Page 56 of Tasting Sin

“Bend the rules like commit crimes?” The more I told her, the more the color drained from her face, but her chest still warmed with a dark pink blush. Her golden eyes locked with mine.

“Yes,” I said again, not letting go of her hand when her fingers twitched more.

Nellie glanced at the table from the corner of her eye before she straightened her spine. "Have you ever killed anyone?” She watched my face, waiting for me to answer.

“Nobody good.” I let her pull her hand back when she tried to this time, and she threw them in the air.

“Oh my God.” She took a nervous step backward, followed by two quicker ones. “I’m sleeping with a murderer!”

“Nellie, the important thing to know is that you’re safe. I’ll never let anything happen to you.” I matched her steps, not letting her get more than an arm’s length away from me. I gestured to the men at the table. “None of us will. You’re untouchable. Protected.”

She shook her head. Her hands quivered when she lifted them, weaving them into the hair at her scalp and tugging. Then, she closed her eyes, and when she opened them, she looked disappointed, like she had been expecting the warehouse to disappear when she did.

“I don’t think I can do this,” she whispered before she spun on her heel and ran for the door. Her footsteps echoed through the open room, joined by the gasping and panting that came with her nerves. When she slammed the door behind her, it echoed.

“Way to go, genius,” Giaco sneered, giving me a look that really said, “I told you so.”

I glared at him. “Don’t start.”

“She’s going to go back to those agents,” he continued to scold me. I rolled my eyes.

“No, she won’t.” I looked back over my shoulder toward the door that separated us. Would she still be standing outside that door? She didn’t have a car to get home.

Giaco leaned forward, and our father put his hand on his chest to calm him. “How can you be so sure?”

“I trust her.” I did. There was no question about that. No matter how scared she was, Carlo said she held her own with the detectives. She wasn’t going to turn on us.

“You better hope you’re right.”

Chapter 36

Nellie

He’s killed people? I couldn’t get out of the warehouse fast enough, and as soon as I could breathe fresh air, I dug in my purse for my keys, finding them before I remembered I hadn’t driven. “Fuck,” I whispered, searching the mostly abandoned lot.

I sat on the curb, folding my knees against my chest and dropping my head into my hands. My throat was on fire with the scream I wanted to release but that held on tightly to my lungs. I could barely breathe, even with the cool evening breeze. When the door behind me opened and the hinges squeaked, I stiffened. I didn’t look up.

“Can I talk to you?” I was surprised by the woman’s voice, and I whipped around. I recognized his sister from the party.

I nodded, scooting over on the curb to give her more room. “Are you part of this whole thing too?” I asked.

“I’m not allowed to be. They say it’s too dangerous.” She shook her head, rolling her eyes dramatically. I imagined it was a fight she’d had more than once, judging by the exasperation in her voice and the way she was apparently hiding out in that meeting. “Listen, I know this is really overwhelming for you.”

I cackled, and the laugh bounced off the brick buildings that surrounded us. “To say the least!”

“It can be a lot to try and wrap your head around, but you need to understand one thing.” Grace reached over and took my hand with both of hers without giving me the option to pull away. “My brothers can be assholes, and sometimes, they do scary, probably bad, things, but they’re good men. Especially Ronan, and since you started coming around, he has been different. You make him better.”

I sniffed, letting my shoulders relax. Did I really make him better? “I don’t know.”

“I do,” she said, dipping her head to catch my stare and pulling my attention back to her. “He’d do anything for you. Plus, I’ve always wanted a sister, especially one who can put my big brother in his place!” I joined her when she started to laugh, leaning towards her when our shoulders bumped together.

“Thank you.” I offered her a gentle smile. “For explaining some of it to me. They’re so guarded in there.”

She nodded. “They have to be. If they’re not guarded, they put everyone at risk.” Grace smiled, starting to stand up when the door opened. “I told you: they’ll do anything to keep us safe. That includes you.”

“I’ll take you home,” Ronan said, stepping out of the building. How much of the conversation had he heard? He held out his hand, and I took it, standing up from the curb and looking back at Grace.

“Okay. Thank you again.” I smiled, and she returned it, winking before Ronan silently led me back to his car. I looked back at the warehouse when Ronan opened the door. What were they talking about in there now?

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