A Stranger in the Mirror by Sidney Sheldon Page B

body shake. 'For Christ's sake," Toby heard himself say, inanely. can't do this." One of the men hit him hard in the stomach. In the next d, Toby felt excruciating pain as the tire iron slammed st his right arm, shattering bones. He fell to the flooring in an unbearable agony. He tried to scream, but he 1 not catch his breath. Through tear-filled eyes, he looked ad saw Al Caruso standing over him, smiling. "Have I got your attention?" Caruso asked softly. Toby nodded, in torment. "Good," Caruso said. He turned to one of the men. ;n up his pants." The man leaned down and unzipped Toby's fly. He took are iron and flicked out Toby's penis. Caruso stood Acre a moment, looking down at it. "You're ky man, Toby. You're really hung." Toby was filled with a dread such as he had never known. , God ... please ... don't... don't do it to me," he sed. "I wouldn't hurt you," Caruso told him "As long as re good to Millie, you're my friend. If she ever tells me did anything to hurt her--anything--you understand " He nudged Toby's broken arm with &e toe of his shoe Toby screamed aloud. "I'm glad we understand each r," Caruso beamed. "The wedding is at one o'clock." Caruso's voice was fading in and out as Toby felt himself ring into unconsciousness. But he knew he had to hang on. can't," he whimpered. "My arm..." "Don't worry about that," AI Caruso said. "There's a doc us way up to take care of you. He's gonna set your arm give you some stuff so you won't feel no pain. The boys be here tomorrow to pick you up. You be ready, huh?" Toby lay there in a nightmare of agony, staring up at Santa Claus's smiling face, unable to believe that any of this was really happening. He saw Caruso's foot moving toward his arm again. "S -- sure," Toby moaned. "I'll be ready..." And he lost consciousness.
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    II
    The wedding, a gala event, was held in the ballroom of Morocco Hotel. It seemed that half of Las Vegas was ?. There were entertainers and owners from all the other ds and showgirls and, in the center of it all, Al Caruso i a couple dozen of his friends, quiet, conservatively dressed �, most of whom did not drink. There were lavish arrange- its of Sowers everywhere, strolling musicians, a gargantuan Eet and two fountains that flowed champagne. Al Caruso taken care of everything. Everyone sympathized with the groom, whose arm was i cast as a result of an accidental fall down some stairs. But f all commented on what a marvelous-looking couple the Ie and groom made and what a wonderful wedding it was. Toby had been in such a daze from the opiates that the tor had given him that he had walked through the ceremony ost oblivious to what was going on. Then, as the drugs an to wear off and the pain began to take hold again, the er and hate flooded back into him. He wanted to scream to everyone in the room the unspeakable humiliation that been forced upon him. Toby turned to look at his bride across the room. He embered Millie now. She was a pretty girl in her twenties, x honey-blonde hair and a good figure. Toby recalled that had laughed louder than the others at his stories and had wed him around. Something else came back to him too. I was one of the few who had refused to go to bed with him, which had only served to whet Toby's appetite. It was all coming back to him now.
    "I'm crazy about you," he had said. "Don't you like me?" "Of course I do," she had replied. "But I have a boyfriend."
    Why hadn't he listened to her! Instead, he had coaxed her up to his room for a drink and then had started telling her funny stories. Millie was laughing so hard that she hardly noticed what Toby was doing until he had her undressed and in bed. "Please, Toby,'' she had begged. "Don't. My boyfriend will be angry." "Forget about him. I'll take care of the jerk later," Toby had said. "I'm going to take care of you, now." They had had a wild night of lovemaking. In the morning, when Toby had awakened, Millie was lying beside him, crying. In a benevolent mood, Toby had taken her