Read Online A Mighty Fortress by S.D. Thames - Free Book Online Page B

flying toward my face. It was a good hit. Might have knocked me down or out had it been a split second sooner.  
    I caught my balance, wiped my lip, but saw just a little blood. I braced for the next blow. It didn’t come. Just a question: “Who the hell do you work for?”  
    Scalzo emerged from the darkness of the room. He smoked a cigarette and had lost most the layers he’d worn earlier that night: now he had on just a white V-neck and the same black jeans.  
    “I said ,” he started to say, but stopped when I shed Kiki and connected a roundhouse to his chest. I couldn’t see the contact, but it sounded like it sent him flying back against the far wall. It also felt like I’d pulled something in my groin.
    “You son of a bitch,” he moaned from the floor.
      Kiki drove the gun into my side and pushed me to the ground. Jimmy kicked me from the front. I felt all his frustration and anger from the night explode on my face. “Well done,” I had to tell him.
    Kiki drove the gun barrel into my temple now. The garage floor was cold and surprisingly comfortable.
    Scalzo returned, catching his breath. He stood over me, pulled my neck back like a crane. “Answer me, scumbag. Who the hell hired you?”
    “Mattie Wilcox. The attorney for your old employer.”
    “Pilka?”
    “I guess that’s his name. Hell, I don’t know.”
    Scalzo grunted. It turned into a laugh. “Give me a break. Give me a fucking break. My attorney’s going to be in the courthouse first thing tomorrow morning to take care of that subpoena. What do you think about that ?”
    “I could care less, friend. I just get paid to serve ’em.”
    “Don’t call me friend, you piece of shit.” He tried kicking me with all his body weight, but the angle wasn’t right and it felt more like a leg push.  
    I might have chuckled. Whatever I did, it compelled Scalzo to lob a few blows. I turned with each one to minimize their impact, but my head still stung.  
    Scalzo took a break with his hands on his knees. Catching his breath, he asked, “So what does this Wilcox want with me?”
    I got to my feet. “Why don’t you ask him? I think you overestimate my role in this.”
    “You’re saying he just hired you to serve me without saying nothing?”
    I nodded. “Yes, Sherlock. That’s exactly what happened.”
    “What else did he say?”
    “Just that he needed you served ASAP.”
    “Why?” His tone predicted progress. “Why!”
    I thought I’d throw him a bone. “He knew you were going out of town and wanted you served before you left.”
    Scalzo glared at Kiki, as though to make sure he’d heard that, too. Kiki nodded.
    Then Scalzo returned his glare on me. “Listen to me, you sorry-ass fuck. I’m going to ask you this question once and only once, and you’re going to answer me. Are we clear?”
    “You better ask the question first, eh?”
    I guess that was out of line, because he responded with an uppercut to the gut. Fortunately, I’d seen it coming and had time to brace. Judging by the way he winced and squeezed his fist, I think the blow hurt Scalzo more than me.
    “I said are we clear?” he asked.
    “Sure,” I said. “Now what’s the question?”
    “Don Alexi?” He was panting now.
    “That’s a question?”
    This uppercut was quicker, so I had less time to brace. My stomach was getting sore, and my lower back was feeling really tight, like it could go at any moment. I made a note never to accept a dangerous job the day after a powerlifting meet.
    “Do you know him?” he hissed.
    “Who?” I’d honestly forgotten the name already.
    “Don Alexi!”
    “Never heard of him.”
    I braced. He’d already wound up, but he stopped short of hitting me. Instead, he was searching my eyes for the truth. I had nothing to hide, so I gave him the most honest look I could muster.
    “You don’t know Don Alexi?”
    “On my mother’s grave, I never heard his name before just now.”
    Scalzo retreated and rejoined Kiki. They