My eyes slowly opens and I wince as I feel sharp pains all over my body. I look down at my body and could see that I'm in a white robe. Who changed my clothes? I try to sit up on the bed before slowly taking a look at where I am. It's a familiar room and one doesn't need to remind me of the owner. Why am I here again? I recall what happened and how Mike took me in his arms. I guess the consigliere asked him to bring me here. I try to move but my body just isn't cooperating. I do feel much better than earlier though. Did I get treated? Or maybe I have been resting on the bed for so long? Just then, I hear footsteps approaching. I wrap my arms around my body and look down. "Relax, it's just me." I don't need a reminder of who that deep voice belongs to. It's him, the consigliere. Definitely the more reason why I can't be relaxed. My breath seizes as l feel him very close to me. He sits on the bed and I didn't dare look up at him. I feel his hands touch my face and he lifts my chin up to look at him. As much as I hate to say it, he's still quite good looking. His smooth dark skin proves he indeed grew up in wealth. His jet black hair looks well lowly cut and it has perfect waves and the color of his eyes is like freshly melted chocolate. He has bristly eyebrows, smooth spade shaped beard and a aquiline nose with defined cheekbone. It pisses me off that someone like him has such qualities, does he even deserve them? "You can stare longer darling." I frown and push his hands away from my face before looking away. I hear him sigh, "Do you still feel pain?" "And why do you care?" "You have to be healthy to be useful right?" He chuckles before grabbing my face again. He stares at my face and I see his jaw tightens as a deep frown appears on his face. "Those mother f**kers." He curses and lets go of my face before reaches out to the table and collects his phone. "Have you done as I asked?" He says to the receiver as he places the phone on his ear. "Good." He hangs up and drops the phone back on the table. He pulls out a drawer and takes a small bottle alongside a cotton wool. I stare at him in puzzle, "What do you want to do?" He scoffs, "You get bold when you talk to me but shake like a wet hen in front of a slut? That's not attractive, Kemi." He pours a small quantity on the cotton wool and reaches for my face. What is he? A two faced man? Why does he suddenly want to treat my wound? I flinch when he uses the cotton wool to touch the cut on my face. "I can do it myself." I frown as I struggle to withdraw my face but he presses me down by the shoulder. "Sit still Kemi before my patience runs out. I scoff, "As if you weren't the one who sent me there." He nods, "Yes I did but I didn't ask them to beat you up like this. "What's in the bottle?" I as him. He sighs, "It's an ointment Kemi, it will heal the cut on your face so please shut the f**k up and let me do it." I didn't say anything else and just remains calm as he apply the ointment on my face before putting plaster on it. "You told me you weren't going to auction me off." "Yes, and I'm not." I turn to him in confusion, "How does that make sense? I'm already..." He cuts me off by placing a finger on my lips. "Relax darling" He stands up from the bed and takes out a brown cigar. "You're here to pay for your father's debt right?" I gulp and nod my head. You don't have to remind me. "Good. There would be a party tonight and all of you will be there to serve and perform. In this party, the underboss is going to be there to watch. Now, do you know what you're going to do for me?" Oh God. He's not going to ask me to do something stupid right? I shake my head, "What is it?" "You will have to get his attention, Kemi." Wait, who? "Whose attention?" He lights the brown cigar and place it in his mouth. "The underboss. You will have to make him notice you." My eyes grow wide, "How.. How am I going to do that?" He smiles, "Of course it's not a piece of cake. It might work and it might also fail, it all depends on you." He points at me as he perms out smoke from his mouth. How on earth am I going to make the underboss of a Mafia family notice me? He's just sending me to a death sentence. "And if I fail?" He shrugs, "If you fail, you simply get auctioned or worse." I bit my bottom lips as I hear him say that. "But if it works, you will be free from being auctioned." He adds and I have a sigh. "I know very well that the purpose of this isn't to free me from being auctioned. So what exactly is it?" He chuckles, "This is why I like you, always quick to catch on." He inhales the cigar before continuing, "I want you to become a spy for me." A what now? Does he think I'm a spy agent? "You...You want me to spy on the underboss?" I ask him. He nods as he smokes. "And why do you think I will succeed? He will definitely catch on. By the way, how do you expect me to attract him? I don't even know anything about him." He laughs, "Relax darling. The underboss is a very difficult person. You can't seduce him like the way girls normally seduces men though." Huh? What is he? A statue? "Okay? Then what do I do?" "That's your assignment darling. You will have to look for a way to get his attention." I shake my head, "I..I can't do do it" He sighs, "You're the only one who can do this darling; no one else can. If you succeed in getting his attention, you will then have to make sure he takes you in." I furrow my brows, "Take me in? How?" "You have to be able to work for him." "And what if he doesn't trust me enough to let me work for him?" "Then you will have to earn his trust darling but well, if you can't do any of these, you will only end up losing your life." Losing my life? See how easily he says it. I sigh and fidget with my fingers, "Why did you say I'm the only one who can do this? There are other girls who are very good at seducing men. I couldn't even twerk today." He stares at me for a while and makes a debelieving expression before bursting into a loud laughter. Of course he'd laugh. "You couldn't what? That was why you were dealt with? I thought you were being stubborm like always and that was why?" "Well that too but it started with the twerking thing." He laughs again, "You are like an 18 year old girl Kemi. You know absolutely nothing." Last I remember, if I didn't have a choice but to come here with you, I wouldn't need to learn how to twerk. "Won't you at least tell me something about this underboss?" He grins and sits close to me on the bed, "Relax darling; don't be nervous. All you have to do is do you." Do me? That would definitely get me killed. "The underboss is actually a hard nut to crack but you will be good. If you can get him to trust you, you will be able to know the things he does and fill me in." I bit my bottom lips, "If...If I'm able to do that, will you let me go?" The smile on his face disappears as it is replaced with a deep frown. I close my eyes wishing I didn't ask. "Well.If you succeed, I might let you go see your family." My eyes grow wide and I look at him in shock. "Se... Seriously?" He nods, "Yes but you can't return for good. You're already part of the mafia Kemi, I can't let you go." I sigh and nod. It's fine, even if 1 can't stay with them forever, getting a chance to go and see them is more than enough for me. "You won't go back on your promise right?" l ask remembering he had made a promise and broken it before. "I don't go back on my words darling, never." Liar. He smiles, "I never had plans on auctioning you off Kemi. Registering you for the auction is part of the plan you know." He moves his lips close to my ear. "Let me give you a tip, dont start dancing or twerking to get his attention, just do you." I move my ear away, "You talk like you know me well. You keep saying I should do me." He grins and lifts my chin, "I know you more than you think, darling." Well that does that sound creepy. "In this place, I'm the only one you can trust Kemi. Believe it or not but it's the truth." I stare at him without saying a word. If I am to trust someone, it would definitely not be him. "How do l.. How do I communicate with you then?" "Don't worry about that." He leans close to my neck. "While you do your job well as a spy, don't forget, you're still mine." I gulp shifting uncomfortably. "Does your back still hurt?" He asks moving away from me a little. I nod. He opens the drawer again and brings out a small white bottle. Did he just get these or have they always been there? "Take off your robe." "H..Huh? I should take off my robe?" He sighs and bit his lips, "I want to apply this..." He shows the bottle to me. "On your back. It's an ointment." Everything is an ointment. I gulp nervously, "1...I can do it myself, don't worry." He frowns, "Take off your robe Kemi, who do you think changed your clothes?" Wait, what? He changed my clothes himself? Does this man even have any decency? I exhale and turn around with my back to him, and then slowly loosen the robe before sliding it down my shoulders stopping at my waist. I wrap my hands around my body and |look at the bed. I sit waiting for him to start applying it. As soon as he rubs the ointment on my back, I wince in pain shutting my eyes. "It will heal soon, trust me." He says as he keeps applying it. I nod still shutting my eyes tightly clenching my fist. "You can express your feelings if it hurts, you know. Stop trying to bear it" I bit my lips hard ignoring what he said as I keep trying my best not to cry from the pain. Why is he sounding like he is nice? And then, I didn't feel him applying the ointment again. Is he done? As I move to turn my face around, I freeze when I feel his lips come in contact with my skin. "Stop.." I start to say but pause as he brings his face close to my ear biting my earlobes. "Trust me Kemi; I dont want to hurt you. Just be still." I swallow hard and my breathing becomes heavy. I feel uncomfortable and...And scared. I have no idea what this man will do any second. I hear him heave a sigh as he stops. He turns me around to face him and I look down covering my chest with my hands. He reaches for my hands and gently takes them off my chest. "Why do you always cover up your beautiful body?" He says in a calm voice and leans close to my lips. I try every my best to remain calm and not struggle but I just can't. I feel so insecure and uncomfortable just having him this close to me. Suddenly, his lips mashes against mine, as if trying to flatten and destroy my mouth. My eyes widen at the sudden kiss andI press my hands against his chest trying to push him off but he wouldn't bulge. I keep trying to push him but he only deeperns the kiss pulling closer into his arms. I could only do one thing and that's to bite his lips, hard. He groans loudly in pain as he lets me go his hands touching his lip which is now bleeding. He stands up from the bed staring at me in surprise. Great, I'm dead. I stare at him breathing heavily fearing what's about to happen. His eyes burns from fury and as he raises his hand, I shut my eyes waiting for the impact but it didn't come. I slowly open my eyes and see him lighting up a brown cigar in his mouth. His angry eyes meet mine and I quickly turn away too scared to look at him. He leans closer to me and forcefully lifts up my chin so I'm facing him. "Don't push me Kemi." He says clenching his teeth before letting go of my chin. "Don't forget the plan. Someone will come and dress you up later for the party, stay put and don't do anything stupid." He glares at me before leaving the room banging the door behind him. I let out a long breath I didn't even know I was holding. I swear I wouldn't survive if he had slapped me. I lie back on the bed and shut my eyes. After a while, someone walks into the room. "Hello Kemi, how are you feeling?" I sit up to see who it is. "It's me, Anna." Oh, the girl who took me to the place where I almost died. I nod, "Hello Anna." She smiles, "You must have upset the consigliere again." I nod pursing my lips. "I guess that's my specialty." She chuckles, "I like you." "Em... Thanks." "The consigliere has never intervened in such a way before. Whatever way the girls are treated, the consigliere or any of the bosses, never intervenes." "So they don't even care if they die?" She shakes her head, "The girls are like their properties until the auction. So if any of them dies, the people in charged are definitely questioned." I nod, "So the only reason they care, is because they will lose money if the girls dies." Anna sighs, "Sadly yes." "The people here...They are mean...Very mean..." I say in choking voice. Tears flows down my cheeks as I recall how Diana took her own life. I might not know her, but seeing her taking her life as her only choice, really broke me. Anna pats my shoulder, "Most times, their coldness might be due to circumstances." I sniffle, "There's no excuse for being heartless. Hurting innocent people, there's no excuse for that. What about you? Do you hurt people too?" I ask her. She gives me a sad smile and I nod understanding her answer. "I might have hurt a few but only when it's necessary. I guess that's also not an excuse." She smiles at me. I didn't say anything but only sigh. "Wait here; let me go bring all the things you need." "Can...Can I just come with you?" She stares at me before looking down at my legs. "Mike said you hurt your foot, can you walk?" I nod, "Yes I can." "But the consigliere..." I cut her off, "He didnt say we must do it in his room, did he?" She pauses for while as if thinking, "That's true but no." She stands up. I pout and look down at my fingers. She chuckles, "You will get us both in trouble; so just wait here. I'l be right back." I nod, "Okay" She smiles at me before leaving the room. I lie back on the bed and smile slightly. I like her, she's not bad. Just then, I hear a familiar voice from outside the room and I sit up wondering who it is. And then it clicked, it's him. The door opens and George walks in. I don't know why but I start smiling like I have been waiting to see him. He smiles back and walk over to the bed. "How are you feeling?" How did he know? Just how many people know what happened? I nod, "Good. How did you know?" "I have my ways. Do you still feel hurt?" shake my head, "Only a little." I stare at him and I see his expression changes but I can't seem to read it before he covers it up with a smile. "You still look pretty though." I smile pursing my lips. He moves his hands close to my face and could tell he wants to touch the cut on my face. I didn't feel the urge to move or run away. I simply remain sitting as if waiting for him to touch my face. He pauses half way and withdraws his hands dipping it into his pockets. Why did he hesitate? I sigh and smile. "George?" He raises his brows, "Hmm?" "Can I trust you?" He stares at me, his face giving no emotions and then, "No." I smile at his answer and chuckle, "I expected that" He chuckles, "I don't tell lies" Xoxo