by Ashley Jade
When I walk back in, Tyrone's holding a glass of what looks to be Jack Daniels up to her lips. "No thank you. I really don't like to drink," she says sharply.
I pull out another pair of gloves and hand them to Jackson. "See if you can put these on her hands so I don't end up burning her."
He makes quick work of putting them on and she looks at him and swallows hard. "There's going to be sparks," she whispers.
"I'll protect you," he assures her.
Fucking hell, this is not good.
Out of all the girls in the world, this is the one who catches his eye?
I walk behind her and pull my face mask down. "Hold still."
She glances over her shoulder at me. "Um, do you have any experience with this?"
I'm the son of a notorious mob boss—me holding a blowtorch should be the least of your worries, sweetie.
"With a blowtorch or getting people out of handcuffs?"
"Both."
Yeah, she clearly doesn't know who I am. Which means, my suspicions regarding her are wrong.
I jerk a shoulder up. "I'm a Puerto Rican from the Bronx," I tell her.
Shit, it's half true.
Her entire body tenses and Jackson moves closer to her. "Keep your head against my chest," he whispers. "The sparks will hit me, not you."
Bark up another tree, Casanova. Any tree but her.
She shakes her head, her expression turning solemn. "No, I don't want you to get hurt either."
"It's fine," he says as she tucks her head against his chest.
Aw, hell. Is he sniffing her hair? This is bad, real bad.
Tyrone makes a "tsk, tsk" sound under his breath and I'm glad I'm not the only one having reservations about her.
Because even if my suspicions are wrong and I'm almost positive they are...this girl is clearly trouble just based on the fact that she's currently in handcuffs and she assaulted Lou-Lou.
Not to mention, she made Jackson lose focus during a fight and put him back on DeLuca's radar.
I start the blowtorch and less than a minute later, her hands are free.
"Thank you," she murmurs.
I nod and head for the front door. "Training is at 3pm tomorrow, guys," I remind them before I leave.
Hopefully, she'll be long gone by then.
I walk down the hallway and knock on Lou-Lou's door. Then I remember that we exchanged keys a few weeks ago and I pull mine out.
When I walk in, I find her smoothing a very sexy red dress over her hips and stepping into a pair of high-heels.
My dick twitches and I can barely keep my mouth from dropping to the floor.
Shit, did we make plans and I forgot about them?
When she proceeds to ignore me and grabs her jacket before heading in the direction of the door, I know what's going on.
She's upset because she feels like I didn't defend her.
And she's partially right, I suppose, but I needed to figure out what was going on with that girl and Jackson.
I latch on to her elbow. "I'm sorry."
She pats me on the shoulder, crinkles her nose, and throws open the door. "It's fine. Have a good night."
Her cold front could rival Antarctica's.
I thought we were over the bullshit and games.
I follow her down the hallway and try to ignore the way her ass sways as she walks away from me.
"Stop being like this, Lou-Lou. I told you I was sorry and I meant it."
She turns around and gives me a 'fuck you' smile. "And I told you it was fine. Like I said before...have a good night."
Yeah, she has the art of passive-aggressiveness mastered.
I follow her down the steps, growing angrier with every second that passes. "Where are you going?"
"Out," she calls over her shoulder when we reach the lobby.
I walk ahead of her and stop her from walking out the lobby doors. "I can see that." I tilt her chin up to look at me. "I meant what I said before...I'm sorry."
Her face softens for a second before it turns hard. "It's fine."
"You keep saying that but we both know you don't mean it. So cut the shit and talk to me. Hell, yell at me if you want, just don't be like this."
She crosses her arms over her chest. "Like what?"
And just like that, she's sparking the asshole in me. "You know damn well what I mean. If you're mad at me, put your big girl panties on and tell me. Don't pull this passive aggressive shit, put on a sexy dress and then tell me you're going out. You're 24, not 12. Start acting like it."
Her eyes narrow and she takes a step closer to me. "Wow, okay."
She pauses and shakes her head. "Fine, Ricardo. You hurt me—there I said it. And you're right...I was being immature but I'm over it now."
She sidesteps me and reaches for the door. "Now let me enjoy one of my last nights of freedom while I still can. Who knows how many I have left."
And there it is...the real reason she's so upset.
I reach for her wrist, halting her. "I'll figure something out."
She sniffs and swallows hard. "You can't, Ricky. You know that as well as I do." I open my mouth but she cuts me off. "It's not about me not trusting you...I do. It's about there being no way out of this."
Her eyes become glassy but she bats away her impending tears. "I'm in love with you. But that love is on borrowed time." She closes her eyes and my heart sinks. "Sometimes, I wish I never met you because when I'm forced to finally leave you...I'm pretty sure it will be the thing to break me."
I pull her closer but she backs away. "I told you, you're not leaving me. I'll figure something out."
"There's no point. Just give up."
"Never. I'm never giving you up, Lou-Lou. Especially to him."
And I mean it...I don't know what I'm going to do but she's not going back to him.
She reaches up and touches my cheek. "You won't have a choice. Maybe it's just best we end this now before it hurts too much."
I kiss her wrist and take a step closer. "The thought of losing you already hurts too much," I tell her honestly.
Her lower lip trembles. "I know."
I cup her face in my hands. "I love you. You drive me fucking crazy and you challenge me every goddamned day, but I love you. You're it for me. I'll never want anyone else. Don't give up on us, baby. We're not down for the count yet."
I skim her cheek and lean in and whisper. "Because we'll never be. The universe wouldn't bring us together just to rip us apart. And god knows, I don't believe in many things and my faith in the world is pretty much shot to shit...but I believe in us and I know we'll find a way through this. But I need you to stay with me, Lou-Lou. I know it's hard, but stay with me and fight for us because I'll never stop fighting for you."
Her cheek lands on my chest and she draws in a shaky breath. "I'll never stop fighting for you, either."
I kiss her forehead and wrap her in my arms. "Good. Now come back upstairs so I can rip that sexy dress you used to make me jealous off of you and worship every fucking part of your perfect body."
She blushes and I don't waste another second to kiss her.
She kisses me back with just as much conviction.
And just like that...my world is perfect again.
We'll get through this...we can get through anything together.
A pair of hazel eyes tear me from my sleep and cause me to wake up in a pool of sweat.
Guilt settles in my chest and it takes everything in me not to scream.
I failed her. I failed that little girl. And her father, a good man; is dead because of me.
Because I couldn't stop it.
Because I'm a fucking coward.
Beside me, Lou-Lou stirs and drapes an arm over me. She squeezes me tight and kisses my chest. "You're okay, Ricky. It was just a bad dream."
"No, it wasn't."
Her forehead creases and she looks up at me. "Was it the little girl again?"
I give her a small nod because that's all I can do.
She
sits up in bed and reaches for my hands. "You want to know what I think?"
She waits for me to nod again before she continues. "I think you need to let go of this guilt, it's eating you alive. I guarantee if that little girl was here right now—she'd forgive you. She'd know it wasn't your fault because it wasn't. And she'd see you for the amazing man you are."
She runs a hand over my hair. "And I think your mother—"
"Don't, Lou-Lou," I warn, my tone dropping to a dangerous level that has her looking startled. "Don't go there."
"Okay," she relents. "I'll drop it."
My phone rings and I grab it and walk out to the balcony.
"What's up, Emilio?"
"I found out who the girl is," he says.
I take a deep breath...one that leaves my lungs with a curse when he says. "It's her. Alyssa Tanner."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, kid. I'm sure. I looked at the tape and did a background check...twice. I take it you don't watch a lot of internet porn but there's a sex tape starring her that got leaked a couple of years ago and went viral."
"That—that really sucks," I say because I honestly don't know what the fuck else to say.
"Yeah," he says. "And if you ask me, I'd say there's more to the story."
"How so?"
"Well, it's awfully strange that her sex tape just happened to leak while her stepfather, John Travine was running for mayor. Even stranger? There were rumors that her partner in the sex tape was Travine's opponent's son, Dean Gaffney, Jr. "
I can hear him lighting a cigarette in the background. "And here's the clincher."
Dread fills my chest. What else could have happened to this poor girl? "What?"
"Both Travine and Mayor Gaffney are on DeLuca's payroll. Therefore, DeLuca definitely had something to do with that sex tape," he says.
I slam my fist into the railing. "That means—"
"That he knew damn well who she was when she walked into his club." He sighs. "Seeing as he's still in Italy, I'm not privy to his reasoning for lying to you about not knowing who she is...but if I had to guess, I'd say it was just another one of his tests for you." He pauses. "The odd thing is, DeLuca wasn't the one who hired her. That's why he was so pissed and thought you did. He thought you were going behind his back. Now, I can't prove it but I'm almost positive that Luke was the one who hired her. I spotted him talking to some guy in a gray suit one night when he was leaving the club."
"Guy in a gray suit?" I question.
"Yeah. My guess would be an FBI agent. And not just any FBI agent, either. Special Agent Ford Baker."
I grind my jaw and grip the railing. "Motherfucker."
"Yup," he says. "Apparently he's kept in very close contact with his deceased partner's daughter throughout the years."
"That's some sick shit."
"Tell me about it...but we have more pressing issues."
"Such as?"
"Ford's still on DeLuca's payroll but between you and me? I think Ford has flip-flopped again and is using her to pin shit on DeLuca and if that's the case—"
"He'll kill her," I finish for him.
And if she's involved with Jackson he'll kill him, too.
"Yup. Bottom line, she needs to stay far away from the club. Now, I'm going to try my best to throw DeLuca off the scent about Luke meeting up with Ford. This way, he'll just chalk it up to a coincidence and won't trace her showing up at the club back to Ford and kill her for being a plant. Unfortunately, it will help cover for Ford and Luke..but in this case, I think the end justifies the means."
"Yeah, it does. Thanks," I say. "I'm going to keep Jackson away from her as well. Seeing as they only just met, it shouldn't be much of an issue."
"Sounds good—" He hesitates which immediately puts me on guard. "What's wrong?"
"You know I'd do anything in the world for you, kid."
Emilio doesn't usually get mushy, so whatever he's about to say is going to be important.
Quite frankly anything coming from this man's mouth is important. Not only has he known me since I was a kid, but he's the only one of my father's men who have gone behind his back and helped me out.
"I know, Emilio. I might not say it much but I'm grateful for all that you do. It really means a lot."
The next words out of his mouth throw me. "I'm worried about your father."
"Worried? Why?"
"Since I'm not in Italy I have no way of knowing for sure what he's up to...but someone close to me said some shit's going down with the DeLuca council. He doesn't know what because the meetings are private but according to him, it's serious. And I think...I fear—" his voice trails off and my spine feels like jelly.
"What?"
"I think it may have something to do with you, kid."
"Me? How? I'm not a member of the DeLuca council. He knows I won't take over for him and he can't kill me because I'm the only son he has. Not to mention, the DeLuca council forbids and will seek revenge on any DeLuca who kills another DeLuca...given we're a rare species and all."
And that right there, is the only thing that keeps me from killing the bastard.
"I don't think your position is as safe as you think it is, kid," he says solemnly.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean? The only way I wouldn't be safe is if he had another kid, and we both know I'm his only son. Unless there's another kid of his out there? Shit, is there?"
I can hear him sucking his cigarette down to the filter on the other line.
"No, Ricardo...he has no other kids but you."
"Then what the fuck is going on?"
"I don't know!" he shouts. "All I know, is that DeLuca is looking for a way to take you out. My source said he overheard talk of a 'replacement' for you after one of the meetings ended."
That's when I start laughing. "It would be impossible to find a replacement for his own son. You know as well as I do that DeLuca blood is the only thing that matters to the DeLuca council. The council's never going to go for him bringing in someone to replace me."
Although I wish they would.
"You're right. The council would never go for that," he says.
"Exactly. See? Everything's fine—"
"Unless DeLuca somehow found a way to break the curse...or get around it. Call me crazy but I'm almost positive that's what he's been doing in Italy."
I fight the urge to throw my cellphone over the balcony. "There is no curse, Emilio. My father and I don't agree on much—anything even. But the one thing we both do agree on is that the curse is nothing but a bunch of hocus pocus."
"I know, kid. Either way, I want you to watch your back. Because curse or no curse, rumor has it; he's still looking to replace you."
He mutters an Italian swear word under his breath. "Listen, between him sending Lucianna into the fight club as some kind of spy, Luke making moves without going through you first, that girl Alyssa showing up out of nowhere, and Ford deciding to pull his double agent shit...I don't trust anyone." He pauses. "And I don't think you should either. Hell, don't even trust me...because the fact of the matter is, you just don't know who's gonna stab you in the back for DeLuca. I need you to watch your back, Ricardo. I have a bad feeling about all this shit. Trust no one," he says before he hangs up.
What should have been a conversation to put me at ease has the opposite effect.
I slide back into bed, feeling like the weight of the world is on my shoulders.
"You seem tense," Lou-Lou says while nuzzling into my chest.
That's when it occurs to me.
"Why did you call Alyssa a slut?"
She sits up in bed. "Huh?"
I glare at her. "You heard me, Lou-Lou. Why did you call Alyssa a slut? And why were you setting her up to sleep with Jackson? Did my father put you up to something else that you're not telling me about?"
She throws back the covers. "Wow, you know for someone who constantly preaches trust...you seem to be severely lacking it."
Her tongue finds he
r cheek. "Don't worry, Ricardo. Your precious Jackson is safe. DeLuca didn't tell me to set her up to sleep with him...that was all me."
The fact that she did this all on her own makes it even worse. Especially considering all that Alyssa's been through...most likely because of me.
"Why would you do that to her? You have no idea what she's been through in her life. The last thing she needs is someone calling her names like slut and setting her up to do shit like that."
She narrows her eyes. "I did it because I wanted to find out if she was another gold digging whore like Scarlet or if she had another ulterior motive for being there. You know, like being part of one of DeLuca's traps. I was trying to protect us."
I open my mouth to tell her that even though her intentions might have been good, her actions weren't, but she points a finger at me. "And not for nothing, it's not like I forced the girl to sleep with him. I just led her to believe it was a requirement because I wanted to see what her next move would be."
Hurt splashes across her face. "You know, it's funny how you can defend a girl you don't even know but you couldn't manage to defend me tonight! The girl you claim to love."
I stand up. "I already told you I was sorry about that."
"And what about all the other times, Ricardo?"
She's lost me. "What are you talking about?"
"I hear how Jackson talks about me. I know he thinks I'm nothing but a slut and yet, you never defend me."
"He only thinks of you in a certain light because DeLuca sent you here to seduce them. It's not his fault you're tied up with DeLuca and you agreed to go along with his plan."
"I didn't have a choice!" she yells. "Do you have any idea what he would have done to me?" She flicks a hand in my direction. "You out of all people should know."
I can physically feel my anger tearing through me. "And yet," I grit, through clenched teeth. "Knowing all that he's capable of didn't stop you from constantly shoving down my throat how much you loved him and wanted him up until a month ago!" I shout so loud the walls vibrate.
She stands back and gapes at me. "And there it is," she says. "I was waiting for you to start holding that against me. You'll never be able to accept that I was with him."
She looks down at the floor. "Sorry, I'm not some perfect angel like Alyssa is." Her voice wavers. "Sorry my insides aren't pretty like hers and I have a past that makes me ugly and dirty."
