5. Not gay

I'm not gay. I'm not gay. I'm not fucking gay.

Those were the words Dante repeated and chanted to himself over and over again.

He couldn't stop thinking about what just happened. That was just a mistake. He didn't mean to. Matthias might be gay, but he's not.

It wasn't that Dante had anything against people being gay. It was just that he had been with women for the rest of his life. So him suddenly liking men? That was crazy. Unbelievable. How could one man turn him gay?

Dante's phone chimed. He looked down to see that his brother had sent him another message. It was marked urgent.

"Toss him into one of the rooms. Keep him under your watch twenty-four seven," Dante ordered.

"Yes, sir."

Dante walked to the other end of the hall as Matthias was dragged away in the opposite direction. He called his brother, Gianpaolo, the current head of the N'drangheta.

"Fratello!" Dante chimed.

"Dante, have you found Antonio?" Gianpaolo's nonchalant and deep voice came through.

As always, his brother was a moody, unfeeling man. He always looked as if the world owed him billions, including their lives. Still, Dante knew that Gianpaolo became this way because of that incident.

"Some clues only."

"Finish it fast and return to Italy. The Irish are making moves, and Uncle Fabio and Sal can't keep their fingers off the board."

"Sure, Gian." Dante reported his progress to Gianpaolo, but he omitted the part where he kidnapped the wrong guy. And made him cum.

Wait, no. That wasn't his fault. It was all on Matthias.

His brother gave him a few more instructions before hanging up. Then Dante made his way to the hotel room where Matthias was imprisoned. Time was tight. It seemed like he might really need Matthias' help.

Dante motioned to one of the guards to come closer, a cunning smile dancing on his lips.

Later, he walked into the room and found Matthias pacing the room. He stopped when he saw Dante approaching.

Matthias held his breath like he was looking for a way to escape or fight him. Dante would have preferred a nice fight.

Dante's eyes raked over Matthias. Then he sat down on the couch and beckoned Matthias over with a finger.

"Come here," he spoke with an accent.

Dante had tried to sound more American, even practiced and learned from YouTube. But it didn't help. Anyway, he decided not to be bothered by it.

"What do you want? Name it. After I give you what you want, you'll have to let me go. I... I promise to speak no word of this," Matthias said, slowly walking over.

When Matthias was within reach, Dante stood up, pulling a leather item from his coat and wrapping it around Matthias' neck.

Click.

He locked it around Matthias' strong neck in seconds and took a step back to admire his work.

"You—" Matthias quickly turned around and glanced in the mirror to see that a collar had been placed around his neck.

He attempted to remove it, pulling and pressing on it as if there were a button.

"Uh uh uh," Dante said in a teasing tone when Matthias began to panic.

Dante pulled out a remote and waved it in front of his face. Matthias had a defeated expression on his face.

"That collar isn't an ordinary one. One push of the button, and you'll be blown to smithereens. It can't be taken off. The movement might trigger the bomb and switch. And this button..." Dante pointed to the second button with an evil grin.

"Will shock you to death. Or maybe just enough to make you stop trying to escape and scout the area. The place is surrounded by my men."

Matthias' eyes flickered from the remote to Dante's face and lips, then to the collar. He touched it cautiously. Dante knew what he was thinking.

"What, do you think I'm fooling you?" Dante pressed the second button.

Electricity seeped from the collar and into Matthias' body. He convulsed and dropped to his knees, panting heavily. The electricity travelled through his body, causing him to shake and dig his fingers into the carpet.

Laughter bubbled free from Dante's chest. Then the electricity ceased and Matthias looked as if he could breathe again.

"That was level one. There's level one hundred too. Would you like a try?" Dante asked, his tone playful.

"No," Matthias gasped, glaring at him like he wanted to rip his head off.

"What do the other buttons do?" Matthias asked.

"You don't want to know," Dante winked. "Stand up."

Matthias slowly stood up, swallowing. It felt extremely uncomfortable to have a collar wrapped around his throat like he was a pet or slave.

"If I'm going to take you into my office, I'll have to know some details about you. You don't have to tell me anything real. Just... make up something about how we met and your purpose there. The other directors might get suspicious," Matthias said.

"Can't you make up something?"

"You want me to do it?" Matthias pointed to his chest.

"Well, anything that's believable."

"Aren't Mafias supposed to be organized and smart?"

"Aren't I smart?" Dante shrugged one shoulder.

There was a knock on the door, interrupting them. A man, one of the guards, stepped in.

"Master Dante, he sent it over." The guard handed Dante a long red box.

Dante dismissed the guard and opened the box, glanced at it, then shut it. Perfect. He turned to look at Matthias, who eyed him like he was a monster.

Maybe he was.

......

Dante. So that was his kidnapper's name.

At the Whitlock Group, Matthias arrived with Dante, walking side by side to the elevator. The employees and staff glanced at them, especially Dante.

Matthias' eyes travelled down to Dante's hand. Dante had tattoos on his fingers. He would have thought that it was hot if it wasn't for the fact that it seemed like he was bringing a gangster into the office.

They reached Matthias' office. He told his secretary, Drake, to wait outside first while he discussed something with Dante.

Dante stood by Matthias' side as he typed on the computer, pulling up the names of the employees. Matthias couldn't concentrate properly because Dante was too close to him. He could feel the Mafia breathing down on his head. Dante seemed oblivious to it all.

"Miss! You can't go in! Wait! The CEO is—"

They heard commotion from outside. The door was flung open and in strode a woman clad in a red glittery gown.