Page 51 of Sinner's Ransom: Taken
“You didn’t tell me you had proof about his illegal activities. I thought you only had pictures of him with his whores. We could have used this against Richard.”
Stone cupped his cheek and pressed a kiss against Montgomery’s jaw. The action made his stomach clench with desire, but it also surprised him that Stone would show such tender affection in public. Stone leaned in to whisper in his ear. “Because we needed it for leverage. How do you convince a detective to let you go?”
Montgomery grinned at him. “By giving him a bigger catch.”
“You’re learning quickly.” Stone touched his lips against Montgomery’s gently and then moved away to look at Kaden. “What do you say, Detective? Booker’s arrest could make your career.”
Kaden’s eyes narrowed on him as he flipped the folder closed. “It could also kill it.”
“With proof like that?” Stone grinned. “It wouldn’t.”
Kaden returned his gun to the holster against his chest.
Montgomery released a relieved breath. The crowd around them almost moved simultaneously, as though coming out of hiding. They still stayed far away, though.
“You don’t have to stay with them, Montgomery. You could come with me right now. This,” Kaden held up the file toward him, “doesn’t mean anything compared to you. They have their money. They can’t hurt you if you decide to come with me.”
Montgomery swallowed deeply. A part of him wondered what Stone would do if he chose to walk away. Would he let him? It didn’t matter because now that he had gotten a taste of the rush and thrill of Stone’s hands on him, he was addicted. He couldn’t go back to the vanilla life. “I’m fine where I am.”
Kaden peered at him carefully, something like sadness in his gaze, as though he wanted Montgomery to take him up on the offer. Finally, he sighed. “We’ll need to disperse. Someone will have called 9-1-1 by now. Is this what you really want? He kidnapped you.”
Montgomery shrugged. “He’s not a teddy bear.”
Something hard passed through Kaden’s eyes. His jaw tightened. “Get out of here before I arrest you.”
“You’re letting us go?” Montgomery said in surprise.
Stone gripped his elbow and tugged, clearly not wanting to wait around to see if Kaden would change his mind. Montgomery knew Kaden, though. He was too much of a Goody Two-shoes. Something was off.
“Kaden—”
George flexed his shoulders and nodded at Kaden. He held out his hand. “Nice doing business with you, Detective.”
Kaden’s face scrunched in disgust and he flicked his head to the side. “Get out of here. Now. Before Idoarrest you.”
Confusion warred with his shock. Montgomery didn’t know what to make of the scene before him, but he didn’t have time to ask Stone or George any questions. Stone was already hauling him away from Kaden and out of the park. Every time he opened his mouth, Stone shook his head.
A black van with heavily tinted windows swerved onto the sidewalk beside them, making people scatter. The back door slid open, and Stone shoved him and the briefcase inside, making Montgomery land against a torn and battered leather seat. Stone and George jumped in too. As soon as the door was closed again, it sped off.
“What was that?” Montgomery demanded angrily, readjusting himself so he sat in the seat properly. He dropped the briefcase onto his knees and unclipped the locks holding it together.
“That was a cop being paid off, something your father is familiar with.” George fell into the seat in front of Montgomery, his moustache twitching. He gestured to the briefcase. “Open it.”
“Kaden can’t be paid off,” Montgomery protested. His fingers hesitated over the case, but he inhaled and opened it, revealing stacks of very real hundred-dollar bills. It almost made him breathless. While his father gave him spending money in his bank accounts, he’d never actually seen this much money in cash form before. It was beautiful.
“Everyone can be bought, Monty, even your ex. He was very easy to buy, actually. He’s not a fan of your father either.” Stone’s arm fell around his shoulder and he glanced into the case. He whistled. “That’s a sexy stash of money.”
“Did he give us the full amount he promised in cash?” Salvatore asked from the front. He peered around the front passenger seat, his gaze narrowing on the briefcase.
To make a point, Montgomery turned it around for Salvatore to see. “Not sure, we’ll have to count it, but it definitely looks like a lot of money. Did he do the wire transfer?”
“Yep, all sorted. Money went through and they couldn’t trace us. I’m brilliant like that,” Salvatore said.
Pure joy lit up on his face in the form of a wide grin as he stared at the cash. Montgomery hadn’t seen people in love as much as Salvatore evidently was with the money, not that he blamed him either. Money was a wonderful thing. It came with a lot of positives, and contrary to what people tried to say, it could buy a lot of happiness.
Stone slammed the lid of the case closed and threw it at George. The older man grabbed it just in time, before it could open again and litter the van with cash, not that Stone seemed to care. He grasped Montgomery’s thigh and lifted him onto his lap as though he weighed nothing.
Montgomery settled in his lap, grinding his cock down on Stone, and curled his arms around his shoulders. He tilted his head and grinned. “Hi.”
