Page 26 of Sinner's Ransom: Taken
Montgomery laughed. “You’re not the first person to tell me that.”
“And I’m sure I won’t be the last either.” A smile curled his lips, the first real one Stone had seen from Conall. It suited him, made him even more attractive than he was already. As far as Stone was concerned, though, Montgomery had an extra appeal that Conall didn’t. Stone couldn’t really put a name to it. His confidence and smugness called to Stone, begging to be dominated over, and Stone’s baser instincts answered the call.
“Why do you have him following you around?” Montgomery nodded toward a corner of the room Stone couldn’t see.
Conall shifted in his seat, throwing a glance over his shoulder. “Whenever we’re not at home, Sloan wants me to keep a bodyguard with me.”
“Why? Pets don’t have bodyguards.” Montgomery smirked at his own joke.
If Stone had been in the room, he would have slapped him over the back of the head for the stupid joke.
“Because some geezer kidnapped me and tortured me about six months ago.” Conall’s lips twisted in his version of a smirk, but it was more of a satisfied grin. It didn’t have the same effect as Montgomery’s. “You know, the kind of thing you’re into.”
Montgomery snorted. “Yeah, yeah.”
Stone backed away from the door. He’d probably heard enough. He wasn’t usually one to eavesdrop, but curiosity had gotten the best of him. It felt good to see them get along without Stone having to go in there and break up a fight.
When he entered the family room, everything was set and ready to go. Killough said something to George, who nodded, but when they saw him, they stopped. Killough waved him over and Stone headed their way.
Salvatore, Jam, and Romano hung around toward a corner of the room, also in their own conversation, while the rest of Killough’s mob hovered in different areas, their gazes alert. A couple of them watched Stone as he entered, like they might need to make sure he wouldn’t hurt their boss, but Stone had a feeling Killough really didn’t need them anyway. He’d heard the stories. Killough was a tough son of a bitch.
Killough stood tall next to George, a towering presence that dominated the room. Even Stone felt small next to him, and Stone was the opposite of a tiny man.
“We’re discussing what’s going to happen,” Killough said as soon as he reached them. He patted George on the shoulder then gripped it tightly. “The first scene will be Montgomery, struggling, crying. Everything a kidnapped man does, everything that your boy is currentlynotdoing. He’s very comfortable for someone who’s been kidnapped.”
Salvatore grunted from his corner of the room.
“Apparently he likes danger.” A pleased emotion washed through him, excitement curling in his stomach at the thought. If Montgomery liked Stone choking him, then how could Stone deny him such a thing?
“Apparently.” Killough smirked. “If I didn’t already have a pet, I might have been interested in testing that theory.”
Stone’s shoulders tensed and he crossed his arms. He squashed down the jealousy because he had no right to it.Jesus. He’d kidnapped Montgomery days ago, but that didn’t mean he had ownership over him. If anything, he wanted to fuck into his prisoner, open him up wide with his dick, and destroy his smug attitude. It wasn’t like he wanted to marry him, but maybe that’s what the issue was. He didn’t want someone else to have the chance to make Montgomery beg. That was his right.
“So Monty needs to act like a victim, someone who is being tortured.”
Killough’s smirk widened, as though he knew exactly what Stone was thinking. “Yes. Do you think he can pull it off?”
Stone knew exactly what Montgomery could pull off, and it wasn’t an act. He pushed the dirty thoughts aside. “Yeah, he can do it. He won’t be faking it anyway. We’ll need to give him a few more shiners on video.”
“I suppose that will be your job,” George pointed out, a knowing look in his eyes.
Damn it. He knew too. Was Stone that obvious?
“Yeah, that’s my job. I’m the one who’s going to be on camera.”
Killough nodded. “After a few beatings, and some begging from your boy, we move on to the demand.” He held out his hand and one of his men moved forward, slapping a mask into his palm. Killough then passed it to Stone.
The mask was black, except for two thick white lines that had been painted on it horizontally.
“That’s the mask of the mob. Our mob. As far as anyone is concerned, you’re one of us. That’ll create more fear for the authorities. It’s what we want.”
“Why?” Salvatore asked.
Killough didn’t bother to look at him. He ignored his question completely. “If everything goes as planned, you’ll have the money in a few days. I want my cut twenty-four hours after you get the money. No exceptions. To make sure there’s no lies, I’ll be leaving Ardan here to watch you.”
Another man in a suit stepped forward. He was different from the others, though. He wasn’t as widely built or as tall. If anything, he was slender. He looked muscular under the suit, but not obviously strong like the other man who surrounded Killough.
“Don’t you trust us?” Stone asked.
