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Chapter Twenty-Eight
- Dante -
IDIDN’T THINK HE’Dhave the guts to admit it, but when he told us about Bailey’s blackmail, everything started to fall into place. Willis had been walking an oiled tightrope with a pit of alligators below him. His scheme was well-played. I could appreciate the intricacies of it even though I wanted to punch him in the face for his betrayal.
“You’re making my head hurt,” Noemi groaned.
I massaged her shoulder, willing her to keep going. None of this was pleasant to hear, but I finally understood what Willis’ end game was. I knew he was good at what he did, but I didn’t know he was a master manipulator as well.
“Let me see if I understand this. When Bailey started blackmailing you, insinuating that he would hurt Noemi, you decided to fight fire with fire. I’m guessing you already had Delacroix in your pocket for some other reason. Doesn’t matter what,” I added, wondering if Delacroix was Willis’ puppet or the other way around.
“You knew Noemi and I had left together because as soon as I asked Delacroix to borrow his plane and told him I was bringing a guest, he immediately informed you when he found out who the guest was. Then, you posted the contract, knowing that Noemi was vulnerable. Not because you wanted to hurt me, but because...”
“Because I couldn’t exactly call you and tell you what was happening. I needed you aware and alert. And ready to kill anyone you had to,” Willis interrupted.
“To protect me,” Noemi added softly as she started to connect the dots. “But you said those men weren’t there to kill us?”
“They weren’t. Not really. I had to make the contract look legitimate. I posted it for a low amount, knowing that would eliminate anyone who might have a chance of executing it. It would be a hard sell at any price. You know that,” Willis said, looking me in the eye.
“Who were those men you sent to their death?” I asked him, curious why he allowed three innocent men to face me when he knew they wouldn’t succeed.
“I can thank Delacroix for that. I’d say he’s not what he seems, but he’s a slippery S.O.B. Those men deserved what they got. They were on our list. I won’t go into details, but through his connections, Delacroix managed to convince them to take the assignment. We knew they wouldn’t come out alive. Justice was carried out.”
Guilt washed over me. Maybe those men had done something heinous and their lives were forfeit because of it, but there was an innocent man who got caught up in this.
“And the man in New Orleans?” I asked softly. “He said Delacroix paid him to visit me that night?”
Noemi looked at me in confusion and started to ask a question. I put my finger over her lips. She didn’t need to hear about that encounter. “Later,bambina. It’s a long story.”
Willis pulled up a stool and sat next to Noemi. “It wasn’t Delacroix who hired him. But when you confronted Delacroix and told him the man was dead, Delacroix couldn’t tell you the truth. The person who hired him used Delacroix’s name, but we suspect he was one of Bailey’s henchmen.”
That explained why Delacroix was upset that the young man had died.
“Why? That doesn’t fit either. Why would Bailey suddenly want to hurt Dante? How did he know where he was? Are you sure it wasn’t Delacroix?” Noemi was unconvinced of Christian’s innocence and I didn’t have a way to prove it to her. “I don’t trust that man.”
Willis shrugged. “I can’t say more than that, Noe. I trust Delacroix. If it hadn’t been for him... And,” he pointed to me, “Donald didn’t die in that room that night. He’s pissed and recovering from you shooting him in the leg, but the gunfire into the room missed him. He was cut up by the glass, but he’ll survive.”
Noemi turned alarmed eyes my way, but I quieted her again. “Later,” I promised.
“I should ask how you know about Donald, but now I see that you and Delacroix are closer than I thought. Perhaps in the future, you won’t play games with my life,” I warned him.
“They weren’t games. If I had any idea that you already knew about Bailey and Rubinstein, I probably would have enlisted your help instead.”
“Instead of manipulating me?” I growled.
“Yeah. And it’s not over,” Willis reminded me.
There were still many unanswered questions, but I no longer gave a damn about any of it. There was only one man who needed to be held accountable for his actions. Everything else was just noise.
“Yes, it is over.” I felt my mask start to slip into place. “The truth is out.Allthe fucking truths are out. Me, Delacroix, your parents, Rubinstein, McKenzie and fucking Bailey. And yes, it’s going to end. I’ll be damned if I let that bastard continue to try to run our lives. I understand why you did what you did, Willis. But as far as I’m concerned, you’re done now. He’s pissed me off, and he’s going to pay for it.”
Willis shook his head without conviction. “You can’t assassinate a four-star general who’s going to be the next Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. If it were that simple...”
Willis let the words hang in the air. I almost laughed. If it were that simple, he would have hired me months ago.
The dynamics had changed. I looked into Noemi’s frightened eyes.
“The fuck I can’t. I’ve taken down worse than him. I don’t want or need your assistance and I don’t give a damn if this isn’t sanctioned by the U.S government. In fact, the less you know about it, the better. Pack your bags, Senator. You’re taking a trip, a junket, whatever the fuck you call it.”
“I have responsibilities, Dante,” Willis said. “I can’t just leave.”
“And don’t try to send me away. I’m not going anywhere without you,” Noemi argued.
The other man returned. Torn between the cold-hearted killer I had to be to protect them all and the man who loved her to distraction, the killer won that time.
“I’m sorry, Noemi. But that’s not possible. I have work to do, baby girl, and I can’t have you around.”
I only prayed that she’d forgive me for what I was about to do.
