Page 24 of Merciless & Mated

Once Bianca was covered in blood and Nerin had gone quiet, she finally stepped back, admiring her work. She’d made sure he suffered, and he certainly wouldn’t be troubling us anymore.

“Marco,” Bianca said. I tensed sharply at the sound of my name on her lips. “Did you train him?”

“No, ma’am.”

“Hmm. Santo, comb through my people. See if there’s anything that indicates another rat.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Bianca turned slowly to face all of us. “Our meeting wasn’t over. Back up to the suite.”

I wasn’t a stranger to Bianca’s turning moods, so it wasn’t strange to me that she would have worked out her aggression and vengeance and then simply returned to the business at hand.

Bianca went first, then Santo. Enzo was left with the cleanup. I stripped off Gianna’s blood-soaked socks and scooped her into my arms to carry her back to the suite.

“What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck?” she chanted.

“I know.” I purred for her as I walked, and got a bath running for her when we re-entered the suite. I held her tightly, giving her what comfort I could, even if all it did was calm down the bond needing us to be closer. “Rest. I’ll be back as soon as I can. I don’t want to end up in that chair for pissing her off.”

Gianna’s bottom lip trembled, but she nodded. “Go. I’ll be okay.”

Bianca had a chart on the table when I entered, Santo at her side.

“The Rossis are expanding their network,” said Santo. “From what we can tell, they’re doing it under the radar.”

“How so?” Bianca asked.

“The Rossi brothers don’t have the capacity to form their own alliances anymore since they’re all mated, but the Brunos and the Carusos have been marrying into the families that have balked at joining us, effectively bringing them under the Rossi banner. There’s only one substantial family left that’s big enough to be a threat to both sides.”

“The Romanos have been reluctant to get involved with any of us,” Bianca reminded us. “I thought they would be tempted with a direct offer, but they refuse to answer.”

I sat up straighter. Bianca had never offered for anyone and had no heir of her own. I had always wondered what she planned to do with the future, but maybe she didn’t expect to see it.

“You offered for one of the Romanos?” I asked.

“Ludovico’s granddaughter,” Bianca replied. “The only omega of her generation.”

I didn’t blame Ludovico one bit for hesitating to hand his granddaughter over.

“If they ally with us, we stand a chance of wiping out the Rossis for good,” Santo said. “The city would be ours.”

As much as it would enrich everyone in this room, I dreaded such a thing occurring. Power was a corrupting force, and heaven knew Bianca Gallo didn’t need anything else to push her in that direction.

Eventually Enzo joined us, still covered in blood like Bianca was. “He’s ready for dispatch. One of our associates will pick him up.”

Bianca nodded and turned back to the chart we’d been slowly filling in with all the alliances on both sides of the river. She kept us for another two hours even though we had completed everything useful within the first hour. It was undoubtedly spite that had her deliberately separating me from my omega just because she could.

Eventually she said, “Enzo, Santo, leave us. Marco and I have personal matters to discuss.”

Enzo cast me a sympathetic glance as he passed by, but neither of them said a word as they left me with her.

“On your knees, Vero,” Bianca demanded.

I steeled myself and slipped out of my chair, dropping to my knees before her.

“Apologize.”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have left earlier without your permission.”

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