Stocky tightened his hold around her throat. “You’ll be doing nothing of the sort. You’re lucky we don’t put a bullet in your skull right now, but the boss will want to meet you two. Besides, you might come in handy.”
The men closed in on me. I kept my hand pointed at the ceiling. They approached with pistols and rifles trained at my chest and forehead. They grabbed my bicep, flung me around, then shoved me face first against the wall. The muzzle from one of the rifles pressed against the side of my head.
I stared at the mural of blood and bone that clung to the red door of the motel room. Thick lines of the chunky fluid flowed down the wood grain toward the floor.
Shadow continued barking and growling from the walkway, but I couldn’t see the canine anymore. The German shepherd yelped a second later, then ceased any further barking.
“No,” Anna screamed.
The teeth of the plastic zip ties binding my hands behind my back cut into my flesh. I jerked my arms, trying to get free. It made it worse.
“How did you find us?” I asked, face smooshed against the wall.
They yanked me from the wall, then turned me around. Two men flanked me, standing a scant inch away with weapons trained at my head.
“We’ve got eyes and ears all over this town,” Stocky answered, moving across the room with Anna fixed in his clutches. “Cell phones aren’t working too great at the moment because of all of the ash, but two-way radios seem to be functioning better.”
Cindy trembled and kept her head pointed at the floor. Her arms squeezed her chest as subtle whimpers of fright escaped her mouth.
“What are you planning to do with us?” I asked, squinting at Stocky.
He released Anna, then shoved her at one of his men. “Watch her. If she moves or tries anything, put a bullet in her leg or something.”
Anna jerked her arms away from the man, but then stood still before the armed goon.
Stocky glanced at the corpse on the ground next to the door, then to me. He shook his head, then stepped in front of me. “Well, you are in the unique position of having been the last person near my mark before he died. So, we’re going to take all three of you back and see what he told you.”
I looked down on the shorter brawny brute. “What if he didn’t have a chance to tell me anything before he died? After all, it was your men who snuffed him. I doubt your boss would be happy about that.”
Stocky nodded. “True, but my gut tells me he told you something, and I plan on learning what that is. I have ways of making people talk. Even the most strong-willed bend and break.”
I glanced to Anna, then Cindy. Both had armed men flanking them on either side.
Cindy stared at me, then opened her mouth.
I shook my head.
“Load them up in the vehicles now,” Stocky said while looking at me with a smug smile.
His goons dragged Cindy and Anna out of the motel.
Cindy whimpered and fought back the tears that dripped from her eyes.
Anna jerked her arms away from the larger men shoving her toward the door. “Get your damn hands off me.” She gave me a quick look before passing through the doorway.
The two men flanking me grabbed my arms, then wrenched me toward the door. Anna continued to run her mouth and pull away from the armed men as they tried to load her into one of the SUVs.
One of the henchmen struck her in the back of the buttstock of his rifle. Her body went limp in the other’s arms, head dangling forward.
“Hey,” I said, my voice tainted with anger.
“We’ll talk soon,” Stocky said from behind me. He hit me in the back of the head with the base of his gun.
The world spun. My legs went limp. Before I knew it, I blacked out.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
SCARFACE
The foot soldier leaned against the shelves. He glanced up at me, eyes narrowed and lips pursed. A line of blood ran from the open wound on his temple and down the side of his face. His mask lay on the floor at his side, giving me a better look at his angry expression.
“You have no idea how deep in shit you are,” he said, through trembling lips. He tugged his arms, then clenched his jaw, trying to free them from the bungee cord I’d pulled from the shelves and restrained his wrists with.
I bent down in front of him and placed the rifle across my thighs. Blood seeped from the hole in his shoulder, turning the ballistic vest a crimson color.
“To be honest, I think you’re the one that’s in deep shit right now seeing that you’re tied up with a hole in your shoulder, pal,” I replied. “Since I don’t have time for twenty questions, you’re going to take me to my friend, or I can promise you that the pain you’re feeling right now will pale in comparison to what I will do to you.”
“Go to hell.” He glanced over to Jake and Abby who stood behind me, then back to me. “You and your friend have messed with the wrong people. More men will show up soon if we don’t report in. I can promise you that none of you will be safe.”
“Wrong answer.” I grabbed his injured shoulder. The tip of my thumb probed the wound, then slipped inside.
He wailed, head shifting from side to side. His legs kicked, and his body slammed against the rack behind him.
I removed my
