He'd been in pain before. Lots of it. He'd even experienced things that hurt a lot more than this. But he had never experienced anything that hurt quite the way this did.

The cane bit deep against his ass, making the muscle ache and setting the skin ablaze. Every subsequent whack made things multiple times worse. Being held down and beaten was so much worse than getting his ass kicked in a fight. At least in a fight, if he lost, he did so with some kind of honor. Even if he was bleeding and missing teeth and crawling around with a broken bone. This... fuck. There was no honor in this at all. He was being dominated, plain and simple. He was being utterly and totally taken down every single peg he'd managed to climb up. Systematically and purposefully. Angelo wasn't just trying to hurt him. He was trying to break him down.

The larger man's hand was pressed hard against Bobby's back, keeping him in place. There was no escaping this pain. There was only enduring it. He didn't know how much he could take. A half dozen strokes had already pushed him to the edge.

Angelo stopped. It was a brief respite, and Bobby didn't trust it at all. He felt Angelo lean over him, speaking in a soft voice.

“You know who put me on to you, Bobby? You know how I found you?”

“No idea.

“A friend of mine.” Angelo leaned over the boy's back and purred in his ear. “Mason Malone sends his regards.”

Bobby stiffened. Mason fucking Malone. He couldn't believe it. Of all the people he’d met in the underworld it was Mason he regretted the most. The moment that bastard had made contact, things had started to get messy for Bobby. For starters, the junkie he’d been hunting went missing. Then his side hustles started to get hit. Could have been a coincidence, but he didn’t think so. Now he didn't have to guess. That asshole had been toying with him, denying him his prey.

Angelo stood back. Bobby felt that cane pressing against his ass again. So that's why he was being beaten. Mason Malone. He let out a bitter laugh.

“You know, if you'd have stuck with going after Aiden Taylor-Chapman, you would have been fine. Going for the girl was a mistake. Don't go after family, Bobby. I know it's tempting, but it's never worth it.”

Angelo’s casual words, delivered before another three blazing strokes of the cane, only served to irritate him.

Gritting his teeth, Bobby resolved to survive this. Angelo could hurt him, but he could make it through anyway. Angelo wasn't trying to kill him. Angelo was trying to make a point. Bobby could make a point too. No matter how much this hurt he was going to tolerate it. Angelo could beat him bloody if he wanted. He wasn’t going to beg for mercy. He wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of showing how much it hurt.

Once he settled into the pain, he started to calm himself. It was a matter of controlling his breathing. Every time the cane landed, he took a deep breath and held it. Then, he exhaled slowly as possible.

“It's not going to work," Angelo said. "I can hurt you more than you can take.”

So the old man knew what he was doing. So what.

"What do you want?"

"I want you to listen to me,” Angelo purred. “I want you to learn some manners, little boy.”

"I'm listening.”

"So I have your attention now?”

“Yes,” Bobby growled. “You’ve got my damn attention.”

Angelo had part of his attention anyway. The part that wasn’t entirely focused on the screaming pain in his ass. The welts of the cane were stinging and his muscles were aching and it was damn hard to pay attention to anything other than the painful humiliation of it all.

“There’s two ways this can go, Bobby. One, you don’t learn anything here, you keep doing what you’re doing and you end up dead.”

“What is this? Some kind of intervention?” Bobby laughed. "Are you trying to save me Angelo?”

“You could say that,” Angelo said. He ran his hand over Bobby's ass, his long fingers stroking the sore flesh. “I see potential in you, Bobby.” He was speaking softly, almost affectionately.

Bobby didn't believe it for a second.

“Yeah. You see potential for taking my business. You see potential for making me your bitch. It's not going to happen Angelo.”

Angelo gave a deep chuckle. “You’re smarter than you look,” he said, tapping Bobby's ass. Even the light touch hurt. Bobby had to clench his teeth together to stop from hissing in pain. It was worse when Angelo touched him with his hand. More intimate, but there was no real intimacy here. This was all manipulation. Bobby would not give into it.

“I could look after you, Bobby,” Angelo said. “I could teach you what you don't know. Because there's a lot you don't know, Bobby boy. You’re lucky I found you first. Sooner or later, you’re gonna run into someone who isn't as patient as I am. Sooner or later, your luck is going to run out.”

“I make my own luck,” Bobby growled against the workbench. Fuck this guy. He wasn’t buying these intimidation tactics for a single second. And he didn’t need saving. Angelo had gotten the drop on him because he hadn’t seen him coming, hadn’t factored him into the plan. Now he knew, things would be different.