He shakes his head, breathing rough. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I glance at Rafe. “You hear that? He doesn’t know.”
Rafe lifts a shoulder. “Maybe he suffers from sudden, acute memory loss.”
“Tragic,” I sigh.
I plant my hands on the back of the chair and lean forward, bringing my mouth beside the man’s ear.
“One of our warehouses was hit,” I tell him. “Product stolen. Men attacked. At the same time, you’ve been skimming from our accounts. That seems like a lot of coincidence for one scrawny idiot, doesn’t it?”
He squeezes his eyes shut. “I’m just middle. I swear. I’m nobody.”
“Then give me somebody,” I reply, fingers digging just a little into the chair. “Give me a name and walk out of here with all your limbs intact.”
He licks his lips. “They’ll kill me.”
“They,” I echo. “There is a ‘they.’ Progress.”
“I can’t,” he whispers.
I straighten, sighing dramatically. “I always appreciate when people make bad choices. It keeps my hobbies funded.”
I nod at Vin, who’s standing by a workbench.
Vin moves forward and drops a small bag of tools on the floor beside me. The clatter makes the man jolt so hard he nearly tips the chair.
He stares at the bag like it’s a live grenade.
“Relax,” I say, crouching to unzip it. “I’m not going to do anything too terrible. Yet.” I glance up at him. “I mean, relatively speaking. It’ll be horrible for you, obviously. Perspective is everything.”
I pull out a length of rubber hose and slap it lightly against my palm, considering.
Rafe groans quietly. “Not the hose.”
“You have a better idea?” I lift a brow.
“Not really.” He shrugs.
“You’re no help.” I step around the chair, and the guy tries to twist away, like there’s anywhere to go.
“Okay. Let’s try this again.” I swirl the hose. “Who are you working for?”
He clamps his jaw shut.
Disappointing.
And also, very predictable.
Boring . . .
The first strike lands across his thighs, jarring his whole body with a crack that bounces off the concrete. He cries out, more from shock than pain.
That swing was mild at best.
A warning of sorts.
The next time, he won’t be as lucky.
