Page 66 of Deadly Target
Frankie, hanging back in the living room doorway like the coward he was, sent Alfie a grin. “Didn’t realize you had company, Alfonso. No wonder Felix The Hook is at your front door ready to kill you.”
Her dad blustered, placing his hands on his hips and sticking out his chest. “You ain’t getting in the way of this, are you, Molina?”
Alfie raised a brow at Olivia before turning to face her father. “You’re Olivia’s dad?”
Her father took a step closer to Alfie, pointing a finger in his face. “You and me got things to set straight. I know my Livvy has feelings for you, and I’m here to make sure you ain’t pulling a fast one on her.”
Dad was on board with her game. Thank God.
Alfie raised his hands in an act of surrender. “I’ve got nothing but respect for the lady. She’s good people.”
Felix got right in Alfie’s face. “You sleeping with her?” He shot Olivia a fierce look, acting the part of an enraged father. “You’re sleeping with this mutt? I thought you had better judgment.”
For a moment, her mind flashbacked to Johnny Valducie and the bawling out the poor kid had taken from her dad, only now she was nearly thirty years old and the man in question was a dangerous mobster.
She came down another few steps. “Daddy! I’m a grown woman. If I want to sleep with Alfie, that’s my business and nobody else’s.”
Alfie’s eyes went big as saucers. Frankie seemed to itch to get away from the family drama. He set his glass of liquor on the foyer table. “Alfonzo, it appears I came at a bad time. Let’s continue this discussion in my office first thing tomorrow morning.” He headed for the door, nodding at his goons to follow. Before he crossed the threshold, he turned back and snickered at Alfie. “That is if you’re still alive.”
Her dad’s stare never left Alfie’s face, as if Frankie were merely a pesky fly. “Good to see you again, Frankie.”
“Once you get this family dispute worked out,” Frankie said as his bodyguards picked up their fallen comrade, “I hope you’ll be headed back to Chicago.”
“I’ve got no designs on your territory,” her dad replied.
Frankie gave Olivia a slight tip of his head before he went down the front steps and disappeared into the night.
Olivia jogged down the last couple of stairs on shaky legs and closed the door. “Holy shit, that was close. Dad, what the hell were you thinking?”
Alfie shifted away from her dad, giving her another raised eyebrow. “What the hell washethinking? What the hell wereyou? How did you get into the house and upstairs?”
She ignored the question. “Mary Margaret is in her safe room. I thought Frankie was here to kill you. You’re lucky dad and I intervened.”
Her dad went to the transom window and peaked out, checking to make sure the coast was clear. “We’re all lucky we’re not dead.”
“I need a drink,” Alfie said. She watched him walk to the kitchen and disappear. His voice filtered back to them. “You want something, Felix? I’ve got a good scotch if you’re interested.”
Her dad looked at Olivia and rolled his eyes. “This is your CI?”
She had a few questions for Alfie and ignored her dad as she marched to the kitchen. “You’re going to need more than that, Alfonso Barone. You have me in your back pocket, huh?”
As she swung around the corner,bam. The ends of a Taser jabbed her in the stomach. Her body exploded in pain and she fell, jerking and spasming on the way to the floor, her forehead smacking into the corner of the countertop. Her vision blurred, and she felt Alfie grab her around the ankles and drag her to the stainless-steel refrigerator. The bright overhead light made everything go fuzzy. “Sorry, doll,” he murmured.
She groaned around her locked teeth and tried to kick him, but saw his expensive loafers walk past her face.
“Got your drink here, Felix,” he called to her dad.
Blinking away at the spots dancing in front of her eyes, she reached out to grab his leg, but her body would not respond to her commands. The pain in her head was immense and darkness began to close in, her ears buzzing with a high-pitched vacuum sound.
“No… dad…” she squeaked out, the words muffled as though she were drunk. Fighting her frozen muscles, she turned on her side, clawing at the floor. She had to warn her father, to stop him from coming into the kitchen…
Too late, she heard his voice above her. “Olivia?”
In the next half a second, her vision failed, the world went black, and the last thing she heard was a gunshot.
* * *
Alfie’s housewas dark when Victor and Roman arrived, a light drizzle falling once more. The house was in one of the nicer areas of Oceanside, the lawns well manicured and trees lining the streets.
