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He hated this. Hated the extortion, hated the violence, hated the vileness of the crime syndicate, and loathed the man in charge. At least, Mr. Troy seemed human, but then again, so had Mr. March.
Daniel had grown up a “good” kid. How had he fallen so low? Well, he knew the answer: alcohol, gambling… up to his eyeballs in debt.
Snake, Bull, and Sabre followed him into the lobby. He didn’t stop, instead heading straight for the manager’s office. He knew where it was—this being his third visit in the last two months. The first visit had netted him platitudes and promises, the second a token payment. This time, Troy wanted his money. Daniel wanted to vomit.
“Mr. Sheth,” Daniel addressed the elderly Indian man rising shakily from his chair behind the desk. He was a short man, which unfortunately meant his hands weren’t visible with the desk’s greater height. Troy’s goons shifted uneasily. Bull—the largest of the three—murmured instructions to Snake and Saber. Daniel rooted himself to the floor, afraid to move and get in their way. Troy’s men were as ruthless as their nicknames implied.
Daniel eyed the old man. “You know why we’re here.” He held out his hand.
“What’s going on here?”
Daniel turned as a younger version of Mr. Sheth barreled through the doorway. Snake caught the guy and locked his arms to his sides. He was a boy, really. Maybe just out of his teens.
“Your grandson?” Daniel inquired, studying the squirming youth.
Mr. Sheth huffed. “My daughter’s oldest.”
“What’s your name, kid?”
Daniel got a glare. Snake shook him until he squeaked, “Raj.”
“Raj,” Daniel repeated. “How old are you, Raj?”
“Eighteen,” the kid spat out.
“Okay, Raj, here’s the deal: Grandpa owes us 2k. For every one hundred dollars he’s short, my guys throw a punch. Two thou is twenty strikes.” Daniel turned slowly to face Mr. Sheth. He pushed his eyebrows upward. “Would you care to decrease that number?”
Mr. Sheth gaped. Not a sound or movement. Bull slammed a hard right into Raj’s gut. Raj yelled and curled in Snake’s hold.
“Wait,” Mr. Sheth shouted. His previously unseen hand had risen with a shaking gun pointed at Daniel.
Before Daniel could even blink, Saber had his own gun pointed at Mr. Sheth’s head. Snake threw Raj to the floor and planted a large booted foot on his chest before he drew two weapons, pointing one at Mr. Sheth and the other at Raj.
Bull yanked Daniel behind him, and darting forward, struck Mr. Sheth’s arm. The gun went flying. Bull leaned over the desk, grabbed Sheth’s shirt by the collar, and pulled. Mr. Sheth’s head hit the desk with a loud thunk. Bull shoved the old man back into his chair where he slumped, blood pouring from a long gash on his forehead.
“Dadi,” Raj whimpered, struggling to get out from under Snake and get to his grandfather.
“Yes, Dadi,” Daniel mimicked, grimacing at the sight of Sheth’s blood. The violence freaked him out, and he didn’t much care for the blood either. Scratch that. He hated blood. His stomach gurgled, and he knew he had mere minutes before he’d embarrass himself, running outside and throwing up in the shrubs. “Time to pay up. Get that safe open. Now!”
Saber holstered his gun, pulled Sheth to his feet, and dragged him across the room to the black floor safe.
“Key and timed lock,” Saber informed Daniel, pushing Mr. Sheth to his knees in front of the keypad.
Daniel huffed, frustrated that they’d have to wait for the timer to run down before the safe could be opened. Every minute of delay meant someone could call the cops, and they’d have to scram to avoid the boys in blue. It was a small mercy that, with Sheth facing away from him, he couldn’t see the red tracks of blood, and his stomach subsided.
“Where’s the key, Mr. Sheth?” Daniel asked, trying to keep the tremor he felt from his voice.
Sheth pointed to his pocket. Saber stuck his hand in and withdrew the keys. He shoved them at Sheth, pulled out his phone, taped on the voice recorder, and growled, “What’s the code? Say it aloud as you enter it.”
A pain-filled moan tore from Raj. Daniel glared at the boy curled up on the floor, holding his groin as he moaned again. He redirected his glare to Snake, who shrugged.
“He moved.”
“Give me those.” Saber snatched the rattling keys from Mr. Sheth’s trembling hands. He easily selected the correct one and inserted it in the lock. Then he pinched Sheth’s shoulder. “Open it.”
Mr. Sheth mumbled the code as he punched it in. Saber nodded and tucked his phone away when the lock disengaged after the three-minute countdown. The opened safe revealed a pitiful stack of cash.
“Grab it and let’s go,” Daniel said. “Mr. Sheth, you have twenty-four hours to deliver before we start taking body parts. I highly suggest you pay. You wouldn’t want Raj here to miss out on the opportunity to have biological children, now would you?”
