Page 89 of Obsession & Oath

I want to scream. I want torunfrom everything. But I don’t know where to run to because…

Amos.

Amos Rubio.

I swallow hard, my breath catching in my throat.

If my father finds out, everything is over. All of it—the alliances, the power dynamics, the delicate threads that hold this world together—will unravel in an instant. He cannot know about this. He cannot.

If he finds out about the pregnancy, if he discovers what’s happened, the consequences will be disastrous. Not just for me but for the Cartel’s standing.

My family’s reputation will be shattered, and the alliance with Hernando Lacruz will be destroyed. My veryexistencecould be in jeopardy. My father will see this as a betrayal, as something far worse than any failure I’ve made before.

I feel the panic surge again, the sharp claws of fear gripping my chest. My hands tremble slightly as I reach for the edge of the bed, my thoughts spinning out of control.

I look at Doctor Alvarado, the woman I’ve known my whole life, and see my own terror reflected back at me in her eyes.

“Please...you can’t tell anyone. You can’t tell anyone about this. Please.” I grasp her hand, desperate, begging for her understanding. “If my father finds out…”

The doctor hesitates, her eyes flickering with something unreadable. I can feel the heat of panic rising in my chest, my pulse pounding in my ears.

She doesn’t answer immediately, and that silence speaks volumes.

“I can’t promise you that, Carmen,” she says finally. “I have my loyalties, you know that.”

My stomach drops.

She’s loyal to the Cartel. Loyal to Amos. She may have already told him.

He knows.

A cold wave of fear washes over me, my heart beating so loudly I’m sure she can hear it. I can’t breathe.

This...this could be it—the moment everything unravels, the moment I lose everything—my life, my future, my child’s future—shattered in an instant.

“Carmen, I’m so sorry. You’re in a dangerous position now. You have to understand, I never wanted this for you?—”

“Idon’t care!” I snap, my voice cutting through her pity. I stand up quickly, desperate, ignoring my headache and the pain in my arm. “Please, help me! There has to be a way out. You have to help me escape.Now.”

“Carmen, please—” she tries to reach for me. To restrain me or embrace me? I don’t know, I slip away from her outreached hand and make for the door.

The room feels smaller by the second, the walls closing in. I have to get out, away from this house, away from Amos. I need to think. I need time.

I’m almost at the door when it swings open with a violent jerk.

I freeze.

Amos Rubio is standing there, his face twisted with fury. His cold, calculating eyes lock onto mine, his nostrils flaring with controlled rage. Every muscle in his body seems taut, like a predator ready to pounce.

And for the first time in months, I’mtrulyafraid.

Chapter25

Dante

Itighten my grip on the door handle as I approach the back room of the Prince’s Guild casino. The weight of it is almost unbearable. I pause, take a long breath, and try to center myself.

There’s work to do.

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