Blame It on the Shame (Blame It on the Shame: Lou-Lou and Ricardo's Story #1) (28 page)

Not only have I been avoiding Ricardo because he showed his true colors to me the other day with his hurtful comments. I also haven't slept at Ricardo's for the past three nights...which means I really haven't slept at all.

And right now? It shows.

I stare at the choker in the mirror and fight the urge to give DeLuca the finger.

I
hate
this fucking thing.

I hate it so much that if a genie appeared and offered me three wishes for my birthday tonight...I'd use
all
three of them to wish for an hour of freedom without these godforsaken things.

I stifle a yawn and Luke gives me a look. “Long night?”

I nod because I don't feel like talking to him. I don't even know why he's in the dressing room with me right now anyway.

On the bright side, he can't try anything because DeLuca will see it.

He opens the door and gestures for me to get a move on.

“Scarlet's already in the hallway waiting to go in the cage. I told you before, it's a special fight night. We need both of you on stage at the same time tonight.”

I roll my eyes because this entire thing is so fucking stupid. There's no reason why
two
girls need to be in the cage holding cards at the same time.

Luke's only doing this because the turnout tonight is huge and he thinks two ring girls in the cage will bring even more people in the
next
time.

Apparently, DeLuca agrees.

I want to tell Luke that he's nothing but a lackey for a mob boss...
not
an aspiring business entrepreneur but I bite my tongue.

Instead, I down the rest of my energy drink and walk past him.

I glance at my watch and sigh. I wish Jackson's fight was over and I could go home.

Instead, I have another 5 minutes left before it even starts.

Scarlet's yakking away on her cell phone talking a mile a minute when I reach the hallway.

Yup, what a
great
birthday this has turned out to be.

Then again, I've
never
had a great birthday in my life. Why should
this
one be any different?

I lean against the wall and rub my temples. This bitch is really giving me a headache.

I'm about to tell her to shut up before I ram her cell phone where the sun doesn't shine but then she says something that causes my ears to tune into her conversation.

“Don't get me wrong, girl. Ricardo's hot as
hell
.” She laughs. “I know right? And don't even get me
started
on the way he works that cock piercing of his...
or
the things he can do with his magic tongue...”

Jealousy burns through me like wildfire and I clench my fists.
This bitch is gonna get it.

But then I have to stop myself...DeLuca's watching me.

And listening.

I close my eyes and try hard to look disinterested in her conversation.

“One minute, ladies!” Luke shouts from somewhere far away.

I'm eagerly waiting for Scarlet to get off her phone...but nope, she keeps at it.

“Anyway, Ricardo is just a means to get closer to what I really want.” She giggles and the tiny hairs on my arms stand up. “Rumor has it he's close to Bruno DeLuca. Now,
that
man has more money and power than god.
He's
the big fish I'm really after. And if I play my cards right
and
keep playing the shit out of Ricardo like I have been...I'll reel DeLuca in and he'll be all
mine
.”

Oh, hell no.

The announcer calls us out to the cage and Scarlet the manipulating
bitch
finally hangs up and puts her phone away.

She starts walking out to the cage and I'm right behind her...with smoke coming out of my ears.

I'm so mad, I'm not even seeing red.

I'm seeing
black
.

And right now? I don't give a
fuck
about DeLuca watching me.

How
dare
she use Ricardo like this.

She enters the cage and waves to the crowd but I grab her by her stupid red hair and throw her down.

I'm pretty sure the crowd lets out a collective gasp but I don't care.

“What the fuck are you doing, you ugly midget
whore?
” she shouts while standing back up.

“Shut up,
Raggedy Ann
!” I land a punch straight to her nose and she yelps.

She staggers for a bit, then she bares her teeth and snarls.

I'm
so
fucking ready. I've
been
ready to take this bitch down.

She lunges at me and although she's much bigger than I am...I'm one heck of a scrappy fighter.

I bring my elbow up and get her in between the ribs. I hear her breath leave her in one big whoosh and the crowd goes wild.

I'm not done with her yet, though. Far from it.

She pushes me before pulling me back and punching me square in the eye.

Then she gives me a smirk. “Take that,
slut
.”

Little does
she
know she only made the fire inside me burn brighter.

I attack her with everything I have. Punches, kicks, hell I even headbutt her.

She takes a step back before falling down completely.

I don't waste the opportunity to finish her off. I climb right on top of her and unleash hell.

I have so much anger and resentment brewing inside, it feels good to have an outlet for it.

The crowd's cheers are
insane
and I'm relishing every single second of it.

Until I feel someone yanking me off of her.

I start kicking and twisting myself trying to get out of whatever pair of arms I'm currently in.

“Damn, girl. You
really
put a hurtin' on her. You one of
us
now?” someone says in a southern twang.

Since I have one eye out of commission, things are a little hazy. I tilt my head and realize it's Tyrone holding me back.

However, the fights not drained out of me yet.

“Christ,” Jackson mutters before helping Scarlet up.

There's blood dripping down her face, staining her uniform, and collecting in a pool at her feet.

She looks at me and I give her a big ol' '
fuck you
' smile.

She tries to take a step toward me but Jackson holds her back.

“Let her go, Jackson,” I say.

She tries again to get out of Jackson's grasp and I start twisting and contorting myself out of Tyrone's.

I have so
much
anger pulsing through me Tyrone's hold on me is slipping.

The bitch bares her teeth again. “Just
wait
til I get my hands back on you,
midget whore
.”

I fucking lose it. “Yeah? Well, come at me,
Opie
!”

One arm breaks free from Tyrone's hold and I start swinging in her direction with it.

Jackson pulls her back even further and the mob doctor enters the cage.

I notice Ricardo walking out right behind him.

And he looks
pissed
.

“Your little
whore
stole
millions
of dollars worth of jewelry from my bambina, Ricardo. And she gave her a goddamn black eye,” DeLuca's voice sneers over the loudspeaker.

“It's not Scarlet's fault,” Ricardo snaps. “Black eye? You should see what your
bambina
did to her! Scarlet was
attacked
. You know, just like she attacked your poor maid that day. Her jealousy over you is out of control.” He pauses. “And it's your girlfriend's own fault that her jewelry is gone. She was throwing punches and kicks like a lunatic. It most likely fell off during the fight. You don't know for sure that it was Scarlet who stole it. It could have been anyone.”

I make to stand because I want to punch Ricardo in the face but Luke clamps down on my shoulder and I have no choice but to stay in my seat.

I settle for crossing my arms and glaring at him out of my good eye.

“I know it was her!” DeLuca screams.

“How?” Ricardo counters.

“It doesn't
matter
how. But she
will
be taken care of.”

“Whoa, Babbo. Hold up. That's
not
going to happen. This is club business. I have a say in what happens to any and
all
employees. We made a deal.”

He mumbles something under his breath before saying, “Fine. But first, I want to know what my bambina wants. It is
her
birthday after all. How do
you
want me to handle this, Lucianna?”

Ricardo rolls his eyes and I flip him the bird.

Wow, you really think you know someone. I can't believe I ever thought I could trust him.

As usual,
Bruno
is the only one in my corner protecting me.

“I want the bitch fired!” I yell. “She stole my
beautiful
jewelry.”

I almost choke getting those words out but whatever,
fuck Ricardo
.

“I already told you what I overheard her saying to her friend on the phone. She was trying to
use you
, mio amore. I had every right to kick her ass. Unlike some people...
I
protect what I love, always.”

For a moment, I swear I see Ricardo's jaw flex and his nostrils flare.

“Well, it's not her decision,” Ricardo says. “We need to vote on it. You, me, and Luke—seeing as he's the ring girl supervisor. Majority rules regarding Scarlet getting fired or not.”

“Fine,” DeLuca agrees. “I vote for her to be gone.”

Ricardo stares at me. “I vote for her to
stay
.”

It would hurt less if he kicked me in the heart.

Ricardo gestures to Luke. “What's your vote?”

I turn in my seat to face him. I never thought I'd be in the position to have to beg him to do something for me. “Please,” I whisper. “I want her gone.”

Luke gives me a smirk. “Okay. I'll do you a solid.” He looks at Ricardo. “Scarlet's fired.”

Ricardo makes a face. “This is bullshit.”

“
Bullshit?
” I scream. I'm about to remind him that the girl he's defending was only
using
him and that I pummeled the crap out of her for him, but DeLuca clears his throat. “Don't worry, Lucianna. She'll get her payback.”

“No!” Ricardo yells. “The girl has suffered enough. She has a broken nose, 3 broken ribs, and a concussion.” He rubs the back of his neck. “Look, you know I really
can't
stand your girlfriend, Babbo.”

I open my mouth in shock. He's like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

I can't believe I ever thought we had some kind of connection.

I can't believe I thought I was falling for him.

I can't believe I almost
slept
with him the other morning.

Shit
, he was probably turning the tables on me. Trying to seduce
me
to report back to DeLuca that I slept with him.

I'm so ashamed I was stupid enough to almost fall for it.

Ricardo runs a hand through his hair. “You asked me to be nicer to your girlfriend the other day, remember?”