Silas madesure there was a variety of dishes on the table, and Rosa’s eyes light up as she serves herself buttered noodles and toast on her plate. It’s just bland enough to keep her stomach from revolting, and she appears to be enjoying them.
“Will it be upsetting if we talk a little business?” Lyle asks carefully, his lips curving up as he watches Rosa eat.
Alphas naturally want to take care of omegas, even if they’re not theirs. It’s a sign of a good alpha. I can appreciate the way the three of them work together to fill plates, and they made sure an unopened glass bottle of water was on the table for Rosa.
I vaguely think about how she didn’t insist on these things while at our place. Nico or Dario would have mentioned something if she had, and they never have. On some level, she may have trusted our pack. It’s simply impossible to live in a place where you feel like a prisoner.
While I’ve gotten some texts from my stepbrothers, I haven’t had much time to respond. The bond between Nico and Iensures he knows that I’m alive and well, which eases some of the pressure to check in.
I don’t understand why he’s so different in his interactions with her.
“I don’t think so,” Rosa says easily. “What would you like to talk about?”
“First, how are you feeling?” Silas says, elbowing Lyle.
“That is the most important thing,” Lyle agrees, wincing.
“Much better, thank you,” she says. “I’ve been thinking now that I’m no longer in withdrawal and sick. I want to remove a drug used on omegas from the streets. It’s called the Alpha Bark?”
There’s a question mixed within her words, as if she’s asking if they’ve heard of it.
“No one at the police department is speaking about it,” Easton muses. “Lyle, have any of your clients come in about this?”
“No,” he grunts.
“It’s very new,” Rosa admits. “Apparently it’s only been on the streets for the past six months, and Papa’s been giving it to me with my morning smoothies. If he’s responsible for creating it, then I could have been on the drug for longer. My father has a difficult time passing up a lucrative business opportunity. However, he’s very adamant he won’t be involved in auctions and child trafficking.”
“Arranged marriages may be in the same realms as an auction,” Verona grumbles. “At least in the way Renzo went about it. How many men did he parade you around?”
“Too many,” Rosa sighs. “Dr. Walsh believes the drug is one of the reasons I was so ill.”
“Do we trust this man?” Easton asks.
“He wants to atone for his mistakes,” Verona mutters. “This involves working without pay and being on call for Rosa. I toldhim it was up to her, and that this still wouldn’t change what he’s done.”
“Is he responsible for the drugs?” Lyle snarls, but Verona shakes her head in denial. “Well, that’s something. I’d offer to get him stripped of his medical license, but not all mafia doctors bother to keep them updated.
“This leads me to the next order of business: the charity event. Cassidy and Silas are already dropping invites to this, and we found a beautiful home to have it in. It has a ballroom and an outdoor area that’ll hold a large amount of people. The fence is high around it, and there are no neighbors. We’re going to work on some type of entertainment that’ll catch the attention of everyone when it comes time to lure your family away, Rosa.”
“I’m already receiving phone calls vying for an invite. This city loves a good party, as well as a reason to be seen,” Silas says. “Unfortunately, we are about a month away from being able to have the event. If we move too quickly, there will be questions. This doesn’t keep you from picking off those who have hurt you in a quiet manner though.”
“Who is on your personal shit list?” Easton asks. “This will keep us from raising any questions as to why we’re inviting seemingly unimportant people from the Accetta family.”
“Eva is pretty high on my list,” Rosa admits, placing her fork down and pushing away her empty plate. I can tell Silas wants to offer her more food, but Rosa has to listen to her body or she’ll lose the meal she just consumed. “I’ve heard her say that she lives in an apartment alone, but I don’t know if that’s still true. I assume Papa paid her a lot for her services on my wedding day.”
“We can still have that annulled,” Lyle growls. Rosa’s lips twitch as she nods without saying anything for or against it.
Maybe she’s not ready to be done with my stepbrothers. An omega can only hope.
“If Lyle is bringing business to the lunch table, then so am I,” Easton murmurs, pulling out a tablet. “Is her last name also Accetta?”
“Yes,” Rosa confirms. “Her mother is Elio’s cousin by marriage. She’s no less twisted though in my very unfortunate experience.”
A few minutes later, Easton has Eva’s new address. She moved into a little cottage on a quiet street away from her parents. He also found out it’s a rent to own situation.
Damn. The cops are almost as scary as I am.
“If I had my computer, I could see how much your father paid her,” I say shyly. My eyes flick over to the police dispatcher, but he barely blinks, still busy checking things on his tablet.
