Page 13 of Mafia Heir’s Alpha (Mated in the Mafia #7)

ORI

Being held hostage inside a comfortable room was not something I expected. Once Rosco had been taken out of the dining room, I’d expected to be killed or put in some sort of dungeon. This house had to have one. My father’s house certainly did.

I knew now that those same cold, damp cells were where Rowan and other betrayers like him had been held and tortured. The images I’d seen in the FBI file kept me awake at night.

Those were the types of rooms I expected Cord to throw me in.

Instead, I was placed in a sparsely decorated room that had a bed and a small ensuite bathroom. It wasn’t lavish by any means, not like the rest of the house, but it wasn’t unpleasant. As long as they kept me fed, I could live in here forever.

The fact that I had once thought my father deserved to be avenged turned my stomach. Cord and Andro deserved a medal for wiping the world of that filth. If only they would let me explain. I probably should have led with that when I made my confession. It had all gone wrong so quickly.

I didn’t know where they had taken Rosco, only that they’d left me with strict instructions not to try to leave. Guards were outside my door, and I could hear them talking every so often, but it had been hours since anyone had come in.

What the fuck had I been thinking by announcing who I was in that way?

I should have asked for a special audience with just Rosco and Cord.

I should have given Rosco a heads-up. I’d been stupid to think they would have let me explain.

I told them why I was there—my original plan anyway.

They hadn’t given me a chance to tell them I didn’t plan on going through with it. I knew better now.

They’d never trust me .

Rosco would never trust me.

Hell, I’d be lucky to see him again.

I’d be lucky to see anyone again.

Andro and Cord would probably kill me.

The door clicked open, and I jumped to my feet. I kept my hands to my sides, staying as still as I could. If this was where I met my end, then I would face it head-on.

I was surprised to see Avery, Joey, and Rowan walking in the room, rather than Cord and an entourage of guards.

They all three stood as a united front, their arms crossed over their chests. Joey had a slight swell to his stomach that I hadn’t noticed earlier. He and Andro must’ve been expecting again.

“Give us a reason why you should remain alive,” Avery said.

I opened my mouth to speak, but he held up a hand.

“Never mind, I’m not ready to hear it. Let me tell you why you’re still alive, when each of our alphas were ready to have you executed first thing. ”

“I’m sor?—”

“Nope. Not ready to hear it. You’re alive because we trust Rosco. We owe him our lives, and the lives of our mates and children. He has kept us all safe in this insane world we’re a part of. We trust his judgment, and I refuse to believe he would have fallen for some omega’s tricks.”

“I didn’t— I mean, I did intend to seduce him to get closer to Cord.

But I didn’t know the real story about my dad.

My uncle lied to me.” Fuck, I was gonna cry.

These three strong omegas—who were fearless and terrifying in their own right—were all that was needed to break me.

“I don’t want Rosco to be hurt. Please. You have to tell me if he’s all right. I love him.”

The three of them exchanged a look I couldn’t decipher.

I dropped to my knees. “I’m not above begging. For Rosco, I’ll beg and plead and barter with anything I have. He doesn’t deserve to be punished for what I did.”

“How did you trick him?” Rowan asked.

“What do you mean? ”

“How did you convince him to let you meet Cord?”

I sniffled and wiped a hand over my face. Tears were trailing down my cheeks, and I could do nothing to stop them. “We just…we talked. We went on dates. We went out dancing. Well, I danced. Rosco just watched. He…he listened to me, and I listened to him. We fell in love.”

They all looked at each other again, and for a moment, I felt that maybe I had passed some sort of test.

Rowan took the bag that I hadn’t noticed in his hand, and he tossed it at my feet. It was mine. My laptop bag that I hadn’t even touched all day when I’d been lazing about in Rosco’s room.

“We found this in Rosco’s room and figured it was yours. This is the only chance you’ll get to set yourself free. I would take it if I were you.”

“I added a little something in there as well. You may need it.” Avery winked like he didn’t hate me. What was going on with these guys?

I didn’t know what that meant, and I didn’t get a chance to ask before the three of them were walking away .

“Do not make us regret this, Ori,” Avery said before he walked out the door. It clicked closed behind them, and I was alone again.

As soon as they were gone, I sprang into action. It was not a coincidence that they had left me the only thing I needed to get us freed. They had to know I had a significant set of computer skills.

I pulled my laptop from my bag and with it came a rectangular box.

I recognized the item right away. Most omegas would.

A pregnancy test.

Could I be? I was on the pill, but was that enough? For a virile alpha like Rosco, it probably wasn’t. He took great pleasure in breeding me regularly and keeping his knot locked inside me for as long as possible.

I couldn’t take that test, though. Not without him.

We’d take it together. As soon as I was able to get him freed.

Was Cord and his team smart enough to have a block on this room so I couldn't access the network? Perhaps. Could I work my way around that? Absolutely .

I didn't know how much time I had, but this wasn't the first time I’d hacked into a network and messed with some settings.

Thankfully, I had enough information from Rosco to be dangerous.

He had mentioned before that he could control quite a few things on the go, which was why he could spend so much time away from the house.

More than once, I had seen him pull up the app that monitored the cameras and other electronics.

He was never careless enough to let me see his passcode or anything, but just knowing the systems existed was an advantage. Within thirty minutes of getting connected, I had access to all the cameras, including the one honed in on the cell where Rosco was held.

The app they used allowed for push notifications. All I needed to do was simply alert everyone that their system had been hacked. I could go a step further and send push notifications directly to users, but I needed to be careful.

Threats would not go very well for me in this situation.

I chewed my thumbnail and thought of what I could possibly do to get their attention without getting myself or Rosco killed. I switched gears and attempted to view Cord’s office. He didn't have cameras in there, but I was able to control the lights and locks.

If I could control that room, what else could I control?

I switched back to Rosco's cell.

The gray walls were bare. The only items in the room were two chairs. One was tipped over, the other held Cord.

Rosco was on the floor. I hated to see him that way. What had Cord done to put him in such a position? My hands flew over the keyboard, crafting the message that would appear on Cord’s phone.

I've hacked your security network. I'm ready to negotiate. Leave Rosco alone.

I watched as Cord lifted his phone, looked at it, looked around the room, then zeroed in on the camera. I toggled the button, so the lights in the room flickered several times.

A slow smile spread across his face. "It seems there's a game afoot. Tell me more."

I sent out another message. So much for not going off half-cocked. I should have planned a bit, but Rosco’s life was at stake, and I couldn’t let them keep hurting him.

I can give you information about my uncle.

I didn't have a lot, but I was sure I had something useful. With enough equipment, I could find anything Cord needed.

I can hack his bank accounts, whatever you need.

Desperate. That was how I sounded. It was accurate. I needed Rosco to be safe.

"What are your conditions?" Cord asked out loud.

Let Rosco go.

Cord lifted a brow. "Nothing for yourself? No interest in your well-being?"

He pulled something out of his pocket, then went around to Rosco’s side. After a moment, Rosco’s arms were loosened and the chains dropped to the floor. "On your feet, big guy. We're going on an adventure." He pointed toward the camera. "You, meet us in my office now."

The security guards outside my room escorted me to Cord’s office. Avery was there and gestured for me to sit.

I shook my head. “I don't think I can.” I shuffled from one foot to the next, unable to keep still.

Avery opened his mouth to say something, then shut it. His face became a mask of disinterest.

I wished I could do the same. Gambling had never been my strong suit.

Just a few months ago, I was a student at a university.

Now, I’d caused a mafia enforcer to be held hostage, and both of our lives depended on a hope and prayer that I could outsmart his bosses long enough to save the alpha I loved.

The odds weren’t in my favor.

Cord burst into the room and tossed Rosco to the floor.

My alpha didn't even attempt to fight back, though he was unrestrained.

I moved to go to Rosco, but Cord stopped me.

“Don't even think about it. I'm simply here to negotiate. You both have asked for each other's freedom. Which one of you should get your wish?” Cord crossed his arms over his chest and looked between me and Rosco.

“Cord—” Rosco looked up at me, his eyes searching my face as if he couldn't believe I was there. “But you’re dead.”

I gasped with pain shooting through my body. Did he want to kill me himself? I supposed I deserved that.

Cord rolled his eyes and sighed. “I never said I killed him. You misinterpreted my words.”

“Cord!” Avery’s disinterested mask was gone, and in its place was a fiery anger. “We talked about this. I thought you were gonna just talk to Rosco. You didn’t hurt him, did you?”

I looked Rosco over, and besides being naked and covered in some bruises from being hit in the dining room, he looked untouched.

“I did just talk.” Cord held up his hands in surrender, looking more like a contrite mate than the in-charge mob boss he was.

Then he immediately turned his attention to me.

“How did you get into my network? You didn't have access to anything. You were in a locked room with no visitors. How did you do it? ”

“I'm resourceful.” I swallowed hard and tried to portray more confidence than I felt. “I could hack your network with a smartwatch if I needed to.”

He quirked a brow. “Is that so?” He went around his desk and sat down. Meanwhile, my eyes didn’t leave Rosco. He hadn’t said a lot, and he wouldn’t look at me. He remained on the floor as if waiting for permission to get up.

I had to make this right. As right as I could.

“It's true that I seduced Rosco to get close to you.

Well, you and Andro. I was dumb. I thought I could avenge my father and take the two of you out by myself.

I'm not gonna argue that it wasn’t a stupid idea.

No one ever told me what kind of man my father was.

He didn't treat me that way, and I never saw any indication of it.

It wasn't until I met Rowan that I started putting the pieces together.”

Rosco shifted his weight so he was in a tighter ball, maybe poised to get on his feet if he needed to.

“I had long since given up my mission before coming here today, but I knew I had to come clean. I didn't mean for it to go so badly?—”

“You didn't think we would interrogate you after finding out who you are?” Cord asked with a raised brow.

I bit my lip and shrugged. When he put it that way, it really sounded dumb as hell. “I thought I’d get a chance to explain before everything went to shit. Which is what I’m trying to do now. I'll tell you whatever you need to know. Give you access to whatever you want. Just please, let Rosco go.”

“Your uncle holds no power. Information on him will do me no good. How did you get information on the crimes your father committed? Your uncle obviously didn’t tell you, and Rowan said you two didn’t talk that much about what happened to him.”

It was the moment of truth. The full truth. “The FBI.”

Every muscle in the room seemed to tighten up. “You have a contact there?”

I shook my head and looked him in the eye. “I can hack into anything. It’s not even difficult.” My shoulders slumped as the adrenaline I’d been running on started to wane. “There has to be something I can do to negotiate for Rosco’s life.”

“Oh, you have something I need.” Cord’s eyes narrowed on me. “You just told me about them. Your skills. I need a hacker.”

My jaw dropped, and a sliver of hope filled my chest. “You want me to work for you?”

Cord pulled Avery into his lap, and they both seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. “For fuck’s sake, Rosco. Get off the floor and sit in a fucking chair. You’ve tortured yourself more thoroughly than I ever could.”

Slowly, Rosco did as he asked, still not looking at me.

Finally, I sat down in the chair next to him. “If I work for you, I want a guarantee that Rosco will be safe.”

“Rosco’s life was never in danger.” Cord scrubbed a hand down his face and blew out a long breath. “Fuck, I better not regret revealing this, or I really will fucking kill both of you.”

“You’re allowed to have feelings, Cord. It’s perfectly okay.” Avery leaned up and kissed his cheek.

“I am beyond pissed off about this situation. A threat was brought into my home, and we can’t minimize that.

And if you had tried to harm me or my family for real, I would have you executed, Ori.

No offense, but I just don’t know you. But I know Rosco.

He’s like a brother to me. A big annoying brother who’s never made a single mistake before now. ”

“It was inexcusable, Cord.” Rosco’s voice was so quiet I didn’t even recognize it.

I reached my hand out and grabbed his. Part of me expected him to pull away, but he didn’t.

Cord dismissed his concern with a wave of his hand. “I’m sure you have thoughts on what I should do in this situation.”

“If I remain alive, you’ll lose respect for me. Never trust me again...”

“No one here has lost trust in you, Rosco. The only people who know anything about this situation are family. And I know a really great hacker who can remove any and all video evidence that this whole thing happened.”

I perked up at that. “I can totally do that. I already have access to the system. I can remove the last twelve hours. Easy.”

“Yes, and such a risk to my digital security would need to be addressed. If just anyone can come in and mess with the cameras inside my home, I might need to hire a gifted young hacker to tighten things up. Luckily, the head of my security team just happens to be mated to a man like that.” Cord finally smiled at me and winked.

I had to look away to keep my emotions in check. I would gladly work for Cord. If it meant keeping Rosco safe, I would do it.

But would Rosco still want me as his mate?