Page 15 of Mafia's Broken Omega

"Not exactly. But you just learned about the baby, Cord. It's okay if you need time to process. I thought I'd come and warn you and then... Well, I’ll be on my way."

"Absolutely not." I took a step toward him. "You cannot go. Not when someone has threatened you. You will stay here with me, in my home, where you can be safe and cared for."

His lips trembled slightly, the vulnerability in his gaze ripped through me. "You mean that?"

I nodded. "Always. I do not say things I don't mean, Avery." I went back to his side, kneeling on the floor and placing my hands over his belly.

Avery's gaze dropped to my hands. "I just didn't know where I stood, so I ran. I had to choose my child. Even if that meant walking away from you."

I pulled him into my arms. "I know. I understand. This is our future now. All three of us."

He hesitated, but the spark of hope that flickered in his eyes was unmistakable. "You really want this?"

"Yes. All of it. You'll stay? We'll figure out what is after us and eliminate them like we do any other threat."

Avery nodded. "I'll stay. I need to get my things. I have a business I run. It's not much?—"

"We'll get whatever you need. How did you get in here, anyway?"

Avery's cheeks tinged pink, and he avoided my gaze again. "I snuck out of here plenty of times. I knew my way around. This time I was just sneaking in..."

I shook my head. "Guess I need to have a security review done. We can't allow it to be so easy to break into my home."

I lifted him into my arms and breathed in his scent. It had been too long since my omega was in my arms, and I craved his closeness.

"Stay with me, please?" I asked. Begged. Only for him would I be reduced to this puddle of goo who would do anything for his attention.

Avery smiled as he relaxed against me. "Yeah. I can stay here."

I settled him on the bed, then stripped off my clothes and climbed in beside him. "We'll figure everything out tomorrow." I kissed his cheeks.

His eyes were closed, and he was already slipping into sleep.

10

AVERY

Waking up in Cord's arms again was heaven.

If you had asked me yesterday if I was getting adequate sleep, I would have said of course. But there was nothing like sleeping in Cord's arms, with his rhythmic breathing soothing me to sleep. His arms held me tight, wrapped in warmth and comfort.

Of course, in the middle of the night, I'd had to push him away since being five months pregnant meant I was way too hot to be cuddling for the entire night. But his quiet breathing was comforting enough.

When he woke me up with a soft kiss to my forehead and told me he would take care of everything, I didn't realize what he meant right then.

He had coffee and breakfast delivered to the room, and then he started barking orders.

Rosco stood there with a tablet in his hand, taking notes as Cord listed out his thoughts.

"Get a crew over to Avery's apartment and pack up everything—neatly. He runs a business and it's important that he gets his supplies here. We can put them in the office across from mine. It has a large closet and an enormous window, so it should be comfortable for him. Unless you want to explore the house and pick a different room?" His eyes landed on me.

I was mid chew on the largest, freshest croissant, and I just shrugged. Seriously, the croissant was absolute flakey perfection. Was it delivered directly from Paris?

"Andro will want to speak with you about what Avery has told us." Rosco sighed heavily. I remembered the big bodyguard from when I had frequented the house before. I just hadn't realized just how close he was with Cord.

"I'll call him and set up a meeting for this afternoon. Is there anything else you'll need, Avery?"

I swallowed. "Um, not really? I don't have a car. All my things are in my apartment. Well, I left all the supplies I was purchasing at the store after..."

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