Page 73 of Deadly Target
Alfie held up of a photo in front Victor’s nose. “I have it all right here. Dez was selling to Tracee and you got mad, so you had him killed.”
The picture was fuzzy, and although Victor could pick out his own face, along with Tracee’s, he couldn’t place where it’d been taken or when. The clothes weren’t his, and neither were the shoes. “Nice work, Alfie. Did you do the Photo Shopping on your own or have one of your minions do it?”
A grunt. “Can you believe this guy?” Barone asked Olivia. “I show him the evidence he was in the alley that night and he tries to spin it. I’m telling you, doll, he’s been playing you all along.”
Olivia’s eyes were unfocused. Conflicted and miserable. They pleaded with Victor, and his pulse jumped at the thought she might actually believe the bastard. Her voice wobbled. “It’s not true… Is it?”
Oh my god, was she really buying this? When had he ever given her reason to doubt him? “Of course, it’s not. I never knew your brother, never met him, and he wasn’t dealing to Tracee that I know of. I put Tracee’s dealer in prison. His name is Manuel Leon. You can look it up—oh wait, you can’t because Alfie has you tied to a chair. He’s purposely messing with you, Olivia, andyou know it.”
Her eyes dropped to the table and the other pictures there. “I know, but…the evidence…?”
No way. She didn’t actually believe any of this, did she? Victor took a step toward her, but Barone stopped him. “Unh, unh, unh. The game is up, Director. She knows all about your partnership with Gino DeStefano, how he stepped in and helped your family after your father was killed. I’ve shown her the evidence and she knows it all makes sense. You purposely manipulated, seduced, and betrayed her.”
At the mention of his father, everything inside Victor went very still. “What are you talking about? What do you know about my father?”
Alfie grinned.
The fire inside Victor blazed. “Are you saying Gino had my father killed?”
“I see Tracee wasn’t the only actor around here, was she? You’ve been in Gino’s back pocket since you were a kid. He helped you out, got your family back together, and now you help him. That’s why you got close to Olivia, you knew she was working to eliminate Gino and Frankie both. They were worried and sent you to cozy up to her and stop her when the time came.”
“Answer my question. Do you know who killed my father?”
Barone rolled his eyes. “Of course, I do. Who is Gino’s right-hand man and always has been? Even back in the 80s?”
Frankie Molina. Victor felt like he’d been gutted. The man had been under his nose for years and he’d never put two and two together. “How do you know it was Frankie? Maybe it was your dear old sack-of-shit dad.”
That got under Barone’s skin. His jaw tightened, and he put the gun against Victor’s skull again. “I told you to watch your mouth. Your father was a wimp, a milquetoast. He tried to stand up to Gino, tried to keep the union from caving, and look what it got him? A bullet to the head, leaving behind his whole family! He knew it could happen, and he still refused to cooperate. What kind of man puts his pride before his family? What kind of man leaves his wife and kids behind instead of looking the other way over a few measly dollars from the company funds?”
Victor ground his teeth. “He was a man of integrity if he wasn’t about to be bought off by a bunch of criminals.”
“Yeah, I bet his integrity is keeping him company in his grave. Meanwhile, you and your sisters grew up without a father, and he’s the reason your mother was crippled. She had no one but the head of the mafia family to help her.”
He had heard all he could take. He stepped toward Barone, disregarding the cold steel against his head. Victor was taller and stared down into the man’s hard eyes. “My mother and I never took a handout from Gino DeStefano or any other criminal, and I’ve heard enough bullshit from your mouth.”
He took another step, bearing down on the man, and heard Olivia suck in a breath. “You know Olivia doesn’t believe this crap, otherwise you wouldn’t have kidnapped her and tied her to a chair. The game is up. You want a go at me? Fine, let’s do it, but you take off her restraints and let her pick between us.”
Olivia’s voice held a fearful warning. “Victor—don’t do this.”
He’d managed to manipulate Barone so that he stood between the man and Olivia, blocking her from the gun if it did go off. Pushing Barone was dangerous, he knew, but he didn’t believe the guy had the balls to blow his brains out in front of Olivia.
And then, he saw the change in Alfie’s expression…the hard eyes going dead, vindictive. Hitman eyes.
Had he made a mistake?
Not waiting to find out, Victor shifted, thrusting a hand out to grab the gun.
Boom!
In that instance, everything went to hell.
