I laugh. "Well, basically."
"And what are you doing this afternoon?"
I take a bite of my French toast before answering. "I'm meeting Lucia to get our nails done. She got us appointments at the Crown Day Spa. And then I figure I'll come home, get ready and meet Flynn for dinner. I want to take him somewhere good."
"Maybe the steak house on the Strip?" my dad suggests. "I can get you a reservation."
"You'd do that for me?"
"Honey, I would do anything for you."
"Thank you," I say. With my plate cleared and my drink done, I figure this conversation has probably run its course. If I order another Bloody Mary, I'll probably be telling my dad way too many details about what actually happened last night. Instead, I excuse myself. "I'm going to go get showered and changed and then I'll meet up with Lucia.” I walk over and give Dad a hug, kiss his cheek. "I love you, Daddy."
"I love you too, sweetheart. I just don't want you to get hurt."
"Thanks," I say. "I don't want you to get hurt either."
My dad chuckles. "Nothing's happening to me. I'm strong as an ox."
"Good, because I don't know what I would do without you."
9
Flynn
Once I've showered and eaten breakfast, there's a knock on my door. I wish it were Fiona back here, wanting to see me, have another fuck before the day gets going, but I know it's not her. It's a delivery.
I open the door, and I'm handed an aluminum case by a nondescript man who I don't exchange information with. Instead, I take the case from his hand and nod before closing the door. I set it on my bed and open it up, seeing a Glock that I know will do the job. I check that it's locked and loaded. I set it back down in the case, shaking my head, wondering what the fuck I'm supposed to do.
Can I really go kill the father of the girl I've fallen in love with?
Tommy texts before I can get too spun up. Instead of returning it, I just call him.
"Hey man," I say, "you made it to Vegas?"
He chuckles. "Fuck yeah, I did. I love this town."
"Aren't you exhausted? You fly in from Munich last night?"
"Yeah, but I slept on the plane, took a few sleeping pills and was out like a baby."
"Gave you enough rest, so you would be ready for your night out?" I ask.
He says, "Hell yeah, thanks for the hookup. Lucia is, well, fuck, you met her, right?"
"Yeah," I tell him. "She's Fiona's friend."
"Right, Fiona. Lucia told me she was a little virgin that wanted you to take her V card."
"Don't talk about her like that," I say, gruff. My blood rising, pulsing in my veins.
"Dude, sorry. I didn't realize. What? Does she, like, mean something to you?"
"She means everything to me," I tell Tommy. "She belongs to me."
"Whoa, okay. That escalated quickly," he laughs. He's always been the kind of guy who finds humor in the day-to-day. Me, I'm a little bit rougher around the edges. It takes me time to warm up. Well, at least usually. It sure didn't take me much time to warm up to Fiona.
"So you treated Lucia well, right?"
"Something like that," he says. "That girl's wild."
"What kind of wild?" I ask, instantly regretting it. I don't want to know the details of his relationship with Fiona's best friend. Of course, I know it's not a relationship. That's not how Tommy works. He's a one-night stand kind of guy.
"I don't know. I'm going to see her again tonight."
"Wow," I say, genuinely shocked. "You're going out for a second date?"
"What? You can fall in love but I can't?"
"You fell in love with this girl?" I asked, downright floored.
"Maybe," he says. "Hell, I don't know. What do I know about love anyways?"
"What do you know about love?" I ask. "Well, regardless, treat her right. If Fiona loves her, she's got to be a sweetheart."
Tommy chuckles. "I'm not sure I would call Lucia a sweetheart, but yeah, she is pretty nice. Her body is, at least."
"You don't need to treat her like a piece of meat," I say.
"Dude, calm down. I'm not. I'm going out with her again tonight. Hell, I'll bring her some roses, that make you feel better?"
"Yeah," I admit, "a little bit."
"Good. So why are you calling me on the phone anyways?" Tommy asks. "I don't think I've had a phone call with you in my whole damn life."
"I'm a little anxious is all."
"About what?" he asks.
"About my job."
"Really? I've never known you to hesitate when you had a target."
"This is different," I tell him, wondering how much to say. I don't want word to get back to Ruthless Corporation that I'm slacking, that I'm not taking this job seriously. But how the fuck can I? How can I kill Fiona's father in cold blood? He raised a wonderful young woman, which means he can't be all bad.