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They shook their heads violently at him.

“See? They were lured in by money and women!”

“Who said anything about women?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know, but they were probably involved. Look, this just doesn’t feel right. I’m playing Santa, but I’m like Evil Santa.”

“You’re bringing down a drug ring, and getting one step closer to taking down Moreno. This is a good thing.”

“I know,” he sighed. “I just…I feel like the Grinch.”

I couldn’t believe this guy. Seriously, we were on a job, and he wanted to pass out treats to the bad guys and release them on good behavior. “Now, you listen to me. They are going to stay here until the job is over, and when we get back, they’ll be released, but only when the job is done. Am I clear?”

Brock nodded dejectedly, then shoved his Santa hat on his head. “Fine, but I don’t have to like it.”

I turned back to the four guys, replacing the gag on the one who told me red made my eyes stand out.

“Alright, listen up, guys. We’ll only be a few hours at most. When we return, we’ll already have gotten Moreno, and you’ll be free to go. No one will know that you helped us out.” I looked at them strapped up and shrugged. “Unwillingly. Either way, you’ll be in the clear, back on the road to prison. Are we clear?”

They all nodded.

I checked their bindings one last time, then left the room, locking the door behind me. We didn’t really need anyone watching them. I had them locked down, but that didn’t mean we were leaving them alone at the house, either.

“No bathroom breaks, and no cookies. This isn’t a fucking charity,” I said to Fox, who was munching on Funyuns while watching a movie.

“No problemo.”

“And no shawarma.”

“You know, I’m kinda losing my taste for it.”

“Seriously?”

He grinned widely at me. “Naw, man. I was just joking. I could never get sick of shawarma. Well, unless I became a vegetarian.”

“Whatever,” I muttered, heading for the door.

I grabbed my Santa bag and trudged out to the station wagon. We looked fucking ridiculous, but thankfully, no one paid much attention to us since it was Christmas time.

“Everyone ready for this?” Scottie Dog asked as he pulled out of the drive of the safe house we were staying at.

“As ready as I can be,” I muttered.

“Don’t be a Scrooge. The whole day isn’t bad. We still get to pass out toys to unfortunate kids.”

“Yes, and drugs to really bad parents.”

“Well, there is that,” he muttered. “I mean, if you want to ruin the whole day.”

“Just think, Edu, you can practice for Christmas morning,” Brock laughed.

If I was even there. I wasn’t entirely sure Harper wouldn’t kick me out of the house before Christmas. But I pushed that all to the back of my mind as we arrived at the church. I had a job to focus on. Nothing else mattered right now. Not when a drug dealer was about to be taken down.

As we strode into the back of the church and down the steps to the basement, I made sure to note every other person working today. I doubted Moreno would be here in person. Then again, it was such a slick operation that he might take the chance and show up.

“Alright, now that our last four Santas are here, let’s go over how this is going to work.”

“That’s Rocket,” Brock leaned over and whispered.