Page 28 of Sinner's Ransom: Taken
Stone shook his head. “They don’t trust you to act right. You heard him, struggle more, Monty.”
He untied the ropes and they filmed it again, and this time Montgomery struggled harder. Finally, Stone had his hands tied to the chair, and he stepped back to study his work.
Montgomery glared at him. “My father will make you regret this,” he said loudly, angrily.
A perfectly placed punch to the opposite side of the already blooming bruise had his head whipping back and blood spurting from his mouth again.
“Fuck.” Montgomery dropped his head.
“Your father is useless. He’s not coming for you, because he refused to pay your ransom.” Stone crouched in front of him, hands on Montgomery’s knees. He kept talking but made sure it was loud enough for the video. “You’re a sinner, Montgomery Booker. You party and fuck and do drugs and drink alcohol. You even sleep with married men.”
Montgomery’s head shot up and his eyes widened.
“Sinners will be punished, and you’ll continue to be punished until your daddy pays us your ransom.” Stone stood and pivoted on his heel. He looked at the camera through the small slits of his mask. The men around the room watched him intently. Salvatore had a large, gleeful smile on his face, like he took pleasure from seeing Montgomery’s pain. “We gave Richard Booker a chance to pay us ten million dollars for his son’s life. He rejected that offer. So now we’re giving him one more chance. Fifty million or Montgomery dies.”
Montgomery gasped behind him, but Stone didn’t know if it was because Stone upped the amount of money or if it was all part of the act.
“Do you want your son to die, Richard? You know how to pay it.” Stone breathed deeply for a moment, then crossed his arms over his chest and widened his stance. “And to everyone else that’s watching? This is the kind of asshole Booker is. He refused to pay his son’s ransom of ten million dollars. What kind of father doesn’t want to save his son? Ask yourself that question before you use his business.”
One of the men behind the camera shut the video off, and Killough clapped loudly. “Bravo. Very good work.”
Stone slid the mask up his face and pushed down his hood. “Is it convincing?”
“Indeed. You surprised me too, Montgomery.”
Stone glanced around at his prisoner. Montgomery sat there, fury burning in his eyes, and he tugged at the rope on his wrists and spat blood on the floor. “Untie me,” he demanded.
Stone raised his brows. “Say please.” He ignored the way Killough grinned in amusement.
“This again?” The angry flush of his cheeks made him more beautiful than ever, a flash of defiance in the way he growled in irritation. “What did I tell you? Richard isn’t going to pay that amount of money. You’re asking for too much. You upped it without discussing it with me.”
Killough’s surprised glance made Stone’s blood simmer in anger. Shame flushed at his insides, and the level of control he thought he had felt was nonexistent because of the few simple words that left Montgomery’s mouth, as though he was Stone’s business partner rather than his prisoner. Even his crew looked at him in shock, or in Salvatore’s case, betrayal. They thought he was working alongside Montgomery.
Stone gritted his teeth, emotions warring inside of him. He could show Montgomery who was in charge, but he’d also be giving him what he wanted too: a show of anger that Montgomery had been vying for from the start. Or, he could let it go, but look weak in front of his crew and Killough’s men. Montgomery had put him between a rock and a hard place, and hell if he knew what he was going to do.
“This isn’t up for discussion,” Stone finally said after a few long, tense seconds. “I’m in charge and you’re my prisoner, so you’ll shut up and do as you’re told.”
“But—”
“Montgomery.” It was the first time he’d used his whole name, and Montgomery froze, eyes wide. “Shut up.”
“We should put a bullet in in his head and get it over with. We’ve filmed it now,” Salvatore snapped, striding up to them and stopping beside Stone.
Montgomery glared furiously at him, his wrists struggling against the ropes.
“He’s a menace, and like you said, a sinner. The world would be a better place without him anyway.”
Stone glanced at him from the corner of his eyes. “Don’t, Sal.” He added a warning in his voice.
“All I’m saying—”
“I said, don’t.” Stone turned to him. “We’ll discuss this later. Untie Monty.”
Salvatore’s eyes widened, the same anger blazing in them that’d been there from the moment Montgomery kneed him in the balls. He stormed past Stone and toward Montgomery, doing as Stone instructed.
Killough raised his brows at him and shifted closer. He glanced at Salvatore and Montgomery over Stone’s shoulder, then leaned in to whisper, “Careful, Nick. Remember what I said about business partners and betrayal.”
With that, he waved his hand. His men got to work packing up the gear they’d put together.
