Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 80957 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80957 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
“Zen stop asking questions I do not know ze answer to.”
I knew he was lying.
Grim knew it, too.
“I think you do,” Grim told him as he tossed his cigarette to the floor and took a step towards him. Boris wasn’t a big guy. He was about five-ten and might’ve weighed two hundred pounds if he was soaking wet. He was playing the tough guy, but it wasn’t a game he could play for long. It was written all over his face.
He grimaced when he noticed Grim getting closer. “Vat is it you want from me?”
“Haven’t you been listening?” Grim flipped the trigger on the prod, causing the current to arc. “I want to know what you wanted with the girl and her mother.”
“I vant nothing. I know not about any girl.”
“My patience is running thin, Boris.”
Grim took the prod and rammed it against the guy’s chest, sending a jolt of electricity surging through his entire body. Boris arched his back, and he grew rigid as he let out a stream of Russian curses. I’d lived in the South long enough to know a thing or two about the zing of a cattle prod. It hurt like a bitch, and that was just a regular one.
That thing Grim was using had to be lighting Boris up. It certainly looked and sounded that way. Grim removed the prod from his chest, and Boris fell completely limp. Grim’s voice was low and firm as he growled, “Best get ready, ‘cause I can do this all night long.”
He stood there staring at him for a brief second, but when Boris didn’t respond, Grim slammed it into his chest again. He removed it and waited for a moment for Boris to speak. When he didn’t, he took the end of the prod and pressed it against the dude’s balls.
Boris started thrashing side to side as he tried to break free from his restraints, but it was no use. He wasn’t going anywhere. Ignoring his little fit, Grim started after him again but stopped when Boris cried, “No, no! I tell you.” Grim lowered his hand and cocked his brow, waiting until Boris said, ““Ve are looking for code. Must find the code.”
“Code to wait?”
“De account.”
“Come on, now. You know I’m gonna need more than that.”
Grim started towards him with the prod, and Boris yelped, “Da money! Must find code to get da money!”
And there it was.
Boris was just a driver. He wasn’t made for this kind of torture, so I wasn’t surprised that he folded so quickly. Grim stepped back as he asked, “Where did the money come from?”
“I’m not privy to such information.”
“What makes your boss think the girl has the code?”
“I know not. I’m just da driver. I do as I’m told.”
Grim lowered the prod, and we both watched as Boris’ shoulders sagged with relief. Knowing what would happen, he’d done his best to keep his mouth shut about his new connection with Volkov, but in the end, he was just like all the others—he sang like a canary.
Grim left him hanging from the ceiling as he walked over to me and asked, “You think Tallie knows anything about this code?”
“She hasn’t mentioned anything to me, but I’ll certainly ask about it and let you know.”
Grim gave me a nod, then started down the hall. “I’ll let you know if I get anything more from the guard.”
“Appreciate it, brother.”
It would be a couple of hours before Grim would have anything from the guard, so I decided to stop in and speak to Prez and Shep before I headed back to the house. When I got to Prez’s office, he was sitting at his desk, talking with Shep and Memphis. As soon as he spotted me in the doorway, Prez leaned back in his seat and asked, “How ya holding up, brother?”
“I’m hanging in, but barely.”
“And Tallie?”
“About the same. She and the kid are settling in at my place, but I can tell they’re on edge. This whole thing is wearing on them.”
“I can imagine. Grim making any progress with the driver?”
“Yeah, apparently Volkov is looking for some code to access some money somewhere, and he thinks Tallie or her mother has it.”
“Does she?”
“I highly doubt it, but I won’t know until I ask her.”
“Might want to ask the brother, too.”
“Why? You know something I don’t?”
“I’m not sure.” Shep’s eyes narrowed. “What do you know about his line of work?”
“Not much. Just that he travels around doing some kind of tech stuff.”
“He’s a financial software engineer.” Knowing I didn’t have a fucking clue what he was talking about, Shep went on to add, “He designs software for international banking systems.”
“Yeah, and?”
“He has the means to manipulate transaction records, and if he was so inclined, he could create hidden pathways for major money transfers.”
“Okay. Good for him. Don’t see what that has to do with…”