*Rowan*
The room was cold with intention.
It was one of the basement levels beneath the east wing. No windows, no light but a single, dim bulb that hung like a noose from the ceiling. The floor was concrete, stained with old memories, and the walls were thick enough that not even screams could escape. I had made sure of that.
Lance was tied to a chair in the center. Arms strapped, ankles bound, shirtless. His breathing was erratic, the panic setting in now that the shock had worn off.
He'd been here for hours. Left alone in the silence with nothing but his own racing thoughts and the soft hum of the bulb above. I'd learned over the years that silence, not violence, broke men faster. They always imagined worse than what was coming.
Except now. He had no idea of what I was prepared to d
