Page 20 of Bartered Innocence

“Get your boy in check, Luca. We don’t disrespect our women and you know that,” I say as Ricky snaps his mouth closed at the cold steel of my voice.

Cormac chuckles under his breath, shaking his head at the pathetic show. This entire meeting has been a waste of time, and only drives my desire to have no contact with the fucking snake of a man, no matter if he’s my equal.

Luca sighs. “You can’t fault the man for being concerned for his sister. He’s likely to never see her again after she saysI do.”

Ricky’s face pales, the reality of the situation clearly hadn’t sunk in yet.

I bite down on my tongue to dispute Luca’s claim. If Isabelle wants to see her family, they’ll always be welcome in my home.

Cormac scoffs. “We’re not the ones whose women seem to justdisappear.”

The air thickens, all of us staring at each other until the sharp ringing of a phone breaks the tension. I pull it out of my pocket, thankful for Aodhan's incessant need to update me on everything. Waving it in the air to prove a point, I stand. “I gotta take this. I assume the time for idle threats and bullshit terms is done?”

Luca nods and slowly stands with me.

Ricky frowns. “That’s it?”

My phone falls silent before ringing again. “Yeah, kid. Let the big boys play mobster and you go back to guarding the door like a rent-a-cop.”

Cormac snickers and moves to place himself between us. Ricky’s face is red as I smile, answering my phone and walking back to my car without a backward glance.

Chapter8

Isabelle

Watchingthe last of my room being packed up weighs heavy on my heart. I only leave out enough clothes to get through tonight at the hotel, then whatever I might want to change into after the wedding tomorrow.

An arm wraps around my shoulders, and I turn to look up at my brother.

“You okay?” he asks, squeezing tight as he pulls me closer.

Returning the hug, I shake my head. “No, but maybe one day.”

Ricky grimaces and lets go of me. “I was asking around, trying to see how he treats women he’s with…”

I already know how he treats women. He treats them like he’s dying of thirst, and only they can quench it. Rian treated me as if he found a new religion and I was the goddess he’d chosen to worship, especially with his tongue. A spike of hot adrenaline ripples through me at the thought.

“And?” I say, thankful my voice isn’t thick with the arousal soaking my panties.

My brother shrugs. “I couldn’t find anything. Either the man practices abstinence or he only fucks women who know not to talk.”

“Or they can’t talk because they’re dead.” I frown, remembering how he mentioned he hadn’t brought someone home in a while…He’s either a skilled liar or he was telling the truth.

Ricky’s eyes widen. “Isabelle.”

“What? Is that such an outrageous thought? He murders people for a living.” He’s the one who warned me about the brotherhood and what they do.

My brother grimaces, scratching the back of his neck. “I might have stretched the truth a bit. They’re mercenaries, but not exactly going out and about killing people.”

“Thanks for clearing that up. I feel so much better,” I say, rolling my eyes and walking out of my bedroom. Ricky follows behind me as we head to the kitchen, where our mother is preparing one of her classics for my soon to be husband.

When Rian suggested that we have a family dinner the night before the wedding, I knew it was to watch for any last minute doubts from me and my parents. The thought of running never crossed my mind because I could never live with the guilt if my family got caught in the crossfire, and Rian wants to make sure I would stand by that.

I kiss my mother on the cheek as my nose tingles at the overwhelming aroma of spices. “Hey, Mama.”

She kisses back and waves at me to help her prepare the dinner. I smile, more than thrilled to do so. My love for cooking comes from the nightly meals we cooked as a family. It made the desire to get the restaurant away from the Famiglia stronger.

“Come to help,piccola?” she says with a smile, handing over an apron and the wooden spoon she was stirring with.

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