He gives me a weird look and I'm not sure what to make of it, until he says, “No. That's not my deal. Alyssa's far too much in love with you for that to even be effective. She'll just chase you...and I know all too well how hard it is to resist her. And seeing as you're tied up with DeLuca, the chase will most likely end with her getting killed.”
He sighs. “What I'm offering you is an actual chance at a life.” He closes his eyes. “With her.”
My ears perk up at that. “You mean like witness protection or something?”
His eyes open and narrow into tiny slits. “No, something much better than that. DeLuca would find you eventually in witness protection, and it would only piss him off that much more knowing that you tried to run and hide. Why do you think I never put Alyssa into it?”
On some level, I guess it makes sense. “So what's this deal then?”
“I want you to kill DeLuca.”
I must be hearing things. “Yeah, because it's so easy to kill one of the most powerful mob bosses who ever lived.” I snort. “Wow, I assumed that you were still way too young for senility to be setting in.”
He gives me an eye roll before his expression turns serious again. “I would set it up. It would take a few weeks, but I'll make it happen. There would be no witnesses...other than me.”
I push my shoulders back. “If that's the case why don't you just off him yourself?”
He sucks his teeth. “Because I'm an FBI agent, Jackson. If I'm the only one at the murder scene...it will all point back to me. And if it all points back to me, I won't be able to get you cleared—”
“And what about me?” I interrupt. “I'm tied to DeLuca. And if I'm the only one at the murder scene it will all come down on me. Not to mention the fact that his blood will be on my hands. How the fuck can I ever walk away from that alive or without spending the rest of my life in jail?”
He runs a hand through his hair. “Because you won't be the only one there...I'll be there with you. I will protect you and you won't go down for it. It will be pinned on someone else who I'll set up to be there. Someone who I have a special arrangement with. Someone who has more motive than you could ever imagine.”
Chills creep up my spine. “If you mean Aly—”
“Are you fucking crazy? Of course, I don't mean her. I love her. I would never put her in the direct line of fire, ever.”
“Then who is this person?”
He clicks his tongue. “No. You're not privy to that information until you make this deal with me. And even then, you won't know until you're standing in that room holding that gun. Trust me, it's better that way and it's the only way all the chips will fall into place.”
I lean down and rest my forearms on my thighs. This is a lot to think about and take in. There's one hell of a difference between killing someone in a rage because they killed your sister and taking out one of the world's biggest mob bosses. Not to mention, trusting a man that you pretty much hate. “I don't know. My gut feeling is telling me not to trust you. And I have no guarantee's that this will go off without a hitch. I have no guarantee that I can trust you.”
“Jackson, I'm an FBI agent. Who would know how to commit the perfect murder better than me? And you don't need to trust me, you only need to love Alyssa enough to take care of DeLuca. She'll be safe forever then. But you have my word that you won't end up doing time for it.”
I shake my head. “No. I'm sorry, but no. There's too much of a chance for this to backfire. I'll take my chances with DeLuca. He hasn't come after her yet. For all I know, maybe the fact that she's with me is working in her favor. I make DeLuca a lot of money. I'm the best fighter he has. Maybe he knows that if he fucked with Alyssa that he would end up losing me and it would impact his business. He is a businessman first and foremost.”
I close my eyes and sigh.
Maybe there's a way I can talk to DeLuca.
I'll have Ricardo set it up for me and I'll put it all out on the table and be honest with him. I'll tell him that I'm loyal to him and I'll continue to be his best fighter...the only thing I ask is that he doesn't retaliate against Alyssa.
I'll tell him to increase the terms of my contract as a sign of good faith...make it 20 years or some shit. I don't know.
All I know, is there's gotta be a better way. Hell, maybe I should tell him that an FBI agent was plotting his murder and trying to enlist me to do so he'll really believe that I'm loyal to him.
Irritation crosses over his features. “I know it's a lot to think about.” He pulls his card out of his wallet and hands it to me. “This deal won't be on the table for long. A few weeks at most.”
He goes to turn around but pauses. “The only thing I ask is that you don't tell Alyssa I was here or that we spoke about this. She doesn't want me in her life anymore and I don't want to upset her more than I already have.”
“Okay,” I agree. Not because I want to keep this conversation from her, but because I can't tell her about talking to Ford without giving up my involvement with DeLuca. A part of me wants to tell her about Ford lurking outside her bar, but there's no guarantee that she won't find him to confront him about it. And if she does, I'm sure he'll tell her all about my involvement.
After I watch him go to his car and drive off I head inside the bar.
Momma's got a line up of shots in front of her now. It seems that everyone in the bar is enamored by Momma and wants to see her get drunk.
I shake my head and laugh. Alyssa's eyes catch mine and she lets out a little squeal before running and jumping into my arms.
She gives me a kiss and I begin to lose myself in her, not caring about anything else. Only her.
I pull away and look at her. “I love you.”
She gives me a smile and I put her down. “I love you, too,” she whispers.
Then she collapses and passes out cold.
I barely even have time to catch her before she hits the ground, taking my entire heart with her.
Chapter Thirty-One
Alyssa
I hear shouting somewhere in the distance but I'm unable to move.
I'm so cold. My head feels like it's submerged underwater and I'm floating. There's pressure on my chest and chills are raking up and down my spine.
“Did she have anything to drink?” I hear Jackson's voice growl.
There's mumbling in the distance.
“No, I'm not talking about alcohol, Momma,” Jackson says. “She doesn't drink alcohol. I'm talking about a regular drink. Water? Juice?”
“I think she had some water,” Ricardo says. “I'm not sure, though. We were all paying attention to Momma.”
“Well did she leave her cup anywhere? Fuck, maybe someone slipped something into her drink,” Jackson barks.
I hear some shuffling before I have the feeling of being lifted in the air. Which only does wonders for the feeling of floating that I have. The chills are getting worse and my body is breaking out in a sweat.
My eyes flutter open, but the weight on my chest feels like it's made out of bricks.