“No, we’ve never had a problem, not up to the point where you broke into my hotel room in the middle of the night!” Sofie puts her hands on her hips, slipping off her heels at the same time. It was clear she wasn’t going anywhere, and if he was planning on doing anything, at least in bare feet she stood a chance of defending herself.
“Really, well that’s not the way I see things. It seems we have a difference of opinion.” He shifts in his seat again, feeling the aged springs poking him in the rear end. “You left DC without even a goodbye, no forwarding address, no way for us to get in touch with you. That was very remiss of you.”
“I was traveling for work. I didn’t just skip town to avoid you guys. I’m still here working. If you’ve been around here for a little while, you’ll now about the drilling site. Besides, it’s not like I’ve ever had any way of getting in touch with you. That was always the deal, the less I knew, the better for you.” She shrugs as she tells him something he already knows. She peers at the Collector through the darkness, trying to get an inkling of what it is that he’s thinking, what he’s planning on doing now that he’s presented himself in her room.
“I don’t want to hear your excuses, Ms. Braun.” His voice is harsh, frustrated. He’s losing his patience. He’s a dangerous man, and Sofie knows not to cross him. He’s told her to keep quiet, so that’s what she’ll do.
The Collector was just one cog in a very big wheel. He was the enforcer. He was the one that they sent for the money, to instill fear into the hearts of whoever the debtor was and to make it clear what would happen to them if the flow of money ever stopped before they said so. Whatever he was planning on doing here, he had to have been sent by someone higher up, which wasn’t good news for her. The higher up news of her went is the more visible she became to them, and these were people that you didn’t want to stand out to.
She had managed to coast more or less under the radar with them, doing what they asked without question, increasing her monthly payments whenever they said so. She kept her head down and did what she was told. That was up until now. Now things had shifted. She didn’t know the lay of the land anymore; she was all at sea, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Sofie tries to keep calm, but she’s never been good in situations where she had no control. When her control was away, she felt like a little girl again, a little girl with no idea of what was about to happen to her.
“How did you know I was here?” It’s dangerous for her to ask a question. He’s made it clear that he’s the one that asks and she’s the one that answers.
“Well, that’s the best part of the whole story. A concerned citizen left a message for me at your shiny new apartment. You really should think about unpacking all those boxes you’ve got there sometime, get some plants, make the place a little more homely.” He gives her advice as if he were a friendly uncle rather than an underworld criminal.
Great, yet another person that’s broken in to my apartment, Sofie thinks. Why would I even bother to lock the door?
“Anyway, this helpful person gave me all the details I needed. He told me what town you were in, what motel you were staying at, what room number you had. It really was lucky that he got that message to us, otherwise who knows how long it would have taken us to find you.” The Collector smiles at her indulgently.
And wouldn’t that have been the end of the world? Sofie keeps the thought to herself. She has a fair idea of who that concerned citizen could have been. Luke had admitted he’d been in her apartment and his private investigators had dug up information on her father’s past and her financial woes. It wasn’t exactly a stretch to figure out that he was the one that had led the Collector right to her. It worked in Luke’s favor, giving her the push she needed to ask him for a favor. And now she was indebted to him. His plan had worked out pretty well. Home run for Mr. Calambor, she thinks.
“So it all worked out then!” Sofie replies to her captor as brightly as she can while under threat. “I’m just going to walk over to my bag and get you your money. I’m guessing you don’t want to stay in this town any longer than you have to. I can imagine it’s not really your scene.” She holds her hands up as she approaches the bed where she had dumped her bag, moving slowly so that he doesn’t think she’s going for mace or a gun, or whatever he seems to think she carries around with her. She slips the envelope of crisp bills out of the bag and looks at him for permission. He nods, waving her over to him, and she advances slowly, stopping a few feet in front of him. She hands over the envelope, her hand shaking.
She takes a step back, as she watches him count it. She’s already done the same, twice. She knows that it’s all there, there’s no chance of anything being missing. That’s why she’s so surprised to see the look of disappointment on his face as he finishes up.
“It isn’t enough.” He looks at the money and then looks at her, shaking his head.
“Wh…what do you mean? It’s all there; I counted it. It’s the same as every month, right down to the last dollar.” Sofie stares at the envelope, confused, wondering if a few of the Benjamin Franklins had slipped out into her purse.
“You’re right. It’s all here, down to the last dollar. What you pay every month is sitting here in my hand.” He holds out the envelope flat against his palm. “But this isn’t like every other month. Your little disappearing act has incurred some additional…expenses.”
“What are you talking about?” Her voice is unsteady. She doesn’t like the way this is going. “What expenses?”
“Well, let’s see.” The Collector starts to list items on his fingers. “There’s the plane that I had to catch to get down here, then the car that I had to hire to get me to this godforsaken place. Then, there’s the hotel that I’ve had to pay for, while I hung around, waiting for you to decide to show up. Plus, there’s the terrible food that I’ve had to eat. Tell me, what place in the world doesn’t have one good Italian restaurant? Seriously, it’s not that hard!” He shrugs at her, smiling as if they’re buddies, and then he looks down at his hand again, frowning like he can’t remember what he was about to say. “Ah, yes, and then finally, there’s my time.” He holds up the five fingers that he’s ticked off on his right hand.
“And what do all these amount to?” Sofie bunches her fists, digging her nails into her palms to stop herself from screaming out in frustration. It almost doesn’t matter what figure he names, she doesn’t have it.
“I’m willing to be reasonable, so let’s just call it double.” The Collector sits back in the chair, observing her reaction.
“Double?” Sofie gulps the word down as if that would make it disappear.
“Yeah, that seems fair, doesn’t it?” He doesn’t wait for her response. “So you’re short about this much.” He indicates a space above the envelope with his fingers of a couple of inches.
Sofie is rendered speechless. After all her worrying, after the indignity of having to ask Luke for the money and watching him count it out, making her look like a hooker in front of anyone that was looking. None of it had mattered. She almost wants to laugh it’s so unbelievable. None of it had been necessary. No matter what she did, she wouldn’t have been able to get them the money they want.
The Collector watches her for a few moments, while she tries to find the words. “What’s the matter, little lady? You didn’t really think that there wouldn’t be any blow-back from your disappearing act, did you?” He shakes his head, surprised at her naiveté. “My employers aren’t in the business of running around after people that owe them money. And they don’t take kindly when people try to skip out on them.” He looks at her meaningfully, leaning forward threateningly, his elbows on his knees.
Involuntarily, Sofie takes a step back. It’s a reflex action, something that she can’t stop. “I didn’t skip out on my debts. I don’t know how to say it a different way.” Her voice is steady although her heart is hammering at about a million beats per minute. “In all the years you’ve known me, I haven’t once let you down, not
once. Doesn’t that count for anything?”
The Collector mulls this over for a few seconds before getting to his feet and advancing on Sofie shortly. “Little girl, I thought you were smarter than that. We’re not in the business of trust. You don’t get points for being on time with your money every month. That’s what’s expected of you. That is the minimum that they want from you. So what, you think they’re going to cut you some slack just because this is the first bump in the road? I thought you would have known better than that.”
“What are you going to do?” Her voice is a whisper as her fear gets the better of her.
“Well, that all depends. Do you have the rest of the money?” He looks at her with interest, scrutinizing her face.
“Here? Now?” Sofie looks around, as if she’s expecting a money tree to pop out from the ground.
“The longer you make me wait is the more you’re going to be paying, and I’m not just talking cash. So, the choice is yours, but, if I had such a pretty face, I wouldn’t want to do anything that might spoil it.” He smiles at her kindly, like he’s just giving her some friendly advice. Sofie wonders how many times he’s done this, how many times he’s done the dirty work that he’s been employed for. She wonders if he even feels anything when he’s scaring people, when he’s hurting them.
“I don’t have it here. But I can get it!” She’s lying, she has no idea how she can get it, but she needs to buy time, time to get out of Beaumont and disappear. It was the only option left for her. They would never stop looking for her, which meant that she would always be running. Running was better than dead. But that meant leaving Ashton behind and leaving the pack to deal with Luke and Shale on their own. Would she be able to forgive herself for abandoning them? She already knows the answer to that question.
“How soon are we talking?” He brings something out of his pocket. Even in the dim light she can see that it’s a switchblade. She jumps as the knife flicks out, shining, full of menace.
“Soon, maybe a day or two.” She’s speaking quickly, saying whatever she thinks is going to get the Collector out of her room and her out of danger. Her gaze flicks between the blade and his face.
“Dr. Braun, I’ve been doing this for a long time. I don’t even want to tell you how long, it makes me feel old!” His shoulders move as he chuckles nostalgically to himself. “And you know one of the things that I’ve gotten really good at during that time?” Sofie shakes her head, no. She doesn’t trust herself to speak. “Knowing when people are telling me the truth.”
The Collector looks at her knowingly and starts pacing up and down in front of her, like he’s delivering a lecture or a sermon. “You see, everyone has a tell, something that gives them away. Whether they know it or not, they have it. For some people it’s a narrowing of the eyes, for some it’s a nervous laugh or smile. It doesn’t matter what it is, over the years I’ve gotten real good at identifying it with an almost 100% success rate.” He seems proud of himself, and Sofie wonders if he’s expecting her to clap or something.
“Why are you telling me this?” She keeps her head held high, hoping that her show of confidence will go some way to proving to him that what she’s saying is true and that he will get his money.
“Well, it’s pretty simple, really. I’m just trying to explain to you how I know that you’re lying.” The Collector looks at her as he says the words, and Sofie tries not to react, tries not to even blink. “We’ve known each other for a long time now, Dr. Braun, so I know you better than a lot of my other…clients.” He smiles at his use of the word. “Which means that there’s no way that I am going to walk out of this room just because you’ve said you can get me the money. We both know that’s not true, now don’t we?” He steps towards her, peering into her face.
Sofie can feel her whole body shaking with fear. “It is. I can get it for you.” Her voice is trembling. She sounds so small, like a little child, like Luke’s little damaged bird. She hates being so powerless, but she can’t will her body to get over her terror.
“Don’t lie to me, Dr. Braun. I really don’t like being lied to.” He shakes his head, waving the switchblade in the same motion.
“I’m not—” she starts but he doesn’t let her finish.
Suddenly, he’s in her face, bellowing at her. “Don’t lie to me!” His face is so close to hers, she can feel the spit landing on her cheek. He relaxes, as if he just really needed to get that tirade out and looks at her apologetically.
She wonders if all men that do these kinds of jobs have to be sociopaths as well as morally compromised or if they just got lucky with this guy. He advances towards her, and she keeps stepping back until she hits the wall behind her. She looks around her, from side-to-side for anything that she can take hold of to protect herself, but there’s nothing within arm’s reach. He’s backed her into a corner, and there’s no way out.
“We have what I like to think of as a company policy. We think it’s important to send messages to our…clients, so that there’s no misunderstanding.” He looks at Sofie to make sure that she’s following him. “I want you to know that this isn’t personal, it’s just business. And, if it got out, that someone was stiffing us and trying to disappear without paying what they owe, well that would be bad for business. We have to make it known that my associates and I, if you’ll pardon my language, are not to be fucked with.”
“Please, just give me a little time.” She hates the supplication in her voice, but it might be the only thing to get her out of this.
“Time’s up, Dr. Braun.” He grabs hold of her shoulders, squeezing them hard.
She tries to push him away, but he’s strong, much stronger than he looks. She uses anything she can, to get him off of her, her teeth, her nails. But he pushes her back up against the wall, hitting her head against it, stunning her a little. He has hold of her arms, and he’s shaking her.
She grapples with him, throwing her elbow out, and there’s a grunt as it connects with his chin. She can feel heat radiating through her, starting in her chest. She looks down at the necklace she’s wearing, her hand closing over it. It’s the rock. It’s heating up, hot as fire, but it doesn’t burn her.
It doesn’t take long for the Collector to recover, and when he does, he barrels towards her, throwing all of his weight behind him. The anger in his eyes is visible, and he raises his hand holding the knife, bringing it closer to her face. She uses all of her strength to push his hand away, kneeing him in the groin and watching as he doubles over in pain.
She looks over at the door. She knows that this the only chance she’s going to get. She takes a few steps, running towards her way out, but before she can get to it, a hand closes around her ankle, and she tumbles to the ground. She starts to scream for help, for anyone. That makes him even angrier. He straddles her, covering her mouth with his hands to muffle her screams.
“You’re a feisty one, aren’t you Dr. Braun? I didn’t think you had it in you.” He sounds impressed but clearly not enough to let her go. “Now, just hold still, I wouldn’t want to miss and cut your eye out.” He smiles at her gravely, communicating what a shame it would be if he blinded her while trying to cut her face.
She ignores him, squirming and kicking her legs out, trying to get him off of her, but it’s game over. He’s stronger than she is, and he clearly has no plans to let her go. The blade is moving closer and closer to her cheek, and she steels herself for the moment when he slashes her. She’s determined not to make a sound, she won’t give him the satisfaction. But just as she feels the cold steel against her skin, the rock around her neck burns hotter still until it gives out a burst of light. It’s so bright she has to close her eyes against it.
But, it’s not just a light, it’s a wave of energy that spreads out from the necklace, hitting the Collector and throwing him to the floor across the other end of the room. It’s as if an invisible hand has punched him, hard. Sofie’s mouth drops open at what she’s just witnessed, at what has just happened. But th
ere’s no time for her brain to analyze what she’s just seen. The Collector is already pushing himself up to his feet, still somewhat unstable. He has a look of shock about him, but it’s not enough to stop him from doing what he came here to do.
Slowly, grimly, he starts advancing on her as she scrambles up to her feet, taking hold of the necklace in her hand and trying to figure out how to make him fly across the room again. She imagines him soaring through the air and holds onto the necklace for dear life, but nothing happens, he just keeps getting closer to her. She plants her feet on the ground, ready to fight, ready to kick and ball and scream and do whatever she had to do to make this as difficult for the Collector as possible. He reaches out and grabs hold of her hair, twisting it and forcing her head towards him. She wriggles and tries to pull away from him, but he has a tight hold on her and clearly has no intention of letting go. That’s when there’s a deafening bang, and her door is almost kicked off its hinges.
He moves so quickly, it takes her a moment to realize that it’s Ashton who’s running into her room at full speed. He pulls the Collector off of her, throwing him to the ground as if he were made of feathers. Ashton looks around the room, taking in the situation in a matter of moments. He looks at Sofie who has plastered herself up against the wall, her arms red from where the man has been holding her, shaking her. He sees the blade in the other man’s hand and the way that he gets to his feet with practiced ease. It was clear that this guy isn’t someone that’s stumbled on Sofie; he’s a professional there to hurt her.
The thought makes Ashton’s blood boil, and he feels the anger rise up inside of him, filling him to the brim. The Collector tightens his grip on the knife and rushes at Ashton, thinking that the big man won’t have time to move out of the way of the blade. But Ashton sidesteps gracefully, not even breaking a sweat as he punches the man to the ground. Ashton’s rage won’t be contained; it makes it hard for him to think, hard for him to see anything other than what it wants him to do.
Thunder (Alpha Love - a Paranormal Werewolf Shifter Romance Book 3) Page 14