Page 133 of Ruined By Protection
Noah and Daniel stand outside Montgomery's office, weapons ready. Noah gives me a nod as I approach.
"All good?" he asks.
"Yeah. Let's finish this."
I push open the door to find Montgomery still tied to his chair. His eyes bat up to me and there's a smirk on his face, a smug satisfaction that makes my blood boil. Suddenly I’m not sure that I can keep my promise to Hazel.
"What's so amusing?" I ask, circling him slowly. "Having Vanessa tied up? That your idea of a good time?"
Noah's head snaps toward me. "What?"
"This bastard took Vanessa. We discovered her in one of the guest rooms," I explain, never taking my eyes off Montgomery.
"She came willingly enough,” he snarks. “Just like your precious angel Hazel did when she wanted something from me."
I resist the urge to hit him again. Until I don’t. I bring the barrel of my gun down across the side of his face and that stops him smirking. “Shit,” I mutter under my breath. Well, one bitchslap is nothing more than I’d have given this bastard in a barroom. It can hardly be counted as torture.
"His text is drafted," Noah says, holding up his phone. "Just waiting on your signal."
"What text?" Montgomery whines, his confidence drained at last. “What are you planning to do with me?”
I lean down, bringing my face close to his. "Send out your suicide note."
The color suctions from his face as understanding dawns. "You can't?—"
"We can," I cut him off. "And we will."
Montgomery's eyes skitter wildly around the room as though looking for an exit, panic finally breaking through his composed facade. "She'll never forgive you for this because she’s soft. She might for a while but then she’ll discover that you’re just as much of a monster as I am."
Something snaps inside me–I hope to god it’s not the realisation that he could be right. I grab his chair arms and yank them toward me. The chair skitters across the floor pulling him right up into my face.
"Let me tell you something you don’t know about Hazel," I say, my voice deadly quiet. "That woman survived two years of your torture without breaking. She walked away with nothing but the clothes on her back rather than live one more day under your control. And even now, knowing what you did to Melissa, she still begged me to show mercy to you—a quick end instead of the torturous suffering you deserve."
Montgomery tries to speak, but I don’t permit him to.
"She may be soft but she’s also the strongest person I've ever known,” I continue. “And unlike you, she doesn't need to hurt others to feel powerful."
I straighten up, adjusting my cuffs. "That's the difference between you and her. You break things. She rebuilds them. And long after you're gone she'll still be shining—brighter than you could ever imagine."
Montgomery's face twists with hatred. "You don't know her like I do. She's nothing without?—"
"She's everything," I cut him off. "And you never deserved her."
Montgomery's face tightens, desperation seeping through the cracks in his mask. "My father will never let this stand. TheMontgomery name means something in this state. He'll bury whatever story you try to spin."
I laugh, the sound echoing off the oak paneling. Not the polite chuckle I use in business meetings, but something filled with disdain. "Your father?" I shake my head, pacing circles around his chair to discombobulate his senses. "You think Daddy's money is going to save you now?"
Noah holds up his phone, the screen glowing in the dim light. "The suicide note's ready to send. Confession about Melissa, details about where to find her body, apologies for the abuse but he cannot live with himself. It's all there."
I lean in close to the side of his face. "That text isn't going to the police who are in Daddy’s pocket. It's going to every fucking journalist in the United States."
His eyes bulge.
"Every news outlet, every newspaper, every online rag from coast to coast will have your confession before your body's even cold." I straighten, fixing my gold cufflinks–something he’ll never do again. "Your father will do nothing because it will be too fucking late."
"You can't—" he starts, voice cracking.
"We already have," Daniel cuts in. "Distribution list is set. One click and the whole world knows exactly what kind of monster wears the Montgomery name."
