Page 29 of Toxic Revenge, Part Two (Mafia Omegas #2)

Chapter

Twenty-Seven

TALIA

Mercer may or may not have given me a very disapproving once-over when West and I arrived back at the Residence last night.

I’d only flushed and shrugged, hurrying to strip off my fancy clothes, rinse off the chlorine, and climb into bed with them. Conrad had me sit on his face while West rubbed cream on my sore ass, and then I’d passed out for a deep and refreshing sleep.

My time of ignoring the information we’d found was over, though.

Lavinia, Mira, and Violet sat across from us at one of the long cafeteria tables as Mercer explained the files we’d discovered in Ronald White’s office.

“Jurah is going to order us home immediately when he hears about this,” Lavinia said. “It’ll be full lockdown.”

Her hands were fisted together on top of the table, a tightness in her jaw. She was pissed. So was Mira. Hell, so was I.

We’d had an O’Connor right under our noses for years. He’d been in my bed and in my heart. Now he’d forced himself into my head. I pressed a hand over my healing bondmark, once again hidden from the world with a bandage.

“That’s probably for the best,” Mercer said. “We can’t keep her safe here. Besides, if this is some kind of mafia turf war, it’s irresponsible to stay in a place with so many vulnerable people.”

He placed a hand on my thigh, rubbing it gently.

“Agreed,” Mira said. “Only problem is that it makes it more difficult for us to find Benjamin.”

“Why do we need to find him?” Conrad asked. His arm slung over my shoulder, tucking me close against his side. “Aren’t your fathers on that?”

“They are. If Talia wants to kill him, though, they’re never going to…” Mira trailed off at my wide-eyed look. “Shit. You haven’t told them about that option yet, have you?”

“What option?” West demanded. “Killing him isn’t an option. If he dies, Talia dies.”

Mira shrugged awkwardly. “Uh, have a pack discussion later. What’s relevant is that we need to try and find Benjamin ourselves.”

“I’ll look into his O’Connor connections,” Lavinia said, bulldozing past West’s next attempt at a verbal complaint.

“If Benjamin is Benji O’Connor, then he’s involved in the poisoned bullets too.

I can pick up Gears and Hawk from the motel on my way back to the mansion, and then everyone we need will be on the Alfieri property before Jurah calls for a lockdown. ”

My forehead scrunched in confusion. “Gears and Hawk? Why do they need to be picked up from a motel?”

The guys had mentioned that they were being framed by Mercer’s father for selling the poisoned bullets to the O’Connors. I figured Gears and Hawk would be on their side considering how friendly they’d been with me at The Hidden Barrel, but had they needed to flee the club too?

Was it that bad?

Fuck, Mercer couldn’t be doing well with this. The Alpha Chariots had seemed to respect him. To have them turn on him like the flip of a switch would sting.

I placed my hand on his thigh and squeezed, and he squeezed mine in return. “Gears and Hawk are from the club,” he explained.

“I know that part. I met them.”

His eyebrows drew together. “When? Hawk was there the night we met, but we never introduced you. And Gears wasn’t around.”

“I went to The Hidden Barrel on… that night.” It felt so long ago and so fresh all at the same time. “Gears saved my ass from some creepy guy after Hawk recognized me.”

“Gears at The Hidden Barrel? I bet Kaylie had an eventful night.” Conrad snorted.

“Why were you there alone?” West stood up from his bench seat, pacing for a few seconds before he came to place his hands on my shoulders. His thumbs massaged gentle circles on my upper back.

“I called you guys, but you didn’t answer. I wasn’t there long because I ended up getting called in to an emergency shift at Villem Central.”

And things only devolved from there.

I wasn’t going to think about that right now. I’d have enough time at my appointment with Dr. Jalisco in twenty minutes.

“We told you not to go there alone, princess,” Mercer said.

I smiled sweetly. “Did you really think I was going to listen?”

“Should have known you wouldn’t,” West grumbled.

“If it makes you feel better, I don’t plan on going back by myself.”

“I would fucking hope not.” Mercer gave me a look that said he’d be punishing me later.

Thighs squeezing together, I tried to keep my arousal under control considering we weren’t alone. “So, why is Lavinia picking them up from a motel?”

“It’s well known that they’re our friends, and with the accusations against us it’s becoming a witch hunt.” Mercer rubbed the back of his neck and sighed heavily. “Better safe than sorry.”

Lavinia cleared her throat. “And I’m picking them up personally because Gears knocked one of my guys unconscious when I sent a team.

Apparently, he didn’t pass her mysterious test, so she was convinced he was there to kill them.

Knocked him out and hightailed it to a different motel. This time, I’m hoping for no hiccups.”

I grinned. That definitely sounded like the cocky, casually aggressive female alpha I’d met that night. “Got it. I understand now.”

“I’m assuming we’re mostly caught up now?” Lavinia asked. “Because if we’re leaving here in a few hours, I should help Violet start packing.”

Silence descended over our table.

Violet stared at Lavinia, wide-eyed and confused. “Packing?” she asked timidly.

“Yes. To move to the Alfieri estate with us, of course.”

I glanced between Lavinia, who looked fully confident as usual, and Violet, who was obviously befuddled by the turn of events. “Lav, did you ask her if she wanted to move in with us?”

“It makes the most sense. I didn’t think it would be an issue.”

“You’re kind of ignoring the fact that this is Violet’s home and she’s lived here for years. Moving out so suddenly might not be something she wants to do.” Mira gave her two cents.

Our older sister was beginning to see our point. I watched the realization happen in real time.

Lavinia turned to Violet. She clasped one of the younger woman’s hands in both of hers.

“The family would love to have you at the house. I promise there’s plenty of room and you’ll have full access to the chefs and cleaning staff.

Plus, whatever tutors you need. We’ll pay your counsellors a premium to make house calls, at least until things are a bit more stable. ”

Mouth hanging open slightly, Violet didn’t say a word. She looked at West with an unspoken question in her eyes.

I prayed he wouldn’t fuck up and give her the wrong answer. My hand brushed his where it rested on my shoulder.

“If you want to come, I’d love to have you close,” West said roughly. “If you want to stay, I’ll visit when it’s safe. If you want to move out of here to somewhere else entirely, well… Uh, I’d prefer if you waited until everything had calmed down. But I’ll support that too. Whatever you want, Vi.”

Thank fuck.

He was learning.

Violet teared up and gave him a few huge nods, then grabbed Lavinia in a tight hug. “Yes, please. I’ll come. I hope I won’t be a burden—I can work in the kitchens, if you need me to. Or do landscaping. And I’ll be sure to apologize to your parents for intruding.”

“Work?” Lavinia asked, confused. “Why would we need you to work?”

“To earn my keep. I can’t afford to pay rent.”

“Rent? We don’t need you to pay rent, either.”

“Our parents won’t accept any form of payment from you, Vi.” Mira butted into the back and forth. “You can offer when you meet them, but they’ll just say no.”

Violet separated from Lavinia, sniffling and wiping at her eyes. “Alright. Well… I’ll try to convince them.”

She would not be successful. Mom was going to adore her immediately.

“Let’s get packing, then.” Mira hopped off the bench seat first. “Talia, shouldn’t you be heading to your appointment?”

I glanced over at the clock and cursed.

Damn it all, I was going to be late.