Mafia's Broken Omega (Mated in the Mafia #6)

7. Cord

7

CORD

Pain meant nothing to me. My focus was solely on getting stronger and faster. My fists pounded against the canvas of the bag, powder flying. The tape on my hands had worn down and blood coated my knuckles.

"All right. That's enough." Rosco stopped the bag and stood between it and me.

It was only because I didn't feel like getting my ass kicked that I was able to stop from punching him instead.

I might’ve been head of the family, but that didn't mean I could take on Rosco. The man was ruthless in the way he fought, which made him good at what he did.

His current role was keeping me safe.

"I can keep going," I said. Though the shortness in my breath told another story.

"Not happening. We've been at this for hours."

"Nonsense. It's only been a few minutes."

He shook his head and walked away.

I followed.

We were silent while I untaped my hands and then showered off the sweat from my workout. Based on the amount of blood swirling down the drain, it seemed I might have gone at the bag a little too hard.

It was better than going at someone's face. Which I was just one bad day away from doing. In the months since the incident that ruined everything—which was how I was thinking of the warehouse explosion—my associates had shielded everyone in the business from me. My house was operating on a skeleton crew because of my temper.

A mafia boss was supposed to rule by fear, right? Because people cowered away from me, it meant I was doing something right.

Never mind that every day the brightness that had once filled my days grew darker and the thoughts of burning down the entire business intensified.

What was this all for, anyway? I didn't have a family to leave this to. I didn't have friends anymore.

I had no purpose.

Purpose had disappeared into the night and no longer answered my phone calls.

And even though I had literal assassins at my fingertips and men who would do whatever I asked, no questions, I couldn't seem to find any shred of information about where Velvet had gone.

The man didn't want to be found. I could take a fucking hint.

"Where to?" I asked Rosco once I was dressed. We came up the stairs from the basement where the gym was located.

"Meeting with Andro in your office."

"Are there any updates or are we just twiddling our fucking thumbs again?"

Rosco raised a brow. "No updates that I'm aware of. Why don't you go ahead and ask him that question, word for word, and see how it goes for you."

My lips pinched into a thin line. He knew I wouldn't. I was reckless, angry, and I could even admit to myself that I was depressed—but I didn't have a death wish, and pissing off Andro Ferrini would be the fastest way to get myself killed.

I pushed past Rosco without a word.

I pasted on a smooth smile for Andro, but stilled when I stepped into my office.

"What is this?" I asked.

Andro sat in the wingback chair to the left of my desk, his mate Joey perched happily on his lap. Joey rarely attended these types of meetings. That wasn't the only shock, though. On the leather sofa sat my younger brother Felik and his mate Jeremiah.

The door clicked closed behind me and the lock engaged. I whirled around to find Rosco there. He put a hand on my shoulder. "Sit down, Cord." He gestured to my desk.

I walked slowly, keeping an eye on everyone in the room.

"Should I look for plastic on the floor?" I joked. It fell flat.

Rosco took a seat to the right of the desk.

"Rosco said there weren't any updates. Was there something else to discuss?" I asked.

Andro shook his head. "We still don't know much more than we did at the beginning. Someone is selling information about both our businesses, and it's likely they don't want us working together. There have been no other attacks, and we haven't found out who has betrayed us both."

I nodded along. I knew all this. After the explosion at the warehouse months ago, a note had been found, warning us that we had a mole—besides the original mole we found before that. Someone else had been working with Anthony DiSanto, possibly multiple someones. Only we didn't know who or why.

And we had reason to believe that someone was also targeting the Ferrini organization. Their intention had likely been to cause a rift between Andro and me, but Felik and Jer's relationship made that nearly impossible. Actually, it was mostly Jeremiah and Joey who made it impossible. They refused to let the bad guys win and forced Andro and me to continue our alliance.

And so far, it was working.

"What is this meeting about then? Just a family visit? Where are the kids?" I might be a grumpy son of a bitch, but not when it came to my nieces or any of the other Ferrini children. I loved them, and they were the only ones who got to see me smile anymore.

"This meeting is for you," Joey said.

I raised a brow. "For me?"

"We're worried about you," Jer said.

My gazed ping-ponged between everyone in the room. The same contrite, sad, concerned look was on all their faces.

Dammit. This is an intervention.

I cleared my throat. "Everything is fine." My voice was firmer than what I felt.

Andro settled his hands on his mate's hips. He scrutinized me. "No, Cord. It's not fine. I get that we have to be tough and lead with an iron fist, but we're not needlessly cruel. You're angry. You're distant. Your staff is terrified of you."

Well, fuck. I knew all that, but hearing the words from someone else fucking sucked.

"I've thinned out the people who have access to me so no one gets information that can hurt our organization. It was a strategic decision."

"We're worried about you." Felik squeezed Jeremiah's hand.

"Worried?" My lips curled into a sneer. "I don't need anyone’s worry. Worry about the business and how we're gonna keep?—"

"Cord." Rosco's voice was a warning. I was going too far. Lashing out at the wrong people, and I knew it.

"I'm fine." Why did I have to keep repeating myself?

"I want to know if this is about Velvet. The timing lines up."

"Yes, it also lines up with the explosion. This has nothing to do with Velvet. He was just a fuck. Nothing more." Even saying his name felt like a punch to the gut, and my chest tightened painfully. "It was a fling. Nothing more. A paid exchange that meant nothing to either of us."

"It doesn't seem like nothing," Felik said.

I clenched my jaw. He might’ve been my younger brother, but he was part of Andro's family now, and I couldn't shut him up just because I wanted to. I forced down the frustration that boiled within me and sighed. "I don't need this pity party."

Rosco leaned forward. The worry etched on his brow spoke volumes. He might’ve been my bodyguard by profession, but he was a friend. "This isn't a pity party. This isn't about the business. This is your family telling you we're here for you."

"I can handle this," I said through clenched teeth.

"Joey was taken from me once. I would have burned the world down to get to him. Having feelings for an omega isn't a weakness, Cord. In fact, having Joey in my life has made me a better leader. Just like it has for my brothers and yours."

"Yeah, well. That's great. But it only works if the omega wants to be there. Clearly mine didn't or else he wouldn't have disappeared." I didn't even know if Velvet was alive, and that was what hurt the most. I could survive this if I knew he was safe and happy. I still thought of him as mine. Still dreamed of him each night and reached for him on the nights when my resolve was at its weakest.

"You don't know why he disappeared, and I don't think this will be resolved until you find out."

"I tried to find him. I couldn't."

"Yeah, well, you didn't try very hard, and with both our resources combined, we can find him."

"Connor can find him. He has connections everywhere," Joey said.

"Maybe he doesn't want to be found." The bitterness rolled off my tongue before I could filter it.

They wanted this intervention, so they would just have to deal with my emotions as they came. Raw and unedited.

"He should have thought about that before getting involved with you," Andro said. He picked up Joey like he weighed nothing and set him on his feet. Then he stood. "I'll talk with Louie and Connor and he'll start his search. I'll have information for you by the end of the week."

I hated that I let myself hope. The iced-over heart in my chest thawed slightly. "You shouldn't waste resources on this, not when we're trying to sus out a mole."

"Fuck that," Andro said. "You're my friend, Cord. An ally I trust—that's rare in our world. And if this is a way I can help, then I'm going to do it. Do not question me."

I swallowed back the emotion that clogged my throat and nodded.