Page 38 of Deadly Target
Before she could stop them, the words spilled out of her mouth. “She came to see you at the hospital yesterday?”
His tanned skin turned a funny shade of gray. He ignored the question, turning his attention to Marquita. “You have me mixed up with someone else. When was the last time you bought drugs from Alfie?”
Taz sniffed at Marquita’s feet and she slid farther behind the door. “Long time ago. He doesn’t mess around with people like me anymore. He thinks he’s big time, so he moves a lot of product to the rich and famous these days, people who can pay a lot and want larger quantities. What has this got to do with the Kings?”
Olivia was still trying to get her bearings about Victor and the actress. A part of her felt dumbfounded, the little voice in her head telling her he’d been too good to be true, while logic told her there was a simple explanation. “Territory disputes,” she said. She flashed the picture in front of the woman’s face again. “So this woman met him in an alley. You really think I believe she’s some rich and famous gal?”
“I don’t know.” Marquita shrugged, her nervous eyes glancing at the dog, now sticking his nose through the crack in the door. Olivia kept her foot there to be sure Taz didn’t end up with his nose broken off. “He doesn’t deliver product himself anymore. If he was meeting her, it must’ve been a big score for him, but he didn’t want to be seen going to her place or meeting her openly. Maybe she’s helping him take down Gino.”
“Take down Gino?” Alfie was planning to take down Gino all right, but with Olivia’s help, wasn’t he? Why would he use a junkie, no matter how rich and famous? “What are you saying? Alfie’s going after the head of the West Coast Fifty-seven Gang?”
“Look, Alfie is smart and ambitious. He doesn’t say a lot, but he’s always running a plan to get up the ladder. He gets people under his thumb then forces them to help him.”
Tell me something I don’t know. “Have you heard anything about a mob hit against a DEA agent?”
“I don’t run with that group anymore. How would I hear anything like that?”
Liv pulled out her card and handed it to the woman. “Keep your ears open, and call me if you hear anything about Alfie, Frankie, or Gino. I don’t care how insignificant it seems, you get in touch with me, otherwise I’ll be back.” She patted Taz’s head, backing him up and removing her foot from the doorframe. “And I’ll bring the dog and a warrant with me, you understand?”
The woman nodded, snatched the card, and slammed the door. The deadbolt cracked loudly as she snapped it into place.
She, Victor, and the dog made their way to the car in silence. As soon as they were inside, Victor said, “Tracee heard about the shooting and happened to be in the area. She stopped by to check on me. That’s all it was.”
Liv started the car and pulled away from the curb. “That was nice of her.”
“I guess the paparazzi thought they could spin the picture and get her fans to speculate we were getting back together.”
She drove on autopilot. “You two are still good friends, then?”
“Far from it. I haven’t spoken to her in nearly two years.”
Olivia was looking forward to her weapons training now even more than usual. She might actually have a face to put on the target. “Kinda strange she’d come to the hospital to find you, isn’t it?”
“The reason she was in the area was legit, and I like to think maybe she’s realized what a great guy I was, and how she blew it. But the truth is, she was probably looking for a photo op. She always is.”
He sent a charming smile her way and she felt the grip on her rib cage loosen. “No chance the paparazzi are correct? That there is some kind of reconciliation going on?”
He shuddered. “Not a chance in hell.”
Olivia breathed a silent sigh of relief. “I guess Marquita was kind of a bust. Sorry about that.”
“She knows more than she’s admitting, and I have no doubt she’ll be calling Frankie, or one of the other guys, to fill them in. She seems like the type to bitch her head off about us showing up on her doorstep. You never know, if Frankie slights her, maybe she’ll dig up some info and give us a call.”
They breezed down the freeway. “Any luck with your other leads?”
He was checking his phone as they drove. “Well, this is interesting.”
The way he drew out interesting made the hair on the back of her neck tickle. “What?”
“Roman assigned some of his team to follow up on several Suarez gang members who have explosive experience in their background and the use of explosives on their rap sheets. One went to the home of a woman named Kelly Perez to question her, and guess what? She’s dead. Two bullets to the heart and one to the head.”
“Execution style,” Liv said.Mob style.
Victor looked out the window pensively before glancing her way again. “What if we’ve been going at this backwards? What if Gino and Frankie aren’t trying to take over the Kings, but instead, they’re workingwiththem?”
“But they’re fighting over the same territory and resources. Why would they suddenly start working together?”
“I don’t know, but I think we better find out.”
