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I curse when I realize I don't have keys for Ricardo's apartment either, but then Tyrone's door opens and he comes out.
I check my watch. It's almost 4:30. Jackson said they were meeting up at 4:30. Granted the fight club is only a few blocks away, but still, Tyrone should have left already.
“Hey, Tyrone.” He spins around in his chair, looking like the happiest man in the world.
“Hey—” His smile falls when he sees Alyssa's pained expression. “What's wrong?”
“I need to pee and I don't have the keys to my apartment,” Alyssa all but blubbers.
He points to his door. “Use mine. I'll grab you the extra set I have while you do.”
Alyssa runs to the bathroom and I follow Tyrone inside. “You sure they're not go
He fishes a set of keys out of a drawer. “Nah, Momma and Shelby are too excited about picking all the cousins up from the airport to get upset. They can wait an extra 5 minutes.”
“Cousins?”
“Yeah, some of Shelby's cousins and other family members decided to fly in for the party tonight. They said Ricardo made all the arrangements.”
Shit, maybe it's not a lie after all.
“And after you pick them up you're going—”
“To show them around the city for a little.” He raises his shoulders in a shrug. “I wanted them to meet everyone beforehand but Ricardo and Jackson are busy doing something. They won't be around until the party.” His eyebrows dance. “They won't tell me what they're pla
I swallow hard, my stomach dropping. “Right.”
“You okay, Lou-Lou? You look like you've just seen a ghost.”
“I'm fine.” I eye the keys on the counter. “Tyrone you wouldn't happen to have an extra set of keys for Ricardo's apartment, would you? I don't have my set on me and I really need to pick out a dress for tonight.”
“Of course I do.” He tosses them to me. “My vote is for the red dress you wore when he took you out on a date.”
When I give him a look he says, “It's Ricardo's favorite. Don't ask me how I know, because then you'll get the wrong idea, but trust me, it's his favorite.”
Alyssa walks back out then and we all head for the door.
“You guys need anything else before I leave?”
Alyssa goes to question him, but I cut her off, “Nope, we're good. We'll see you later, Tyrone.”
When he gets on the elevator, I motion for Ricardo's apartment.
“What's going on?”
“I'm getting a gun.”
When her eyes go wide, I say, “No offense, Alyssa but I think you need to sit this one out. Ricardo and Jackson are definitely up to something.” I place my hand on her belly. “I would never forgive myself if something happened to you or my nephew.”
She releases a sigh and places her hand over mine. “I don't want anything to happen to you either, Lou-Lou. Maybe we should both stay here. We can call Ricardo and Jackson and tell them we know they're up to something. Maybe they'll come back.”
I unlock the door and push it open. “You know as well as I do that's not going to work—”
My sentence is cut off when I see Marlene standing there in tears.
Alyssa raises a brow. “Who is that?”
I take a step forward and close the door behind me. “Marlene what's wrong?”
I don't ask how she got the keys to Ricardo's apartment because the way she's falling apart right now is a bit more concerning.
“Ricardo. He's—” She can barely speak she's crying so hard.
I'm about two seconds away from passing out when she continues, “He's going to kill John Travine, despite the council telling him not to.” She blows her nose. “The council will kill him if he kills Travine, Lou-Lou.”
My ears ring and the room spins. My suspicions were right.
“Jackson,” Alyssa says, her lower lip trembling. “Jackson's going to kill Travine for him.”
My hands fly to my face, until Marlene says, “No, Ricardo sent Jackson somewhere else. He threw him off the trail.”
“How do you know all this, Marlene?”
She stands up and walks toward me. “Because he put me in charge of everything while he was gone.” She starts pacing. “I knew the council forbid Ricardo from killing Travine. They said if he did they would go after him.”
I shake my head because true or not, it doesn't make any sense and I need to understand their reason for doing this. “Ricardo is a DeLuca. He's the last—”
“I know,” she says. “But they don't care about blood anymore. After you lost—” She pauses and shrugs. “After that happened it was all about branching out and making co
“That's so fucked up,” Alyssa says, looking at me.
“I know.” My heart folds in on itself. “What time is this happening and where?”
“The fight club.” She looks at her watch. “In about 5 minutes.”
I push past her and into the bedroom. I know Ricardo keeps guns and other weapons in the closet.
Alyssa starts protesting in the other room, but I ignore her.
I'm not letting the council kill Ricardo...and if anyone is going to kill him today...it's sure as fuck going to be me.
I steel myself and wait for the panic attack to hit me. I wait for the tears to come and I wait for the breakdown to happen.
But it doesn't.
There's finally something I'm more scared of than seeing my father again.
Losing Ricardo.
I tuck a gun into the waistband of my jeans before I walk back out to the living room.
Where I find Marlene holding a gun up to Alyssa's head. “Come on, Lou-Lou. Daddy's waiting for you.”