Obsession & Oath (The Prince’s Guild #4)

1. Dante

Chapter 1

Dante

I don’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.”

The problem with stealing beautiful women from their beautiful homes is that said homes are usually massive, and there are numerous places she could potentially be hiding.

“Go straight for the panic room. We’re running out of time.”

I grimace slightly. He’s not wrong; the alarm has been blaring for three minutes already, and it’s only a matter of time before reinforcements show up. Leon and his team will only be able to keep them distracted for so long.

“Copy that, boss,” I say as I shift gears and begin running in the opposite direction. Down a corridor, ducking out of sight of the sound of running footsteps and slipping into an extravagant office.

It’s a gamble, but at this point, it’s our best shot of finding her. Hopefully, the woman has enough self-preservation instincts to have come here the second the alarm went off.

“I’m here, Teo,” I bark into the second channel on my earpiece, scanning the far wall of the room where the blueprints had indicated…ah! There.

It’s a small divot in the bookcase, as cliche as they come. I tug on it, and the bookcase slides away to reveal a door with an access monitor stuck to the front. Not that I need to worry about that.

“Open sesame,” Teo murmurs sarcastically in my ear as the monitor beeps to life and the door groans open with an ominous thud.

“Have I ever told you how much I love and respect your craft? Tremendously underappreciated and constantly overlooked,” I tease Leon’s second and resident tech master as I step through the open door without issue.

“Head in the game, Grasso,” Teo scolds, but I know his tone well enough to know he’s smirking. “There’s a heat signature–”

Smack.

And here, perhaps, lies the second problem with stealing beautiful women from their beautiful homes.

Amos Rubio’s daughter, the princess of the Cartel, is really quite beautiful. A fact I knew before I started this mission, one that enticed me to take on this mission in the first place, in fact.

But in the flesh? She’s something else entirely.

She’s a goddess incarnate with olive skin and stunning curls that protrude wildly around her soft features. Dark hair and caramel eyes that look like they could choke me out just by glaring alone (I would let her).

And I’m about ninety percent positive this momentary appreciation has nothing to do with being smacked around the head with what I think might be a drink tray.

“Stay the fuck away from me.”

She stands there a few feet away from the open panic-room door with the silver tray poised over her shoulder, ready to strike again without hesitation. She’s wild and angry and actually very distractingly… beautiful.

“Well, aren’t you just the prettiest thing in this whole place?”

Okay, maybe she did hit my head a little hard.

Carmen Rubio looks about ready to spit at me. “If you so much as touch me, I will snap off your dick.”

“Thinking about my dick are you?” The words are out of my mouth before I can stop them.

The second smack with the drink tray is probably well-earned.

But it does put her within reach. That one brave step forward to give me my just desserts is the opening I need to wrap a hand around her wrist and twist. She hisses, her fingers going slack on her makeshift weapon, and the tray drops to the floor with an unceremonious clatter.

I’m suddenly immensely glad of her warning when her other hand snaps out like a viper toward my crotch. I intercept it just in time.

“Usually, they buy me a drink first,” I say as I pin both her wrists with one hand. “But I can appreciate an eager woman when they look as beautiful as you.”

Carmen’s jaw sets in a murderous rage, and I can’t help but think she actually looks quite sweet.

“I’d rather die.”

Credit where credit’s due, her voice doesn’t waver. In fact, she stands taller, prouder. The scent of something sweet and floral wafts from her hair. Caramel eyes warm with anger. Pulse racing beneath my fingers. Distracting.

Very distracting.

I don’t realize what she’s planning until her knee is already jerking into my balls.

“Fuck!”

And that’s how I ended up falling to my knees and watching her flee the scene, hair bouncing beautifully behind her. She doesn’t even look back at me.

This is why I can never get bored of high-stakes jobs.

“Please tell me a twenty-four-year-old did not just get the better of you?” Teo groans in my ear.

I’m laughing as I pull myself to my feet. “She’s feisty, I’ll give you that.”

“Do I need to warn you?—”

“I got it, all right?” I bite back. “A little flirting never hurt anyone.”

“It will if you lose her,” He doesn’t have to mention Leon for me to know he’ll probably kill me if I mess this up. “She’s just hit the east wing. You can intercept if you take the first staircase on your left.”

I take off, determined to cut her off as soon as possible to save Teo the lecture.

To my delight, I make it to the east wing exit just moments before Carmen comes hurtling around the corner, almost slamming directly into me, and my arms go to restrain her instantly.

“ YOU!” she seethes as she tries to wrestle herself away.

But I don’t give her an inch. I manoeuvre us so that her back is to my chest, not wanting a replay of her last escape attempt.

“Me,” I practically sing in her ear as my arms tighten around her.

This time, I mentally prepare myself for the onslaught of distracting scents, but it doesn’t stop me from enjoying them as her hair tickles my face.

“ ?No mames, güey! Eres un pinche pendejo, ya me tienes hasta la madre. ”

I ignore her string of curses as I fumble to extract the handcuffs from my pocket. No small feat whilst she continues to thrash against me at every turn.

“You know, I think I’ve had fantasies like this,” I murmur as I manage to snatch her hands behind her back and snap the cuffs closed.

“Do you know what my father will do if he finds out you even thought of me like that?” Her tone is scalding and her voice is gravely from overuse. “In fact, keep talking. I will take great pleasure watching him extract your eyeballs from your skull.”

I shove the head cover on without warning, using her distracted squeal as my opportunity to tie up her legs.

“Lucky for you,” I say with a grunt as I stand back up. “I’ve got strict instructions not to mishandle the merchandise. But there’s always next time.”

“You pig! ?Chinga tu madre y lárgate a la verga!” her voice is muffled beneath the fabric.

Satisfied with her restraints, I check my watch and give my surroundings one last hasty glance. There’s only one thing left to do and Carmen is not going to like it.

I hit the first channel on my earpiece. “That's target acquired, boss.”

Leon responds immediately. “Where the hell are you?”

The volume of background noise on his end alone is enough for me to pick up the pace. I try not to think about it too hard as I bend down to pick Carmen up, swinging her over my shoulder fireman-style.

Her muffled screams can probably be heard across the entire floor.

“East wing exit,” I pant as I adjust my grip.

I waste no time as I kick the door open, step out into the frigid evening air, and begin to beeline toward the property perimeter.

It takes ninety-seconds for Leon to fall into step by my side, covering my back as we sprint across the open yard.

I feel more than see the bullets slashing through the air around us. Too close, yet (thankfully for us) not close enough. Mainly, I think, due to Leon’s ruthlessness and sheer skill with his own firearm more than anything else.

But by the time we hit the fence—to the section that’s now warped open beyond repair—I’m gasping for breath. Sweat drips down my back as Carmen continues to prove herself to be the most inconvenient dead weight known to man.

Even Leon raises an eyebrow at the string of increasingly indelicate Spanish curses. “I was going to ask if you’re sure it’s her, but…”

Carmen, hearing his voice for the first time, has the good sense to go still for a moment.

“He’ll have your neck for this, Natali,” her voice still somehow carries some bite through the fabric. “He’ll kill her next time.”

I see the second the threat registers with Leon, his large, broad shoulders stiffening with a tension only good, old-fashioned revenge can satisfy.

Rule number one in this line of work: you don’t threaten the don’s wife.

“There will be no next time,” Leon says with a quiet kind of ferocity that would make a lesser man quake. He turns and nods me toward the vehicle parked out back, engine on and raring to go.

I take the hint and carry her the last few feet toward the getaway car before throwing her into the back seat with a generous amount of callousness.

Carmen scrambles to readjust herself. “He’ll kill you. He’ll kill all of you.”

I roll my eyes despite the fact she can’t see and lean over to strap her in securely. “He can try.”

“I’ll tell him to get you first,” she hisses. “I’ll tell him to do it slowly.”

There’s no reason why such a threat should go straight to my crotch. But it does, and I’m reminded once more that Carmen Rubio’s rage is something really very sweet.

“Well, it’s been a delight, princess,” I say as I step away from the car, tapping the hood twice to let the driver know she’s secure. “But I can sincerely say, from the very bottom of my heart, I hope our paths never cross again.”