Potere | Book II ✓

x | the alpha and omega

x | the alpha and omega

ty for being the reason potere won a fiction award. love you.

tried to edit, sorry for any mistakes.

Previously on Potere...

"...I plan on taking out the Rostov's as a testament to the generations of kings that will follow in our footsteps, and to those that reign now...that you do not mess with La Cosa Nostra."

"I'm sorry, Faith, but I don't have the strength to fight for a different ending."

"It wasn't Rico, it was William."

"I'm afraid that Valentin is going to force me to become a man I never wanted you to see."

"We move on this location tonight."

"Boom."

And now...

•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••

Veleno and the group of men burst through the front doors about twenty minutes later, talking excitedly with each other about what just went down.  Fellow soldiers and friends scramble out of their hiding places to insert themselves in a conversation as they get blow-by-blow details about the raid on the Russians.

Liam, Austin, Steven, and I stand at the end of a hallway which meets the foyer, quietly observing the growing crowd.  The volume of their chatter only rises as they make their way toward the weapons room to disarm.

I step forward, silently searching for one person in particular.

Veleno trails the group and unlike everyone else, he doesn't appear excited.  He walks alone while the group of men in front of him are bombarded with questions, requests for details, and more.

Austin follows my eyes.  He leans over and nods toward the group of elated men.  "Rookies."  Then he casually points to Veleno, who looks like his heartrate remained below 60 throughout the entire event. "Seasoned veteran."

I laugh, but I don't smile.

I feel a hand rest on the small of my back just as the group of men – including Veleno – disappear down a hall and into a room.  Liam comes into view.  "I know you're tired, but I wanted to talk to a couple of the guys before we left.  That okay?"

I nod, having no problem with it.  I wanted to speak to Veleno as well.

Our group separates once we reach the weapons room.  Liam heads in one direction, taking Austin and Steven with him – and for the first time in a while, I don't follow him.  I head left in search of Veleno, which is an easy task.  Upon observation, I can anticipate finding him on the outskirts of the crowd, probably alone in a corner somewhere.

I will say, I do wish Carmen had remained behind and didn't return to our home with the others.  Ever since Liam and I's life was interwoven together, I'm usually the only women – excluding Zara - within a mile's radius of the house.  I like Zara, I do, but we're in two different points in our lives, meaning other than Liam and Rosie, we don't have much to talk about.  Maybe that's why I've taken a slight liking to Carmen and her company, which explains why I'm missing her right now.

"You don't seem too excited," I excuse my way out the crowd, finding Veleno exactly where I expected him to be – alone.

His bicep covers the side of his face as I approach.  He's bent at the waist, busy trying to slip out of a thigh holster.  I watch carefully as he drops the accessory to the table and starts working on his Kevlar vest.  Our eyes – his eye – locks with mine as he pulls the heavy material over his head and I watch, with a dry throat, as his muscles flex.  They resume a resting position underneath the black, skin tight Nike shirt.