Страница 58 из 76
Chapter 18 (Ricardo)
“Yeah,” I answer.
“Don't you 'yeah' me. Explain yourself...now,” he rumbles.
I walk out of the gym and head to my car because the last thing I need is Tyrone and Jackson hearing this conversation. “What did you expect me to do, Babbo?”
I hate calling him Babbo but I know hearing it makes him happy in some sick way.
It makes him think there's a chance of me taking over for him one day.
Too bad for him he doesn't stand a chance in hell.
When he stays silent, I say, “You told me to look out for her, remember? You said that you didn't want anyone knowing she was tied to you because of your enemy's—those were your words. You also said you didn't want anyone taking advantage of her. You put me in a tough fucking spot. She's one girl surrounded by a bunch of men. How the hell am I supposed train Jackson and Tyrone, take care of the club and look out for your little girlfriend at all times?”
I lock my jaw because I hate the next words coming out of my mouth. “You always told me the best way of commanding power was taking control of the situation first. You told me that a good business man looks at the big picture and makes the best overall decision for every possible problem that could potentially arise. You can be mad all you want, Babbo...but I took your advice. It was the only way to handle this situation and if you look at it from my perspective...you'd see that.”
I grip the steering wheel. “There was no better way to protect her other than letting people think she was with me. There was no way to make sure she didn't wander off and get killed at night other than having her sleep on the couch in my apartment.”
He stays silent for what feels like hours before he sighs. “You remember my advice?”
I have to dig deep within myself to pull out my next words. “Yeah. I mean, it's pretty solid advice. I decided to put it to good use.”
He stays silent on the other line for another minute before saying, “I see now that I misconstrued the situation entirely. I realize that you were only doing what I asked you to do. You did the right thing. Good job, son. I'm proud of you.”
I'm positive I must have misheard him.
“Thanks,” I say because I'm still too stu
“I have to go back to taking care of business but before I go, I think you should know something.”
“What's that?”
“Lucia
I sit back in my seat and smile.
DeLuca just showed his hand.
There's no way Lou-Lou told him about our last conversation.
DeLuca was so flustered he inadvertently let it slip that he's watching us.
Now I need to figure out a way to get rid of those things.
I don't even have to ask her to know he warned her not to take them off. Hell, he even prepared for one of them to malfunction at some point because she has not one, but two.
And as much as I want to, I can't just rip them off of her. I have to be smart about it.
It has to be something completely unexpected and smart enough to outsmart him.
I pound the steering wheel when it comes to me.
It's a long shot but I recall the very blunt opinion Momma gave me about a certain redhead I was sleeping with awhile ago.
I pick up my phone and hope like hell Momma was right about her after all.