Page 109 of Obsession & Oath

His elbow slams into me, knocking the wind from my lungs, and in the split second I stumble, he capitalizes with a brutal hook to my jaw and a follow-up blow to my ribs.

I stagger back, vision flashing.

I hear someone scream my name.

The world spins as I catch myself. My feet steady, my pulse a war drum in my skull as I take stock.

That fuckinghurt.

Another couple of blows like that…if I hadn’t already fought Lacruz, maybe I could have bounced back quicker. But it feels like my bones are protesting, bruising, aching already.

A few weeks back in the field does not make up for five months out of it.

Damn it.

I look back up and notice the crowd gathered in the wreckage of the Rubio mansion. Mia and Leon, side by side. Teo and Rocco, standing frozen.

Guild and Cartel alike, watching with wide eyes as Amos Rubio and I fight like rabid dogs in the center of the battlefield.

Areckoningyears in the making.

My lip curls, and I spit blood to the floor. “That all you got?”

Amos doesn’t smile.

He lunges again, and the fight turns desperate. No more precision, no more strategy—just raw, vicious force.

I manage to land a punch to his ribs and another to his temple, but he shakes them off, swinging at me with the fury of a man who’s never learned how to lose. I block, duck, counter. He’s slowing down, but I’mbleeding.

One mistake. That’s all it takes.

He slams his fist into my gut, and I choke on impact. The ground shifts beneath me, and suddenly, I’m the one falling.

I hit the floor hard, gasping for air.

Then Amos is standing over me.

Towering.

He’s breathing hard, his chest heaving with exertion, but his eyes are still sharp with disgust.

Like I’m nothing.

He spits on the ground next to me. “Filthybastardo.”

BANG.

The disgust is frozen on his face as the bullet wound bleeds across his chest. I think it must be the shock that keeps him standing, for several long moments, he just continues to stare at me.

Finally, his eyes flicker up behind me, and he collapses.

Despite my protesting body, I scramble away, turning to face my savior.

Carmen’s beautiful, molten eyes are wide and tear-filled. Beautiful, even in their absolute horror.

A smoking gun is trembling in her hand.

Chapter30

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