Page 50 of Unravel Me

It's a stretch, and I don't even know who the guy is. I've never seen him up close in my life. But I have to convince them somehow, so I let myself tell a wish rather than the truth.

Silence fills the room.

Luca doesn't even look at me. He absently rolls a spent shell casing between his fingers while his eyes drift toward Ennio. I know he'll do whatever Ennio decides, and I want him on my side. As a purple alpha, he's the only one here who can physically overpower Rocco.

Ennio has his vape in his fingers and takes a long drag, studying me with the detached expression of someone running a cold tactical assessment.

"What happened to you? Did you already get into it with him?" he asks, pointing at the split in my temple with his vape.

I sigh and type back, "I tried to intervene, but he smashed me with the butt of his gun. It's nothing worth talking about," I answer quickly because I don't want anyone wasting precious time worrying about me.

But Ennio doesn't let it go.

"You need to have that looked at. You're still bleeding, and losing consciousness usually means you have a concussion. In the meantime, do you have any footage of this omega? Maybe Luca or I have seen him before, and we can tell you what your chances are of getting him away from Rocco."

"I do. Give me a second. I can access the cameras from my phone."

I try to focus my drifting attention, pain pulsing in my temple as I log into the security system. I'm the only one with remote access, and for once I'm actually putting it to good use.

I pull up the hallway camera outside Rocco's room, then rewind even farther until I find footage from the hall leading to the garage. The omega's face—stunning, almost unreal in its beauty—is much clearer there. The recording also catches Rocco slapping him across the face twice when the omega resists too much. What a fucking bastard.

Ennio and Luca watch the footage without saying a word. None of this shocks them. We're all mafia soldiers. Violence is simply the air everyone here breathes.

I zoom in on the omega's face and freeze the frame.

Ennio raises an eyebrow slightly, then gives a slow nod.

"I know who that kid is. His name's Jared. Eighteen… maybe nineteen. He's trying to make it as a model. A few months ago, he agreed to join the Ring in exchange for high-paying contracts with photographers working for major brands."

I stop breathing for a second.

"Damn."

"The Ring?" Luca mutters, rubbing his beard. "That's bad."

"Not necessarily," Ennio replies calmly. "You guys know the Ring officially kicked Rocco out a few days ago?"

Well, I had no idea, but it’s not that surprising. Rocco only ever bragged about his victories. His failures he keeps to himself.

The Ring is a circle of the city's most powerful men who pass around the hottest models and up-and-coming music and movie stars, helping them land lucrative contracts, campaigns, and acting roles in return. From what I know, each member gets an omega for a week to do whatever he wants with him. The group includes the mayor himself, the leader of Beta Empowerment, Dante Mol, several politicians, a handful of major businessmen, and also my uncle Vincenzo, who was one of its founders.

Luca can't hide his curiosity.

"How the hell did they kick him out? Rocco doesn't back down when it comes to shit like that."

Ennio shrugs. "From what Vincenzo told me, the omegas leaving his place were in such terrible condition that the next guy in line had to take them to the hospital first, or they were too wrecked to be much use. Eventually the Ring collectively decided they'd had enough of him."

"Oho…" Luca cackles. "I bet that pissed him off something fierce. The guy doesn't know the meaning of the word no." He keeps laughing.

I have to lean against the wall. My vision starts to darken, and I fight the urge to fall asleep. Ennio's sharp eyes follow me.

Luca keeps going, "That bastard never said a damn word about it. Guess it bruised his ego… or maybe he still thinks stealing Jared will show them, punish them?"

"Yeah, I think this is exactly his way of trying to get back at them," Ennio replies calmly. "He stole their prized possession. Jared is by far the most beautiful omega they've ever brought into the Ring. Everybody's lining up for their turn with him. Rocco got kicked out just a few days before his week came around. That had to drive him fucking crazy. My guess is they did it because they didn't want him ruining their golden boy. But that's also our opening. I don't know how Rocco managed to kidnap him, but I'm certain the mayor won't be happy about it. He's taken a particular liking to Jared."

My stomach twists painfully.

That poor omega.