Page 103 of Obsession & Oath

And he isfurious.

Dante steps forward, his presence swallowing the room, but his voice is unbearably calm.

“Carmen,” he murmurs, his dark eyes locking onto mine. “Are you hurt?”

My lips part, but before I can answer, Lacruz spins on him, snarling, “Who the hell do you think you are?”

Dante tilts his head, considering him with a smirk that drips with venom. Then, as if this moment is nothing more than a casual introduction.

“Dante Grasso.” He pauses for effect, before delivering the killing blow. “The father of Carmen’s child.”

Silence crashes over the cell.

For a second, Lacruz just stares at him. And then he laughs, shaking his head in dark amusement.

“Well, well. You’ve just saved me the trouble of hunting you down, Grasso.”

Dante smirks. “Funny. I was about to say the same thing.”

Then he moves.

It happens too fast—I barely have time to flinch before Dante’s fist slams into Lacruz’s jaw. The crack of bone meeting bone echoes off the walls.

Lacruz stumbles back, spitting blood onto the grimy floor, but he recovers quickly, pulling a knife from his belt.

Dante is faster.

He dodges the blade with terrifying ease, stepping into Lacruz’s space and driving his knee into his gut.

Lacruz grunts, doubling over, but he’s a seasoned fighter. He lashes out with the knife again, forcing Dante to twist away. The blade slices through Dante’s sleeve, a thin line of red blooming against his forearm.

I suck in a breath, pressing myself against the cold stone wall, helpless to do anything but watch.

Dante doesn’t even flinch.

He catches Lacruz’s wrist in a brutal grip, twisting until the knife clatters to the floor. Then, with deadly precision, he slams his elbow into Lacruz’s face. The older man staggers, blood spurting from his nose.

Dante doesn’t let up.

He’s relentless, his movements smooth and controlled as he beats Lacruz down with an eerie kind of grace. He’s a predator playing with his prey. Lacruz tries to fight back, but it’s useless.

Dante is younger, faster, andfurious.

The rage in his eyes is a storm, a violent tempest that Lacruz cannot escape.

I should look away. I should be terrified.

Instead, all I can feel is something breaking loose inside me.

I love him.

I love him so much it aches. He came.

Oh God, he actually came for me.

I never want to be apart from him again. Not now. Not ever.

Fuck.Mierda. Cazzo.