Page 14 of Obsession & Oath

“Welcome toCastello de Ferro.”

I gawp like an idiot as the castle rises into view. Its dark stone walls are soft with age, the central tower stretching into the sky, commanding but not oppressive. It feels timeless, rooted in the land as if it grew there rather than being built.

“You can’t be serious,” I whisper as Dante pulls right up to the front door without so much as a whisper from the guards patrolling the perimeter.

He kills the engine and pauses for a moment.

I watch intently as his knuckles whiten on the steering wheel. The muscles in his jaw work overtime as he stares up at the massive wooden entranceway.

Interesting.

“It’s not too late to turn around,” I hedge quietly.

He shoots me a dark look as if irritated that I read him so well. He rights himself quickly, throwing back his shoulders and cracking his neck.

The next time he looks at me, it’s with that patronizing little smile.

“Come now, princess. Your dungeon awaits.”

Chapter5

Dante

Walking up the steps of theCastello di Ferrofeels like walking to the chopping block.

Only, I’m the one holding the prisoner roughly by the arm.

The tranquilizers seem to have worn off, but her body is still weak, and the fight in her seems to cower away under the shade of the looming castle. Useful, as I’m not sure I have it in me to chase after her if she makes a break for it now.

Although, I suppose that’s one of the benefits of living in a castle—it’s always fortified with people who are paid to do the dirty work for you.

The double wooden doors are opened for us on our approach, and I do my level best to ignore the looks of shock from the help that gawk in our direction.

It’s been nine years since I last set foot in this place—four years galavanting across the globe, five with the Brooklyn mafia.

It’s still not enough time for me ever to want to be walking these halls again.

But it’s too late now, regardless of what Carmen said.

Carmen “he has very nice arms”Rubio.

I don’t think she realizes she said that out loud, but it immediately went straight onto my list of ways to antagonize her at the next available opportunity.

I file the thought away for later the second I see who’s waiting for us on the other side of those doors.

“Dante Grasso.”

My shoulders sag at the sound of her Italian annunciation.

Evelina Grasso seems to have barely aged a day. If it weren’t for the tastefully styled streak of gray in her dark hair, I would have thought I’d gone back in time.

My mother was always beautiful, but the years have been especially kind to her, amplified, as ever, by her immaculate wardrobe and graceful mannerisms.

She stares at me with matching near-black eyes, before holding out her hand before her delicately.

I turn to one of the men at her side and nod toward my captive. “Hold on to this for me?”

The man bursts into action immediately, and I bite back a smirk as Carmen grumbles against her new captor. But my attention is trained on my mother as I bow my head, take her hand, and place a reverent kiss on the back of it.

---