Eric

I’d been feeling antsy all afternoon. My stomach rolled with anxiety or maybe it was morning sickness. I had no desire to hang out in my room by myself or make small talk with the locals while I could barely function, so I offered to stay till closing. Working always helped to keep my mind off worrying.

Ryan usually closed, but he’d been complaining of a headache, so I told him to go home. He wasn’t up for a long shift, and if I went home, I’d just be pacing back and forth in my room until I passed out.

The store was quiet, so I was tagging bags of chips when the bell above the front door dinged. Grateful to have an excuse to get off the ground and stretch my legs, I stood up and stretched before I headed to the checkout counter. I wasn’t the only one working, but the other cashier was on their break, and they tended to take their sweet time napping while forgetting I also needed a break.

The first man who walked in was Trev, one of Vincenzo’s cousins who’d started working closer with the family after Lorenzo and Dominic got married and the Mennettis started causing trouble. He wore a pair of jeans and a t-shirt with a leather jacket over it. I knew enough to spot the gun tucked under his shoulder, though. He would only be here if one of the brothers were close by.

“Fuck.” I looked around and then turned to run out the back door, but if Trev was there, they knew I was too. Running would be a waste of energy. The Santiagos had found me, and I would have to explain myself.

My future was no longer my own.

Had Lorenzo come? No, Dominic was only a few weeks from his due date. There was no way Lorenzo would have left him. Orsino then. Or maybe Vincenzo himself came to clean up this mess.

My heart beat hard inside my chest, blood thundering in my ears. It drowned out even that horrific music that played over the intercom, the stuff that I was sure would never leave my mind.

They had found me. They were here.

But what in the hell did they want me for? And how could I get away from them?

Evading guards for the mafia that were trained in God knew what kind of crazy operations was not within my skill set. They had guns and probably a taser or other weapons that I couldn’t even fathom, plus they were trained. I had no such training and the best I could hope to do was run, but stamina was not in my favor. Not with this belly.

Trev spotted me, and I backed away. He smiled and lifted a hand as if to wave as if we were old friends who hadn’t seen each other in a while. He was mocking me. That was the only explanation.

I had to get away. I could not be caught. I would fight for my baby.

I turned quickly on my heel and bolted toward the back exit. I was just about there when I slammed into a solid wall of muscle. Vincenzo's arms came around me to keep me from falling to the tiled floor. The scent of him sent shivers down my spine and calmed me, even though there should be nothing calm about this. My body reacted instinctively to the man I considered my alpha.

He had me. I was trapped.

If he kept me close to him like this, he was gonna know exactly why I had run. There was no hiding the baby bump when we were chest to chest.

"Eric." His eyes twinkled with moisture as he looked at me. "Oh, thank god."

"No." I scrambled out of his arms, pushing away from him. My voice was pleading, begging. It was hardly dignified, but desperation had me by the balls. "No, no, no. You can't. Please, I'm not gonna cause any trouble."

Confusion marred his features as I backed away. I wrapped a protective arm around my middle, refusing to stand up straight, as if I could hide the growing evidence of why I had to get away from him.

"Eric, let's go back to your apartment. We can talk."

"No. Please. I promise I won’t cause any trouble. I won't come after you for anything. No one will know. I just…please, Vincenzo." Tears came to my eyes. I had not survived this long only to lose my child now. It would kill me.

Vincenzo’s brow furrowed, "Eric.” He approached me like one might approach a wounded animal who was ready to strike. “Baby, we're not here to hurt you."

I backed up even farther, but this time I ran into Davy. Trev was blocking the front door, and there was no way around Vincenzo to get to the back door. Screaming would call attention to me and endanger others, which I would never do. I had created my destiny, and it was time to face the consequences.

I didn't have anywhere to go, so I dropped to my knees. Tears streamed down my cheeks, and I begged. "Please. Please don't hurt my baby."

Vincenzo’s eyes were stricken with pain so raw it felt as if I had slapped him. He knelt down in front of me. The two of us sprawled on the floor of the snack aisle, sandwiched between tortilla chips and bagged popcorn.

He cupped my face in his hands, "Eric, I came to find you. I’ve been missing you for months. I want to take you home. You and our baby. I want you to be mine. For real. I want you to come back home with me as my mate and my husband. No harm will come to you or our child."

I sucked in a breath. "But…there’s no way for that to work. I'm just a pack omega," I said. "You can't."

"I can. And I will. If you say yes.”

It wasn’t possible. It couldn’t be. The rules that dictated how the family operated couldn’t be bent so easily. But what I saw when I looked into Vincenzo’s eyes was full of longing, trust, and perhaps even love. There was no malice, no intent to harm.

My alpha had come for me.

“Yes.”