Page 34 of The Mafia's Omega Queen

“I will.”

The comms go silent, and all I can hear now is the roaring of my pulse in my ears. Terror, unlike I’ve ever known, grips me, haunting me with the possibility that he may take his last breath right here. Is this what it felt like for them when I was bleeding out on the floor? Gods, if it’s anything like I’m feeling now, they must have been terrified.

Pounding footsteps cause panic to bubble throughout me, and my arm shakes as I snag the other 9 from my holster and aim it toward the sound. Fuck. Did we miss someone? I can’t bring myself to remove my other hand to steady my aim, fear of losing Vinny muddling my senses.

A ringing in my ears drowns out everything around me, and the second a black-clad leg comes around the corner, I pop off a warning shot. Luckily, they get the message, and two arms shoot out from around the corner, one holding a doctor’s bag.

Shit, shit, shit. I almost shot Doc.

Sound finally breaks through my senses, and I flinch at the panic from the guys yelling at me over the comms to stand down. That Doc’s here.

Gods dammit. High-stakes situations when someone’s life is on the line—someone you care about—are rough. How the hell Mom handles this shit? I have no freaking clue. This isn’t the first time there’s been an attack in my life, and it won’t be the last. But this is the first time the injured party has been someone close to me.

“Sorry, Doc,” I mutter when he comes skidding to a stop next to me.

“No worries, dollface. It’s expected. Now, let’s save this fucker.”

Doc starts calling shit through the comms, Arden outfitting him with one when he arrived. A flurry of activity happens around me, but my eyes are stuck on Vinny’s prone form, watching as Doc works his hardest to save his life.

When I can finally back away, I slump against the wall, rip off my night vision goggles, and drop my head in my bloody hands. As much as I wish I could erase the memory of Vinny’s body jerking as he took the bullet, I can’t. It plays on repeat, over and over again, as I squeeze my eyes shut. It all comes back to one question, though. Why would he do that? He has his own empire and his own people to worry about. To lead. His life doesn’t need to be snuffed out because he doesn’t want people to lose me.

He’s just as important, maybe even more so.

There may be dissension in the group—thanks to me—but my men and Vinny are family. And family trumps all. Gods, if Vinny dies, they are going to blame me. And I’ll deserve every bit of their ire. I won’t blame them if they decide they don’t want me anymore after his loss. It will hurt like all hell to walk away, but I will. So they can rebuild and grieve like they would need to.

This is the kind of shit I signed up for when I agreed to take over the family business, but I just never expected there to be others in my heart that I could possibly lose. There were always enough people to keep Mom and Dad safe—Byron proved more than once that he would die to protect my parents. But this? Someone who means something to me stepping in front of a bullet for me? This shit sucks.

And again, it’s my fault that so many good soldiers died outside. They were moved to the outskirts of the compound to keep me safe, especially after previous incidents, but all those men and women were picked off because of me. More would have survived if they were indoors.

A touch on my shoulder startles me, and my head snaps up, connecting with worried crystal blue eyes. At some point, the lights flipped back on while I was stuck in my head, and as I look around, I don’t miss the horror of the surrounding area of downed bodies and the puddle left behind from them moving Vinny.

“Are you hurt anywhere, baby girl?” My eyes return to Gavin, and I shake my head, all the words I want to say fleeing me. “He’ll be okay. Doc has him, and Vinny is a stubborn bastard. He won’t die before he gets to finish apologizing to you.”

A small laugh bubbles up my throat as a loud thud sounds next to me. I glance over, eyeing Hunter sitting against the wall next to me. He presses in closer, letting me rest my weary body on his. His mohawk is plastered to the side of his head, blood spatter making the previously blond strands look pink.

“It’s not your fault, little killer. He chose to take that bullet.”

“But—”

“No buts. That’s what a man does to protect his woman. I would have done the same, as Gavin and Arden would have, too. I’m sure even your dad would do it for your mom. Without you, nothing matters anymore, and Vinny knows that.”

Tears swim in my eyes, knowing he’s right. But it’s one of the hardest things in the world to accept. Maybe if I had acted quicker, none of this would have happened. A whimper breaks free, and Hunter growls lowly in response as he pulls me into his lap, holding me tight. Allowing me the time to fall apart. Gavin takes where I was sitting and laces our fingers together.

They stay silent as I sob into Hunter’s chest at the near loss of my own life and the possible loss of Vinny—my fated mate that I haven’t even had the chance to be with yet. If he makes it through this, things are going to change—no more beating around the bush. I may have told him earlier that he wasn’t forgiven, but that was a lie. He’s more than forgiven, but that doesn’t mean I won’t make him work for it still.

This man is fucking infuriating!

It’s only been three weeks since he’s been shot, and the asshole is already on his feet, doing shit he shouldn’t be. And no one is stopping him.

Hunter, Arden, and Gavin confined me to the bed when I was injured, yet they’ve been encouraging Vinny to get back on his feet. Double standards, much? Bastards.

My feet carry me through the house, checking every room I come across for that damn alpha who should be in bed resting. But that was the first place I looked, and his bed was empty, almost like he had never even slept there last night.

That’s not true, though, because I went in there to check on him before I went to bed. And oh, what a sight it was. I’ve taken to checking on him every night just to see him lying there, shirtless, his silk sheets pooled at his waist, leaving his broad, muscular chest on full display. It’s a delicious feast for my eyes. And I’m shameless enough to admit that it’s the first thing I see behind my eyelids when I close my eyes at night. The expanse of his chest has even starred a few nights in my dreams.

But I digress. The fucker is nowhere to be seen.

I swear to the Gods, I’m going to make him regret getting out of bed.

---