Page 58 of Twisted In Obsession

“Drop your weapons.” I demand, ignoring the looks of concern on their faces. In doing this, we are at a disadvantage, and they know it. I know it. But I will not risk my wife’s life. Facing Giuseppe, who was like a second father to me, I look for any sign of the man I have known my whole life but come up empty. All I see is a traitor. A fucking rat. “Why?” I force out, barely keeping a hold of myself.

Giuseppe shrugs. “Easy, really. Your papà told you about the future he envisioned for thefamiglia. You refused it. When he died and you became Don, you took us is in a completely different direction. One that saw a loss in money forme. Vadim offered me…” he trails off as if searching for the right words. “A very lucrative deal. One I couldn’t refuse. His visions for the future mirror mine. With you dead and me as Don, we can work alongside each other, making thefamigliaand the Bratva the most powerful organizations in the world.” He smiles sardonically. “Plus, he is paying me more money than I could ever spend in ten lifetimes, let alone this one. It’s a win win.” He pauses, pinning me with a glare. “I would have stood by your papà forever. But you? Your arrogance and morals. It will ruin the organization your grandfather and papà built. You’re an embarrassment, Nico. Led by pussy.Yourwhore may as well have you on a leash. She leads you around by your cock, messing with your head. I see the way you look at her. How you are with her. She is the reason you have become soft, the reason you now have aconscience.” He accuses with so much contempt in his tone, it would make most men wither. But not me. He doesn’t know who he is fucking with.

Lead around by the cock, he said?

Soft, he said?

I will show the traitorous bastard just howsoftI really am.

Chapter41

Ocean

My heart races so fast in my chest, I feel like I’m going to pass out.

I stare at my husband, though he keeps his eyes trained on Giuseppe who is holding a knife to my throat.

Nico dropped his weapon.

Without hesitation, he put the gun on the floor and demanded his men do the same.

And now they are at risk.

Because of me.

I don’t see how we are going to get out of this mess, and now I am the reason my son might lose both his parents.

I feel sick.

How did we even get here?

To this point.

It’s surreal.

Like I am stuck in a never-ending nightmare, waiting to wake up.

This should not be my life… but it is. And though I am more scared than I have ever been before, I need to be strong. For my husband. For our son.

“Mr. Marchetti, I would say it’s a pleasure, but I would be lying. I am Mr. Caldwell, andEmileeis my daughter. She was promised to another man, and I have every intention of delivering on that promise. Whatever claim you think you have on her, you don’t. She will be Mrs. Anderson. And if I have to kill you to ensure that happens, then I will.” My father’s deep, vile, voice pierces the silence of the room, making the tension thicken. A hand wraps around my hair, pulling it with so much force my head snaps back. My eyes meet Samuel Caldwell’s cold ones, and my skin crawls with disgust. “You have a duty, don’t you dear daughter? One you ran away from.” His finger caresses my cheek softly. It is so at odds with the threat of his tone, I want to be sick. I stare at him. Wondering how the hell I am related to this monster. I know he expects an answer, but I won’t give him one. He can go fuck himself.

“Take your fucking hands offmywife.” Nico’s deathly low voice filters through the fog in my head, grounding me. Usually, the tone he is currently using would scare me, but right now it warms my insides and calms my erratic heartbeat. I draw strength from it. Hoping and praying with everything in me that we get out of this. That we get to see our son again. Get to be a real family.

Because I love my husband, and though I haven’t said it, I love the life he has given me. It may not be everything I pictured for myself, but it’s more. So much more and I refuse for our time to be cut short because of a man like my sperm donor.

“Nico,” I whimper, only to be cut off when a palm is slapped over my mouth aggressively.

“Cleary you haven’t educated her on how to behave. Taught her to speak only when she is told to. She is a disobedient little cunt, but I am sure Vadim and then her new husband will soon beat and fuck her into submission. It’s the least she deserves,” my father taunts. Jesus, he is even more crazy and delusional than I previously thought.

My husband’s eye twitches, his jaw clenching. It’s a clear sign he is about to lose his shit but without a weapon he is at a complete loss, and there is only one way this can end… unless Nico has something up his sleeve that he hasn’t yet revealed, we are completely at their mercy.

“I strongly suggest you make the most of the hand that is currently coveringmywife’s mouth. Because by the time I am done with you, I will have removed it from your body, along with your other limbs, that I will throw away like the trash you are. But your hand? I will keep that as a memento of this moment. Of a time when you believed you were at an advantage. It will be displayed as a trophy of sorts. A warning, to anyone who dares touch what doesn’t belong to them.”

Boisterous, mocking chuckles hit my ears, but the thick accent of Vadim cuts through the laughter making me stiffen and confirming what I already knew. “Do not be stupid, Nico. You cannot win here.”

Nico’s eyes laser in on the Russian. A predator singling out its prey and ready for attack. A shiver runs down my spine when a vicious smirk tips his lips. Not because I fear Nico, but because there is something in the look currently on my husband’s face, that makes me believe we may just get out of here. Or is that just wishful thinking? Is the dehydration and pain making me delirious? I hope not.

“And you,” Nico seethes. “I will take great pleasure in killing you, Vadim. I should have done it when you killed my papà, but the wait will be worth it. I’m going to make your death slow. Enjoy every second of spilling your blood.” His voice is low, but lethal, and if looks alone could kill – which right now I wish they could – Vadim would be dead.

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