Page 158 of Rags's Awakening
“And then you threaten people with your piece or rough ’em up?” Rags asked.
“Something like that.”
“You work for this dude?” Chas pointed his gun toward Benny.
“Yeah. I need the money. I got kids… and another one on the way.”
Rags turned toward Benny. “I’m asking one last time who you work for. Think real hard before you answer, because I’m itching to put a bullet in you.”
Benny dabbed his glistening scalp with a tissue. “I do some stuff on my own, I swear.”
“And the other stuff?” Rags pointed his Glock at Benny’s hand. “There’s no damn way you just happened to land in this town.”
“Satan’s Heretics,” Benny mumbled.
“Who the fuck are they?” Chas asked, glancing between Rags and Tank.
“You work for them?” Tank kicked the chair leg.
The younger man looked up. “No. I just work for him,” he said, nodding toward Benny.
“Who are these assholes?” Rags asked.
Benny sighed. “They’re a motorcycle club like yours.”
“They’re not in Colorado unless they’re some wannabes like the now defunct Devils Reign,” Chas said.
“Where are they located?” Rags asked. “And, just so you know, I’m getting bored dragging information outta you.”
“And when he gets bored, he gets fuckin’ mean,” Tank added.
Benny straightened in his chair. “Texas. Bridge City.”
Rags glanced at Tank’s and Chas’s stoic faces, who he knew were thinking the same thing he was:Texas? What the fuck?
“Did you work with the Devil’s Reign?” Rags asked.
Benny slowly shook his head. “No. I never heard of them. I’m only collecting for Satan’s Heretics.”
“Where else are you collecting in Colorado?” Rags said.
“Mostly here. Sometimes in Silverton and Alpine Hills.” Benny wiped his face again.
“How many people in Pinewood Springs you already collect for them?” Rags asked.
Benny fidgeted in the chair. “Four.”
“Who?” Tank gritted.
“I don’t know their real names,” Benny said quickly. “Most use first names only. One’s a woman named Carla. Another’s some guy called Mitch. I swear, that’s all I know. The motorcycle club doesn’t tell me everything, and I don’t ask. I’m just the middleman.”
“Who gets a percentage,” Tank said.
“Yeah.”
“When you loaned money to Julie Cormick, did the MC back it?” Rags asked.
“No. That was mine. She sent you here?”
