another day of sunbathing, I was taking another cold shower. I saw a pink razor on the windowsill of the shower and a devilish smile came to my face. All my unwanted hair is lasered off, I don’t have to worry about razors. When she comes home, she’s going to be hairy. The thought calmed me as I washed my body and my hair and I got out.

I put on a black lace thong from the VS bag then went into the wardrobe and found a sheer black robe to put on while I blow dried and curled my hair and applied her makeup. I did a dark blue smokey eye to match the color of the dress. I thought I was making good time until I remembered I had to apply makeup to all the tattoos the dress will not cover. I took off the black robe and set it on the counter. I grabbed the tattoo makeup and I started covering the Medusa piece on my left thigh. Then I covered the vine of peonies I have on my right hip. I covered the small crown on the inside of my right wrist, then lastly, covered the rose on my left outer forearm. I left my rib pieces undisturbed since the dress will cover them.

I turned to leave the bathroom but Emiliano was standing in the doorway, wearing light beige pants and a navy blue button up shirt with the top buttons unbuttoned and the sleeves rolled to the elbows, staring at my body.

“You look different without all those tattoos,”

He said with a straight face.

“I’ll help you with your dress.”

He stepped into the bedroom and I followed him. He took the tiny blue dress off the hanger and carefully unzipped it and held it open for me to step in. I obeyed and he pulled the dress up over my ass and hips and I put my arms in the straps and pulled the dress up over my boobs and Emiliano zipped up the dress. I took a step forward and turned around slowly so Emiliano could see the dress on me in all its glory.

“You look incredible,”

He said to me in a whisper. I turned and went inside the wardrobe to find some shoes. I found a pair of crystal Louboutin stilettos and fell in love with them. In the purse closet, I found a matching crystal clutch and joined Emiliano in the bedroom. He was sitting in the chair, staring at me while he drank liquid out of a flask. I slowly walked up to him and gently put my hand on the arm he held the flask with and said,

“Enough now, you must be sober for the meeting.”

I could feel Emiliano’s grip on the flask tighten and he looked at me with fire in his eyes and for a second I was nervous that I hit a nerve and he’d come barreling toward me. I kept a straight face, and he stayed seated in the chair, loosened his grip on the flask and covered his face with his free hand and asked,

“Why aren’t you afraid of me?”

I looked at him for a second and confessed,

“You make me nervous sometimes, but I know you’re too broken right now to hurt me. Which shows weakness, Emiliano.”

Emiliano looked at me through his fingers, I could tell he was confused. I continued,

“You need to be strong for this meeting. Let-”

It took every ounce of me to say her name without choking-

“Anka go for the night. She’s safe yes?”

A variation of the question I’ve been dying to know since I saw him over my bed hours ago. Emiliano dropped his hand and slowly nodded his head. My heart felt a stab but my composure remained. I faked a smile then said,

“See? Everything is fine. You look hot, you’ve got your fake Anka, we’ll grab some espresso on our way out, and the evening will be a success.”

Emiliano looked at me and my fake smile seemed to have calmed him. He closed the cap on his flask and we both stood. This time I took Emiliano’s hand and he followed me out to the deck.

We met a dozen goons and Mario at the table and I leaned towards one of the goons and asked him for a cup of espresso and he darted off. He returned shortly with a cup and saucer. I took a sip to get a caffeine buzz and handed the rest to Emiliano. He took it without hesitation and swallowed the contents in one gulp. He set the saucer down on the table and took my hand and led me up the last flight of stairs to the top of the boat and Emiliano helped me into the helicopter.