“Cade…” Tristan says slowly in warning.
While it’s obvious some of this was supposed to happen, and he’snot exactly putting his foot down on setting Kingston loose regardless of his discomfort at how Kingston is being held, it’s obvious he draws the line at actually killing Kingston. Although he didn’t bat an eyelash when Cade stated that death is a backup plan for Sterling if he manages to escape whatever trap they’ve laid out for him.
Looking over at Marcus, I can see roughly the same thought process going on in his head, too. Not that I’m really surprised. Marcus hasn’t exactly been quiet with how deeply he hates both of them. But there’s a difference between disliking a person for being an overall asshole and understanding a person is evil on such a deep-rooted level that an untimely death is more of a best-case scenario than a worst one. And I guess if I’m being truthful, I can see where they are coming from.
However, that still leaves the fact that Kingstonisn’tSterling; therefore, the question ofhimdying tonight isn’t actually on the discussion board at all, despite Cade’s obvious disappointment.
Cade huffs. “Fine, we aren’t going to kill you, unless you give us a reason,” he grins evilly at Kingston as though begging the fucker to give him one.
Kingston tells us off as best he can with the tape over his mouth. Obviously, there are no discernible words, but the disdain and aggravation speak volumes. What’s most surprising is that, amidst the open discussion of his life span and being completely at our mercy, he’s in much more control of himself than I think most people would be in this scenario.
Marcus brushes his fingers along my jaw to get my attention. He leans in close to my ear.
“I know this is a lot right now, but our intention with Kingston isn’t actually to hurt him, but he’s such a squirrelly dickhead, I think Cade thought this was the best way to keep him under control until he sees everything happening right now is to his benefit.”
“Whatishappening right now?” I ask just as quietly while noticing that Tristan is leaning into Qi’s ear, probably having the same conversation.
Cade just rolls his eyes and pokes Kingston in the side of the headjust to irritate him. Fucker is getting way too much enjoyment out of this; thank fuck he’s at least on our side.
I’m not exactly sure how I feel towards Kingston. He’s done such absolutely terrible things to me, but I don’t think I wish any harm to come to him. On the few times I’ve derived any satisfaction at him having his ass handed to him, it’s always been on the occasions when he’s instigated it.
However, I think mostly, I don’t wish him ill will; I just wish he’d go somewhere that I could forget he existed. I don’t hate him; I just don’t want him around me or to ever have to see him again.
However, Marcus saying they are helping him in what seems to be the most backhanded way is more than a little suspicious, given the way he wanted to absolutely kill the guy last night at the party.
“You’ll see, but wait until you hear everything first,” he says, motioning his head towards Cade as if to tell him he can proceed.
Cade grabs Kingston by the hair and wrenches his head up.
“You are going to sit here quietly. Listen. And only speak when asked. We have a lot to cover tonight, and the more you cooperate, the more chances you have of walking away from here freer than you’ve ever imagined,” he says before grabbing the tape over Kingston’s mouth and yanking it off.
Kingston growls in pain at having the tape ripped off, then sneers at Cade.
“Free?” he practically spits out the word like it’ll taint him if he tastes it too long. “What the fuck does that even mean?”
“See, you’re breaking rules already,” he tsks at him before pulling a switchknife out of his pocket. “Should we start by removing clothes? I saw what was under your shirt earlier. Do you think everyone else should get a glimpse?”
I frown at that because even with our past, there had never been a time when I had seen Kingston without his shirt on. Even on the field, when all his football buddies were running around shirtless, he never did. Not during sex either; he always had a reason to keep it on. I didn’t really put much thought into it, but now I’m wondering if there wasn’t a deeper reason he never took it off.
“You can’t! STOP!” Kingston shouts, showing a bit more of the panic I was surprised I hadn’t seen in him earlier.
Kingston twists and writhes against Cade, but Tristan reaches out and holds him still. Kingston screams in Tristan’s face, still fighting against the bonds holding him, while Cade does nothing more than cut open one of the sleeves of Kingston’s shirt.
Kingston twists his arm, trying to hide it, despite the bonds holding him firmly in place. With how much he twists his arm, it takes me a minute to see what he’s trying to hide, but when I finally do, my stomach plummets.
Several burn marks are tracking up his arm. Some of them are old, but a couple of them look fresh enough to be no more than a day old. I swallow down the bile creeping up at the sight before meeting Kingston’s panicked eyes
“What is that?” Qi asks quietly, his eyes narrowed down uncomfortably at the painful sores.
“Cigar burns,” Marcus responds almost mechanically.
His voice is too calm to be surprised. Somehow, he already knew what they’d find when Cade cut the sleeve open.
Kingston shakes his head. “Not what it looks like. Just had a wild time–” he rushes out, the lie already on the tip of his tongue.
“Save it, stud. We already know your dad did this,” Tristan says, not making room for Kingston to try and cover up for his father.
Kingston shakes his head harder, trying emphatically to deny it when Cade kneels to meet his panicked eyes.
