"I am not a monster, Lexter."
That was debatable.
Lex blew out a shaky breath then walked across the room to stand in front of Carson. If it was the last thing he did, he'd make sure Carson paid for the hell he'd put him through, and for every other despicable thing he'd ever done. Lex imagined there were a lot of them. No one turned out this evil on a whim. He had to have done something like this before.
"What now?"
"Well, as long as your friends promise to stay where they are, no one will be hurt."
"But, you said—"
"I won't hurt them, but I don't make any promises about them." Carson nodded to the two men standing behind him. "Their sole duty in life is to make sure I'm safe. If your friends attempt to come after us, they will be stopped."
Lex glanced over his shoulder. Tony was still sitting where he'd been. Will had moved to apply pressure to the bullet wound in Hector's chest.
Tony gave him a nod. "See you soon, Lex."
Lex nodded. He didn't have the same confidence Tony did, but he could hope. At this point, that was all he had. Hope. Lots and lots of hope.
He turned back to Carson. "Okay, let's go."
Carson grabbed him by the arm and started leading him up the stairs. When they got to the top, Lex dug in his heels and refused to take another step. "Not until they come up."
"Hans, Fredrick," Carson called out, "let's go."
Lex didn't hearing any screaming or shouting as the two large men walked up the stairs. He prayed that meant those downstairs had been left unharmed. Once the two men stepped out of the stairwell, one of them reached over and closed the secret bookcase entrance. The other one grabbed a table that sat against the wall and pulled it over to block the entrance.
"Well," Carson said, "that should hold them for a while."
Too bad.
As he was led toward the front door, a thousand different ways to escape flitted through Lex's mind. He dismissed all of them. He was too afraid Carson's goons would go back and hurt the people he cared about.
"So, what happens now?"
"Now, we go home. I had all of your belongings packed up and placed in storage. You won't need anything I don't provide for you. Once we're home, we'll start your training just as soon as your punishment is over."
Lex's steps slowed. "My punishment?"
"I told you, you've been a very bad boy, Lexter. Did you think I wouldn't know you took that man home and let him touch you, defile you? It was a disgusting display."
Lex gasped and pulled his arm out of Carson's grasp, taking a hasty step back. "That's why you moved things around in my bedroom. You bugged the place, didn't you?"
Carson squared his shoulders and looked down his nose at Lex. "I did what I had to do to protect what was mine."
Lex shook his head. "I'm not yours."
Why didn't this man understand that?
When Carson raised his hand to hit him, Lex kicked him in the nuts as hard as he could then turned and ran. He had no idea where he was going, but he refused to simply walk to his doom without fighting back.
As he rounded the corner of the kitchen, someone grabbed him. Lex screamed until a hand was slapped over his mouth. His eyes widened when he saw a tall man with a beard and a badge—and the all-important gun. The man held his other hand up to his mouth, one finger over his lips.
Lex slowly nodded.
The man pushed him toward the back door where an even taller black-haired man stood. This guy had a badge and a gun as well. He beckoned Lex to him. Lex quickly crossed the kitchen floor.
The man pushed open the back door and shoved Lex through it into the waiting arms of Senator Wilson Khor.
