Page 226 of Incompatible

I know what he’s going to say before he says it.

"You’ll repay your debt if you kill Rocco."

I stare at him for a moment. Despite all his disgust for Rocco, Ennio has spent his entire adult life as an active member of the mafia, handling the legal side of their business like investments and real estate development.

Even though his work was on the books, he still functioned within the mafia structure, and he showed a tolerable level of loyalty toward Anzo himself, even if he sabotaged Rocco. I know Ennio owes Anzo a lot; Anzo was the one who pulled him out of the circumstances of his tragic childhood.

Killing Rocco, who is Anzo’s right hand, would be a risky power move on his side as long as Anzo is alive, but what if he’s out of the picture?

Our eyes meet.

Ennio’s hatred for Rocco runs very deep because this guy weaponizes rape. I can’t say I don’t understand him.

For that reason Ennio has been sabotaging him whenever he can for years, trying to weaken his position in the eyes of thesoldati. Rocco is the one overseeing the brothels belonging to the Ferro family. But that’s not the whole extent of his sabotage.

If Rocco’s men start with extortion and intimidation, it can sometimes end badly for bystanders, for the families of the businessmen being threatened, and it’s one of my jobs to make sure innocent people don’t suffer for it. He gives me tips on when and where Rocco plans to go with his men, and I help them get out of it alive.

Those ops weakened Rocco’s position to some extent, but because of his sociopathic personality, he still has a certaininfluence over thesoldati. Vincenzo doesn’t have the guts to say no; he’s too old now and too cautious, so he simply tolerates it. Ennio and Luca are considered not ‘classic’ enough, brutal mafiosos, which… is a problem.

"Are you sure you’ve thought this through?" I ask the question cautiously.

"Hmmm. Have I thought it through? I’ll put it this way, ever since Anzo took me into his home, my plan was to take over the role of capo. What held me back was my… gratitude toward him for saving me. But if Anzo disappears from the picture, the only one left for me to remove is Rocco. Luca doesn’t want to be capo, that I know for sure."

I take a deeper breath, really not wanting to say this out loud, but finally I do.

"There’s another problem, Ennio. I know what you’re like, but to outside people you’re still an omega, and yes, your family accepted a beta as capo once, but an omega is a different set of issues…"

Ennio slowly turns his head toward me. His black eyes seem to darken even more, if that’s even possible.

"The mafia may be a relatively backward patriarchal structure, but at the end of the day it’s also a business, and I’m a very good businessman, omega or not. People know I could run all of this in a way that would keep us safe and competitive, especially with the Russians moving so aggressively. And of course, I would use Luca’s help, he did the exact same job for Anzo and Anzo has even fewer tools for managing alphas or sensing their scent or moods than I do."

I’m quiet for a moment.

"Honestly, if you had Luca on your side it might actually work, you’d run the whole thing and he’d be your underboss."

Ennio nods.

He takes a deeper breath and grips the steering wheel harder.

"All of this is, for now, just in the planning phase. Still, what I said stands. You’ve never repaid that debt, Bay, and this is what I may need from you in the next few months."

I nod with a sober look.

"If you decide this is a job for me, Ennio, then I’ll do it. Getting rid of Rocco will give me a great deal of satisfaction." I hesitate and add, "However, I would rather not do it within the next two days, I have a concert on a college campus then," I send him a crooked smile. Ennio sometimes forgets that I have a day job. Playing vigilante slash hitman is… my after-hours thing, of course, besides being a singer.

After all these years I’ve built a solid, stable position, a fanbase, I have steady gigs. I’m invited to festivals, I have local concerts, Eric always keeps me busy without overwhelming me. Everything runs smoothly and I make good money.

Ennio rolls his eyes, "It’s all very fluid now, I don’t have a date for you. It may take some time after the whole assassination thing resolves itself before you can make a move."

He leans back against the headrest.

The silence creeps into the car.

It’s parked in the lot of the housing complex where I live whenever I’m in the city. I’ve had an apartment here for many years. I couldn’t handle the logistics of my concerts living only on my parents’ property, but I always go back to my tiny house as often as I can.

This is also the place where Ennio usually drops me off after our ops.

I take the silence as a sign the conversation is over, place my hand on the door handle, and say,