“What do you want?” I spat.
“I’ve come to talk,” Massimo said, his accented voice quiet and serious.
I eyed him, my alpha screaming at me to tear him apart for daring to touch our omega.
“Then talk. You’d be wise to choose your next words carefully.”
A twisted part of me debated holding Massimo as ransom in exchange for Willow. The heir to the Italian crown sat a few feet from me, unarmed.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t confident Vittorio would surrender her in return for his son.
As fucked up as that was.
I schooled my features, refusing to give anything away, even as aching pain clawed at my ribs. Ignoring the burning sensation in my chest, I glared at Massimo. For a second, the façade on his face fell and he ran a hand through his hair, looking much older than he was.
“My father took your wife.”
A roar worked its way up my throat as I took a prowling step into Massimo’s space. The other alpha didn’t retreat, despite the subtle flare of his nostrils that he quickly stifled.
“She is being kept in one of the older safe houses, beneath the industrial district. It’s decommissioned, but still functional. He intends to force-bond her, claim her. He has procured something that is said to induce heat in an omega when ingested.”
Black spots blurred my vision. The veins on my hands bulge under my tattoos. The metallic tang of blood coated my tongue as I licked away the dripping spot on my lip from where my teeth had pierced the flesh.
Unlike his father, Massimo Rossi had always shown himself to be loyal. Something didn’t sit right. It felt like a trap. I didn’t trust it, and I would never trust him.
“Why?” I started, glaring at him. “Why should I trust anything you say? Why would I trust a man so quick to betray his family?”
That elicited the first genuine reaction I had seen from Massimo since he had arrived. His eyes narrowed into thin slits as a quiet growl slid past his lips. I tilted my head, finding the reaction curious.
I offended him.
Under normal circumstances, I would have expected him to lashout when anyone questioned his loyalty to his family. But given the information he offered, I found the pinched expression on his face out of place.
The brief glimpse of emotion in his eyes was quickly hidden behind something cold and unyielding.
“Not my family,” Massimo seethed. “Myfather.”
Interesting.
“I am loyal to my blood, my sister. I promised my mother I would protect her with my last breath as she took hers.”
My gaze slid to Aidan’s, whose expression was as impassive as always. I knew Massimo had a younger sister, but like most daughters in our world, she had been sheltered. That night at the restaurant was my first glimpse of her.
“My father is the one who has betrayed us by stealing your wife and bringing war to our doorstep. In his madness, he has also promised my sister to an alpha in Rome who is almost sixty. I willnotallow it. I vowed to keep her safe. Andthatis the oath I am keeping.”
In the years I had known him, I had always held more respect for Massimo than for his father. His words only proved it. With Vittorio gone, Massimo would step in as the head of the Italian family in Boston.
Business between us would be less hostile if we dealt with him instead of his reactive father.
“What are you suggesting, Massimo?” I asked, the room quiet enough to hear a pin drop.
A dimple appeared at the corner of his mouth, and he covered his chest with his hand.
“I know the location he’s keeping your wife in. I will share it with you, along with all pertinent information about security in exchange for you agreeing to kill my father. With this, I can protect my sister and you get your wife and omega back.”
Hold on. I’m coming, mo chroí.
Thirty-Six
