Chapter 2
CARMINE
When the call came in at three in the afternoon, I was cleaning my knives. I already knew who it was before I looked at the screen.
Lorenzo was my handler, but he was also the man who'd raised me after my parents were killed. My uncle trained me from childhood and turned me into exactly what the Bandino family needed.
A weapon.
Glad to have something to do, I answered it on speaker. "What's the job?"
"Good afternoon to you too, Carmine." Lorenzo’s voice was amused, with the affection of the father he was to me.
It would've been comforting if I didn't know better. He didn’t call to shoot the shit.
This was a business call, so he needed something done that no one else could do.
"I have something that requires your particular skill set since you’re still on the east coast."
I put down the knife I'd been sharpening and leaned back in my chair. "I'm listening."
"There's a problem out east. The feds are talking about a serial killer who’s been targeting omegas. It normally wouldn’t matter to us, but one of our contacts has mentioned a connection to some of our east coast properties.
There will be blowback if we don’t handle things quickly.
" He paused and rustled some paper in the background.
"Since you’re already out there, I need you to deal with it before anyone on this coast starts asking questions.
Quick in-and-out job. You know how it works. "
I knew it all too well. "Who's the target?"
"Derek Webb. I'm sending you the file now." My phone buzzed with an incoming email notification, so I opened it up and skimmed the details. Photos, addresses, and routines. Everything I needed to get the job done. "Timeline?"
"Soon. Preferably tonight. He's getting sloppy, and the longer he's out there, the more attention he’s drawing."
"I'll take care of it." And I’d enjoy every minute of it. I always did. Getting rid of the scum of the earth was something I did well.
"I know you will.”
I checked my watch and had some time before I could possibly meet up with the guy. "Anything else I need to know?"
"Just don't make a mess."
I almost laughed. I never made a mess. That was the whole point of using me. "Copy."
After I hung up, I continued to stare at the file on my phone. The guy looked ordinary. Boring, even. But the story of his victims told a different story. They were all young omegas, and after the haunting photos of the first two, I closed the file. I didn’t need to see more.
If he wanted a fight with an omega, he’d officially found one.
Men like Derek Webb didn't deserve to breathe the same air as the rest of us, and I had no qualms about stealing the last breath right from his chest.
I parked in an open space that was halfway between his job and his apartment building. According to the file, he would be leaving the bar in about twenty minutes, so I had time to scout the area and find the best spot to make my move.
After a quick pep talk, I slipped out of my car and pulled my hood up. The streets were mostly empty, so the alley between two buildings that he normally cut between was perfect. It was dark, narrow, and out of sight of any random passersby.
All I had to do was position myself behind a dumpster and wait.
After a few minutes, I heard the footsteps and prepared to strike. Derek Webb turned into the alley, and I moved before he had a chance to react. One hand clasped over his mouth and my other brought my knife to his throat.
He struggled for a second with wide eyes, but he knew it was already over before he could even process what was happening.
The blade sliced clean, and I lowered him to the ground as the life drained out of him. Quick. Efficient. No suffering. As much as I wanted to make him pay for what he'd done to those omegas, that wasn't my job. My job was to end the terror.
I wiped the blade on his jacket and stepped back as his body released a final gasp. The whole thing had taken less than ten seconds.
And then I felt that prickling sensation at the back of my neck that warned me I wasn't alone. I turned and scanned the alley. There was nothing visible in the shadows, but the feeling didn't go away.
Someone was watching me.
I shoved the knife back into my belt sheath and headed toward the far end of the alley. My steps were silent and my senses were on high alert. If someone had seen me, I needed to know who they were and what they'd seen.
Then I saw him. A man was standing at the other end of the alley. His silhouette was backlit by the streetlights, and it was obvious he was tall and broad-shouldered. Clearly an alpha, built like a brick wall.
When our eyes met, neither of us moved. He was staring at me like he couldn't quite believe what he was seeing. And I was staring back, trying to figure out if he was a threat.
But I didn’t stick around long enough to find out.
I didn't know who he was or what he wanted, but I wasn't sticking around to find out. My feet pounded against the pavement as I ducked around corners and vaulted over obstacles. I could hear his footsteps heavy behind me, but I didn’t look back to see how close he was.
He was faster than I expected for someone his size, but I was faster.
There was a chain-link fence ahead, so I launched myself at it. My fingers hooked into the metal, and I pulled myself up and over in one smooth motion. The second I hit the ground on the other side, I kept running and didn’t hear him following behind.
By the time I reached my car, my lungs were burning and my heart was racing. But I felt good. These were the moments I lived for. I slid behind the wheel and started the engine, with adrenaline pulsing through my veins.
I pulled out onto the street and forced myself to drive at a normal speed. The last thing I needed was to get pulled over for speeding.
Once I was a safe distance away, I pulled over and took a shaky breath. Who the hell was that alpha, and why the fuck was he there?
He wasn't a cop because cops didn't move like that. And he wasn't a civilian. No civilian would've followed me into that alley.
Which meant he was like me. Someone working for one of the families.
I pulled out my phone and sent a quick text to Lorenzo. Job's done. Minor complication.
His reply came almost immediately. What kind of complication?
I hesitated, then typed back. Someone was there. An alpha. He saw me.
The three dots appeared, then disappeared. Appeared again for a moment before his response finally came through. Did he follow you?
I almost smiled at my parkour training getting put to good use. That was actually kinda fun. Confusing, but fun. He tried. I lost him.
Good. Get out of there. I'll handle the fallout.
I didn’t need to be told twice. I shoved my phone back in my pocket and stared out the windshield. The street was quiet along the empty road. Just another night for most people.
But for me, it was the first night I’d been caught totally off guard in the middle of a job. It made me wonder if Webb was his target or if I was.
Maybe it didn't matter. I'd probably never see him again.
I'd spent my entire life avoiding alphas. They were dangerous and unpredictable, and being around them always made me feel like prey instead of a predator. Like I was a target, because no alpha could understand me. They were used to soft and docile omegas who were all about making babies.
That wasn’t who I was at all, and that made me good at my job. No one expected me to be a threat, so I could get in and out of a situation without detection.
Until now.
I went back to the hotel I’d been at for a few weeks while taking care of some real estate investments and finally took a full breath.
I stripped off my clothes and stepped into the shower, letting the hot water wash away the blood on my skin and the tension in my muscles.
By the time I got out, I felt a little more human.