Page 479 of The Sinner: James

His eyes move slowly over my face, taking in my features.

“You’re not him...” he mutters, staring at me as I bring my cigarette to my lips, light it, and take a drag, narrowing my eyes. “But, you look like him.”

“What happened to him?” I ask in a low, paced voice.

The man pushes his shoulders up before letting them slump.

“I don’t know. He’s gone.”

“Why the hell are you here looking for him if he’s gone?”

“They sent me here.”

Something doesn’t add up.

I flick an eyebrow at him.

“The brothers,” he offers.

“Why did they send you here, Oleg?” I ask menacingly.

“He owes them money.”

“How much?”

“I can’t tell you.”

My fist hits the table before it bounces straight to his neck.

“How much?”

He pushes back, fighting me and grabbing my neck as well. I kick the chair from under him, pressing his face against the table, and twist his arm behind his back.

He groans in pain.

“All right,” he shouts. “Let me go.”

I lift him up and toss him into the chair.

“How much?”

He looks at me with vacant eyes.

“I don’t know. A lot, I guess,” he says.

I read his face.

We’re getting nowhere with this.

“What about this?” I mutter, my cigarette dangling from the corner of my mouth as I pick up my jacket, slide my hand into my pocket and pull out a roll of cash.

All brand new one hundred bills.

I set it in front of him.

His eyes sparkle.

“10K. It’s all yours if you answer my questions.”

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