Page 10 of Bartered Innocence

I return my attention to the book, refusing to acknowledge how similar the man across from me is to myself. I skim a few more pages before tensing at the photo before me. My fingers trace along her lips, recognizing those deep brown eyes. She looks younger here, her dark hair straightened over her shoulders and her smile bright against her warm beige skin.

Isabelle Romano.The full name of the gorgeous woman that ran from my bed without a word weeks ago. When I returned from my shower and found it empty, it piqued my curiosity. She hadn’t stolen anything, but I figured I’d hurt her when I saw the blood wash off my pelvis.

In my peripheral vision, I see Luca’s fist clench when he takes in who I’m staring at.

He clears his throat again. “Did you want me to point out the daughters of captains? Or capos? Unfortunately, I don’t have any sisters.”

“If you did, would you sacrifice them? Deny them the time with their father you are selfishly trying to take?” I mutter out.

“Rian,” my father warns me from his bed.

Luca glares, his eyes turning cold. “I am merely offering women of stature.”

I turn the binder to face him. “What’s wrong with this one? You put her in here.”

“We put all eligible women in the book. She’s…no one. A daughter of a low-ranking businessman. He owns a restaurant that we sometimes launder small amounts of money through.”

The small stumble gives away that she’s more than that. I look back at the photo of Isabelle and then smirk at the annotation of herpurestatus. A status I know I shattered with my cock. The stains on the sheets I kept in my closet confirm what I thought I felt that night.

I don’t want to get married, especially not to someone I don’t know. But Isabelle can offer me a chance at normalcy, including the fact that I’ve already fucked her tight cunt and wouldn’t mind taking it for another ride.

“Tell me about her,” I say with a devious smile. Ignoring my father’s questioning stare, I rip her page out of the binder and slam it shut before handing the book back to him.

Luca’s body tenses before he starts talking through clenched teeth.

Belle might have gotten away from me all those weeks ago, a faint disappointment I mulled over for days after. ButIsabellejust became my number one priority and the perfect opportunity to mold the wife I need.

Chapter4

Isabelle

I pull into the garage,park my car, and relax in my seat for a second. My body aches by the end of my shift, but I love the work. I’ve dreamed about taking over my father’s restaurant and becoming so successful that we don’t even need Famiglia’s money, but it still seems so far away. When I open my car door, I almost scream at my brother’s sudden appearance on the other side.

“What the hell, Ricky?”

His eyes jerk to the security camera I know is mounted in the corner behind me and then back to me. “Remember thatthingI told you about a while back and you got really angry?”

Opening the door wider and forcing him to take a step back, I climb out and close it behind me as I stare at him confused. “Whatthing?”

He runs a hand through his tousled hair. “The—you know.” My brother huffs out a breath before snapping his fingers. “The white dress with the red stain, remember? You got really mad about the red stain.”

I blink at him, trying to decipher whatever he’s telling me when he steals another quick glance at the camera. Whatever it is, he can’t tell me outright without the risk of being caught. Only he has access to the cameras since my father said the technology is too difficult to learn, but anyone in the Famiglia could ask for the footage and he’d hand it over. That tells me whatever he’s trying to say, he wants absolute proof it can’t be linked back to us trying to cover it up.

My eyebrows furrow when understanding flickers in my mind. “Are you talking about the white dress that father gave me?” Or more accurately the white dress he wants to give me away in, stained with my virginal blood.

Ricky’s shoulders slump in relief. “Yes, and remember how you told me you were working hard to get rid of that stain?”

I nod slowly, pulling the strap of my purse tighter against my body.

He sighs. “Please tell me it’s still there.”

My stomach knots and my swallow is audible.

My brother’s eyes widen. “Isabelle.”

“Why?” I ask quietly. “Does someone want the dress?”

Rickey’s throat bobs. “Yeah, Isabelle. Someone wants the dress.”

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