Page 2 of Ruined By the Mafia Kings
“No, no, no.” De Luca waved him off, his eyes never leaving my face. “Not yet, Antonio.”
De Luca circled me slowly, his calculating gaze dissecting every inch of me. “Perhaps there is a way you could help your father, Mr. Hart.”
My breath caught. “Anything. Just don’t hurt him anymore.”
His lips curved into a smile that never reached his eyes. “So eager to sacrifice. How touching.” He stopped directly behind me, close enough that I could feel his breath on my neck. “I wonder what you might be willing to offer. What you might be hiding.”
He placed his hands on my shoulders, fingers digging painfully into my flesh. I tried not to flinch as he leaned in, his nose nearly touching the sensitive skin below my ear.
“You’ve been using blockers, haven’t you?” he whispered, his voice dropping to a dangerous purr. “But they can’t quite mask everything. Not to someone who knows what to look for.”
Ice flooded my veins. I’d been using scent blockers religiously since I was fourteen, desperate to hide my status in a world that saw male omegas as rare commodities to be claimed and controlled.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I lied, the words sticking in my throat.
De Luca chuckled, the sound crawling across my skin. “Come now, let’s not play games. Not when your father’s life hangs in the balance.” His fingers traced up my neck to my jawline, forcing my head back until our eyes met. “You’re an omega, aren’t you? A male omega.”
The words hung in the air between us, and I saw the hunger in his eyes sharpen into something calculated and cruel.
“Tell me the truth,” he demanded softly, “and perhaps we can come to an arrangement that benefits us both.”
“Yes,” I whispered, defeat and terror mingling in my voice. “I’m an omega.”
His smile widened, revealing teeth that seemed too sharp in the warehouse’s harsh lighting. “You see? Honesty feels better, doesn’t it? And as it happens, you possess exactly what I need most right now.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, though the predatory gleam in his eyes told me I wouldn’t like the answer.
“Your breeding capability, Mr. Hart,” De Luca replied, his voice silky with satisfaction. “As it happens, I find myself in need of an heir, and you… you’re going to help me acquire one.”
“My breeding capability,” I echoed, trying to keep my voice steady despite the tremor threatening to betray me. “What is this, a livestock auction? Should I be mooing?”
De Luca’s hand slid from my jaw to my throat, not squeezing, but resting there, a reminder of how easily he could cut off my air if he chose to. I swallowed hard against his palm.
“Your humor won’t save you, Mr. Hart,” he said, his voice cold. “And make no mistake, this is business.”
He released me and stepped back, straightening the cuffs of his expensive suit jacket with the self-importance of a peacock. “You see, I find myself in a rather unique predicament. My health is compromising certain functions.” His hand made a vague gesture toward his lower body.
“Performance issues? There are pills for that,” I said before I could stop myself. Self-preservation had never been my strong suit.
His eyes flashed dangerously, but before he could respond, his cell phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket, checking the screen with a knowing smile that made my blood run cold.
“Right on schedule,” he murmured before answering. “Report.” His expression remained unchanged as he listened, but there was an eagerness in his eyes that hadn’t been there before. “Excellent. All three targets confirmed injured but alive?” A pause. “Proceed exactly as planned. Have the extraction team ready. No mistakes.”
I glanced at my father’s broken form on the floor, then back to De Luca, trying to piece together what was happening. Whatever it was, it clearly brought him joy, which meant it was probably horrific for someone else.
De Luca ended the call and turned to me with the satisfied expression of a chess master who’d just executed a perfect move. “Everything is falling into place, Mr. Hart. The Vitale Brotherhood has just experienced an unfortunate accident.”
“The Vitale Brotherhood?” I couldn’t hide my shock. Even a baker’s son knew about them—the most feared mafia family in the city, led by the notorious Vitale brothers and their consigliere. “What did you do?”
“Let’s just say that a meeting they were attending had an explosive conclusion.” He chuckled at his own joke, the soundsending ice down my spine. “And now Stefano Vitale, Matteo Romano, and Marco Vitale are being transported to Saint Michael’s Hospital, unconscious and vulnerable.”
My mind raced, trying to understand what this had to do with me. Then it clicked, and horror bloomed in my chest, spreading its toxic roots through my entire body.
“You’re insane,” I whispered, eyes wide. “You can’t possibly think?—”
“Oh, but I do think,” De Luca interrupted, circling me. “I’ve been planning this for months. The explosion, timed perfectly. The best alphas in the city, delivered right to me. And now, the final piece”—he tapped my cheek with one bony finger—“a fertile male omega.”
“I’m not some broodmare you can just—” I started, but he cut me off with a sharp gesture.
