Page 14 of Bought By The Mafia Alpha (Mated in the Mafia #4)

Chapter 14

Orsino

I never enjoyed bringing my work home. In fact, I actively avoided it at all costs. But Andro and I ran into a situation that couldn't be avoided. In order to take care of a certain mess, we had to bring that mess home.

Andro stormed into my office and tossed me my holster. “Load up. We’re taking care of Russo once and for all.”

I didn’t question him. It was something I’d been wanting to do for a long time, and I was just waiting for the invitation.

Finally, it had arrived.

I slipped my shoulder holster on, checked the clip on my gun, and slid it into the slot. The weight of it was comfortable and familiar. “Not that I’m complaining, but what brought this on?”

Andro was already on the move, so I followed him out of the office and down the hall. His steps were determined. “You know I gave Trev a few assignments to help keep him busy while he recovered?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, one of those assignments was to keep track of Russo’s latest business endeavors. He’s increased his movements lately, and I wanted to know why.”

This was more interesting than I expected. “I take it he found something?”

“Yeah. Motherfucker has been kidnapping omegas and selling them. It was bad enough when the omega’s involvement was somewhat voluntary. But this is where I draw the line.”

I knew my brother and there had to be more to the story. But I didn’t worry about what it was because I’d wanted to end Russo’s existence for a long time.

“Last week, one of his guys picked up Rowan.”

“Cousin Rick’s son?” I hadn’t seen Rowan in years. He was much younger than me and my brothers, and his family wasn’t involved heavily in our businesses.

“Yeah. We got him back, but he’s shook up. I don’t know what all he went through, but I know it wasn’t good. We were also able to get five other omegas out of the house they were holding him in.”

My fists clenched as I clenched my jaw. “Let’s get this son of a bitch.”

The takedown took some orchestration.

First, we had to lure our subject in on the premise of forming a partnership. Our business dealings were shady at best and incredibly illegal at worst, but there were certain crimes we absolutely drew the line at—and that was a line Van Russo had crossed.

Normally, if things like that happened, we left it alone. But Van went too far, abducting omegas—one of our own—and selling them on the black market.

Now, we were out for revenge.

“I've been waiting a long time to be able to do this.” Andro cracked his knuckles with that evil glint in his eyes.

Van sat before us, arms bound behind him in a chair.

We had a part to play. I wanted to see Van squirm. “Yeah? You never mentioned anything before.”

“I never mentioned how I wanted to break both his knees and cut off his fingers?” Andro shrugged. “Well, now you know.”

“Fuck both of you,” Van said.

“Interesting choice of words. I haven't decided yet if I'm gonna kill you or simply strip you of everything you've ever stolen and leave you here. Which would you prefer? I could have you castrated and leave you as a eunuch for the rest of your life. Lord knows you've used that small dick of yours for crimes so vile I can’t even put them into words.”

“Fuck you!” He spit at Andro but missed by a foot.”You’re not exactly a saint yourself.”

I reacted without hesitation, slamming my fist into his face. “Nobody talks to my brother like that. Except for me, of course.”

Andro smirked. “Of course.”

“Just kill me and get it over with.” Van spit again, but this time, it was a wad of blood.

“No, I think it's best if you suffer just a little.” I grabbed the leather strap I kept for situations like this. Usually, my tools would go with me on a job, but since we were in the basement level of the house, they were splayed out on the metal table within easy reach.

Andro and I had worked together before on this kind of thing, so we moved in unison—a hit with my leather strap, a kick to the gut from Andro. It was like a choreographed ballet.

Van was dripping blood onto the floor, moaning about how sorry he was before we really got to the good stuff. I didn't even hear when the door burst open, but the gasp that followed and the hiccuped cry were sounds I would recognize anywhere, and they would haunt me for the rest of my days.

“Orsino, what's going on?” My omega was standing there, wide-eyed and terrified with his dog Kira at his feet.

“Ethan, why are you—” I stepped toward him.

He stepped back, and Kira stepped between us, baring her teeth as if she was going to protect my omega from me. Ethan put a hand on her collar to hold her in place. Ethan’s gaze scanned the room, taking in the sight of a Russo tied to a chair, beaten and bleeding.

“Stand down, Kira.” I knew she was upset by what she saw and smelled. Blood was splattered over my shirt, and my knuckles were bruised from the hits I had landed on Van before I switched to the strap. “Ethan, I'm sure you’re very confused. Let's go talk about this.”

Andro moved forward, and Kira turned on him. She leapt forward, almost pulling Ethan with her. The fur on her back stood on end and she wasn’t gonna let anyone near Ethan.

“Omega… Help me, please!” Van called out. Blood dribbled from his mouth and his eyes were swollen and purple.

“Ignore him.” I stepped to the side so he was no longer in Ethan's view.

Ethan stepped out of the room, and I followed. Andro knew I would return when I could or he would take care of the situation without me. We were almost done, anyway. Our goal had been to teach Russo a lesson, and we had done that.

“It's not what it looks like.”

“Were you beating that man to death?”

Technically. Yes. That was exactly what I was doing. “Okay, it is exactly what it looks like, but the reasons?—”

“Did he owe a debt to someone like my father?”

“Sort of, but it's?—”

“He's somebody's father. Someone’s family. What would happen if his omega son presented and tried to sell himself like I did? Would you accept?—”

“Van's omega son is in a boarding school five hundred miles from here. I don't even think he's old enough.”

“That's not the point, Orsino!” His eyes filled with tears that quickly flowed down his cheeks. “How could you?—”

“Ethan, you knew my business dealings were less than ethical from the beginning.”

“I know.” He shook his head and blinked a few times as if he was trying to get everything in his head to make sense. “I know!”

I took a deep breath and tried to calm my racing heart. “Just let me explain. What are you doing down here anyway? How did you find me?” I wasn’t exactly hiding from Ethan, but generally, he called first before he started wandering around the house.

“My dad called me. He has the money to pay off our debt.”

“Okay…” I hadn’t been keeping close tabs on Ethan’s father over the past few weeks. I assumed he’d returned to his old ways after I’d taken Ethan from him.

“Would you let me out of this arrangement if he paid you back?” His face was completely stoic, and I had no idea what he was asking. “Apparently, he has the interest too.”

Was this really happening? “Is that what you want?”

“I don't know. I—I thought I knew, but seeing you like that…”

Fuck. “Ethan, please, let me explain.” My heart leapt into my throat, and once again, I tried to reach out to touch Ethan, but he flinched and moved away.

“I'm not sure I want to hear it. I'll have my dad wire you the money, okay? And I'm gonna stay with him for a few days. He's better now.”

He was choosing his dad over me? “He got help?”

Ethan nodded. “He did.”

“You've always been free to leave, Ethan. Despite the circumstances that brought you here, I would never force you to stay against your will. I would never force you into anything against your will. I may not be the best man in the world, but that’s not who I am. That's the difference between me and the man in that room. I can explain if you’ll let me.”

Ethan turned on his heel and left with Kira following closely behind.