The Target

Chapter Twenty

Here's a first world problem for you. I have to take out my fake boyfriend's father, the most wonderful man I've ever met, and frankly a great father, while I kind of want my fake boyfriend to be my real boyfriend, while avoiding a scheming, rebel daughter and not getting caught and thrown in jail.

Not only that but Lenny has just called me over and given me a package from the one person I've been trying to avoid since he was released.

So far, he already knows where I live and has started sending me packages, in quick succession, the contents of which I don't know because I refuse to open them. He's not been out that long, and he's already started his harassment in try to get to me. At least while he was in prison I know he couldn't come anywhere near me. Now I could find him standing at my door one morning with nothing to do but slam the door and hope he won't barge through.

I look down at his handwriting, thanking Lenny for the package, which I am not at all thankful for, he gives me a sympathetic nod, like he always does when I receive these packages, and bids me a good day. I like Lenny, although it would make his job much easier to just cut out the 'giving me my mail' part and simply throw the package straight in the bin. Either that or don't accept the package in the first place.

Leaving my building, I take a very familiar route to the back alley and begin shoving the package into the large bin like I've done too many times before. The violence of my actions attracts the attention of some people in the street, one person even beings to walk down the alley towards me. Before I could turn towards them they speak.

"That cost me a lot." I freeze, completely frozen like a deer in headlights. I stop pushing the package as far as I can into the bin and look straight ahead, not wanting to turn around at all.

When my mind finally catches up with my body and begins to recognise the voice of the man, if he could even be called that, behind me, I reach into my pocket and pull out my phone, slowly, like I'm dealing with a dangerous and wild animal that could pounce at any point. Getting my phone up to my ear I call the only person that I know will come straight away without hesitation.

"Alley beside our apartment building." I say to him, hearing the beginning of a series of questions, posing what's happening and who I'm with. I cut him off, clicking end call and tentatively placing the phone back into my pocket before giving myself a quick pep talk.

I turn around to the man I've seen twice since he cast me out of his life. Once when I visited him in prison and the second a mugshot in a news article about a drug lord finally brought to justice. A drug lord that the articles say lost his daughter to a dangerous gang. LOST. He didn't lose me. He cast me away like I was nothing to him. Am nothing to him.

Only it seems the dangerous drug lord has been released early on good behaviour.

"What do you want?" My voice laced with venom came out exactly as intended, causing him to recoil and look at the daughter he no longer recognises, the one he discarded out of his life.

"I wanted to see you. You haven't been answering my attempts to contact you. I also need to talk to you." I glare, giving off as much hatred into the cold look as possible, focusing on trying to explode his head with my mind. Not with much success however.

"Because I don't want to know you. You made it very clear eleven years ago that I mean nothing to you and, so, I have spent those eleven years making sure you now mean nothing to me. I don't know you." I step forward, pushing my shoulder into his as I walk past down the alley.

I only get two steps before a wrinkly hand clasps itself around my forearm with a surprising amount of strength and force, causing me to turn around. Looks like the old man still has some muscles in the wrinkly old arms.