My Masters' Nightmare Season 1, Episode 7 Connections by Marita A. Hansen Page B

promises, and I won’t
hurt you. Ever.”
    He stared at me for a moment, then let go
of the chair, allowing me to take it.
    I put the chair down and placed an arm
around his waist, wanting to reassure him. “Let’s go back to your
room,” I said, relieved he didn’t pull away from me.
    We moved forward, Jagger keeping his eyes
on the soldier. The soldier allowed us to pass without trouble,
shadowing us as we headed for the staircase. Wanting a barrier
between the two men, I shifted Jagger in front of me. At the top of
the staircase, Jagger stopped abruptly, making me bang into him. He
stepped to the side, keeping his back to the wall, his gaze
alternating between two more soldiers, the place filled with the
intimidating men. There was one by the entrance and another one
blocking our way to the main staircase.
    I grabbed Jagger’s arm, afraid he was
going to panic. “Calm down, Jagger, they’re not going to hurt
you.”
    His disbelieving gaze shot to
the door
that led to west wing staircase. A man emerged from it, though this
one was obviously not a soldier. “What’s happening?” the man asked.
He had spiky black hair with red tips and was only wearing a towel,
and a small one at that. The rest of his skin was bare, except for
some nipples rings and the scary tattoos covering his muscular
arms, torso, and thighs. He wasn’t just sporting a six-pack; he had
a frigging eight-pack. He turned to one of the guards, giving me a
partial view of his back, and good Lord, there were even more
tattoos, the colorful images glinting with body piercings. Although
I hadn’t seen him before, I knew he must be the new slave trainer
the Don had mentioned: Alessandro Santini, which meant he could
help Jagger, because the soldier behind us wasn’t doing his job.
Maybe he had tricked me, knowing there would be other soldiers up
here ready to grab poor Jagger.
    “ Please tell them to back away from Jagger,”
I said to Alessandro. “I will help him to his room, the guards just
need to be aware they can’t come near him,” I added, knowing
Jagger’s fear of burly men stemmed from Alberto. After Alberto’s
attack on Jagger, the soldiers had tried to move Jagger to his
room, but he’d lost it, screaming at them like a terrified child.
He’d only calmed down after Frano had offered to help him instead.
Jagger had been too hurt to get there on his own, what Alberto had
done to him beyond cruel. Although the bruises had started to fade
on his body, the damage to his soul was irreversible.
    Alessandro’s gaze moved between the
soldiers. “Why are you attacking the Don’s cousin?” he asked. His
voice was low, almost threatening. If anything he looked scarier
than the Landi soldiers, those tattoos of his depicting the fiery
depths of Hell.
    The soldier who’d brought us
upstairs stepped forward. “He attacked the Don, signor. ”
    “ It was a misunderstanding,” I
spoke up as Alessandro turned his intense gaze on
Jagger.
    “ It doesn’t matter; if he
attacked the Don he must be restrained,” Alessandro said. “Take
care of it.”
    The closest soldier moved towards Jagger.
Pulling free from me, Jagger dodged him and took off, heading
through the opening that led onto the lounge and dining-room, my
lover moving too fast for the soldier to grab him. Two of the
soldiers took off after him. Jagger disappeared through the kitchen
doors. I went to follow, worried that the men would hurt him. The
scarred soldier who’d brought us up grabbed me, yanking me back. I
screamed and hit out at him.
    Alessandro moved to my side, taking a hold
of my other arm. “Return to your post; I’ll deal with her,” he
said, leveling the soldier with a heated stare. He was as tall as
the Landi man, but much more muscular.
    The soldier released me and headed out the
front door, closing it behind him.
    I attempted to pull free from
Alessandro, but he tightened his grip. “Ouch!” I yelped. “Let go of
me!”
    He looked both ways, then pulled me