by Ashley Jade
My heart and my stomach reel when I see a gray suit come into focus and I look up into a pair of blue eyes.
Then I notice the barrel of his gun is pointed at me. “Drop the gun, Alyssa,” Ford sneers.
My 10-year old heart breaks all over again.
“You gonna kill me, Ford? That's what it's come down to?”
I hate that there's a small part of me that can't kill him because he's the tie to my dad and my dad loved him.
His eyes waver and he sighs. “You know I could never do that. But I can't let you kill DeLuca, either.”
“Why not?”
“Because then how would you find out the truth, Alyssa?” DeLuca sneers behind him.
I hear a gun cock and DeLuca laughs and says, “I appreciate you volunteering to be my bodyguard, Ford.”
Ford curses under his breath and closes his eyes.
”However, I suggest you stay right where you are special agent. There's something I've been meaning to tell Alyssa.”
Ford moves the gun toward Lou-Lou. “If you do, then I'll take out Lou-Lou.”
That's when Ricardo stands up. I breathe easy because I know he's on my side.
Or at least, I thought he was.
Ricardo cocks his gun and stands behind me. “And I'll take out Alyssa,” he says to Ford.
Over Ford's shoulder, I see DeLuca smile. “Good job, son. I'm proud of you.”
“Shit,” I mutter as Ricardo jabs the gun into my lower back.
“Sorry, Alyssa,” Ricardo says. “But I'm not letting him kill Lou-Lou.”
It's safe to say, my plan has officially gone to hell in a hand-basket.
Everyone has a gun pointed at them except for fucking DeLuca. Everyone's going to die, except the one person who should.
This situation is completely fucked.
DeLuca claps his hands. “Good. Now that we've got that all sorted out and everyone knows where the other stands. Alyssa, I would like your attention.”
Ford's eyes meet mine. “Don't, Alyssa. Whatever he says isn't true. You have to trust me. I love you. I have always loved you.”
Behind me, Ricardo coughs. ”You are one fucked up person, Ford. And I've seen some shit, but this right here...this takes the cake.”
Against my better judgment, I look at DeLuca.
“Please, DeLuca,” Ford pleads. “I've never asked you for a single thing, other than sparing her life. If you tell her everything. It will kill her.”
“I'm counting on it,” DeLuca sneers.
I look back to Ford. “Do you or do you not work for DeLuca?”
“Technically, yes. But I didn't always. I am a member of the FBI first and foremost.”
Behind me, Ricardo says, “Yeah, he's what we like to call a flipper-flopper. You know, when it suits him.”
“Why, Ford? How could you do that after you saw what he did to my father?”
“Because I became too powerful for him to keep trying to take down,” DeLuca interjects.
Ford's face pales. “I couldn't beat DeLuca. So, I had to join him. There was no other way.”
DeLuca takes a step forward and his face hardens. “Go ahead, Alyssa. Ask him what his first job for me was.”
Ford's face contorts in pain and I feel so lightheaded white spots form in front of my eyes.
I shake my head and point my gun at him. All thoughts of Lou-Lou as my leverage forgotten. “No,” I shout. “You wouldn't do that to my dad. He was your best friend. You grew up together. He loved you. You wouldn't set him up to get killed.”
“I'm so sorry,” Ford whispers. “I had no choice.”
“There's always a choice!”
DeLuca grins and it looks so sickening I have to look away. “And what a choice it was. He obviously choose to save his own ass. He came to me, worked out a deal and gave up your dear old dad in the exchange. You know, he was the one who suggested we do it right here, too. He said your dad liked the water.” DeLuca chuckles. “He even set up the two gang members to take the fall for it. I'll admit that was brilliant.”
I look at Ford, not even trying to hold back my tears. “You're fucking sick.”
Behind me, Ricardo whispers, “Yup.”
“I won't deny that,” Ford says. “But I love you, Alyssa. You know that I do.”
I'm more certain than ever that what he felt for me wasn't love, it was some gruesome combination of guilt, fixation, and control.
I look Ford right in the eyes. “No, what I know...is that you were on the phone with me when it happened. You heard me cry my heart out. You heard my screams as DeLuca took my father from me.”
I have to put my hand to my chest just to make sure my heart's still beating and it didn't physically crack into a million pieces. “You picked up that scared and destroyed little girl and held her in your arms like she was your own. You held her like you would protect her...all while knowing you did this to me. To him! How could you?”
A guttural cry rips from my throat and DeLuca laughs like it's the funniest thing in the world. “And that's not even all of it.”
“What else could there possibly be?” Lou-Lou whispers. Then she gasps.
DeLuca gives me a sinister smirk. “Alyssa? Besides your father dying, can you think of anything else that might have ruined your life?”
“Shit,” Ricardo mutters.
“You were behind the sex tape, Ford?”
He stays silent.
“Answer her, Ford.” DeLuca directs.
He shakes his head.
“You tell her the truth now. It's the least you can do, you fucking scumbag,” Ricardo says, low and deadly.
“DeLuca promised Gaffney that he would win the run for mayor if his son Dean did it,” Ford says. “However, it was my idea in the first place. I paid the Gaffney's off and promised that Dean would never get busted on a DUI charge if he fucked you and filmed it.”
“What the fuck is wrong with you? Why would you do that to me?”
“I needed to do something to—” he pauses like he can't even say it.
DeLuca gives me a shit-eating grin. “To make sure your pretty face would never end up on the evening news. Where you could slip up and tell the whole world what I did to your daddy. Live from New York. You know, you really should have chosen a different major at NYU.” His eyes blacken and I take a step back, not even caring that Ricardo's gun is still digging into me.
“I run this city,” DeLuca shouts while taking a step forward. “It's mine. My greed, my hunger, my money...but most of all my control and power. I let you live as a courtesy to Ford; after certain assurances were put in place, of course. But, I wasn't going to have your stupid fucking ass mess up what I worked so hard to build. I couldn't take that chance.” His lips turn up in a snarl and he winks. “However, I would like to thank you for being such a willing participant. Nice tits by the way.”
I blink back impending tears...but there aren't any left. There's only darkness and pain.
I look at Ford again. “The way you treated me after it happened. I went to you for help and you—”
“Made her believe she was nothing but a whore. Broke her trust in everyone and everything. Hurt her beyond all repair. And this was all after you had already ripped her heart out. You really are one despicable motherfucker,” Jackson's voice booms from somewhere in the distance.
“No,” I say with my hand on the trigger. “He's one despicable dead motherfucker.”
“No!” Jackson shouts, coming into view and halting me at the last possible second. “Don't do it, Alyssa.”
In my peripheral vision, I see Ricardo aim his gun at DeLuca.
“He deserves it,” I argue as Ford's eyes close and he clutches his stomach.
“He does, baby. I know he does,” Jackson says. “But you need to let me do it.”
“What? No.”
“Yes,” he insists. “You're not a killer, baby. I am. Your soul is still untarnished and I want it to stay that way. You don't know what it's like to take a
life, Alyssa. Mike deserved everything I did to him and I would take his life again in a heartbeat. But, murder is a burden that I never want you to bear. I won't let you destroy yourself again because I love you.”
He walks behind Ford and lowers his gun to his head. “And you need to let me do this for you. And after this, I'm going to take out DeLuca. I'm going to take every single nightmare away, baby. I promise.”
“No,” Ricardo barks in DeLuca's direction.
Ricardo moves closer to DeLuca and grabs Lou-Lou right before DeLuca has a chance to shoot Jackson. “Don't you even think about it, Babbo,” he says before he puts the gun to her head.
Everyone's attention turns to DeLuca and Ricardo at that moment.
As thankful as I am to Ricardo for not letting DeLuca shoot Jackson, I'm equally petrified for Lou-Lou. I never thought Ricardo would kill her. I regret ever bringing her here now.
Then, before anyone's brain can catch up to what's happening. Ricardo leans down and kisses Lou-Lou's tear-stained cheek. “Ti amo. Sii libero,” he whispers in her ear.
Lou-Lou reaches behind her and pulls a gun out of her waistband.
She lifts her chin and aims the gun directly at DeLuca's head. He's so caught off guard, he doesn't even have time to aim his gun at her. “Brucia all'inferno. Burn in hell, Bruno,” she says as she pulls the trigger, four times.
In slow motion we watch DeLuca's brain splatter all over the warehouse, his body falling to the floor with a heavy thud.
I can't contain the smile on my face. I think it's the brightest it's ever been. I barely even hear the sirens in the distance.
I open my mouth to thank Lou-Lou but she run's out the back door in the blink of an eye.
The sirens get louder and blue and red lights illuminate the warehouse.
“Jackson Reid, put your hands behind your head. You are under arrest,” a voice says over a megaphone as the doors burst open.
My heart shatters like glass and I drop to my knees.
That's when Ford lifts his head and smiles at me.
Three weeks later...
Chapter 39 (Alyssa)
I learned the world was unfair at an early age. I knew that the bad guys sometimes won and that the good usually paid the price for their sins.
What I don't understand, is why I was forced to learn the harsh lesson twice in my life and why it had to involve the two men I loved the most.
Ford's living his life free as can be while Jackson's sitting in a jail cell.
For murdering Lilly's killer.
Ford attempted to get him for the murder of DeLuca but Ricardo and I vehemently fought those accusations without incriminating Lou-Lou.
Besides, it's not like anyone would be able to find her even if we did give her up. She skipped town right after killing DeLuca and no one's heard from her since. Not even Ricardo.
I have no idea what the story is between the three of them, but something tells me that Lou-Lou needed to kill DeLuca way more than I ever did...and that's saying something.
As fucked up luck would have it, the secret wire Ford was wearing in the warehouse didn't support his claims that Jackson killed DeLuca, either.
Ford couldn't pin that on him no matter how hard he tried.
Unfortunately, the tape didn't get any incriminating evidence on Ford himself, the tape just magically happened to 'pick up' right when Jackson walked in and admitted to being a killer. Then it cut off.
And since Ford played both sides of the fence, he claims that he was working undercover at the warehouse. And since he did call for backup he's not being investigated.
But little did Ford know...I have my own brand of justice that I want to personally serve him.
After tracking down and talking to a few of my dad's old friends who are still members of the FBI, it was finally going to happen.
Jackson was right...I'm not a killer. My soul isn't tarnished, but my childhood was.
I make sure that I have everything in place before I walk into Ford's office. I'm surprisingly feeling calm. The look on his face tells me that he most definitely wasn't expecting me, but he's pleased nonetheless.
“Alyssa,” he says.
He stands up from his desk and it's so reminiscent of that day, nausea overwhelms me.
I fight through it, though and take a deep breath.
He walks around his desk and smiles at me. “I knew you would come to your senses. I knew you would realize that I was only protecting you and I knew you would forgive me sooner or later. I love you, Alyssa. Everything I did was for you.”
I just stare at him, dumbfounded. It's never occurred to me before that Ford might be downright delusional.
Or maybe, he's lied so much that he just can't tell the truth from all of the different worlds he's created.
When I don't say anything, he takes a step closer to me.
I stand there silently urging him to dig his own hole. “I couldn't let you be with Jackson, sweetheart. I had to make him go away. You belong to me, you always have.”
He reaches for my hand. “I divorced Penelope for you a few months ago. I wanted to take you on vacation after I got rid of DeLuca and surprise you. We can get married now just like you always wanted. I'm choosing you this time.”
I try my hardest not to grin. This is turning out even better than expected.
“You were really going to get rid of him for me?”
He kisses my wrist. “I'd do anything for you.”
I reach up and touch his cheek. “I have a question.”
“Yes?”
“At what age did I first belong to you, Ford?”
He blinks and makes a face. “Come on, Alyssa. Don't be stupid. You remember that night in my car by the docks. You promised to be mine forever.”
I lean into him and nuzzle his neck, my nausea getting worse the closer I get to him. “I know it was around my birthday, but I'm having trouble with my exact age. I was hoping you could refresh my memory.”
The look on his face is priceless as he pushes me away. “Nice try, sweetheart. Are you really that dumb that you don't know the law?”
He walks back to his desk. “Bit of advice, never try to school a federal agent on the law.” He crosses his arms over his chest and gives me that movie star smile that makes me want to hurl. “The age of consent in New York is 17.”
He sits down and props his elbows on the desk. “And I hate to break it to you, but even if that night was illegal; New York's statute of limitations is only 5 years from the time you turn 18. You're 24, Alyssa. Your time has run out.”
He props his feet up on his desk. “In other words, you're screwed. Besides, we never had intercourse when you were 17, anyway. You were 21 the first and only time I fucked you.”
I don't know which is worse, how much thought he's obviously put into this, or the smug smirk plastered on his face.
A smirk that I can't wait to wipe off.
I take a step forward and smile sweetly at him. “Hmm. You know what? You're right. I'm sorry, Ford.”
He opens his mouth to say something, but I cut him off. “I'm sorry the night you put your hand down my panties and touched me in your car, that I was only 17.” I put my finger to my lips. “Or maybe even 16 depending on the exact time.”
I take another step forward. “On second thought, No. I'm not sorry. Because I was too young to be making the adult decision to let you touch me like that. And we both know, that as the only adult in the car; you should have known better than to touch me like that.”
He stabs his finger in the air. “Save your breath because it doesn't matter. You've got nothing on me.”
He sits up in his chair and snickers. “It doesn't matter that I was the first man to see and stick my fingers in that innocent, virginal, tight little pussy of yours before you became a whore. It doesn't matter, Alyssa...because you're too fucking late.”
I sharpen my eyes in his direction and reach for the goblin on my necklace. “Does it matter that it was in Jersey
, Ford?”
I can see the wheels spinning in his head and I continue, “Because those docks were technically in Jersey territory.”
I open my arms wide. “And you know the great thing about Jersey?”
When he doesn't answer I proclaim, “There is no statute of limitations for sexual assault. And there is no deadline for filing sexual assault charges.”
His jaw practically hits the floor. “And just so we're clear here, Special Agent. You did just fully admit to sexually assaulting me and penetrating me with your fingers when I was a teenager. And given your position of power and authority as an officer and the fact that you had a gun on you...do you know what that means?”
He slams the desk with his hand. “Knock this shit off, Alyssa. You wanted it. You dressed like a little whore and you begged for me that night. It was all you.”
I ignore him. “It means that it's technically aggravated sexual assault. And do you know what that's punishable by?”
I look up to the heavens and smile. “Up to 20 years in prison.”
I start unbuttoning my shirt. “And there's plenty of proof, including phone records. And let's not forget that you gave me a car when I was 17. In addition to your ex-wife who's willing to testify.”
I undo the first 3 buttons and I open my shirt. “And there's the fact that I'm wearing a wire and just caught every disgusting thing you said.”
He charges after me, but the door opens and in walk a few men in uniform. I wave to my dad's former friend who now lives in Jersey and is an officer there.
“Ford Baker you are under arrest. You have the right to remain silent...” the officer's start to say as they handcuff him.
I walk over to him and put my hands on his cheeks.
“How could you do this to me?” he whispers.
I look at him hard and say, “You only did it to yourself, Ford.”
“But why?”
My grip tightens around his cheeks. “Because sometimes in life, sweetheart. The good guys win.”
I let go of him but he leans his forehead against mine. “Do you know what they do to cops in jail, Alyssa?”