Page 3 of Obsession

Saluting her brother is another act of sass, and I see the way Marcus’s face pinches. The doorbell ringing is the only thing that saves the girl as she slumps into the seat and crosses her arms over her chest.

Caterina opens the door, greeting our guests before scurrying into her corner to not be seen or heard. I make a mental note that she’s afraid of her own son.

“Rafe.” Marcus extends his hand to shake the man’s. “Thank you for coming.”

Rafe Bianchi doesn’t look amused or impressed. There’s a stoic look on his face as he enters Marcus’s family mansion, with two men stepping in behind him.

“Where’s the girl?” he asks, giving Marcus no greeting. No hellos, no niceties. Straight to business. Expected, since this meeting was set up as a finality. Rafe wanted to see what he was buying before signing the final contract and setting a wedding date. This is just a simple transaction. It doesn’t matter that the object involved is a living, breathing human.

Not that I care about her.

I want to burn her family to the ground, her included. So what does it matter to me if she’s forced to marry some asshole from New York?

“Here’s my sister.” Marcus leads him over to where Madi is sitting, gesturing for her to get up. She does so begrudgingly, still holding her arms across her chest. I can see Caterina wincing in the corner, the look on her face screamingplease behave.But I don’t think she raised this girl to behave. I’m not sure Madi even knows what the word means.

Marcus’s face tightens as he tries to push down his rage at how she’s acting. “This is my sister, Madalena,” he says.

Rafe looks her over, his eyes wandering every inch of her skin. That shouldn’t bother me.She’s not mine.I don’t know how many times I have to repeat that phrase to myself to get through the night, but it’s feeling like a mantra.

She’s not mine.

She’s not mine.

She’s not mine.

I can’t care about the silly girl with blue hair who’s standing in front of me. I have bigger things to be worried about. Like worming my way into Marcus’s good graces so I can get all the information I need to take his family down. The legal way, of course. I’m not a gangster like him. Like this family.

I clench my fist as Rafe eyes the girl skeptically.

“Her hair is blue.” It’s a monotone assessment.

“We can fix that,” Marcus responds immediately.

“Then why didn’t you?” Rafe eyes Marcus. The man holds all the power in this room. Marcus might be in charge, but everyone knows it’s only because Junior Costello, the rightful heir, was murdered and his son, Sam, was put in jail for his death and denied bond. After his grandfather, Carmine Senior, died, this family has been split down the middle, each vying for a side. Junior and Sam leading half the family, Marcus the other. Hethinks this deal will solidify his place in the family hierarchy, and who are we to stop him? There’s a plan running through that man’s head, and he sees it leading him to victory, no matter how many bodies will forge his path.

“It will be taken care of.”

Rafe turns his head away from Marcus and back to his sister. “Is she pure?” he asks while looking at her, but the question isn’t directed at the girl.

She scoffs loudly. “No,” she answers, right as her brother says, “Yes.”

Everyone in the room freezes. That one simple, archaic question has the ability to change the outcome of this deal entirely.

“She’s lying,” Marcus says, trying to fix things.

Rafe shakes his head. “She says she’s not. I wouldn’t have come down here if I’d known you were selling me a whore.”

“Fuck you!” Madi spits out, jumping from her seat as all heads turn to her. Damien quickly grabs the back of her dress, yanking her into her seat and hissing for her to be quiet.

It’s a long moment of silence before Rafe speaks again. “The deal’s off.”

Anger glows in Marcus’s gaze as he looks at his sister, then he turns quickly, following Rafe, who’s on his way out of the house.

“She’s not serious!” he shouts. “She’s just rebelling. We can take care of this.”

Rafe turns on his heel, stopping in Marcus’s face. “I don’t have any desire to train your rebellious sister. You promised me awife.”He looks at Madi, standing fiercely with her blue hair and a scowl etched across her face. “Thatis not a wife. We’re done here.”

The door slams behind the New York boss and his men, and suddenly the house is launched into another bout of silence.There’s nothing but the sound of our breathing filling the air before Marcus flings himself at Madi.

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