Page 25 of These Monstrous Deeds

Nathan squints at the marbled counter of the sink. “What?”

“Ya know, you could pretend over time that you’re falling for him. You can play the wholevillain goes soft for his loverangle. Tell him it has to be a secret between the two of you because your men will be upset. That way, you can at least be kind to him in private, and when you are a little softer in public, he’ll think it’s because of that.”

“So, you want me to fuck with his emotions even more than I already am?”

“I – fuck, I don’t know. No. Yes? Yes. No? Fuck if I know. Whatever feels right. I trust you.” Maison sighs. “Nate, this whole thing is going to work out, and the operation is going to be over soon, and I’ll have you to thank for saving my baby brother.”

“No pressure.”

“A shit ton of pressure, but you can handle it.”

Nathan isn’t so sure about that. Then again, he’s not so sure he has any other optionbutto handle it. Anything else results in death for him and Carter. Or much, much worse. Nathan sighs heavily, feeling a headache starting to form. “You know he’s going to find out what you are now, right? I can’t shield him from it. He’ll hear my men talking.”

Maison grunts. “Yeah. I know.”

“I-” Nathan stops, looking over at the door. He swears he heard – yeah, that’s definitely someone walking around the bedroom. “Shit. He’s awake. I gotta go. Talk soon.”

Stuffing his phone in his pocket, Nathan hurries out of the bathroom just in time to find Carter standing by the dresser. The boy moves away as if the thing just set on fire, then immediately drops to the floor and curls in on himself. He’s trembling. Nathan has a feeling it’s not from being cold.

“Stand up,” Nathan says in what he hopes is an authoritative but non-threatening voice. When Carter obeys, he adds, “Good boy remembering to kneel for me just now. You aren’t in trouble, in case you were worried. I never told you that you weren’t allowed to leave the bed or look around, though from now on I don’t want you leaving the bed once you’re put in it, unless you’re given permission or need to use the bathroom, understood?”

“Yes, sir.”

“If you do need to use the bathroom, you’ll immediately come back to the bed after.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good.”

Carter fidgets in place, clearly unsure what to do or say. He has his moose from earlier tight in his hands. The sight of it does something awful to Nathan’s heart.

Nathan sweeps his eyes over the boy, then sighs. “Are you still tired? Because I’m fucking exhausted.”

Carter nibbles on his bottom lip before whispering to the floor, “I need to use the bathroom, sir…”

“Go on, then. Leave the door open.”

The boy’s cheeks go red, but he mumbles, “Yes, sir,” and does as told. Nathan starts to undress while he waits, setting his Rolex and cufflinks on the top of the dresser. He shrugs out of his jacket and removes his tie before Carter returns. On a whim, he beckons the boy forward. He needs to make use of him as often as he can. This will be an excellent way to do so without causing him any harm.

“Take my shoes off.” Carter surprisingly doesn’t hesitate. He just lowers himself to his knees and carefully undoes the laces on Nathan’s right shoe. He slides it off and places it to the side before doing the same with the left. Then he looks up at Nathan for further instruction. “Socks.”

The socks come next, Carter laying them flat on top of each other beside the shoes.

Carter remains kneeling, his eyes locked on Nathan’s face. There are too many emotions in his big blue eyes. It makes it hard for Nathan to breathe.

Nathan looks away.

“If you use my weapons to kill me, my men will make you regret it. You can’t escape here. Don’t try.” Nathan takes his gun from his holster and places it on the dresser, followed by the gun in the waistband above his ass, then the folding knife from his pocket. Then he slides his holster off his shoulders and hangs it on the hook right beside the dresser. “You’ll learn this soon, but I’m the best chance you have here, sweetheart. Don’t run from me.”

The boy doesn’t argue. He just stares at Nathan, resigned and quiet.

When Nathan curls a finger, Carter stands up. “Belt.” His belt is slowly removed, coiled, and handed to him. He places it on the dresser before tugging his shirt out from his waistband and looking at the boy in front of him. Carter reaches forward tentatively. When Nathan doesn’t correct him, he begins undoing the buttons of his shirt, pushing it off Nathan’s shoulders and down his arms once it’s free. He folds the shirt exactly as it should be and places it on top of the neatly set shoes.

“Pants.”

Carter’s hands begin to shake, but he obeys without hesitation again. He’s careful and methodical with his movements. That is, until he guides Nathan’s feet out of his pants and sees the holster with his fixed blade on Nathan’s right ankle. Nathan decides to test him. The worst that can happen is Carter stabs him somewhere once. The best that can happen is he can see that the boy has already learned his lesson that hurting Nathan will only make things worse, not better. “Remove the knife first. Hand it to me, handle forward.”

The boy swallows hard. He hesitates this time. Nathan allows it. His hands curl slightly as he prepares himself for a possible fight. Then Carter is reaching forward, gently sliding the knife from its holster, and handing the weapon to Nathan with the handle forward. He meets Nathan’s eye as Nathan accepts the offering. Nathan can’t help but allow his lips to curve into a smile. “Good boy.”

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