Page 46 of Sinner's Ransom: Taken
Chapter Ten
The live video went as well as they could hope. It was similar to the first, but this time the video wasn’t filmed for the public. Montgomery’s face had bruised from where Stone landed a punch the night before. As beautiful as Montgomery’s skin was when it flushed, there was something sickening about it being marred with bruises. The marks of Stone’s fingers on his neck were different. They were created in ecstasy, unlike the other necessary bruises. He made it his mission to never lay a fist on Montgomery’s face again after they were finished with Booker.
Booker’s passive face made Stone grit his teeth. He didn’t look like he cared that his son was bruised and hurt.
Stone stood beside Montgomery’s chair, wearing the mask that he’d worn before. “We’ll talk money and drop off, then you have two minutes to talk to your son.”
“And how do you propose we do this?” Booker lounged in his black leather office chair, a business suit on as usual. He stroked his chin, eyes narrowed thoughtfully, but his face didn’t hold an ounce of concern, and obviously he didn’t, he just wanted to get straight down to business. “I want this to look good for my image.”
“Your image?” Stone spat before he could stop himself. “What kind of father are you?”
Booker’s lip quirked. “The kind who has a reputation to uphold. I have a business to run.”
Montgomery whimpered, his head lowered. “Dad, please.”
“Shush, Montgomery, the adults are having a conversation.” Booker rolled his eyes, and it took all of Stone’s strength for him not to tell Booker what he thought of him.
“The money will be wired to us through a secure transfer, so don’t bother trying to trace our location. We have the best hiding our location, youwillfail,” Stone snapped.
Booker hummed and shook his head. “That won’t do. I want to see my son face-to-face.”
“You don’t give a damn about him.”
“How do you know that?” Booker leaned back in the office chair he sat in and fixed his tie, like he was video calling a friend, rather than a man who held his son ransom. “I want to see my son, so I will deliver some of the money to you. The rest can be transferred. I’m thinking half a million in a bag. Think of it as assurance on my end.”
“Fine.” Stone gritted his teeth. They weren’t getting out of this. It was just something else they’d have to plan. “We’ll meet at a secure, public location. Montgomery will pick it up and bring it back to us. If you or any law enforcement officers follow him at any stage, we’ll kill him.” Stone made a point by pressing the nozzle of the gun against Montgomery’s temple. “Don’t do anything stupid.”
“What’s the secure location?” Booker threaded his fingers together over his stomach. Stone had never seen anyone look so bored in his life.
“Grand Park—2:00 p.m. tomorrow. Near the food trucks at the marketplace. Don’t be late, or we’ll put a bullet in his head.” Stone stepped back. It made sense. Grand Park had the size and crowd to give them an easy escape. “Two minutes to talk to your son, Booker. Use it.” He spun on his heel and moved out of the frame. The tech guy behind the camera gave him a thumbs-up to let him know he was out of sight of Booker.
“Dad.” Montgomery finally raised his face toward the screen, blinking slowly. “Please help me.”
Booker clucked his tongue like only a disapproving parent could. “How could you be so stupid as to get yourself into this situation, Montgomery? What have I done to deserve a son like you?”
Montgomery frowned, his brows furrowed. “It wasn’t my fault.”
Stone’s shoulders tensed, and he forced himself to walk farther away, even though he was already out of the camera view. While Montgomery’s performance was mostly acting, there was something real about the hurt in his voice.
“You got yourself into this mess by all the foolish things you’ve done in your life. I’m ashamed to be your father.”
Even Salvatore looked stunned by the words, a deep frown creasing at his forehead. He stood behind the camera with the other men, including Ardan and Killough’s tech guys.
Stone’s fists curled and he gritted his teeth, his jaw tightening.
“You think this is my fault?” A fire lit up in Montgomery’s pretty eyes. A flash of fury passed over his face. “All I ever wanted was for you to be my father. I wanted you to love me. Was that so hard?”
Booker’s snort filled the room. “Yes. You were my greatest mistake.”
A sharp exhale escaped from between Montgomery’s lips. He glanced at Stone, pain filling his gaze; he wanted reassurance that Booker was wrong. It took every bit of strength in Stone not to storm over to the camera and tell the rich dick where to stick his money. But they needed this. Stone shook his head, gesturing to Montgomery that Booker was wrong. He wasn’t a mistake.
Montgomery’s jaw twitched. He closed his eyes briefly. The dark bruise was stark against his pale flesh. He glanced back toward the camera. “I’m sorry I was such a huge disappointment. Please help me, and you’ll never see me again.” The performance had begun again.
Booker stayed silent for a short moment, but then he spoke, his voice low and mean. “Tell your captives I’ll be there with the money. If anything happens to you after you deliver the money, they will regret it.”
Even though the words made it sound like Booker cared about his son, it was clear he didn’t. Stone could see what Montgomery meant when he spoke about his father’s pride. Booker liked winning, and if they killed Montgomery, he lost. It wasn’t something the rich bastard would accept.
There was a click as the screen shut off, and Montgomery sighed. “He’s gone.”
