Page 68 of Dark Reunion

Carlos approached, every movement calculated, eyes simmering with the anger he was trying to contain.

“You’ve become a woman. A loud one with an annoying tongue. You should be careful, you don’t need your tongue to live or…” He looked at her breasts, and she wanted to throw up all over him. “Complete your womanly duties. I am nothing if not a man of my word. We will marry. You will give me Ramírez heirs, but I will give you a choice. I’m a generous man.”

Carlos walked behind her, close enough that his body softly brushed hers. “You can choose me, or my son. Either way, the dynasty is secure. Our two families will be tied in blood, and we all win.” He circled in front of her, tapping his chin.

“You must be joking.”

“No, my dear, I’m not the type to jest about my legacy,” he said.

“You have to know that Dean would never go for it even if I did choose him.”

Carlos shrugged. “A man will do many things…things he never thought possible with the right motivation. And let’s just say he has a lot of motivation here.”

Fuck, Carlos was worse than she could ever have imagined.

Maeve’s pulse pounded in her ears. “You’re delusional.”

He laughed softly and reached for her chin.

Her training kicked in before she could think this was a bad idea. She deflected his hand with a sharp twist of her wrist and drove her fist straight into his nose. Cartilage crunched. Carlos reeled back, blood spurting between his fingers.

The guards surged forward, but Carlos held up his good hand. “No!” His voice rang out, sharp and triumphant. He wiped the blood away, eyes gleaming with something feral. “Ah, finally. One of you fights back. That is going to make breaking you so much more delicious.”

Maeve dropped into a fighting stance, weight balanced, fists raised, chest heaving with adrenaline. “You think I’m scared of you? That your little threats worry me? I’ve killed men like you since I was a child. So go ahead and try it. See what happens. I dare you.”

The guards looked at one another, caught in the uncertainty of whether to step in and help or stay out of it. Carlos tipped his head back and laughed, blood dark at his lip.

“Isn’t she magnificent?” He said with a groan, and Maeve wanted to throw up. “The little lamb grew fangs. Stunning. A she-devil. I like it.”

“Call me whatever you like,” Maeve snapped, “but if you try to touch me again…I’ll take a piece of you, and I’ll make sure it’s the part you covet more than all your money.”

Silence stretched in the room. Carlos’s breath was ragged and seemingly amused. Maeve’s heart hammered.

The office door suddenly opened, breaking the strange tension. Dean stepped in like a gale-force wind, stitched into a crisp suit. His face showed nothing of what he was thinking. He took in her stance, the fury, the smear of blood at Carlos’s nose, and something in his gaze assessed the whole tableau with military precision. She could physically see him categorizing everything.

“Son, just in time,” Carlos announced, always the showman. “I gave Isabella here an ultimatum. I guess you should be made aware, since it includes you.” Dean folded his arms and sighed, the sound hitting Carlos like an insult. His features darkened as he returned to his desk and once more perched himself on top. “Are you not going to ask what it is?”

“Nope,” Dean replied.

That one word set Carlos off. He jabbed a finger at him, wagging it like that was somehow threatening. “You can pretend you don’t want to know, but I know you do. I told Isabella she has three days to choose. Will she bed me, or will she bed you, until the next Ramírez heir grows in her belly?”

Dean barked out a laugh that ballooned into a howl that had tears running down his cheeks. The overly jubilant sound filling the office. Carlos blinked, then scowled as Dean kept laughing. Maeve looked at Dean, confusion and something like hopeful disbelief crossing her face. It was like watching joy and insanity come together with such a raw intensity that Maeve didn’t know what to make of the outburst.

Suddenly, Dean’s laughter stopped like he flipped a switch. He produced a knife with a movement so quick it looked like magic and threw it. The blade drilled into the wooden desk between Carlos’s spread legs with a thud.

Carlos inhaled sharply, eyes staring at the blade. The guards froze, and the room felt colder.

“Don’t ever threaten my family again. Not me, my wife, and children, or Maeve,” Dean said, voice low, deadly. “Next time I won’t miss, and we both know how much pleasure I would take from castrating you.” He turned that same hard expression on Maeve. “Walk out, Maeve. Now.”

Carlos’s eyes glittered. “You don’t know what you’ve done, Mercurio.”

“I know what I’ve done.” Dean let his gaze rake the guards, daring them. “Do you know what you’ve done?”

“Three days,” Carlos sneered. “That’s all you get to decide. And if you choose to be difficult, boy, I will find a way to make sure you comply.”

“I’m no boy, and you can certainly try.” Dean’s voice was laced with a violence that Maeve could still feel. No mercy.

Maeve straightened and walked out of the office. Dean lingered for a moment longer before following. They moved down the hall like two people leaving a guillotine behind.