Chapter 4
CARMINE
The alpha stared at me through his car window with an expression I couldn't quite read. Confusion mixed with something darker and more intense. His scent hit me like I’d run into a brick wall at full speed, even through the night air. I had to fight the urge to step closer.
I'd confronted him expecting some kind of explanation or threat, but his honest answer threw me off balance. Not knowing why he was following me was too crazy to be a lie. And it was right there in line with the crazy thoughts running through my mind.
Before I could question him further, my stomach growled loud enough for him to hear, and I realized I hadn't eaten since lunch. "You hungry?" The words came out before I could think them through.
He flinched like he hadn't expected that either. "What?"
"Food. Are you hungry?" I nodded down the street where there was a 24-hour diner. "There's a place down the road that’s always open."
He glanced in that direction and then back at me. "You want to get food with me?"
"Unless you'd rather keep sitting in your car staring at my room like a creeper." I shrugged and took a step back. "We might as well talk like normal people instead of whatever this is." I waved my finger between us.
A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, and he unlocked the passenger door with a click of a button. "Get in."
I walked around to the other side and slid into the passenger seat. The car smelled like him, and that scent went straight to my balls. Dammit. As soon as the door closed behind me, his scent was stronger and more concentrated in the enclosed space.
Fuck, what was wrong with me? I’d never felt this way around a job or as an extension of a job. Alphas had no effect on me. Not before now. Was I losing my touch?
The alpha pulled out of the parking lot and headed down the street. He gripped the steering wheel tight enough that his knuckles went white, and the muscle in his jaw worked like he was grinding his teeth.
He felt it too. Whatever this weird energy between us was.
The thought that he might be my mate crossed my mind, but I immediately shoved it away.
I wasn't ready to accept that. Couldn't accept it.
I'd spent my entire life avoiding this exact situation because alphas and omegas like me didn't mix. I was a killer, and he seemed to be the same. Alphas didn’t want omegas who didn’t cower and cater to their demands.
Two predators circling each other could never be content.
Except it didn't feel like circling. It felt like gravity.
He parked at the diner, and we walked inside without speaking. A tired-looking waitress waved us toward a booth in the back and dropped two menus on the table before disappearing to grab the coffee carafe.
I slid into one side, and the alpha took the other. We sat there in silence for a minute while I pretended to read the menu, but the words blurred together because I was too focused on the man across from me.
He was even better-looking up close and in the light. His sharp jaw was covered in stubble, and he had dark eyes that missed nothing. As if that wasn’t enough, he had broad shoulders that filled out his shirt in a way that made my mouth go dry.
This was bad. Very bad.
The waitress came back with coffee and took our orders. I got eggs and toast while the alpha ordered a burger and fries. As soon as she left, he leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms over his chest.
"So." His voice was low and rough. "Who sent you to take out Webb?"
I wrapped my hands around my coffee mug and considered how much to tell him. He could be working for anyone. Just because he said he didn't know why he followed me didn't mean I could trust him. "Does it matter?"
"Yeah, it does." His eyes narrowed slightly. "I need to know if you're a problem or not."
My fingers tightened on the mug, and I felt my own suspicion rising to match his. "Were you working with Webb? Is that why you're pissed someone took him out?"
He stared at me for a second before he laughed.
It was a genuine sound that transformed his whole face and made him look younger and less dangerous.
It threw me off guard. I hated being off guard.
"Working with him? Fuck no." He shook his head and leaned forward with his arms on the table.
"I was there to do the same thing you did.
My bosses sent me to take him out, but you beat me to it.
" His voice had an edge to it, almost like he sounded impressed rather than upset that I took out his mark.
The tension in my shoulders eased, and I took a sip of my coffee. He wasn’t an enemy. "Who are your bosses?"
"Ferrini and Menetti families. Yours?"
Okay, I knew of them and had heard they’d forged some kind of alliance after a marriage between the families. Maybe he was telling the truth again. "Bandinos. We’re a west coast operation."
His eyebrows lifted. "They sent you all the way out here for one target?"
"I was in town for other business." I shrugged and traced the rim of my mug with one finger. "Heat in one region brings heat to every region. You know how it goes."
"Yeah." He nodded slowly and watched my finger move. "I know exactly how it goes."
The waitress eventually brought our food, and we both dug in. We ate in comfortable silence for a few minutes while I tried to process what this meant for us. Not that there was an us.
Apparently, we were on the same side. Allies instead of enemies. That should've made me feel better, but it also complicated things in ways I wasn't ready to think about.
"I'm Dominic, by the way.” He wiped his mouth and leaned back in his seat. “Most people call me Dom."
"I’m Carmine." My eyes locked with his, and I could almost feel his heat across the table.
"Carmine." He repeated my name like he was testing how it felt in his mouth. "You always work alone?"
That was a random question. "Mostly."
"Same." He took a drink of his coffee, and his eyes never left mine. "Easier that way."
"Less complicated." I didn’t look away either. Couldn’t if I tried.
The corner of his mouth twitched. "Exactly."
But sitting across from him felt extremely complicated.
The air between us was charged with something I'd never experienced before.
Every time he moved or spoke, my body reacted in ways I couldn't control.
My skin felt too tight and too hot, and I wanted to reach across the table and touch him just to see if he was real.
It was more than an attraction. More than interest. It was a need I couldn’t ignore.
I finished my eggs and put down my fork with shaking hands. I tucked them under the table where he couldn't see. "We should probably get back."
Dom flagged down the waitress and paid for both of us before I could protest. We walked back to his car in silence, and the tension cranked up exponentially.
The drive to the motel was short but felt like an eternity. Every second in that enclosed space made it harder to think straight. His scent wrapped around me and seeped into my lungs until I was tasting him with every breath.
Instead of parking across the street, Dom pulled up in front of my room. The appropriate thing to do was to thank him for the food and get out. I should've gone inside and locked the door behind me, putting as much distance between us as possible.
But I didn’t do any of that. I turned to him and stared into the deep pools in his eyes. "Do you wanna come in?"
His hands tightened on the steering wheel, and his pupils dilated. He knew what I was asking. What I was offering. "Yeah. I do."
I got out of the car and walked to my door with my heart pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears. Dom was close behind, and the heat of him radiated to my skin even though we weren't touching.
I unlocked the door and stepped inside. “Come in.”
Dom stood in the doorway with his eyes locked on mine and every muscle in his body tense like a coiled spring. "You sure about this?"
I wasn't sure about anything except that I needed him closer. I needed to know if this feeling was real or if I was losing my mind. "Get in here, Dominic."