The thug by the rack walked over to the display case, his grimy hands trailing along the freshly washed surface. “We’ll be real nice to you, so long as you’re nice to us. Otherwise, bad things happen to good people.”
Before she could blink, he shoved his black boot straight into the pastry case. Bits of shattered glass flew everywhere. Lena jerked backward, unable to move away with the wall at her back.
Her body went on alert, her hands recoiling in front of her in defense.
“See what can happen? That’s why you need protection, sweet cheeks.” The guy sauntered over and pressed up against her, making her skin crawl. “So make sure you treat us real good.”
The stench of perspiration, cheap cologne, and a few other unidentifiable odors made her stomach churn. All Lena wanted to do was give this jerk a swift kick to the nuts, and she knew she could pull it off. But she’d still have his friend to deal with, and something told her he was the more dangerous of the two.
“So whaddaya say, sweet cheeks?”
He was so close, she could feel his warm, rancid breath on her skin. She swallowed the bile rising up her throat as the pieces fell into place. These two thugs were trying to extort money from her. She’d heard about gangs preying on honest shopkeepers in ethnic neighborhoods in San Francisco, and she’d seen it a ton of times in gangster and crime movies, but never did she think something like that would happen to her in a small town. This is insane. But the two dangerous-looking men were real, and they wanted her hard-earned money.
“How much?” she whispered, barely able to make her lips move as the man she deemed more dangerous loomed over her, sneering, with a power trip gleaming in his eyes.
The extortionist didn’t take a single step back. Instead, he pressed forward until their foreheads were almost touching. She had to move her hands, or they would be wrapped up in his black T-shirt. She made a small noise in the back of her throat.
“Oh, you’re scared? Good—I like that.” He slapped his palms on either side of her head, boxing her into the small space even more. “You got to pay us fifteen percent of your gross every two weeks, sweet piece. I’ll be the one collecting” —he tipped his head toward his friend— “along with my buddy. You’ll be seeing us a lot. I like the” —he leaned forward until his lips were at her ear— “possibilities.”
There was nowhere for her to turn to get away, so she stiffened beneath his heavy weight and went still.
“We could have some real fun together,” he added.
Balling her hands into fists at her sides, Lena—reluctant and bold at the same time—met his gaze. “I can’t pay you that much—it’s impossible. After all my expenses, I can’t keep this place running and line your pockets. You’ll be out of a cash cow as soon as you collect from me. Is that what you want?”
“Feisty… I like it.” The man’s eyes glittered like hard diamonds as he tried to grab her chin, but she jerked away from his grasp. “What I want is what you owe us.” He pulled back a little and fixed his attention on her breasts. “If you can’t pay the full amount, we’ll find others ways to get it, so I suggest you figure it out. We’ll be back. And just so you know, we won’t be so nice or understanding the next time.”
Without warning, he backed away. She was finally able to drag in a breath of fresh air, even as her heart raced. She fought to stave off the impending panic attack, but she was set on memorizing every feature of the two morons who were leaving as casually as they’d arrived.
They each wore black leather vests that had the same patch: an insignia with the name Jagged Outlaws MC.
She shook her head, trying to clear it. As soon as the door banged shut, she rushed forward and flipped the lock into place, then slumped against the door and slid down until her behind hit the floor. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out her cell phone and tapped the stored number to the local sheriff’s department.
“Hello? I want to report an extortion.” Lena nibbled the cuticle on her index finger. “I’m not sure how to do this.”
The man on the other end of the phone was professional and kind, but informed her she would have to come down to the station and give a statement.
Sighing, she rubbed the back of her neck. “I have to close my store, make a delivery, and then I’ll be there.”
After she hung up, she called the homeless shelter to tell them she was running late, but would be there shortly.
The ride over to the precinct was jerky. Her hands were shaking so badly, she could barely grip the wheel. Lena kept braking at every shadow, terrified it was the two outlaws following her in the dead of night. By the time she pulled into a space in the parking area, she was more than ready to get it over with. All she wanted was to go home, drink a glass of wine, and stare out at the ocean from the safety of her balcony. Suddenly, the desire to be wrapped in Tank’s strong arms seized her as she headed to the front of the building.
Shaking the image of him out of her head, she pushed open the door to the police station; a man behind a rickety old desk looked up from his laptop at her.
“May I help you?”
“I’m the woman who called about the extortion.”
The guy motioned with his thumb toward a hallway. “The sheriff wants you to see him personally about it. He’s the last door to the left. Come get me if you need anything else.”
Lena hiked up her purse and walked down the hall that seemed to go on forever until she stood in front of a large mahogany door and knocked.
“Come on in.”
She swallowed hard, placed her hand on the doorknob, and turned it. “Here goes nothing,” she mumbled quietly before entering the room.
Lena
After thirty minutes of going over the details for what seemed like the hundredth time, the sheriff reclined back in his leather chair and shook his head.
“I’m glad you came in tonight, but I’m afraid I’ve got bad news, Miss Labay. Unfortunately, what you say happened to you tonight can’t be corroborated. You told me there were no witnesses, and no one even passed by your establishment the entire time this incident took place. So far, what we have is your word against theirs, whoever these men are, so we can’t bring anything to the table right now. But, what I can do is promise you we’ll do our best to look into the matter. Does that sound good?”
“Have you had any other complaints from anyone else in the neighborhood about being shaken down?”
“Nope—you’re the first. We’ve never had anything like this in Santa Teresita. I’m thinking these two men saw a pretty lady and wanted to tease you a bit.”
“Breaking my thousand-dollar display case, manhandling and threatening me are not what I’d consider teasing.” The sheriff frowned, his lips pressing into a straight line of annoyance. “I just don’t want you to take this lightly. These men are demanding money from me, and I know they’ll be back. I was scared to death that they were going to do something horrible to me.”
“You’re a newcomer, so you don’t know the townspeople like I do. I’m not saying we won’t investigate the case. We’ll talk to the other businesses in the building to see if these two characters paid any of them a visit. Some macho-type guys like to scare pretty women.” He lifted his hands in the air. “I have no idea why. I guess it makes them feel more manly, but they’re really harmless.”