Page 94 of Sweet Obsession
“They took her.” My voice cracked. “The Vargas cartel. They have Gabriela. They want me. They’ll kill her.”
Misha was on me in a heartbeat. His hands gripped my face, his thumbs catching my tears like he could stop the flood with brute force alone.
His eyes, sharp as ice, locked onto mine. “Someone betrayed us, Luna. That’s the only way she got out. But it’ll be handled. I’ll find out who sold us out, and I’ll make them wish they were never born.”
“They won’t touch her,” he added, voice like steel. He pulled me into his chest, iron and heat and violence barely leashed. I clung to him like I hated myself for needing him, and maybe I did.
“I’ll get her back, Luna,” he said into my hair.
And for a second, I believed him.
“You’re barely on your feet, Luna,” he said, brushing his knuckles down my jaw. “Don’t let your mind spiral. This isn’t your burden to carry. It’s mine, and I’ll handle it.”
But how could I not? Gabriela was too young, too soft for this kind of nightmare. She wasn’t built for blood and threats and cartel wars. She should’ve been in school, dreaming about boysand sketching flowers in the margins of her notebook, not locked up by psychopaths.
I could see her in my mind: tiny Gabi, curled up, shaking with fear, tears streaking down her cheeks, her little fingers clinging to hope like it was slipping through them.
“Oh God,” I breathed. “She must be terrified.”
The thought twisted something in me so violently I nearly doubled over. My heart pounded like it was trying to claw its way out of my chest. I didn’t want to wait, didn’t want to plan, I wanted to go to her now, tear the world apart if I had to, just to get her out of that hell.
“Poor Gabby...” I whispered, my voice cracking. “She’s just a kid. She shouldn’t be anywhere near this.”
Misha’s hand tightened around me, his eyes burning with fury. But mine were already full of tears.
His grip on me tightened, possessive, as if anchoring himself to the only thing keeping him from tearing the world apart. “Gabriela won’t be left there. I’ll burn every inch of that place to the ground before I let them harm a hair on her head.
Despite his reassurance, the fear still clawed beneath my skin, whispering all the ways this could end with a bullet through my sister’s skull. My voice cracked again. “I can’t lose her. I can’t...”
“You won’t.” His hands tightened around my arms, his gaze hard enough to freeze fire. “I’ll bring her home.”
We didn’t leave right away. Misha needed time, men, guns, strategy. All the things that made him a monster and the only man who could save her.
But waiting was hell. I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t sit still. The walls pressed in until I threw on a coat and stumbled into thecourtyard, snow crunching under my boots, the cold biting at skin I didn’t feel anymore.
I sat on a stone bench near the frozen fountain, the stars above mocking me with their silence. My thoughts spun in circles. Guilt. Fear. Rage. Longing.
I didn’t hear Misha approach—he was a shadow until he was right beside me, all black coat and quiet fury.
“You shouldn’t be out here,” he said, voice raw. “It’s too cold.”
“I needed to breathe.” I didn’t look at him. “While you plan your war.”
I turned to him then. He looked like a man drowning under the weight of what he couldn’t say.
“When I was a boy, I wanted to be a carpenter,” he said suddenly. “Stepan laughed. Said I was better at breaking things. He was right. But sometimes, I still dream of it. Of a life where my hands build instead of ruin.”
His pain hit deeper than I wanted to admit.
“I wanted to travel,” I whispered. “Country to country. Free.”
He brushed a tear from my cheek, and I hated how good it felt.
“I’ll make that happen,” he said, voice like steel wrapped in velvet. “Paris. Tokyo. Anywhere. Just don’t run from me again. Don’t make me chase you, Luna... because I will. Every time.”
I stood, heart racing. He stood too—closer. Stronger. Dangerous.
I didn’t pull away when he grabbed me. Couldn’t.
