I sat down and leaned back in the chair. "Yeah. Clean kill. Professional." The pride I had in Carmine’s work was evident in my voice. I longed to ask Carmine about more of his work and also share mine with him.
"But not by you." Cord’s eyes narrowed slightly. "Someone else got to him first."
"An omega from the west coast. He was fast and knew what he was doing. Had the same target I did."
Cord's fingers drummed on the desk as he studied me with an intensity that made me want to squirm. "You sure he's not a problem?"
"Positive. I talked to him after. He was doing a favor for the greater good, I guess. Keeping the heat off everyone. Same reason we wanted Webb gone."
That was mostly true. Carmine had been sent to handle Webb, and he'd done exactly that. The fact that I'd fucked him afterward was irrelevant to the conversation.
Cord nodded as he picked up his phone and scrolled through it before putting it back down. "Funny you should mention the west coast. I got a call this morning from Lorenzo Bandino."
My stomach dropped, but I kept my expression neutral. "Yeah?"
"He was asking about his nephew. Apparently, the kid was out here on business, and Lorenzo heard he spent some time with one of our guys." Cord's eyes locked onto mine. "You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"
Fuck. Lorenzo knew what we’d done…and now Cord did too. It was only thanks to years of training that I didn’t flinch or cower under Cord’s stare. I had to be honest, at least halfway honest. "Yeah, that was me. I grabbed food with the guy after following him to his hotel. Wanted to make sure he wasn’t gonna be a problem."
Cord leaned forward and rested his elbows on the desk. "Just food?"
"Yeah." The lie came out easily. I'd been doing this long enough to know when to tell the truth and when to keep my mouth shut.
He watched me for another long moment before he nodded and leaned back. "Lorenzo seemed satisfied with that answer. Said his nephew confirmed the same thing."
I swallowed hard as relief flooded through me. Carmine had covered for us, which meant he didn't want Lorenzo knowing about whatever happened between us any more than I wanted Cord knowing about it. "Good. So we're all on the same page then."
"Not quite." Cord pulled out a folder from his desk drawer and slid it across to me. "Lorenzo reaching out like that makesme nervous. The west coast families don't usually check in on their people when they're in our territory. We all mind our own business, so why the hell was he here in the first place?"
I opened the folder and found a handful of grainy photos inside. Most of them showed Carmine from a distance, walking into buildings or getting into cars. There was one clear shot of his face taken outside of a coffee shop. "What is this?"
"Background on the omega. His name is Carmine Bandino, nephew of Lorenzo Bandino. He's been operating as a freelance enforcer for the family since he was eighteen. You don’t see many omega assassins, but he’s supposedly very good at what he does. Very quiet. Some might even say he is the best."
I flipped through the photos and tried to ignore the way my chest tightened at seeing Carmine's face. "So what do you need from me?"
"We need to know what he's really doing in our territory. Webb was one job, but according to our sources, he's been in town for a few weeks. Lorenzo said it was for some real estate investments, but that seems like a weak cover."
My jaw clenched, and I forced myself to stay calm. Cord was asking me to spy on my mate and report back. Every instinct I had screamed at me to refuse. But I couldn't. Not without raising suspicion. "You want me to do recon on him?"
"Exactly. Find out who he's meeting with and what his real business is. I don't like surprises, and the Bandinos showing up in our territory without a heads-up feels like a surprise."
I closed the folder and put it back on the desk. My phone buzzed in my pocket, but I ignored it. "When do you want this done?"
"Soon. Today if possible. The sooner we know what he's up to, the sooner we can decide if he's a friend or a foe. Depending on what we decide, he’ll be taken care of."
Like hell he would.
I stood up and grabbed the folder. "I'm on it, boss."
Cord stood too and walked around the desk. He clapped me on the shoulder and gave me a squeeze. "I know you are. We can always count on you."
I left the office and headed back to my car. As soon as I was behind the wheel, I checked the message that had come through. It was from Carmine.I'm at the gas station off exit 47. Can you meet me?
I stared at the text and weighed my options. Cord wanted me to investigate Carmine as if he were an enemy, but he was as far from an enemy as imaginable. Carmine was my mate. At least, I thought so, and I was pretty sure he felt it too.
But the folder on the passenger seat reminded me of my duty. My loyalty to the family I'd spent my entire adult life working for. I couldn't just throw that away because I might have found my mate.On my way.
I had no idea what I was gonna say to Carmine once I saw him, but I knew one thing for certain.
