"No. We must act. Staying put might be playing into the hands of fate just as much as choosing to act," he mumbled, as if to himself. His faraway expression sharpened on her once again. "The only thing you need to worry about is staying down close to the floor and keeping out of the way until I tell you to move. Okay?"
"But, Ryan, I want to help you—"
"You'll help me by promising to do what I ask. There are things you don't understand about this situation that I don't have time to explain right now. Do I have your word that you'll cooperate?"
When she hesitated his dark brows went up again, this time in an intimidating fashion.
"This is not the time for an H. G. Wells brand of adventure, Hope. One or both of us may be killed if you don't follow my instructions."
"All right, I agree to—"
But Hope had no opportunity to tell Ryan to what she agreed or to hear any more details of Ryan's plan for escape, because suddenly a loud, furious voice that bizarrely seemed to be coming from the wall itself bellowed.
"Daire!"
FIFTEEN
Jack gritted his teeth in rising frustration when he heard New-comb stifle his groans of climax as he watched Daire fuck Hope Stillwater's ass with unrestrained lust. It infuriated him to know that even though he put on such a top-notch sex display for his most powerful business associates, he himself could not enjoy it.
Mel tried her damndest to suck his dick back to its former glory, but despite the fact that Jack was mentally as aroused as he'd ever been, his damn cock wouldn't respond. Hearing Newcomb find his pleasure was bad enough, but watching the starkly virile Daire plunder the beauty was like having a knife twist in a wound.
"Get off it, Mel! You're losing your touch. You—Betsey—you take over," he demanded bitterly as he watched Daire slamming his big cock into Hope Stillwater's bobbing little ass.
The fucking mick hadn't been lying when he said he could make her respond. How had he been so confident? That self-righteous little minx seemed to love every moment of being sodomized, Jack thought grudgingly.
It became obvious that Betsey had nothing on Mel's skills at fellatio. He pushed down on her head roughly in rising frustration, heedless of her gags and cries of discomfort. He strained for his own pleasure so greatly that he was hardly aware that the photographer took another picture or that Mason finally gasped in a hard-won orgasm.
Daire bucked into Hope one last time before his body went rigid in climax. He let out a full-throated roar. His pleasure seemed so concentrated, so immense that Jack could almost feel it resonating through the walls. A profound sense of fury and jealousy made his gut burn like he'd just swallowed acid.
He pushed Betsey off his now-limp dick, scraping her cheek with one of his diamond rings in the process. She whimpered in pain. When Mel pulled back the young woman's head and checked the bleeding scratch with a concerned look on her face, Jack's fury escalated.
He pulled up his underwear and pants, fastening his suspenders. "The men who come here are idiots. I can't believe they pay me good money to sample such a worthless whore."
Mel looked up at him with glittering eyes.
"There are some things money can't buy, Jack. A sense of decency and a working cock are two of them," Mel said quietly.
For a few seconds a tense silence prevailed in the stuffy little room.
Jack's eyes widened slowly in stark disbelief. It was all because of his limp dick that he was losing respect, even among his whores. He raised his hand to backhand Mel's smart mouth when someone burst into the room, distracting his attention. He'd assigned Big Mario to stand guard in the hallway a
nd not to allow anyone into the viewing room, so he couldn't imagine who dared to enter.
"What'd'ya want?" he barked in a surly fashion when he saw it was Big Mario himself, still looking disgruntled and worse for wear after waltzing with Daire in the ring. Another man followed Mario into the room. He only came up to Mario's shoulder but the guy was barrel-chested and thick with muscle. Jack noticed his pale hair looked disheveled and that like Mario, he also sported a swollen, black eye.
"This man's name is Kendall, Boss. He works for Shapiro in the stockyards. He says he's the one who Shapiro sent over to fight me tonight," Mario said, fury spicing his deep baritone.
Kendall was busy staring at the women on their knees and the men standing before them, a puzzled look on his broad face. He finally cleared his throat and addressed Jack. "Some damn cokie jumped me on the way here. I just woke up twenty minutes ago in the alley.
Damn thief stole all my money. So ... is it true the fight's already over?"
For a second or two Jack just stared as the acid anger in his gut seemed to bubble up in his throat. It exploded out of his mouth along with one word.
"Daire!"
He shoved the barrel of Daire's bizarre pistol into an unused peephole at waist level.
When he peered into the room he could no longer see Hope Stillwater at all and Daire perched at the edge of the bed, poised to spring. Jack's forefinger pulled on the trigger but nothing happened.