Page 83 of Bartered Innocence

He nods once, it’s slow and slightly defeated. “I’m honored you two still chose to come. I know there’s tension between our families, but philanthropy is important to me and I appreciate it.”

Rian’s stoic expression doesn’t go away while Luca speaks and he continues to glare the whole time. I move closer to his side, placing my hand on his arm and squeezing him a bit.

“I’m sure the misunderstanding of what happened will be cleared up soon,” I say with a sad smile.

Luca and Rian stare at each other, the tension growing palpable in the air. I look up to find Gio watching me, and I narrow my eyes at him. I’ve never liked Gio, something about him always felt off. He smirks before he glances away and leans into Luca’s ear to whisper something.

Luca clears his throat. “I must make the rounds.”

He leaves without another word and Rian doesn’t breathe until Luca is across the room. Then he wraps his arm around my waist and nods at Cillian over my shoulder.

His eyes drop to stare into mine, a reserved uncertainty brimming in them. “Would you like to dance?”

I look at the dance floor where no one else is dancing and grimace a little, the urge to deny him on the tip of my tongue, but his fingers trace a cross on my back. “Yes,” I breathe out, my heart hammering away.

He leads me to the floor and people give us plenty of room, watching us curiously. The music cuts before changing to a different tune and I smile, recognizing the beginning notes ofThat’s Amore.I give Rian an incredulous look as Cillian strides away from the DJ booth.

“Ricky said you’re good at the Viennese Waltz. That you made him practice until his feet bled.”

I laugh. “In my mother’s dress, too.”

He sticks out his hand for me to grab. “Then let’s dance. I think the song is appropriate for our company.”

Smiling, I let him lead and we start turning. Gasps ring out around us and I can’t hold back my grin now. It shouldn’t surprise me that my husband knows my favorite dance, but it does, and it makes it much more enjoyable.

Rian’s hand flexes on my waist, the other squeezing my hand as we begin to spin with the beat of the dance. A crowd has started to gather around the floor, watching as we continue with our quick turns.

I can barely make out faces as we dance, but my attention catches on a few men parting the crowd, moving with a calculated precision that has goosebumps running up my neck. They look like a coordinated pack of wolves hunting their prey.

In a single, cohesive swipe, as if they’re all being controlled by one person, they cut the throats of a few men standing in the watching crowd. Rian pulls me back, his chest pressing against my back as we watch bodies fall one by one, thick waves of red slowly spilling all over the floor.

In the next second the screaming starts, and a blink later the men with bloodied knives blend into the chaos of the crowd as everyone rushes forward. Rian is pushing us back, my feet moving on autopilot. My heart feels like it’s trying to beat through mud, slowing as I recognize some of the slack, pale faces of the discarded bodies on the floor.

Gunshots rings through the room, and silence falls. The crowd parts as Luca comes stalking toward us. That’s when I realize the room has split again, the Irish behind us and the Famiglia on the other side.

“You dare attack on neutral territory,” Luca seethes, his gun pointing right at us.

Rian has me behind him in the next second, and I recognize Aodhan’s presence at my back. “You dare attack your own on your territory?”

Luca’s jaw tightens as his eyes flicker to me and away, but he remains quiet. Aodhan moves me another step back and Rian tilts his head. I just know he’ll have a taunting grin on his face.

“So sorry about your sparrows, but dead birds can’t sing.”

I don’t know what Rian is talking about, but whatever it means has Luca stepping back and shoving his gun back into his pants in quiet acknowledgement.

“It ends here then.”

Rian sneers. “It’s only begun. I don’t know how many people you planted among my men, but I’m going to weed them out. I’ve already alerted Chicago and Vegas about it.”

Luca’s eyes are ablaze with fury, and he takes another step back before glancing at me one more time. Without another word, he gives us his back and walks to the opposite side of the room. Gio watches me with hard eyes as Luca whispers into his ear, then walks over to a stunning brunette before they both leave.

Rian pulls at my waist, guiding me to the other exit as Aodhan and Cormac stay at our back. I entangle my fingers through his as we walk to the elevator and ride it down to the parking garage.

“Death is weird,” I whisper.

“Hmm?” He stares at me, concern wrinkling his brow. I can feel Aodhan and Cormac’s eyes as well. Cillian is nowhere to be seen, and I assume he’s meeting us at the cars.

I let go of his hand to rub my cold shoulders. Rian shrugs out of his suit jacket and wraps it around me. Pulling it around me tightly, I inhale his comforting scent, then give him a sad smile.

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