Chapter 14

Marco

Giovanni's smirk made my blood boil as he circled Lucas's chair. My omega sat there, bound but defiant, and I had to suppress the urge to tear Giovanni's throat out on the spot.

"You're bluffing, Rossi," Giovanni drawled, stopping behind Lucas and placing his hands on my mate's shoulders. I watched Lucas flinch, and something dangerous roared inside me. "We all know you won't give up your territory. Not even for him."

I kept my expression neutral, though my hands itched to reach for the weapon concealed at my back. "You think you know me so well, Giovanni?"

"I know you're Marco fucking Rossi," he sneered, squeezing Lucas's shoulders harder. "The man who executed his own cousin for stealing from the family. The man who burned down three rival operations in one night. You really expect me to believe you'd throw away everything for some college kid?"

I let out a low chuckle, the sound devoid of humor. "That's your problem, Giovanni. You see him as leverage. I see him as mine." I took a step forward, noting how several of his men tensed. "And anyone who touches what's mine learns very quickly why that's a fatal mistake."

Giovanni's smirk faltered slightly, but he covered it quickly. "Big words from a man who's outnumbered."

"Am I?" I raised an eyebrow, checking my watch. "You might want to count again."

I'd already set my plan in motion the moment I stepped into this hospital. Giovanni might have thought he was clever, but he'd forgotten one crucial detail about me—I never walked into a situation without having complete control.

"You want my territory?" I kept my voice steady, watching Giovanni's eager expression. "Fine. Let's see what we can agree on right now." I pulled out my phone, making a show of checking something. "I have access to all our offshore accounts right here. You let Lucas go, and I'll transfer everything over."

Giovanni's eyes gleamed with greed—exactly as I'd predicted. "Show me."

I took a few steps forward, angling the phone so he could see the screen. The account details I displayed were convincing enough—I'd had my tech team create this elaborate facade months ago for situations just like this. The numbers were impressive: eight figures, enough to make any man's mouth water.

"First, Lucas leaves with my driver," I stated. "He's waiting downstairs. Once I get confirmation he's safe, I'll initiate the transfer."

Giovanni laughed. "You think I'm stupid? He stays until I say so."

I shrugged, slipping the phone back into my pocket. "Then we have nothing to discuss." I turned as if to leave, counting silently in my head. Three. Two. One.

"Wait!" Giovanni called out, just as I knew he would. Greed always made men predictable. "Maybe... we can work something out."

I turned back slowly, raising an eyebrow. "I'm listening."

"Half the money now, half when we release him."

I pretended to consider this, though my attention was actually on the slight vibration of my phone—the signal that my men were in position. The hospital's security cameras had been under our control for the past ten minutes, feeding false footage to Giovanni's surveillance team.

"Deal," I agreed, pulling out my phone again. "I'll need to make a call to authorize the transfer."

As I dialed, I watched Giovanni's men relax slightly. Amateur mistake. The number I called wasn't my banker - it was the trigger for our operation.

In a blink, the lights went out.

In the chaos that followed, I moved with practiced precision. The darkness was no hindrance—my men and I had memorized the layout of this floor before coming. I heard Giovanni cursing, his men shouting in confusion. The emergency lights kicked in, bathing everything in a dim red glow, but by then I was already at Lucas's side, cutting through his restraints with the knife I'd concealed in my sleeve.

This was risky but worth it.

"Hold onto me," I whispered in his ear, feeling him grip my jacket tightly. I knew he was going to hold onto me as if it were the last thing he did.

The sound of gunfire erupted from the floor below—my distraction team engaging Giovanni's perimeter guards. In the confusion, I guided Lucas toward the service elevator my men had secured earlier. I heard Giovanni shouting orders, trying to regain control of the situation. He never thought that this was going to happen.

"Stop them!" Giovanni's voice rang out, but it was too late.

The service elevator opened right on cue, and two of my most trusted men were inside with weapons ready. I pushed Lucas in first, shielding him with my body as we descended. I would give my life for him if need be.

"Boss," one of my men spoke up. "Secondary team reports the route is clear. You can proceed without worry."

I nodded, holding Lucas close as the elevator reached the basement level. We moved swiftly through the underground parking area where a decoy ambulance waited. Standard hospital protocol during a power outage would have all elevators shut down—except this one, which we'd rigged to operate independently. We couldn't rely on luck when we were making plans for this.

"What about Giovanni?" Lucas asked as we settled into the ambulance.

"He'll run," I replied, knowing the coward's playbook by heart. "He'll use the chaos to slip away, thinking he's clever." I pulled Lucas closer, checking him for injuries. "But he forgot something important—I let him run."

The ambulance pulled out of the parking garage, merging seamlessly with the actual emergency vehicles responding to the hospital's power outage and the shooting. Through my earpiece, I heard confirmation that Giovanni had indeed escaped through his planned route—the same route I'd purposely left open for him.

Perhaps we would see each other again. For now, he wasn't a concern anymore.

"You knew," Lucas said, realization dawning in his eyes. "You knew he'd try to run."

I smiled, pressing a kiss to his forehead. "Of course. And now he thinks he's outsmarted us, which makes him predictable. He'll go to ground, use his emergency protocols, contact his usual allies." I paused, satisfaction coursing through me. "All of which we've been monitoring since before he even took you."

The ambulance turned onto the highway, heading toward one of my safe houses. Giovanni would learn soon enough that his escape was just another part of my plan. Every ally he'd reach out to, every safehouse he'd try to use—all compromised. But that was a problem for another day.

Right now, all that mattered was that Lucas was safe in my arms, and Giovanni had just made the last mistake he'd ever make in this business.

The tension finally left my shoulders as we pulled through the gates of my estate. Lucas was safe, tucked against my side, and that's all that mattered. I could feel his exhaustion through our bond, his body trembling slightly from the ordeal. I wished I could do more, but for now, this was all I could do.

"Let's get you inside," I murmured, helping him out of the car. My security detail immediately formed a protective circle around us as we walked toward the main entrance.

That's when Antonio came running down the steps, his face grim. I knew that look—bad news.

"Boss," he called out, slightly out of breath. "We've got trouble in the Eastern District. The Albanians are making a move on our territory. Three of our men are down, two dead."

Fuck. The Albanians too? Of course this was happening now. The muscles in my jaw clenched as I processed the information. "Casualties on their side?"

"Four confirmed dead, but they're still pushing. They're targeting the warehouse district, specifically the arms depot." Antonio's eyes darted to Lucas before returning to me. "They're testing us, boss. With the DeLuca situation, they probably think we're vulnerable."

A growl rumbled in my chest. We weren't vulnerable. These fucking vultures, always circling, always waiting for a moment of perceived weakness. "Get the cars ready. I want our best men assembled in ten minutes."

"Marco?" Lucas's voice was small, uncertain. I turned to him, noting the fear in his eyes.

"It's okay, love. I need to handle this, but you'll be safe here. I've doubled the security, and-"

Lucas suddenly doubled over, a pained gasp escaping his lips. My heart stopped as he clutched his stomach, face contorted in agony. What was happening?

"Lucas?" I caught him as his knees buckled, panic rising in my throat. "What's wrong?"

"It... it hurts," he whimpered, and then I smelled it—the distinct scent of his waters breaking. No. No, no, no. Not now. It was too early. I wasn't ready.

"Get Dr. Morris here NOW!" I roared, scooping Lucas into my arms. Antonio was already on his phone, barking orders as I carried Lucas inside.

"Boss," another of my men appeared in the doorway. "The situation in the East is escalating. They're moving on the second warehouse."

"FUCK!" I wanted to break something, preferably several Albanian necks. Instead, I focused on getting Lucas to our bedroom, laying him carefully on the bed as another contraction hit him.

"Marco," he grabbed my hand, squeezing hard. "Don't leave. Please."

The panic in his voice tore at my heart, but my phone was already buzzing with updates from the territory dispute. My men needed direction, needed their leader. The Albanians were counting on me being distracted—and they were right, damn them. They also got lucky with my omega giving birth right now.

"Dr. Morris is ten minutes out," Antonio reported from the doorway. "But boss... we're losing ground in the East. They've breached the perimeter of the second warehouse."

I ran a hand through my hair, fury, and frustration building inside me. Years of carefully maintained control and territory management were at risk of crumbling because these bastards thought they could take advantage of this moment. And if we didn't do something soon, they might get everything they wanted.

Lucas cried out again, his grip on my hand tightening. The omega in distress called to every alpha instinct I possessed, demanding I stay, protect, and comfort. But the boss in me knew that if I didn't handle this situation now, everything I'd built would be at risk—the very empire I needed to keep Lucas and our child safe.

"Marco," Antonio pressed, "we need a decision."

"I know!" I snapped, the weight of leadership never feeling heavier than in this moment. Looking down at Lucas, I saw tears in his eyes, pain and fear that made my chest ache.

Dr. Morris burst through the door a few minutes sooner than I expected, medical bag in hand. "Mr. Rossi, I need to examine him immediately."

Another call came through on my phone—more casualties reported. The Albanians were getting bolder by the minute, thinking my absence meant weakness. It didn't and soon I would prove that.

"Listen to me, love," I cupped Lucas's face, forcing myself to stay calm. "Dr. Morris will take care of you. I need to handle this situation, or everything I've built to protect us will be at risk."

"But-" Lucas's protest was cut off by another contraction.

"Antonio," I barked, "you stay here. You're my eyes and ears. Anything happens, anything at all, you call me." I turned to Dr. Morris. "Keep him safe, or your life is forfeit."

The doctor nodded, already setting up his equipment. He knew that he couldn't fail me.

I pressed a kiss to Lucas's forehead, then his lips. "I'll be back as soon as I can. I promise."

Forcing myself to let go of his hand was one of the hardest things I'd ever done. Each step toward the door felt like I was fighting against my own nature, every fiber of my being screaming at me to stay with my omega.

"Have the cars ready," I ordered as I strode down the hallway, my voice cold with barely contained rage. "The Albanians want to play? Let's show them exactly why nobody fucks with the Rossi family."

Lucas's pained cry echoed behind me, and I had to ball my hands into fists to keep from turning back. The Albanians would pay dearly for this—for making me choose, for daring to challenge me on this of all nights. By morning, they would understand exactly how costly their mistake had been.

But even as I climbed into the waiting SUV, my heart remained in that bedroom, with my mate and our child. God help anyone who stood in my way tonight—I had a territory to defend and a family to return to.