CHAPTER 8 MAURO #2
I hold out half of the little golden heart-shaped leaf.
One of Ennio's eyebrows lifts.
For the briefest moment I catch something on his face… almost contempt, maybe even cold superiority. I have no idea what it means. He doesn't comment, though. He simply takes the golden half of the leaf.
He and Luca leave the room, and I immediately switch on the camera, my eyes glued to the live feed.
The two of them make their way down the hallway to Rocco's room. Ennio knocks firmly on the door.
Muted cursing comes from inside before Rocco yanks the door open, a gun already in his hand.
"What the fuck is going on today? Is this place turning into a damn pilgrimage? What do you two want now?" Rocco snaps.
He's still standing in the doorway in a way that blocks the view inside the room.
Then I hear Ennio's cold, steady voice.
"You should let that omega go. This isn't the right time to send the Ring a big 'fuck you.' We had a rough operation against the Russians, and there's a chance the security cameras in Halldon caught something. We'd be better off keeping the mayor on our side."
Rocco's face twists with rage, and from the low angle of the camera, I see every furious line etched across it.
"I don't give a fuck about your screwups, and I don't give a fuck about that asshole mayor! Those bastards think they can kick me out, but I'll still be part of the Ring whether they like it or not!"
"Rocco, enough." Ennio's voice turns cold.
"Fuck you! He's not walking out of this room alive! I'm gonna make those motherfuckers regret crossing me. They'll learn you don't fuck with a Ferro—"
In one swift motion, Luca grabs Rocco by the throat and slams him against the wall. The purple alpha's massive forearm pins him effortlessly in place. Rocco chokes and kicks wildly, but it's useless. No ordinary alpha is strong enough to overpower Luca, no matter how hard they trained.
"Listen to yourself. You're either with this family or against it.
While the rest of us were dealing with a fucking op, you were busy fucking omegas.
" Ennio's voice cracks like a whip. "If you'd been there, we'd have had one more shooter, and that could've ended the whole mess a lot sooner.
The Russians are breathing down our necks.
That's our priority, not your dick or your pity revenge!
So for once, stop making our lives harder and leave the Ring's omegas alone. "
Still pinned to the wall, Rocco keeps struggling, but there's no escaping Luca's grip. That doesn't stop him from fighting back with words.
"I'm the fucking underboss here, and you're the ones who are supposed to listen to me—"
Luca punches him so hard blood sprays into the air, droplets splattering across the camera lens.
"Don't push it, Rocco. That's betrayal of the family."
From the slight shift in the camera angle, I realize Ennio has folded his arms across his chest. I guess Luca is playing the bad cop while Ennio takes the role of the reasonable one, the man who's supposedly easier to negotiate with.
"Think about this, Rocco," Ennio says in a calmer voice. "Making enemies of those people creates problems for us on every front. They're the most influential men in the entire city. I know you feel humiliated by what they did, and I understand that, but look at the bigger picture."
"Fuck all of you! I'm gonna deliver him to them in pieces! Everybody gets one. The mayor gets the head, and Dante gets the dick—" Rocco starts, but Luca smashes the back of his head into the wall so hard that, for a second, I think he blacks out. Silence fills the hallway before Luca speaks again.
"We're taking the omega, and you're getting back on the team instead of working against us. Anzo hates this kind of bullshit. You want to explain it to him yourself?"
"I do!" Rocco snarls.
Luca immediately punches him again, and this time so effectively, Rocco goes down hard and finally blacks out.
Ennio lets out an impatient sigh, walks past Rocco, who's clearly a lost cause at this point, and steps into the room.
That's when I realize we're too late. I have no idea how long I was unconscious. The omega is no longer tied up. He's lying naked on his side, curled into himself, quietly sobbing.
"You're coming with us," Ennio says bluntly. "We're taking you back to the hotel."
He bends down, grabs the omega by the arm, and pulls him into a sitting position.
A wave of irritation washes over me. At a moment like this, the kid deserves more than being briskly hauled to his feet and marched out like another piece of property. But there's nothing I can do now.
Ennio throws a blanket over the omega's slender body. Without a word, the guy lets himself be led out of the room.
The group reaches the hallway leading toward the garage. As they round the corner, I see two soldati standing beside the vehicles. They are the ones working most closely with Rocco.
The terrified kid instinctively presses himself against Ennio, but Ennio immediately steps away, firmly putting space between them.
I know Ennio hates any kind of physical familiarity.
Even now, he doesn't offer the omega the comfort he so desperately needs.
What he does offer, though, is protection.
Ennio turns toward Luca, giving him the slightest nod. Luca goes over to the two soldati and simply looks at them. Without a word, both men turn around and walk away, their expressions completely blank.
Ennio, Jared, and Luca get into the SUV. Then, unexpectedly, Ennio removes the camera from his cuff, and… the feed cuts to black.
Fuck!
No!
Why did he do it? I needed to see the moment he gives Jared the pendant!
The turbulent emotions stir me so much that my head starts buzzing, and I know I'll soon lose consciousness.
But it's not over, I whisper to myself as my knees buckle. I'm not giving up. Hell, no. He and I… I know this wasn't a coincidence.
There’s this strange certainty in me, this peculiar, powerful pull that pushes me forward.
I have to try. I have to.
I'm going to give both of us a chance to meet again.