Twisted Oath

Twisted Oath The Devil Inside Us Arabella Black This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Copyright © Arabella Black, 2023 c/o Werneburg Internet Marketing und Publikations-Service Philipp-Kühner-Straße 2 99817 Eisenach All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission of the publisher. Cover design: Cruel Ink Design Published by Arabella Black www.arabella-black.com Contents Content Warning Important Information I Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 II Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 III Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Epilogue Afterword Also by Arabella Black About the Author Blurb * * * He brought me to my knees the first night we met. And he also got me pregnant. Víctor was born to rule his father’s illicit kingdom. I was made to put criminals like him in jail. Now that I carry his heir, the villain owns me. It’s not in the cards for us to be together. It goes against my every instinct to trust him, to let go in his arms. But Víctor doesn’t care. He wants me, so he’ll stop at nothing to have me. Content Warning * * * This is a MF couple that gets their HEA. This is not a safe love story. This is a dark mafia romance. I’ve taken liberties with the cartels, but I’ve kept it as brutal as possible. This book doesn’t intend to romanticize the cartels. The name of the fictional cartel “Los Equis” is a pun. An intended one. A little dig. "Equis" is used to describe something average in Mexican slang. Subjects of dubious consent, breeding kink, child loss, depression, alcoholism, su*cide, corruption, and more will be touched upon. Tropes: Dark Mafia, Enemies to Lovers, Second Chance Important Information * * * Tara, the heroine, and some of the side characters (Charles, Vegas, Remo, and Grey) have previously appeared in OURS: The Complete Series. I couldn’t leave out some of the important events that happened in OURS out of Twisted Oath. I hope you enjoy the character appearances and nods at their life together as much as I enjoyed writing them. Parts of this story were available in the Darkest Desires Anthology in 2022. The chapters were heavily edited, resulting in the story changing entirely. I Prologue Víctor * * * Eighteen Years Old My dirty little cop doesn't know I'm watching. She's… Exquisite. The perfect target for my rage. She's one of the new cops assigned to study my father's businesses in LA. I should tell my fucking dad. Loyalty. Family above all. I should make him aware of the presence of such a delectable woman. And the other cops, the agents accompanying her in her undercover ventures. But I know Dad won't listen. What do I know, right? I'm in LA, getting my teenage cock sucked by some beta starlet that wants a big movie role. That's what they think of me. I'm not reliable enough to know the intel. I'm the guy, better yet, the fucking boy, responsible for my mother's death. I don't deserve to be in the know. I'm the oldest son. The embodiment of disappointment. So, I watch. Every day, I watch. There's nothing left for me to do. I've been cut off. Kicked out of Los Equis. The great big X. Whatever. Dull. Ordinary. Yet, it is my family's legacy. Dad has sent me to LA without any direct tasks. He wants me to die in a drive-by, but the God he worships won't let it happen. No, it's not my time to go yet. Not when I've just found a new obsession to pass my time with. To distract me. If I don't die soon, I'll lose my mind. So, I take on the next best thing. A dirty little cop. I know the license plate of her car. The real one, not the car she uses on the job. I know where she sleeps and which side of the bed she prefers. I've seen this woman pretend to enjoy herself in bed while her dull boyfriend gets off. Because I've followed her to the single-family detached residential that she pays for alongside her boyfriend. Why this woman would ever have to pay for rent is beyond me. If she were my woman, she wouldn't be here. It's a dangerous place for dirty little cops. My father's men wouldn't hesitate to kill her and make it look like a suicide because it suits us. We could also make it look like a cold-blooded murder, but we'd have to consult with the eldest in our organization for which strategy would be better to pursue. We. We. We. There's no we. I've been kicked out, remember? That's why I'm here watching my dirty little cop do the dirty work. I'd put her in my home with nothing on her mind but my pleasure. I wouldn't just tell her to quit her job. I'd make it happen. She wouldn't need a job in my world. She'd need protection. And I'd provide it for her. She and our babies would be my treasure. Babies? Fuck. I'm only eighteen. Dad had me when he was much older. But when Dad was starting out, things weren't so dire just yet. There weren't many that were battling to stay on top of the food chain. It was just a group of guys who recognized that competition was good for the game. Now, we