Page 106 of Obsession & Oath

Carmen jolts, her grip on my hand tightening as I reach for my gun.

Mia stands there, breathless, gun raised. Her sharp green eyes lock onto mine, then flicker to Carmen.

A slow smirk tugs at the corner of her mouth.

“Found you.”

“Red?” The broken gasp that comes from Carmen shatters my heart.

Carmen hesitates for only a second before stepping forward, her hand slipping from mine as she closes the distance between her and Mia.

Back in Italy, she spoke so rarely of Mia. She may as well have been a ghost—an old friend turned enemy and a bad, painful memory. But now, standing face-to-face in the belly of the Rubio mansion, none of that seems to matter.

Mia exhales sharply, lowering her gun, and then—before I can blink—she steps into Carmen’s space and pulls her into a fierce embrace.

“I’m sorry,” Mia whispers, her voice thick with emotion. “I’m so fucking sorry, Carmy.”

Carmen stiffens against her at first, but as Mia clings to her, Carmen melts into the hold, her fingers grasping at the back of Mia’s jacket.

Mia keeps talking, her voice shaking as she whispers apologies into Carmen’s hair.

“I should’ve told you the truth. I should’ve never let it end the way it did. I thought—I thought I was doing the right thing. But I should have been protecting you, like I promised, like you asked me to.”

She pulls back just enough to meet Carmen’s gaze, her hands still gripping her arms like she doesn’t want to let go. “You have no idea how much I regret it.”

Carmen swipes at her tear-streaked face, letting out a watery laugh. “I missed you.”

Mia smiles, too. “I missed you too.”

I shift my weight, trying to give them their moment, but we don’t have time for this. We’re standing in the middle of enemy territory, and every second we waste is another second closer to someone figuring out we’re down here.

Mia seems to realize this at the same time I do. She turns to me, all business again, her expression sharp.

“Our people are holding on, but they’re not going to last much longer,” she says, rolling her shoulders like she’s itching for a fight.

“Leon’s got the main force keeping Rubio’s men occupied, but we’re losing the element of surprise. If we don’t move now, we’re going to be trapped when he decides he’s had enough ofprecisionand wants to start burning this place to the ground.”

Of course.

I grit my teeth, already picturing Leon ordering the mansion torched before we’ve even made it to the exit. The man has a taste for destruction, and considering what this house did to Mia, I don’t blame him.

“Then we move. Now.”

I reach for Carmen’s hand again, and without hesitation, she takes it.

Mia pulls a spare gun from her holster and presses it into Carmen’s open palm.

“Take it,” she orders.

Carmen’s fingers close around the grip, but she looks at the weapon like it’s a venomous snake. “I don’t even know how to use this.”

“Point and pull the trigger,” Mia says flatly. “Just don’t aim at us.”

“Stay close,” I tell her, shifting so I can shield her between me and Mia. Carmen nods stiffly, curling her fingers tighter around the gun as we move out.

The place is in chaos. Gunfire, shouting, the distant roar of something burning. Damn it, already? I don’t have to see Leon to know he’s making good on his promise totorch the fucking place.

I focus on keeping Carmen moving away from the dark, billowing smoke. But it means crossing more than a few enemies in the process.

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