Page 89 of Misadventures of a Biker

Based on that belief, I planted the heel of my boot against the back door, just beside the knob. The doorframe splintered into shreds, and the door flew open, hitting the adjoining wall with a thwack!

I took long strides through the kitchen and into the living room.

He jumped up from the couch with eyes as wide as saucers. “What—”

I struck him on the cheek with the butt of the pistol. He fell to the floor between the coffee table and the couch.

“Who the hell—”

I grabbed a fistful of his hair and lifted him to his feet. “I talk, you listen. Understood?”

He nodded. “Yes.”

I hit him again, splitting a gash open on his cheek. “I talk. You listen. If I want you to speak, I’ll let you know.”

Wincing in pain, he wiped the blood from his cheek.

“Are you alone?”

I’d seen no one else in my surveillance, but I needed to know for sure.

He nodded.

“You have something I need,” I explained. “If you provide it, I will leave, and you’ll likely never see me again. If you do not provide it, I will kill you. This is not negotiable. Provide it or die. Those are the only options. Understood?”

He nodded frantically.

“Through the course of our discussions, if you lie to me about anything, I will shoot you in your left thigh. This is also nonnegotiable. Lie to me, get shot. Understood?”

He blubbered as he nodded his response.

“Lastly, if this matter is resolved to my liking but you decide at any time to go to the police, you will be killed. Don’t think that if I’m arrested, this step will not be taken or that you can save yourself from this fate. There are thirty-two men just like me who will line up to wipe your existence from this earth. Understood?”

He began to cry.

“I need you to acknowledge what I’ve said,” I warned. “Talk to the cops, you die. Understood?”

He nodded.

“Where’s your phone?” I asked. “You may speak.”

“It’s…the end table,” he stammered. “Over there.”

“Do you have a surveillance system? You may speak.”

“No.”

“Any cameras?”

He shook his head.

I released his hair and pointed the silenced Walther .22 pistol at his thigh. “You took approximately seven hundred thousand dollars from Teddi Mack. I need that money returned, no exceptions. If you return it, I will leave. If you do not, you will die.”

He swallowed heavily. “I don’t have it with me.”

“I’ll wait until you do.”

“I can’t. There’s no way I can get it right now.”