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"You guys are like my brothers," he adds and my heart squeezes. "You both are the closest thing to a real family I've ever had. I would never be okay with someone taking either one of you out, ever. I don't care who might have issued the order."
Jackson eases up on his grip and bangs the wall beside his head. "I swear to god, Ricardo; you better be telling me the truth. Because if I find out that you knew about this...we're fucking done in every way you can think of."
"I didn't know. I swear. I'd let him take me out before I'd ever let him do it to either one of you."
Ricardo's statement pulls on every heart string I have. I feel my eyes start to water because I know it's the truth.
Jackson and Tyrone have no idea what he would risk for the both of them.
I stuff down the flicker of jealousy with that thought as I watch Jackson pull Ricardo into a hug. "I don't know what I'm go
Sadness erupts throughout the room with those words, however; the moment turns tense again when Jackson fixes himself and his eyes darken. "Actually, I do."
Ricardo shakes his head. "No, man. Get that thought out of your head right now. He didn't order it. It wasn't him. I'm telling you."
Ricardo's grasping at straws right now, because even I know with utmost certainty that DeLuca was behind what happened.
And apparently so does Jackson because he slams him up against the wall again. Ricardo deflects it so now he's the one slamming Jackson up against the wall.
"It was. I know it was," Jackson screams. "And you can tell him I'm fucking done."
Ricardo's hand wraps around his throat. "Don't be stupid. You'll get yourself killed. You can't be done with him. That ain't the way it works and you know it."
A big ball of anxiety forms in my stomach because there's no way this confrontation is going to end well.
Jackson lifts his arm and maneuvers out of the choke hold. Jackson's fist flies out but Ricardo blocks it at the last possible second. But Jackson jabs him again and gets him right between the eyes.
Alyssa and I start screaming our heads off, trying to get them to stop, but they ignore us completely.
"You're not out," Ricardo says before punching Jackson in the face. "I'm not go
Jackson issues a kick straight to Ricardo's side. I cringe because he's about to provoke a side of Ricardo he's never seen before.
Ricardo spits blood on the ground and motions for Jackson to come at him again.
Jackson's got that wild look in his eyes but it's nothing compared to the downright murderous look in Ricardo's.
Otherwise known as the DeLuca look.
Shit, I have to stop this.
I'm about to get security but then I see Alyssa take a step toward them.
Holy shit this chick is out of her goddamn mind. I've seen them both fight...she has no idea what either one of them are capable of.
Especially Ricardo. I mean, he did end up murdering Luke after all.
I try yanking her back as I let out the loudest whistle I can possibly muster.
It's no use though, because both of their arms are pulled back and they’re still about to pummel one another.
Alyssa moves closer to them and I scream her name because she's clearly lacking some serious common sense at the moment.
When Jackson's fist lands on her cheek and Ricardo's fist lands somewhere in her stomach region I flinch and recoil.
Dear god, this girl is a fucking idiot.
However, her stupid stunt works because when she yelps and falls to the floor they both snap out of it.
"Oh, my God. Look what you boys did! How could you?" Momma screams from somewhere behind me.
If only she showed up three seconds earlier.
Both Jackson and Ricardo drop down to the floor beside Alyssa, their expressions horrified. "Alyssa? Fuck, baby. I'm sorry. I...god," Jackson says.
"Me too," Ricardo adds. "I had no idea you were even here. What the hell were you thinking getting between us?"
Alyssa winces, clearly in a massive amount of pain. "I just wanted you both to stop fighting. I didn't know how else to make you stop."
"What is going on here?" another voice calls out. We all turn our heads as pink scrubs comes rushing into the room.
Again, where the heck was everyone just a moment ago?
"It was an accident," Alyssa says. When the nurse looks unconvinced she stands up and says, "Honest, Penelope. I was the one who got in the middle. They didn't even see me."
Pink scrubs gives her a stern look before saying, "I'll get you a few ice packs." She looks at Jackson and Ricardo. "Gentlemen," she scoffs that word. "This is the intensive care unit of a hospital. This is not a zoo. Keep your hands to yourself. If it happens again I will have security escort you out," she snaps, before she turns on her heels and storms out.
"What were you boys thinking?" Momma whispers, her voice shaking.
She looks so heartbroken and devastated right now, I have to fight the urge to run over and throw my arms around her.
Instead, I walk over to the corner and plop down. Besides, I know I'm probably the last person Momma wants to see right now...and lord knows I don't want to upset the woman any more than she already is.
"We're sorry, Momma. It will never happen again," I hear Ricardo and Jackson say before they both pull her into a hug.
When Momma starts sobbing, I feel myself come unglued. There is no one on the face of this earth Tyrone loves more than his Momma and vice versa.
If Tyrone doesn't make it out of surgery it will kill her. It will kill all of us.
I can feel Ricardo's eyes on me but I'm too chicken shit to lift my head and look at him.
I don't have the strength to hear him tell me to leave and my guilt over quite possibly being the cause of this in the first place is enough to eat me alive at the moment.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Alyssa push Jackson away when he attempts to hug her. She looks like she doesn't know whether to punch him or crumble into a mess at his feet.
When she slowly backs away from him, giving him a look like he just committed the ultimate betrayal against her I stand up.
Whatever transpired between them in the last few moments is bad...real bad.
Emotions are ru
Seeing as Ricardo took off, that means it's up to me to diffuse this situation. "I think she's in a lot of pain, Jackson," I say. "Probably not the best time to be hugging her. She did just get punched by two huge guys, remember?"
Jackson winces and rubs his face. "I'm go
Momma looks at me and Alyssa. "I'm go
Of course, that's when Jackson decides to come back.
He walks over and hands her two ice packs. "Here," he says dismissively before walking away.
Alyssa turns to face me. "I'm being a real bitch, aren't I?"
I almost want to laugh because she's asking me out of all people, but I consider my answer carefully before I respond, "It's probably not the best time to be so angry with him seeing as Tyrone's still in surgery and we don't know the outcome." I shrug. "However, you can't really control how you feel when someone you love hurts you. And the fact that you can't even stand being touched by him combined with that look you gave him...tells me that whatever Jackson did to you was unforgivable."