Page 47 of Omega's Vengeance

He gives a curt laugh. “If only it were that simple, Alessio.”

“What then? Does he want my first born child or something?” My attempt at humor falls flat if his irritable expression is anything to go by.

“This is no joke. His ask is big. Huge, in fact. It’ll require much sacrifice from you and from me.” He avoids my gaze, a muscle jerking in his cheek.

“From you?” I frown. “Why would you be involved in my punishment?”

He mutters, “Because Valentino partly blames me for this mess. If I’d never been seduced by you in the first place, he feels none of this crap would have happened.”

I scowl. “I’d have come for him either way.”

He winces. “Yes. But I’d have never given you my bite, and you wouldn’t be a thorn in his side right now. You’d be dead.”

I scowl. “You don’t know that.”

He narrows his eyes. “Yes, Alessio, I do know that. I’m sure you must know that too.”

I make a huffing sound, but say nothing. His comment puts my back up, but the truth is the Black Knives are far more powerful than my little syndicate. That’s the reason I wanted to ambush Valentino, rather than go head to head with him.

He continues, “BecauseI gave you my bite, he wants to find a way to keep you alive. Out of respect for me he’s willing to spare your life,ifwe go along with his plan.”

I touch the bite on my neck distractedly. “Okay. What’s his plan?”

He grits his teeth. “I guarantee you won’t like it. I don’t like it either, but it’s the only way to keep you above ground.”

Bracing myself, I ask breathlessly, “Enough stalling. What’s Valentino’splan?”

Dario winces and then blurts, “He wants us to get married.”

Chapter Eleven

Dario

Alessio stares at me, appearing stricken. I don’t blame him for being shocked. I was astounded at Valentino’s plan as well. But I soon realized going along with this insanity was the only way to keep Alessio alive. For whatever reason, that has apparently became my life’s mission.

“You can’t be serious,” he mumbles. “There’s no fucking way that’s happening.”

“Trust me. I don’t want to marry you anymore than you want to marry me.” I sigh. “But Valentino needs his pound of flesh.”

He squints at me. “How does us marrying satisfy him? I don’t get it.”

“Because that’s not all he wants.”

His cheek twitches. “What else does that asshole want?”

I brace myself for what I know will be an explosive reaction. “He also wants to bring the Abella Syndicate in under the umbrella of the Black Knives.”

A flush creeps up Alessio’s young face, and rage flares in his eyes. “No,fuckingway.”

I shrug, holding his rebellious gaze.

His lip curls. “Oh, I see. This is Valentino’s way of humiliating me, just like he did my father.”

“No. It’s about sparing your life, while giving him something for all the trouble you’ve caused. You have to pay for what you tried to do. You know that.”

“Fine. I’ll pay with my life,” he hisses. “I’m not handing over my syndicate to fuckingValentino. No way. I’d rather die.”

I shake my head because he’s reacting just as I guessed he would. He’s too prideful to even grab hold of a lifeline when it’s thrown to him. “Getting out of it won’t be that easy, kid.”

---