Page 65 of Tasting Sin

“I don’t know what to say,” I whispered. My hand twitched, but I resisted the urge to pull it back. Accepting comfort had always been difficult for me, but she had a way of demanding it.

“Just tell me you’re as in love with him as he is with you.” Was he? Was I? I thought about how it felt to watch him walk out of my room yesterday evening, knowing I had pushed him away, and my chest cracked again.

“He’s in love with me?” The tears that had been streaming down my face stopped falling, but I could still feel that my cheeks were damp. I didn’t wipe them dry.

She nodded. “Oh my God, yes. It’s so obvious.” She looked excited, like she was watching a movie with characters she favored falling in love. “He’s even fighting with Giaco, and that never happens!”

“Why are they fighting?” I asked. I never wanted to cause conflict in his family.

She looked around like she had to make sure nobody else was with us. “I have to pretend I don’t know because I’m not allowed to be part of it, but they yell so loud, it’s impossible to miss sometimes, ya know?” Grace lowered her voice anyways, leaning towards me so she could make sure I heard her. “All I know is that the woman who hurt you, Nikki? She was a friend of theirs.”

“So why did she do it?” My wrists twinged with the memory of tape tightly wrapped around them, and the bruises on my face stung when I clenched my jaw. I took a deep breath, trying to slow my heart rate. It didn’t work.

Grace looked at me like she was suddenly hesitant to share. She looked behind her again and said, “Because she found his weak spot.” She nodded, looking pointedly at me.

I pointed to myself. “Me?”

She nodded. “You.”

Chapter 44

Ronan

“Keep your cool,” Giaco warned before we opened the door to The Barley Stone, knowing the Cassidys were guaranteed to be inside. He gave me a look that let me know he wasn’t in the mood to clean up any physical or metaphorical messes.

I nodded. “Let’s go.” He didn’t usually need to warn me, but when I subconsciously clenched my hands into fists, I knew he was right. My fuse was shorter than normal lately, and it didn’t take much for them to light it. I took a long deep breath, stepping out of the entry and into the dimly lit room.

It was mostly empty, as usual. Did they ever have real customers? Even the regulars eating lunch at the bar today appeared to be planted. Mickey looked up from the table, nudging Luca with his elbow before they crossed their arms in a synchronized manner, like they’d practiced it for years.

“What are you doing here?” Mickey asked, drawing attention from the rest of the room.

I gritted my teeth, letting Giaco speak. Keep your cool. “You know exactly why we’re here.”

Mickey scoffed, taking a gulp of beer and setting the glass back on the table harder than necessary. “I assure you, I don’t.”

“The girl.” Giaco was nonchalant, and I resisted the urge to snap my head to look at him. She was more than just some girl.

“Which girl?” Luca cackled, high fiving the amused man next to him and huffing when Mickey elbowed him in the side.

I stepped forward, my reason fogged by the anger. “The one you had Nikki kidnap and torture,” I snarled. When the two brothers looked at each other and laughed, I bent over the table, smacking both hands on the surface to get their attention.

“We had nothing to do with that,” Mickey said. Both continued to look amused, and the closer the smirk on Luca’s face got to a full-on grin, the closer I came to wanting to smack him. Mickey sat forward. “But how did it work out for her? Maybe we want partial credit.”

I pulled my fist back, no longer caring what kind of issues would be caused by punching Mickey Cassidy—something I’ve wanted to do for twenty years. Before I could throw my fist and find out, Giaco grabbed my elbow. “What do you mean you had nothing to do with it?” he asked, stepping forward and regaining control of the situation. It took a moment for his words to register, and I dropped my hand, cocking my head to the side.

“I mean we had nothing to do with it.” Mickey shrugged, no longer looking amused and returning to his usual uninterested demeanor. “Nikki has good drugs, but she’s not on my roster.”

I looked at Giaco, and his face darkened. The muscles in his jaw rippled when he clenched his teeth, grinding them together while he took a deep breath. “She has good drugs?”

“What the fuck does that mean?” I added, crossing my arms.

Mickey rolled his eyes, but Luca cackled loudly. “Why do you think we spend so much time at her crappy little strip joint?” he asked, like it should’ve been obvious. “It’s not because we need the women, and I’d much rather drink whiskey I already bought at the pub I own in my own neighborhood.”

“Marone! Where does she get them?” Giaco asked. He had blinders on and wasn’t going to let them down until he got the answers he was looking for. What the fuck was Nikki up to?

“You would have to ask her that, wouldn’t you?” Mickey asked, rolling up his sleeve. “Look, gentlemen, it’s always a pleasure to see the Moretti brothers, and as much as I have no desire to help you, I don’t even have the information you’re looking for. I think it’s time for you to leave.”

Giaco stood and took a step back from the table with a curt nod. “Fine,” he said, putting his hands up in a faux peace offering. “But if we find out you’re lying, we’ll be back.”

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