Page 17 of Sinner's Ransom: Taken
Montgomery tugged back the seal of the tub and dipped his spoon into it experimentally. He raised it to his mouth, his tongue darting out to taste, but he shoved the entire thing into his mouth. Then he shoveled it in like a starving man—he hadn’t eaten for nearly half a day, so Stone suspected hewasstarving.
“What’s your dad’s deal anyway?” Stone asked after a few minutes of Montgomery devouring the peaches.
“Hm?” Montgomery swiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “My dad?”
“Yeah. He doesn’t give a damn about you.”
His eyes flicked toward the food, his thumb caressing the rim of the plastic tub. Finally, he shrugged. “Why do you want to know? What did he do to you?”
Stone studied him carefully, taking note of how his high cheekbones looked sharp under the lights of the room and the way his dark hair looked touchable when it wasn’t combed a certain way. He looked natural—real—unlike the fake version of him that he showed to the world. Stone couldn’t imagine living the way he had.
“Nothing.”
Montgomery made a noise and his hand clamped around the tub, squeezing it tighter as he shoved another spoonful of peaches in his mouth. He swallowed it, then said, “Richard does something to everyone. Clearly you have a problem with him.”
Stone raised his knees close to his chest and rested his elbows on them, leaning forward. “Booker’s pissed off a lot of people.”
“Tell me something I don’t know.” Montgomery glanced at him. “But what did he do to you?”
“That’s none of your business.”
He shrugged. “Don’t tell me, I don’t care.”
“You and I are not having a heart-to-heart, Monty.” Stone reached out, watching Montgomery still when his thumb stroked along the length of his cheekbone. “When this is over, I’m going to strangle you with my own hands, watch as you take your last breath, and then I’m going to send your body back to Booker in pieces.”
Montgomery’s eyes widened, full of pretty terror. “But I helped you.”
“Not yet, you haven’t.”
“I gave you a suggestion!”
“It hasn’t worked yet.”
“You haven’t tried it.” Montgomery shook his head, dislodging Stone’s hand. “You can’t do this.”
“I can do what I want. Isn’t that what your motto is?” He stood and stretched, Montgomery’s gaze following his movements. His bottom lip trembled.
“Please. Isn’t that what you wanted? For me to say please. Well I’m saying it now. You can’t kill me. I don’t know anything.” He threw himself to his knees beside Stone, the empty tub of fruit thrown near his feet as he grabbed Stone’s hips. “Please. You can’t kill me.”
Stone batted off his hands and took two large steps backward. “Like I said, I can do what I want.”
With a wink, he left the room, the sounds of a sob making him grin. He didn’t know what the hell he was going to do with Montgomery yet, but there’s was something beautiful about the way he begged and stared up at Stone with desperation. He wanted to see more of it.
