I glanced his way, shaking my head at the silly grin on his face.
“Love? I think it’s too soon for that. But I do like her, and I do want to see her happy. I want to know if this marriage has even the slightest shot at working, and if I’m going to do that, I can’t start it out with my wife hating herself. So, yeah, I’ll do whatever’s necessary.”
“Even put her life on the line?” Michael asked, inclining his head at me.
“That’s what I’m trying to avoid.”
“But if it came down to it, and that was the only way, would you go through with it?”
This was some sort of trick question. Why would I put her life on the line when all I was trying to do was protect her?
Michael shoved to his feet, stalking toward me. “I have a way for you to end this, but you’re not gonna like it.”
Of course I wouldn’t.
“Send her in.”
“What?”
“Yeah, what?” Liam snapped beside me.
“It could work,” Derek grinned. “It’s fucking crazy, but?—”
“No,” I said immediately. “I told you what Alicia said. He’ll never buy it. She won’t risk it. So, why the hell would I?—”
“Because you send her in as herself,” Parker interrupted.
I rolled my eyes, scrubbing a hand over my face. “She looks just like Alicia. There is no way?—”
“There’s every way. Come on, Rob. This is what you do. You’re the information man. So, go gather up all the information on Krista, and send her in.”
I shifted, trying to figure out his endgame. “Is this to prove that I don’t really care about her?”
“Not at all.”
“Then you want your sister dead. Is that it?”
“You said it yourself, she won’t be happy if she gets someone else killed. So, this is how you get the Ratti family off your back.”
It was insane.Hewas insane. “This is your sister!”
“Yes, and I prefer her alive more than dead,” Parker grinned. “I’m pretty sure my parents would feel the same way.”
“I don’t know,” Jeff sighed. “Pop’s kind of grumpy lately. Never know what he’ll say.”
I ignored him and focused on Parker. “If I send her in, they could put a bullet in her head before she gets a chance to speak.”
“We bring in Chance and set him up on the roof across from DeLuca’s apartment. He’s a sniper. With a single bullet, he could take DeLuca out if he so much as pulls a gun on her.”
“Then let’s do that now!”
“It still wouldn’t eliminate the problem of the Ratti family going after you,” Sinner spoke up. “Krista buys time for you to get the intel. Chance uses his sniping skills for good.” He shrugged, grinning happily at me. “Seems like a win-win.”
I faced Parker, my eyes wide with disbelief. “You actually want to go through with this?”
“Iactuallywant my sister to live, so yes, I want to go through with this. It’s our best shot since neither of you has the balls to hand over Alicia.”
He handed over a phone, nearly laughing at me. “Now, you just get to tell her.”