“Why is he dealing with Odessa?” I nearly whisper, and a tear rolls down her cheek.
“I’m not saying a fucking word.” She overly enunciates through bared teeth. I let out a vindictive laugh and press the blade closer to her throat.
“Let’s try this again then…” she tries to break her hands free from my guys, but they restrain her tighter and a squeak escapes from her throat.
“Why the fuck is Carlito trying to kill me?” She breathes out a laugh from her nose, infuriating me further. I press the blade in ever-so-slightly, so she feels it pushing in on her skin. One last warning.
“I don’t care if you kill me. I want to die.” Her eyes are glossy as she breathes heavily from her mouth. I lower my brows, glancing into her dilating pupils and trying to understand.
“Carlito will never love me. Maybe if I’m dead,” she swallows. “He’ll at least mourn me.” The tempting feeling that anything is better than nothing is relatable, but to really not care to live or die is a whole other level of pain. I feel sorry for her, but most of all, I feel angry that I can’t bribe her with mortality. I pull my knife from her throat, and it’s left a mark, but nothing serious.
Her chest rises and falls as she catches her breath, and for some unknown reason, Jack decides it’s his turn to speak.
“Rebecca, would you be willing to talk if we could guarantee your safety? Give you a chance to start over?” Her eyes flicker between both of us, and I tilt my head to wait for an answer. The kid’s not half bad at this.
“You can’t ensure that.” She shakes her head.
“I can, actually. I’m in the FBI.”
“Oh my God.” I throw my hand in the air.
“What?” He tosses his palms to the ceiling.
“You can’t just go telling people you’re a fuckin’ narc.” I spit, pacing away from him.
“Well, how am I supposed to assure her that she’s safe?” He raises his voice.
“She isn’t,” I yell back, turning on my heels towards him again to catch him shaking his head defiantly.
He takes a step closer to her, speaking softly. “I can give you a new name, identity, a place to live, and money for a fresh start, if you just tell us what Carlito is planning.” She pauses, looks at him, really looks at him before hanging her head.
“He wants to take over the family business. He plans to kill Vincenzo, and something is happening Wednesday night. The boys have been talking about it since this morning.” She looks over at me. “That’s all I know. I promise.” I know she’s sincere. I can tell by the desperation in her voice and the defeat in her eyes. The feeling is all too familiar because I’ve just lost the love of my life. I nod to the boys, and Jack takes her hand, leading her back to the couch, not letting go of it, as he makes a call to someone.
She looks at him like he’s her savior, and something in me feels a longing to be that type of man. The one who will defy the rules to fix what’s broken. I shake off the thought and look to my boys, who wait for me to call it a night.
“Thank you. Yes. Will do.” Jack hangs up the phone and helps her to her feet.
“We don’t have much time, Vince. The FBI is coming to break this party up, and we have to drop her off at Fulton Street, west of Helms. Agent Smith is going to get her in our system.” I look to her, then to Lee and Marty.
“Fine. Let’s go.” I open the door, and she leads us around to a back alleyway. Sirens begin to whoop in the distance, and I’m sure they’re on the way to the club. We wait behind a trash bin with Lee as Marty brings the car around.
“Thank you.” I hear Rebecca whisper to Jack, and I can see from the corner of my eyes he’s got both his arms wrapped around her. My mind goes to Jessica Lee instantly, and everything feels out of control now. My heart is pounding rapidly as I grieve my loss all over again. Lee notices and is about to speak until the headlights of my blacked-out Rolls Royce pulls up to the alleyway.
We quickly run to it, filing in the car one by one as the sirens grow louder. The moment Lee is in the passenger seat, the car zooms backward out of the ally. We whip around to the street, barreling down the two-lane road at top speed, occasionally swerving around stragglers by going onto the side with opposing traffic.
Marty knows where to go just by Jack's brief description, so he follows the way he knows, and an hour later, we’re in a random part of town, pulling up to a building that sells paint for houses. Lee jumps out and opens the door for Jack and Rebecca. They’re still holding hands like they’ve known each other all their lives, and I roll my eyes at his annoying hero-complex.
Lee leads them to a blacked-out Sedan, and the door opens upon their approach. A tall, broad-shouldered, man with what looks to be thick black curly hair, reaches his hand out, and Rebecca shakes it. He smiles and says something to her that lights up her face and makes her nod vigorously.
After a second more, she wraps her arms around the back of Jack’s neck and plants a deep kiss on his lips; the shock falters through his body. He eventually relaxes and wraps his hands around her waist.
They hang a moment longer before the mop-top helps her into the vehicle, and they wave goodbye. After the car has pulled away, Lee and Jack return to the vehicle with leisure, chatting about something I can’t make out through these bullet-proof windows. I quickly open my phone and flip through it, trying to appear like I wasn’t watching them or care what happened to her.
“What’s next?” Jack bounces into the car as Lee closes the door and jumps into the passenger's seat. I have to think for a moment because we’ve run out of possible leads. I only knew about the Odessa Strip Club because of Marty, who had scouted it out earlier this afternoon.
“Let’s reconvene at the penthouse,” I say to Marty, who gives me a nod before pulling out onto the road again.
It's a strange feeling to know that your brother wants to kill you. I don’t know why he thinks that’s going to change the fact that he’s illegitimate in our father’s eyes, but something’s twisted up in his brain, and that’s the path he’s chosen to walk down. Jack’s fingers are furiously texting up a wordy message to someone on his phone, and the clicking it's making is rather annoying. But I kinda owe the kid, so I keep my mouth shut.