The ridiculous pink unicorn pajamas were perhaps the saddest part of all of this.
They were so incongruous with the room and its purpose that it almost made him laugh.
Not a laugh of joy or amusement, though, a pained laugh because in doing this, he and his team were crossing a line from which they would never come back. They were now the monsters that Dr. Gardner had tried to create. They were giving in to the darkness that the man had placed inside them, allowing their lack of empathy to destroy whatever human parts of them still existed.
This had better be worth it.
The thought passed through his mind a second before the whip Thunder had pressed into Dragon’s hand whizzed through the air, connecting with a sickening crack against Rose’s bared backside.
Of the seven of them in the room, Steel was pretty sure the only one of them who didn't flinch was the one who had just been struck. He knew she felt the pain because he saw it flare in the gorgeous forest green eyes that seemed locked on his, but other than that, she didn't show any outward sign that she’d just been whipped.
Without breaking eye contact, Steel began to speak. The words were for the camera, for the recording that would be sent to her brother, but it felt like he was speaking to Rose, explaining in some small way why he had to do this, almost as though that could lessen the sting of what he was inflicting upon her.
Not that he could really do that. Nothing could lessen the sting. Rose would wear the marks on her skin and in her soul.
“We have something of yours, Dr. Gardner,” Steel spoke, his voice low and rough, his heart beating harder than it should be, and he half wished that Rose would scream and thrash, beg and plead. “Something we’re going to have fun playing with. Destroying.”
Although, as he said the word at the same time Dragon delivered another blow to the little ladybug’s delicate skin, Steel realized that destroying this woman would not be possible. Nor did he really want to.
Carrying through with this charade was inevitable, the wheels were already in motion and there was no stopping them. But even if they couldn’t lure in the psychotic scientist, he would ensure the woman was delivered back to her home and her life. Rose Gardner didn't deserve to pay for her brother’s sins any more than she already had.
Again, Rose didn't make a sound despite the pain he knew she felt.
Nor did she cry out as Dragon struck her again, and again.
Despite her lack of sound, Steel could feel the tension in the room mounting. None of his men liked treating a woman like this, especially an innocent one. But they felt trapped, they’d been searching for Ridge Gardner for almost a decade, and they hadn't even had his full name or any details on his family until recently. They couldn’t wait another decade to get one step closer to the crazed doctor.
But this was wrong, and they all knew it.
“You want her back while there’s still some pieces left to put back together, then you better follow our instructions,” he said, ready to end this. Steel wasn't sure he could take another second of the little ladybug’s stoic silence, and he could tell Voodoo in particular was about to break, even if Rose wasn't. Voodoo was a healer, and he’d been the most vocal about his desire to keep this as clean as possible, use other ways to break Dr. Gardner’s sister without inflicting physical pain.
Why couldn’t you have just been the hysterical woman we expected you to be?
Why did you have to be so strong?
Why couldn’t you just crack so we could get this over with and get you back home?
Dragon delivered one last blow, and other than that flare in her eyes, Rose showed no other sign she felt the pain they’d just wrought on her body.
Blade lowered the camera, nodded to let him know they were done, and quickly eased up the material of Rose’s pajamas to cover her, give her some modicum of modesty back. The video would be processed through their programs to ensure it didn't include anything that would tip off their location to Dr. Gardner, and then it would be sent to the doctor’s old militaryemail address in the hopes he still monitored it, along with instructions for making contact.
“We need to put antiseptic cream on the welts,” Voodoo said, and Steel knew the man was desperate to ease the pain they’d just inflicted on their strong little captive.
“No,” Rose said, her voice rough, but firm as her gaze finally shifted to the man who had stepped up behind him.
Steel wanted to growl at her and order her to return it to him. He and he alone deserved the privilege of holding her gaze, shouldering whatever small amount of her pain he could.
“They could get infected,” Voodoo lectured, like she wasn't already aware of that.
“It will help with the pain as well, numb them a little,” Lion piped up.
That earned them all an eyeroll. “Yes, I'm sure you're all very concerned about my pain. Totally believable since you were the ones who kidnapped me, tortured me, strung me up, and whipped me.”
Unfortunately for them, they did care.
Which made them the world’s worst abductors.
They knew what they’d done, and it would be a well-deserved smear on all of their souls. They were desperate, but that didn't give them the right to hurt others, which was exactly what they’d done.
