Decoy

I shot up and woke up in an unfamiliar room. My sudden movement sent a jolt of pounding pain to my head. As I held my head, I quickly took in my surroundings. I was sitting on a bed, the wall to my right had two doors, the wall in front of me had another door and a dresser and the wall to my left had two small circle windows. I deduced I was on a boat by the shape of the windows and now apparent slight rocking of the room. I thought the swaying was due to my migraine.

A vaguely familiar man sat in a chair under the shadows of the windows, nearly startling me once I noticed him. He was older, had tanned skin, a black mustache and black slicked back hair. He had on light khaki pants and a blue button up shirt with a striped pattern that he rolled up his arms. He leaned forward,

“You are safe,”

He said in a thick Italian accent. I wasn’t sure I should believe him.

“Hera, the family needs you now…”

I stiffened and stared at him.

“Don Emiliano Vicario of Sicilia has had his new fiancée abducted. You will be her decoy until she returns. Not a single soul here, other than myself, knows who you are and, to ensure your safety, it will remain that way, yes?”

I nodded my head in a silent agreement.

“Does my brother know I’m here?”

I asked. The older man inhaled loudly before saying,

“He does not. I assume he will realize you’re gone soon, by that time we will call him. Come, now I take you to Emiliano.”

He stood and reached out his hand. I took a deep breath then grabbed it as he helped me out of the bed. I was a little dizzy from whatever drug they used to knock me out. We walked to the door by the dresser and the older man put his hand on the doorknob and stopped to look at me,

“Hera, consider this an opportunity to join two great houses.”

He nodded to me with a smile then opened the door and I exited the room. The bright sun without the filter of the dark room was so bright I was squinting my eyes. But out over the edge of the boat I recognized the view from anywhere. We were out in the Mediterranean Sea. The older gentleman led me down the edge of the boat, we turned a corner and stopped.

Emiliano was sitting at a table and I could not believe what I saw. The man I have seen every night in my dreams for the last 5 years. I thought I was crazy. I dreamt of his slender face with a scruffy beard. His golden tan skin. His black slicked back hair. His muscular body. And he was here, right before me.

I hid my surprise by seeming unbothered. The older man squeezed my hand to signal I should stand where I am. He approached Emiliano and in Italian let him know that the decoy had arrived. Emiliano quickly glanced over in my direction and looked away and waved his hand. The old man turned to me and in English said,

“Don Emiliano invites you to take a seat.”

He gestured to the seat directly across the table from Emiliano and I responded. The older man poured me some espresso and handed me two white pills before taking a seat on the couch on the other side of Emiliano. I could see Emiliano trying to look me down from out of the corner of his eye while I took the pills and downed my coffee. I played unbothered as I looked out into the water, taking in the view. I had been through here many times as a child.

Emiliano looked at the older man and asked in Italian,

“Dove l'hai trovata”

“Where did you find her?”

The older man smiled and said,

“L'ho trovata nascosta negli Stati Uniti, il giorno in cui hai portato a casa Anka”

“I found her hidden away in the United States. I found her the day you brought home Anka.”

Emiliano snapped back,

“Mario BASTA! Anka è la ragazza nei ritratti! Anka è la ragazza nelle mie visioni!”

“Mario ENOUGH! Anka is the girl in the portraits. Anka’s the girl in my visions!”

I jerked my head towards Emiliano. Was he dreaming of someone too? Emiliano noticed my head's sudden movement and he turned to me to ask in his native tongue if I understood Italian. I paused for a moment and went back to looking out at the sea. In a few swift movements, Emiliano was off his chair, had his hand around my neck, had me off my feet, and against the wall. In English he barked out,

“I asked you a question!”

I looked into his black eyes, unafraid of this scared man. He looked deep into my eyes for the first time and his lips parted and the grip on his hand let loose and without letting my neck go, I was on my feet. He studied my face for a moment then looked me up and down. He grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me behind him back in the direction of the room I woke up in.

He pulled me through the door into the room, and through one of the doors in the wall. I was covertly impressed to find an entire wardrobe. Emiliano leaned up against the squared counter sitting in the middle of the walk-in closet and rested his hands on the edge and demanded,

“Take off your clothes!”

I looked up at him and paused. He was visibly angry I didn’t respond right away and barked,

“If you're going to be Anka’s decoy then you will dress like her! Remove these boy clothes!”

Apparently my oversized band tee and loose ripped boyfriend jeans did not impress Don Emiliano. I unbuttoned my pants and slowly pulled them down over my hips and onto the floor. Without stopping I grabbed the bottom of my shirt and pulled it up over my head. I stood there in my light gray matching thong and bra and looked at him. His knuckles were white from holding the edge of the counter so tight. Emiliano looked mad when he said,

“Anka does not have all these tattoos and these piercings!”

He gestured to my belly button ring and the scattered works of art that decorated my body. He growled,

“Take off your bra!”

I bit my lip to try to hide my chuckle. Emiliano saw my amusement and once again swiftly grabbed me by the neck and pinned me to the wall and asked,

“What’s so funny?”

I looked him right in the eyes and replied with a smile,

“If you don’t appreciate my belly button ring, then you’re not going to like what you find under this bra.”

Emiliano studied my face and let me go. He leaned back on the counter and said,

“I don’t ask twice.”

I stared at him for a second and reached behind my back and unclasped my bra. Holding the bra to my boobs, I removed the straps from my shoulders. I shot a wink at Emiliano who was white knuckling the counter again and then I dropped my bra, revealing my perfectly full and perky C cup breasts with pierced nipples.

I heard the edge of the counter creak under Emiliano’s increased grip. He inhaled loudly as he took in the sight of my body. Without taking his eyes off of me he opened a drawer and grabbed a folded wad of fabric, threw it at me and growled,

“Get dressed.”

He took a step toward me, looked down at me and said,

“Nothing like Anka!”

Emiliano stormed out of the wardrobe and back outside. I paused, and listened for him to pass through the door to the outside. I unfolded the wad and found it to be a beautiful silk maxi dress.

The dress was white with a blue striped pattern and tied on the top and across the back. It was quite tight on the bust, stomach, and hips, hugged the top of my ass then flowed to the floor. It had a slit in the front on the right leg all the way up to the waist, exposing my Medusa thigh tattoo. Emiliano knew this dress couldn’t be worn with a bra. But with how tight it was, my nipples and their jewelry were very noticeable.

I smiled at the sight, knowing this was going to bother him somehow. I left the wardrobe and went into the bathroom and that’s when I noticed they cut my long platinum hair! If this is what Anka’s hair looks like then I am not impressed. A butchy a-line? I looked away from the mirror in dismay. Mario’s words rang in my ear:

“Hera, consider this an opportunity to join two great houses.”

I thought of my father for a second, and absentmindedly rubbed the rose tattoo on my forearm. I clenched my teeth then looked in the drawers for some hair ties. I quickly parted my hair in two and braided two loose dutch braids. I checked the drawers again for some tinted moisturizer, to my delight there were a few, all from very expensive brands. I chose the darkest shade, since apparently I’m tanner than Anka. I rolled my eyes at the thought of this girl’s existence. I haven’t seen any pictures and I already knew this girl was tiny and pale. What would the leader of a strong family need with a mouse?

I checked myself in the mirror one last time and I was pleased. I headed back out to the table on the deck of the boat. I paused before sitting, giving Emiliano a chance to look my way. I could see the fire in his squinted eyes as he watched me take my seat. I bit my bottom lip to keep from laughing. His plan to put me in this dress and make me feel inadequate to Anka has backfired.

“EAT!”

He growled at me. I licked my lips and changed my expression back to the resting bitch face I’ve worked so hard on. I looked at all the delicious food that had been brought to the table in my absence. All different kinds of fruits, oatmeal, granola, yogurts. I made myself a big plate and started eating. I heard Emiliano chuckle when he saw my plate and said,

“No wonder that dress is so tight on you.”

I looked up at Emiliano, smiled and said,

“This dress is tight, it’s true. I’m assuming Anka doesn’t have any curves? Makes me sad. What is there to grab onto when you’re fucking?”

Emiliano looked at me with fury. The way he was easily riled up amused me. My father always told me it was the weak men who couldn’t control their emotions. I went back to eating my lunch, completely unbothered by Emiliano’s angry stare. I popped a yogurt covered grape into my mouth and looked out at the view I’ve missed for years. Emiliano took his eyes off me to snap at Mario in Italian asking if there was any update on Anka.