Page 60 of Bartered Innocence

“Isn’t Luca the one who brought a whole binder of virgins to Rian?”

My mouth slams shut and I press my lips together tighter, then give her a sharp nod. She’s right, he’s no different than any other Made Man.

Aoife smiles, reaching over to grasp my hand. “Anyway, enough about the boring men. Tell me more about yourself.”

Chapter23

Rian

The man’shead snaps back, rolling to the side as blood drains from his mouth and the holes in his cheeks. Aodhan steps back, shaking out his fist and slipping the devil brass knuckles off. Cillian takes them from him and tosses them on the cart to be cleaned.

I squat before the chair, leveling myself in front of the tired man as his swollen eyes try to look at me. “How you doing, Conor? Had better days I reckon?”

He groans, shoulders shifting as he tries to get out of the restraints.

“I wouldn’t bother. You’re not going anywhere if Cillian doesn’t want you to,” I say with a smile when Conor’s face pales further.

He tries to talk but spits the pooling blood onto his pants before coughing to clear his throat.

I sigh and glance back at the men behind me. “What do you think he’s trying to say, boys?”

“Why am I here?” Cillian snickers.

Aodhan scoffs. “Why are you doing this?”

Conor coughs again before whimpering. “Please.”

“Please what? Please stop? Please let me go?” I ask him, flipping the switchblade in my hand open.

He shrinks into himself, his gaze on the metal glinting under the light of my basement.

“Tell me, Conor. When did Luca get to you?”

He sucks in a shaky breath before muttering a hushedfuck.If I had to guess, he’s figured out he won’t be getting out of this room alive.

I stand and press the tip of my knife under his chin. His face is battered to the point he’s nearly unrecognizable. Purple and blue skin swells around his eyes, holes in his cheeks from the devil knuckles are caked with clotted blood. “How about we make a deal? Information to ensure your wife and daughter are still taken care of after you’re gone. I assume they aren’t aware of your betrayal of this family.”

Conor’s throat bobs as he swallows. “No, she would have left me if she’d known.”

The hoarse confession doesn’t tug at my heart. His wife is a distant cousin who uses the small connection to trade in favors for her benefit within the community. If anything, it adds to my disgust for the couple and their greed.

“Sad story. I'll ask one more time. When. Did. Luca. Get. To. You?" I demand, letting the blade nip at his skin. It parts the skin easily, slicing a thin line, and blood gathers at the surface.

Conor whimpers. “A few years ago. When you and the brotherhood stopped coming home as much.”

I clench my jaw, my teeth aching from the pressure. “And what does he want?”

“Information. Mostly on some of the businesses, if we have any shipments.”

Cillian growls under his breath. “Which shipments? Alcohol or guns?”

The trembling man in the chair licks at his dry lips. “Guns. He never asks about the alcohol.”

Aodhan’s fist flashes out of nowhere, snapping Conor’s face to the side. I lean back and he groans, more blood draining from his mouth. My brother steps closer, his hands twisting into Conor’s shirt and pulling him to face Aodhan.

“The delivery from Ottawa. Did you give Luca that information?” Aodhan grits out in Conor’s face.

I stiffen, my heart beating faster at the thought. We lost a lot of good men in that delivery. An ambush had been waiting for Aodhan and his crew right before they crossed the border. It also injured Aodhan’s shoulder; he still struggles to hold a gun up properly. It’s why we keep him in New Jersey full-time, an enforcer for whatever my father needs.

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