“That was me,” Colin replies.
Nodding, I slap his shoulder. “Good job.”
The last time I took someone here, I lowered the temperature incrementally, but I never remember to readjust it when I’m done.
“I activated the camera,” Ian says from the corner.
I glance over as the small monitor mounted beside the worktable flickers to life. The image sharpens into the stark interior of the freezer. A tiny speaker crackles softly as the audio feed opens.
The three of us watch the empty room in silence.
When I hear a car pulling up, I give Colin and Ian the first sincere smile I’ve felt in six months. “Show time.”
“Wait,” Colin grunts. “Are you going for the kill here? Or just teaching them a lesson?”
My lips twitch with amusement at the question. “We’ll see,” I muse.
I already know I won’t kill them. Despite what Wes and Derek did to my collateral, they’re good to keep around. Usually, they follow orders to the letter. And I suppose, if I’m being completely fair, no one told them not to hurt Alina.
Then again, as a debt collector, I shouldn’t have to fucking tell my men not to put their hands on what’s mine.
The side door groans open a minute later, the sound echoing faintly through the butcher house. Boots scrape across the concrete floor as Wes and Derek step inside, bringing the night air with them.
Wes rubs his hands together. “Jesus, this place smells like a morgue.”
“Quit whining,” Derek mutters, scanning the room. “Boss said meet him here.”
I step forward from the far side of the workbench.
Both men stiffen when they see me.
“Mr. Russo,” Derek says quickly, straightening a little as if he’s suddenly remembered how to stand properly.
Wes nods once beside him. “Boss.”
For a moment I just look at them, letting the silence stretch long enough to let dread settle in.
“You two have an interesting way of conducting surveillance,” I say calmly.
Derek’s brow furrows. “Surveillance?”
“At the bakery,” I clarify.
Understanding flickers across both their faces at the same time.
Wes shifts his weight. “We were just checking the place like we were told—”
“And you pushed her,” I finish for him.
The room goes still as neither man answers me. Well, since there’s nothing more to be said, I nod at Ian and Colin, who are hidden in the shadows as they lean against the far wall.
It happens so fast neither Wes nor Derek even realizes what’s happening until hands clamp down on them.
“What the—”
Colin grabs Derek by the collar and wrenches his arms behind his back while Ian drives Wes forward with a brutal shove.
“Move,” Ian growls.
