Page 121 of Knot Made to Break: Part One

The man had been in our ‘care’ for over three weeks, and while we Italian’s usually prided ourselves on our hospitality, his stay had been less than comfortable, to put it mildly. Each visit, we hoped he’d break and reveal something useful, but so far all we’d gleaned was pretty generic stuff.

Dimitri absently ghosted his thumb over the freshest batch of scabs that littered his knuckles. “The man had nothing concrete to offer. Just ramblings of vague threats Rocco and Vincent have made regarding our Omega. “

“I can’t prove it, but I know they were one thousand percent behind the shooting at the theater. And since they failed, there’s no doubt the Valentinos will come for Kit again. And soon,” I practically growled, “Unfortunately, we’re not sure when they’ll attack next or what the fuck they’re planning. But it’s clear now that they want Kitania dead.”

“If they take out our mate, it’s only a matter of time until our grief eats us alive from the inside out,” Dimitri rasped. “Until we’re too distracted, too weak, too fucking devastated to protect our territory, our family.”

The picture my brother painted had a red haze edging my vision. I tapped my fingers on the outside of my thigh—partly because standing still felt impossible, but mostly because the motion was so routine, it helped calm me. It was familiar and rhythmic. Centering. Grounding.

I fought for my precarious control, promising myself my anger would be vindicated soon.

So fucking soon.

Emilio’s eyes flashed with fury. “That won’t happen. We’ll make sure we’re on guard. We protect our own, and Kitania is now as much a daughter to me as your sister is.”

Thatwas the power of scent matches.

Emilio straightened, going into what I called his ‘boss mode.’ “Tell me more about this plan of yours.”

Dimitri laid it all out, detailing how we’d spread word about a fake shipment of illegal arms and high-end contraband worth millions of dollars to lure the Valentinos in.

If they stuck to their regular M.O., they’d come for it.

“This is one payload they won’t be able to resist,” D stated.

They’d been stealing shit from us for months, long before Kit upped their incentive to be complete dick holes. At first, it was about territory, and in a sense, it still was—except I’d never view Kit as ‘property’ that I owned. Regardless, they viewed her as theirs. They wanted her, and we had her. And there was no fucking way we were giving her up. Even if she wasn’t our Omega, we would’ve fought for her safety, but now the vendetta was personal.

Between the two of us, we explained how we’d plant men at every vantage point, how we planned to draw the Valentinos in and ambush them when they made a run for the goods that we’d stage inside the warehouse.

I shoved a hand through my hair, hoping against all hope that our plan worked. “When they make their move, we’ll be ready,” I vowed.

Thankfully, Emilio agreed we needed to level the playing field, draw them out of their territory. The docks made a perfect battlefield.

Emilio eyed us, and the weight of the look felt truly physical. With a single nod, he said, “You have my blessing.”

Air whooshed from my lungs. Given that he was still the boss, his approval was mandatory, and yet, I knew we would’ve fought back if he’d denied us. None of us wanted the transition of power amongst our family to be a tumultuous event.

“I’m proud to see you stepping up, taking charge. It does an old man’s heart some good to see you matched. Once this mess is sorted, I believe it’s time we all sat down for a long awaited discussion.”

I exchanged glances with Dimitri before he nodded. “Yes, sir.” He shook his father’s hand, and as we watched Emilio go, I clapped D on the back.

“Seems the future awaits, brother.”

“And none too soon. It’s time to end this,” he stated. “Once and for all.”

forty-three

GIOVANNI

“It’s too risky,”Kit said, her small hands propped on her hips, as if the stance would help her appear bigger, more intimidating. “What if the Valentinos don’t fall for it? What if they know it’s a trap? What if they attack here, at the penthouse, while you’re gone?”

Her ice-blue eyes flicked from one brother to the next, landing on me last. The overwhelming concern in her gaze gripped me, squeezed my heart until it ached. Fuck, I hated seeing her like this—so afraid, so vulnerable.

“What if you...” She hesitated, her voice growing smaller, more fragile. “What if you get hurt? I can’t bear that.”

The room fell into a heavy silence. I studied her, wanting to reach out, to pull her into my arms and tell her everything would be alright. But I knew this plan was necessary. The Valentinos had pushed us all too far, had tried tokillmy mate, and it was time to strike back. Yet my Omega’s fear for our safety made mepause, made me doubt, made my heart clench with something uncomfortably close to guilt.

Marco spoke first, ever the pragmatist. “Angel, we know it’s risky, but we’ve done all we can to ensure this plan works. We’ve spread the word and created buzz about this new shipment. The Valentinos will know it’s the biggest shipment we’ve had all year. And to make it even more believable, we’re bringing in a friend who owes us a favor. He’s an arms dealer, which only adds validity to the ruse.”

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