Page 35 of Omega's Vengeance

He leans on the phone booth door, scowling. “My call is more important.”

“Right. Of course it is.” I shake my head. “Your needs are always more important, aren’t they, Dario?”

He shrugs. “Why do you even need to make a call? Why don’t you take off on the bike? I’ll stay here and wait for my guys to come pick me up. That’s win-win for both of us.”

I squint at him. “Seriously? How stupid do you think I am? Leaving here on that dilapidated bike isn’t awin. I could break down a half mile down the road. Or for all I know you could call Valentino and have him ambush me at the bottom of the mountain.”

He exhales impatiently, glancing around warily. “Arguing like this is going to get us both killed.”

“So give in.”

“No, I’d prefer you gave in.”

I exhale impatiently. “I’m not a threat to you, Dario. You’re a much bigger threat to me because you’re going to tell Valentino everything I have planned. All I want to do is get home. I won’t come for Valentino until I have a new plan in place. For now, he’s safe from me.”

“So you say.”

I open my mouth to say something and he curses under his breath as his eyes flick to something behind me. He grabs my shoulders and shoves me around the side of the phone booth. Then he joins me, peeking around the big booth.

“I just saw Carlo and one of his men pull into the station.Fuck.” He scowls. “We have to get back to the bike make a run for it down the hill. We don’t have time to make a call.”

“But the phone is right fucking there.”

“Yeah, and so isCarlo.” He grabs my arm. “Let’s go around the back of the station. The minute they see their guy is unconscious they’ll know we’re here.”

I let him drag me with him, but I’m not happy about it. I was mere seconds from making my phone call. I don’t want to get back on that damn bike and flee down the mountain, but I also know I have no choice. If Carlo and his men are here, we need to either hide or run. Standing in the phone booth isn’t a great option.

We reach the back of the building and Dario lets me walk ahead of him slightly. I don’t think anything of it until he grabs me and puts me in a choke hold. Gasping, I claw at his muscular arm as it squeezes on my windpipe. Sputtering, I’m unable to make any actual sounds.

He puts his mouth to my ear and says softly, “I’m really sorry about this, kid. But I need to make my call first. I can’t risk you doing something that might get Valentino injured.”

Kicking my legs, I scratch as his arm, as spots appear on the side of my vision. I try to gouge his eyes out, but he’s too quick. Head butting is impossible with the vise like grip he has on my throat.

Why did I trust him?

His breath is warm against my neck as he runs his hand over my backside. He takes his sweet time before tugging my wallet from my pocket. “Don’t worry. I’ll just make my call and give you your wallet back. Odd are you’ll be fine back here behind the building. When you wake up, you can make your call. Toodle-oo, Alessio.”

I want to rip his face off. I want to punch him and bite him and make him pay for deceiving me like this. He’s just gonna leave me here unconscious? Vulnerable? My hatred for Dario spikes exponentially as I begin to black out. There’s nothing but the sound of blood rushing through my ears, and the tension of his arm against my throat as my eyes roll up in my head.

As darkness descends, I feel him press his lips to the bite mark, and then I sink into sweet oblivion.

****

I wake up swinging. Or, I try. My arms are tied behind my back and I’m lying on a big bed. I stop struggling, seeing as it’s futile, and take in my surroundings. The room I’m in is dark and cool. It smells of Dario’s cologne, and I’m completely confused about where the hell I am.

The last thing I remember is that asshole Dario choking me out. He said he’d leave me there with my wallet, but here I am hogtied in what appears to be his bedroom? My pulse picks up speed as I realize there’s someone in the room with me. It’s not Dario. I’d sense him if it were.

“Why am I here?” I demand, eyeing the dark silhouette sitting across the room.

They don’t respond immediately, then they stand and approach. It’s an omega around my age, with blond hair and a small baby bump. I don’t recognize him, and he doesn’t look particularly threatening.

He stops next to the bed, and he studies me. “Dario has really stepped in it this time,” he murmurs.

I narrow my eyes. “Why am Ihere,” I repeat.

He purses his lips. “Because my beloved husband wants to murder you. But for whatever reason, Dario doesn’t want him to do it. I suggested we keep you alive for a bit while we figure shit out. Luckily, Valentino listens to me sometimes.”

A chill goes through me at how flippantly he talks about my death. But then again, if he’s Valentino’s husband, he’s probably surrounded by death. “Dario wants me alive?” It’s almost comical thathe’sthe thing that would stand between me and Valentino murdering me.

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