OBSESSION & OATH
“Keep your hands off the virgin."
That was the order.
The second I saw her, I knew I would tear it apart.
Now she’s pregnant—and I’ll kill to keep her.
I’m the Guild’s enforcer in Brooklyn.
But also the heir to an empire in Italy I haven’t set foot in for nine years.
I kidnapped the virgin heiress to end a war.
Dragged her across an ocean and locked her in my family's castle.
Within these walls of stone and silk, I’m one wrong touch away from burying myself so deep inside her?—
And starting a new war.
She was meant to stay pure for another man’s ring.
But some sins are worth the fall.
Now she’s carrying my baby.
And I’ll carve my own kingdom out of blood and ash before I ever let them go.
1
DANTE
Idon’t think I could ever get bored of this.
The pure adrenaline of a high-stakes job is, quite frankly, unparalleled.
The thrill comes from not knowing if I’ll make it back alive—I will, I always do—, and finally being able to make progress—so much of being a mafioso is waiting around and doing nothing?—.
And nothing tastes sweeter, nothing soothes my aching bones and inevitable scrapes, like the bottle of amaretto waiting for me in the five-star hotel room, looking over the Manhattan skyline.
It’s a tough life, but someone’s got to do it. The fact that I’m perfectly equipped to handle it is a happy accident.
Not every man has what it takes not to fold under pressure or kill without hesitation.
Or, in this instance, steal a beautiful woman from her beautiful home in order to get revenge on the not-so-beautiful Mexican Cartel.
Not that revenge is really my style, but there aren’t many men with my skill set willing to steal beautiful women from their beautiful homes.
“I need eyes, Dante,” the don barks in my earpiece.
Now, here’s a man who knows a thing or two about revenge. Leon Natali, don of the newly formed Prince’s Guild, cannot let something go, even if it turns around and bites him in the neck.
Though, to be fair to him, I’m sure I’d be pretty pissed off if the Cartel had kidnapped my wife too. Sure, it only lasted three days, but the thing about Italian dons is they’re a little touchy when it comes to reputations.
I should know.
“Working on it,” I mumble back. “Cleared points A and B.”
