Page 158 of Unmasked

The chains rattled as he pulled against the cuffs he was secured to.

“This is the thing about privilege. We often don’t appreciate what we have until we’ve lost it. This is your only chance to learn your lesson.” I nodded to Lord Oxley. “Wire his jaw shut.”

Panic had the captain flailing. “You can’t be serious. I’ll be quiet.”

“Yes you will.”

“Please!”

Lord Oxley opened a leather case on the side table next to a chair that was bolted to the floor. The guards unhooked the chains attached to the captain, pulling them along as they drug the fighting man to the chair and forced him down.

“You don’t understand! It was a mistake. It won’t happen again.”

One by one, Lord Oxley placed down tools. A syringe. Curved surgical needles already threaded with dark suture. A thin stainless-steel wire coiled in loops. The captain cried out as he saw it.

“No—”

Oxley filled the syringe, glancing over to me. “This will numb him enough to reduce resistance, but you better believe he’ll feel the pain.”

“Stop! Get away from me!”

The Reeve fisted the man’s hair as the guard pulled a lever, reclining the chair. A strap was put around the captain’s head and chest, securing him down even more. His yells got louder, turning deafening as Lord Oxley’s slid his gloved fingers into the captain’s mouth and began giving him the shots. When he turned and started cutting the wire, the captain’s head tried to shake back and forth.

“I’ll never speak again. I’ll never.”

The words were slightly slurred. Lord Oxley came back, bending down as he began to pass the needle between his tooth and gum. The captain bucked letting out a deafening howl, which only had more guards stepping in. Oxley threaded the matching upper tooth, crossing the wire ends and twisting them together until the back teeth locked in alignment.

Yells were muffled, mixing with sobs as Lord Oxley continued. I turned to Vaughn, not able to stop the hint of a smile that came with the heat still burning in his eyes.

“Mmmmm! Mmmmm.”

Minutes passed and Lord Oxley finished, packing gauze at the corners of his mouth.

“There.” He removed his gloves. “I’ve given him a little space. He may breathe through his nose and take liquids.”

“Fantastic.”

I stepped in, lowering my gaze to the captain’s. Terror had his brow creased and his bloodshot eyes round.

“You will return in two weeks, and we will remove the wire. If you take it out early or tamper with it at all, you’ll lose your tongue.” I moved in even closer. “If The Order leaves your mouth again, it’ll be the last thing that ever does.”

CHAPTER 51

King Lawrence

“What do you mean you can’t get close to their home?”

“Your Majesty⁠—”

“What do you mean you can’t get close to their home!”

I didn’t wait for George to answer. I threw my cup right at him, cursing as I felt the rage impossibly build even more than it already was.

It never left me anymore.

I stayed in a constant state of annihilation. I couldn’t have a conversation with an aide or servant without making them cower or cry. Nothing was going as planned. The media was having a field day with Penelope’s relinquished title. If it wasn’t for a hopeful future, I would have let her crash and burn. I would have told them what I really thought about Vaughn and how he had ruined her. Broken her mind!

But I didn’t say anything. I used her mental health to explain how she wasn’t ready for the responsibilities yet. It was bullshit. Penelope could have easily run her estates and everyone elses. She had a knack for business. For leading. She was better than average. Better than even most of the skilled workers I’d come across.