The Auction (19 page)

His sapphire eyes glistened with the suspicious gleam of tears, and even though Tori wanted to call him a liar she couldn’t deny his sincerity.

A sudden burst of anger swept through her. She hopped off the couch and stalked toward him. Before she realized what she was doing she smacked him across the face with an open palm. She did it again. And then again. Foster for his part stood there and took it. His passiveness pissed her off even more. He didn’t get to play the victim after all she’d been through.

Tori balled up her fi
st
s
and punched him in the chest over and over again. Tears streamed down her face and all the pain she’d suffered because of him came pouring out. “You stand there and tell me that you got rid of me for my protection? You ri
p my heart out and crush it and say you did it
all for me? You didn’t even fucking talk to me. You took the coward’s way out. Have you any idea what I’ve dealt with after your so-called protection? I had to do the damn
Run
again! Day in and day out I lived under the thumb of a sadist who took pleasure in causing me pain. He’d beat me if I didn’t entertain his guests, he’d beat me because I didn’t do something quickly enough for him. He tortured me because he couldn’t get it up without the assistance from a mechanical implant. He nearly killed me when I didn’t want to service one of his smelly friends and then he sold me off like I was some intimate object. I was separated from my family, wondering how they were getting along without me. And despite it all, the worst part was that I couldn’t get past what you’d did to me. I’d cry myself to sleep at night wondering what
it was
about me that was so unlovable. I wondered how I could give my heart to someone who didn’t give a shit about me. And now you stand there and tell me that you got rid of me for my protection? Fuck your protection, Foster! And Fuck you!” She collapsed to her knees.

All this time she’d hated him for the wrong reason
s
. “Coward,” she whispered. “If you cared about me you would have told me. Maybe we could get through it together but out of some misguided sense of chivalry, you threw me away like garbage without giving me a say in my own fate. Please just leave me alone. I don’t want to look at you.” She couldn’t raise her head. To look at him would be to fall for him again, and she couldn’t afford that. He’d cost her too much.

“I understand. I just wanted you to know how I felt. If I don’t see you again at least you’ll know the truth.” Foster walked off, leaving Tori to her misery.

Chapter Twenty

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Dare asked.

When his men had sent him word that they’d caught Winthrop and had taken him to his old location he knew what had to be done. “It’s the only way. How else are we going to find Macy? Besides, I have to take Winthrop out of commission before he can do any more damage.”

Dare nodded. “And end his trafficking operation. Just remember once you cross this line, there’s no turning back.”

“I know. I’ve thought of nothing else since that bastard had been caught. I need to know why he
came
after me. I get that he wanted to warn me off from finding out the truth. But it began way before this. He’s out for blood so now it’s either him or me.”

“I could go in there with you.”

“No. I need to do this on my own. I can’t involve you in this.”

“Fine, but I’ll be outside waiting and if you’re not back within an hour, I’m coming in and you won’t be able to stop me,” Dare warned.

“Okay.” Foster slid out of the vehicle tools in hand. He looked over his shoulders to make sure he wasn’t being followed as he walked across the street to where it all started. This was the old main branch that he hadn’t stepped inside of for years. One of the first steps he’d taken to completely legitimize all of his business assets was to close this building down. There were too many memories attached here. It housed his grandfather’s torture chamber. Foster had had his own spot but he felt it was more fitting to bring his prey here.

Walking down the empty corridor he thought he felt the specter of his grandfather’s ghost. “You old bastard. How could you do that to me? I was just a kid,” Foster spoke out loud. “I can’t lay all the blame at your feet. I was willing to do anything to please you. I could have said no. But it ends here tonight. After this I’m done with you, Grandfather. Do you hear me?” Foster yelled. “I’m done with you, Grandfather!”

The echo of his voice resonated in the dark hall. Once he’d let all other emotions drain he calmly headed to his destination.

Foster wasn’t sure why he’d left the building in working order. Perhaps, like his toolkit, he’d kept it because deep down he knew he’
d use it again. A certain calm came over
him as he took the elevator to the bowels of the building. When he stood in front of the door that led to what his grandfather once referred to as the work room, Foster took a deep breath.

This was it.

Foster walked inside and
headed
to the little table in the center of the room. He didn’t bother to look at the man chained to the wall. He was sure his men had followed through. That’s what he paid them for. Foster opened his bag and lined his tools on the table. He then shrugged out of his jacket and walked over to the far corner of the room to hang it up.

He made sure to take his time with each task he performed. Foster had learned that it drove his victims crazy. Once he’d donned his gloves and goggles he turned to Winthrop, who eyed him with a malevolence that nearly made Foster take a step backward. Stealing his emotions, Foster finally approached his victim.

Foster eyed the handiwork of the mercenary he had hired. He had left specific instructions on how he wanted the other man bound. Winthrop had been stripped naked and he was secured against the wall. His wrists and ankles were held by chains that were
securely bolted
. These weren’t ordinary chains, however. With the press of a remote, they could heat to temperatures as high as 400 degrees. It was hot enough to cause third degree burns as well as cut through muscle and bone.

Winthrop’s mouth was covered with a special adhesive tape that would take off at least three layers of skin once it was yanked off. Foster made a mental note to give his mercenary a bonus for a job well done. He was sure it hadn’t been an easy task taking down the gu
ards who probably surrounded this maniac
.

Once he was satisfied with his inspection Foster took the chair that was tucked into the table and pulled it in front of his waiting prey. Foster stared at the man who had caused him so much grief, and his first instinct was to take one of his sharp razors and gut Winthrop from throat to bellybutton but he decided against it. He needed the information and he was determined to have it. He wouldn’t let everything that happened be for nothing.

“So here we are,” he began. “You’re on my territory now. I don’t know why I didn’t guess it was you. But then again, you were so insignificant you had me fooled. And it was awful clever of you setting up that dummy corporation under the name of Edison Wallace. That was very tongue-in-cheek of you to make a fake name with your same initials. Bravo for a hand well played." Foster gave Winthrop a slow ironic clap.

This seemed to incense the chained man. He fought against his restraints and attempted to yell but all that came out were muffled grunts.

Foster chuckled. “What did you say?”

Winthrop glared.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Let me fix that for you.” Foster got out of his chair and halted directly in front of his victim. He caught the edge of the tape and yanked it off with a forceful tug.

Winthrop howled. “You mother fucker!”

Foster examined the sticky side of the tape and sure enough there was a thick layer of skin on it. He looked to see that the chained man now bled where the tape had been. His lips looked swollen and abused.

“Oh, that’s not nice, Winthrop. And here I thought we would be great friends.”

“Fuck you,
Graham. You’re just like your d
reg grandfather. I should have killed you when I had the chance.”

“Well, I guess that was your mistake now, wasn’t it?”

“Do what you
will
to me because whatever you want to know I won’t fucking tell you. You don’t scare me because I know what you’re capable of. Yeah, that’s right. I know exactly what kind of man you are and have always been.”

“Is that so? Well, we’re only just beginning. So I guess
we’ll find out
.” Foster returned to his chair and proceeded to stare at Winthrop who continued to curse him several times. No matter what he said, Foster couldn’t lose his cool. With just one slip of the hand he could end up dealing a fatal blow before he obtain
ed
the information he needed to know.

It was only when Winthrop seemed to run out of insults to hurl at him did Foster leave his chair to go to his tool table. “You know, I could have easily forgiven you for a number of your crimes, like for being an uninspiring dipshit. I might have even forgiven you for messing with my businesses or even me. But you fucked with two people I care about, one of whom you will tell me the whereabouts of. Make no mistake, you will not leave this room alive, but just how painful your death will be is up to you.”

“You sick son of a bitch. Go ahead and kill me now. I already told you I wouldn’t talk.”

“They all say that, you know.” Foster spoke without bothering to look up. He eyed the tools, wondering which weapon he’d use first.

“I’m curious, though. You seem
to be on a one man vendetta against me. You could have easily killed me as you said. Any particular reason why?”

Winthrop snorted. “You have me chained li
ke an animal and you dare ask me that question?
You know what your family did. You fucking know it. Your dreg grandfather made sure to destroy us in a way that he knew we’d never recover from. I’m sure he bragged about what he did to get my father to practically hand over the controlling interest of the bank. He cheated my father out of his fair share
of the bank they started together
.”

“All this because you’re bitter over something that happened over twenty years ago?”

“Don’t you dare pretend that you don’t know what he did! He had my son’s severed head delivered to my father in a gift-wrapped box! My son was innocent and your grandfather killed him.
And then that evil son of a bitch
threatened
to do the same to me if my
father didn’t sell his shares. My son is dead because of your grandfather’s greed!”

Foster froze. When Eli III had disappeared, it had happened so abruptly that he briefly wondered if some foul play
had been
involved. But he’d quickly rid himself of those thoughts once the rumors of Eli III getting shipped off to boarding school overseas had begun to swirl. Never in a million years had he sus
pected his grandfather would stoop so low
as to decapitate a child to get what he wanted. No matter what Eli II had become, the Winthrops had at one point been decent people. Foster wanted to call Winthrop a liar but then he remembered what his grandfather had said to him when Foster’s father had died.
A son for a son
.

Foster narrowed his eyes. “You had my father killed, didn’t you?”

“Without any regret and I’d do it again if I could.”

Foster reached for the serrated blade. “My father had nothing to do with grandfather’s business.”

“And you think my innocent son should have been beheaded? Fuck your father!”

It truly was a fucked up thing
his grandfather had done,
but apparently
Winthrop intended Foster to pay forever. He stalked over to his victim with the knife raised. Foster had every intention of stabbing that bastard in the heart for what he’d done but halted. He had to remember his mission.

Foster took
several calming breaths before he returned to his tool table. He lay the knife down and picked up the heated blade.

After this, he was done with hi
s grandfather’s ghost for good and he’d be able to
mourn his father properly.

“Winthrop. I had no idea about your son.
I was a boy myself when it happened.
I didn’t realize
what my grandfather did in order to force the dissolution of h
is partnership with your father and I offer my sincere apology.
What I’m not sorry for, however, is this.” He pressed the button on the heated blade. Foster jabbed the knife into his captive’s thigh, digging
to the point where he sliced through
muscles but not enough to reach the bones.

Winthrop screamed but Foster wasn’t finished with him. He slowly pulled the blade out and stabbed the other thigh. “This used to be an old favorite of mine. It keeps the victim alive for the most part because as it cuts, it also cauterizes the wound.”

“You bastard, what do you think you’re going to gain by doing this to me? You might be enjoying this, but I bet not as much as I enjoyed fucking your bitch. Oh yeah, that’s right. I knew about her. I was watching you, waiting to strike. I was watching her too. I knew it wouldn’t be long before someone like her would enter that game again. Isn’t it funny how you were called away on urgent business that weekend so you couldn’t participate?” Winthrop taunted.

Foster stabbed Winthrop in the thighs several times, drawing a scream each time. What he’d done to Tori was just another reason this asshole would die tonight. When it seemed like Winthrop would pass out from the pain Foster backed off and took a seat in his chair, giving the man a chance to recover. He intended to drag this out
for
as long as possible. “Oh yeah, you must
be so proud of yourself. We had
a good laugh about how you use a device to get hard. That’s pretty pathetic, even for someone like you.”

“Fuck you,
”
Winthrop whispered.

Foster chuckled. “Defiant until the end I see. You look a little cold, let me heat you up.”

Foster replaced the knife with the remo
te control to the chains. “H
ere’s what’s going to happen
next;
I’m going to press the button on this remote control
and then
those chains are going to get hot. Every time I press a button, they heat up another twenty-five degrees. They’ll eventually get so hot that they’ll start melting you
r
skin. After that happens, it will burn through your muscle tissue and then your bones. The chains will no longer be able to hold you because your hands and feet will fall off. But thankfully you won’t bleed out because they’ll be cauterized. I can guarantee you with absolute certainty that it will be the worst pain you’ve ever experienced in your life. Trust me, it’s better for you to talk to me now rather than later. So what will it be? The easy way or the hard way?”

“I’m not weak like my father.” Winthrop spat in his direction. Foster barely managed to sidestep the huge glob of phlegm that sped his way.

“The hard way it is.” Foster turned on the button.

“How do I access the transactions to find a particular girl who was sold on the auction?”

Winthrop remained stubbornly silent.

Foster turned up the temperature. “Ready to talk?”

“Never to you.”

Foster adjusted the heat again.

After two more rounds, Winthrop began to squirm uncomfortably.

“Ready to talk?”

“Turn the heat down!” Winthrop demanded.

Foster turned it up. “Excuse me, what did you say? Were you telling me how I can access the
names of the buyers and who I’
m looking for specifically?”