Forrest opened his mouth and then nodded. “Yes, sir.”
“Good.” Sloan raised his chin at Rourke. “I thought you knew better than that.”
“You can’t help who—”You fall in love with.“—makes you feel things, Sloan. You know that.”
Sloan nodded. “Indeed. My mind won’t change on this.”
The door opened, and Conall returned. “I did some crisis averting. You are all welcome, by the way. I got most of the drugs she gave out. A couple of them snorted some, but obviously not enough to OD.” He stopped, glancing around at them. “What did I miss?”
“Nothing, pet. Come. Let’s go talk to these whores.”
Conall sent Forrest and Rourke a frown but followed Sloan out.
“I’m sorry, baby,” Rourke whispered when the door shut.
Forrest leaned into him, arms curling around Rourke’s waist and his cheek pressed against Rourke’s chest. “I’m not surprised. I knew what I was getting myself into. I wish it could be different.”
“Me too, baby.”
***
Rourke made Montague wait a few hours before he visited him. The doctor had returned with strong painkillers and went straight after he gave Rourke a rundown of the injuries. Rourke left Forrest in Angel’s caring company. He assured Forrest he’d be back, but the look in Forrest’s eyes told Rourke he knew what he was about to do.
The basement’s entrance was toward the back of the Virtue, on the first floor, and the door stayed locked the entire time. Rourke and Terrance were the only ones with the keys and this was the reason why. It wasn’t a room they used for storage, but rather a space they had for situations like these.
Montague hung from a rope wrapped around his chaffed wrists, his feet barely touching the ground. His blood-splattered face had begun to swell and his right eye was swollen shut. He moaned in pain, but the guards around him ignored the small pleas.
When Rourke’s shoes squeaked on the cement of the basement at the bottom of the stairs, Montague raised his eyes. He glared, or at least Rourke assumed it was an attempt at one. “Do you know who I am?”
Rourke smirked and something twisted inside him, the monster that craved blood and flesh and bone raised its ugly head. “Yes.”
“Let me go.” His croaky voice echoed against the soundproof walls. “Or I’ll make your life hell.”
Rourke slid off his jacket and passed it to one of the guards, then rolled up the long, black sleeves of his dress shirt. “No, Mr. Montague, I’m about to makeyourlife hell.” He kept his tone low and dangerous. “You knew the rules and you broke them. You hurt one of our professionals and we don’t accept that here.”
“You can’t touch me.” Montague’s words wavered and his bottom lip shook. Fear filled his gaze when Rourke stalked over to a metal tool counter against the right wall. Different kinds of equipment were already spread out across the surface and Rourke hummed in thought. “Please.”
“It’s already too late for your begging.” Rourke picked up a saw, shook his head and put it down again. The metal of the tools glimmered under the lights and the flat head spanner caught his eye. He smiled when he picked it up and turned. “By the time I’m finished with you, you’ll wish you’ve never heard Forrest’s name.”
“What are you going to do with me?” He whimpered.
“I’m going to take pleasure in hurting you and when I’m done, I’m going to cut you up, put you in a weighted barrel and throw you in the Hudson for the crabs to eat.”
The apple in Montague’s throat bobbed and he cried. “I’m sorry. I won’t touch him again.”
Rourke inhaled deeply, breathing in the fresh scent of fear. He missed this, the sparking desire to hurt and maim. The feeling both scared and excited him, which is why he didn’t let the monster out often. One more time couldn’t hurt though, right?
“I guarantee you won’t touch him again. Which finger should I take first?”
Montague’s screams filled the room.
Chapter Fourteen
They spent the next week mostly in bed. After a few days, Rourke went back to work, but whenever he had a break, he spent time with Forrest. When he wasn’t around, and Angel didn’t have clients, it was Angel who kept an eye on Forrest, as though he needed a babysitter. As much as it annoyed Forrest to be treated like a child, he enjoyed the break and the company that came with Rourke and Angel.
Angel spent most of the time talking about the other workers or clients. He asked about Adrian once or twice, and Forrest happily obliged. He’d never suspected they’d be a good match, but seeing the way Angel gushed about Adrian after the party, Forrest decided he could be wrong.
Rourke got Forrest ice cream every second day, and Forrest enjoyed the treat, though he suspected if he kept eating it and not moving, he’d end up putting on weight he couldn’t afford, so after two days of lying in bed, he got back into exercise. He endured a few run-ins with the other workers, one such time ending up with Ryder sneering rude words to him about being a rat. Forrest flipped him off. He didn’t have time for Ryder’s dramatics.
