“His fingers on this hand are broken,” Mateo said, pointing to the one lying on the pallet.
“I have something.” Merlin shuffled through his stash and came up with a splint. He taped the fingers together and held them straight. Dafydd groaned and whimpered. It was upsetting, yet there was nothing else to be done. He hoped that Harry or the human doctor would be coming with the others and could do more.
“Idris.” The name was barely a whisper on Dafydd’s lips.
“He’s fine,” Merlin was quick to reassure him and that seemed to settle him a bit. Merlin looked over at Mateo. “You’re coming with me.”
“What? No, I need to stay with him.”
“What I need from you is more important. Remember last night? You don’t have a choice, slut. Jacko is waiting for his entertainment and I don’t intend to disappoint him.” For fuck’s sake, he had hoped the human had gotten with the program already. How much more emphasis did he have to put on his cooperation without giving up the game to anyone who might be listening? Considering how Mateo was on Jacko’s radar at this point, it wasn’t crazy to think he might be listening in right now.
Mateo seemed to get it, finally. Thank fuck. He put on a good show, too. “Fine,” he spoke out as he stood. “It’s not like I can fight you. Too bad you don’t know how to please a man. Maybe if he likes me well enough, I can get out of this fetid room.”
The boy practically flounced his way to the door and waited with his arms folded for Merlin to catch up. When he did, he grabbed Mateo’s arm in a show of force—although he was barely clasping him—then trooped him down to Jacko’s area. The man was waiting for them. After he let them in, he took Merlin by the arms and shoved him against the wall.
“What the fuck are you up to, slut?”
Merlin tried to hide his fear. “I thought you liked how Mateo serviced you last time. Shouldn’t I have brought him?”
“I’m talking about the computers. I’ve been checking and some of the settings are off. You’ve been tampering with them.”
Merlin’s heart leaped into his throat. “No, I haven’t. What do I know about all this stuff?”
Jacko shoved him again. “You’re a lying cunt. And as soon as I get my dick sucked, I’m going to beat the truth out of you.”
Shit. This was not how it was supposed to go. And yet, this guy was so dumb that he wasn’t trying to strip the hide off him for information, nor had he called in reinforcements. Then again, it wouldn’t go well for Jacko if Dracul found out that he’d allowed a breach of security. Plus, it didn’t matter, considering that Merlin had never intended to let this man interfere with the evening’s plans. He only needed the guy to be distracted for a few seconds…
Jacko played right into Merlin’s hands by pushing away from him and sitting heavily in his chair. He exposed himself without preamble. That was the perfect set-up, actually. It would make it easier for Merlin to deal with him.
He pushed Mateo toward the man. “Get started.”
Mateo didn’t waste time or words. He dropped to his knees as he reached for the goon’s dick and, without knowing Merlin’s intent, actually swiveled Jacko in his chair so that his back was to Merlin. There was no point in thinking about what he had to do next, so he didn’t. Instead, he rushed over and, grabbing a startled Jacko by the sides of his head, he twisted sharply. The man’s neck snapped and he slumped. It was over in an instant, leaving Merlin almost stunned by what he’d done. It was not his first kill, but if he’d thought it would get easier each time, he’d been wrong.
Mateo had no trouble accepting the new reality. He jumped to his feet quickly and stumbled back a step or two, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “Whoa. I knew you were going to do something, but that was—”
“Horrifying?”
“Well, yeah, but necessary, right? This guy was about to blow your cover or simply kill you. You did what you had to do. And the others are coming tonight?”
Merlin was already turned to the console and monitors. “That’s the plan. I have to disable the security warnings. They already know the entryways and have a schematic of the complex.”