Page 71 of Bartered Innocence

“Good, huh? Oh you got a little—” He reaches between us as if to wipe something away but a hand catches his wrist, a very familiar tattooed hand. Then I feel the warmth of him at my back and my heart takes off, in equal relief and fear.

António’s eyes widen and his face pales. Rian gently pushes me out of the way, and I stumble a step as Aodhan catches me.

“You weren’t about to touch what’s mine. Were you?”

Rian doesn’t wait for a response before ripping the spoon out of António’s hold, slamming António’s hand onto the counter, and driving the spoon through it. I let out a shriek the same time António cries out, trying to pull away from Rian’s grip. Blood pours from the wound and onto the steel surface as António’s loud sobs turn into whimpers and he sinks to his knees. I grimace as the distinct smell of piss permeates the air.

Aodhan hums behind me. “I bet that’s a health code violation.”

The joke sends me into motion and I rip out of his hold, marching up to Rian.

“A SPOON! What the hell is your problem? You psycho!”

His eyes slide to mine, dark and wild with fury. “My problem?”

Rian straightens up, letting go of the utensil keeping António in place but slamming his face into the counter. I wince at the cracking of António’s nose, but tilt my chin to face my husband fully when he turns to me. “My problem is that my fucking wife ran away without telling anyone where she was going. She ran away without the protection I provide to ensure she comes back to me safely.”

I scoff, even if I know he’s right and it’s the entire reason I doubted myself on the ride here. I hold back the urge to argue, especially after watching him injure António with a fucking spoon. “I came to my father’s restaurant. This was my home for over twenty years.”

He stares at me silently, something flashing in his eyes, and my heart sinks. Swallowing down my nerves, I step closer. “I’m sorry for coming without talking to you first, and I’m sorry to break our compromise. But you were being unreasonable; I’m not in danger.”

The silence that follows after has me frowning, and I get a dreadful feeling there’s something more he’s not telling me.

I glance at Aodhan, who shakes his head.

“I’m not in danger, right?” I ask.

Rian’s jaw moves back and forth. “Let’s go home.”

António chokes out a laugh. “It’s too late.”

The hair on the back of my neck stands and fear courses through me. I stare up at my husband, feeling as naive as he always tells me I am. My lips tremble, afraid of whatever trap I led him into. As soon as António has spoken, I realize how much I don’t want to see Rian hurt, or worse.

Shouts ring out in the dining area and Aodhan moves to face the door, gun pointing at it.

“He’s going to kill you all,” António brags behind me.

My nose tingles as I turn to face him. Rian wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me into his chest and a few steps away from António.

“Did my father know? Ricky?” I ask.

Rian’s fingers dig into my side, but I don’t care. I have to know, I have to know if my family willingly associated with someone who wished for my and my husband’s death.

António’s eyes flash and I can see the urge to hurt me further, but as if he remembers our past friendship, the anger drains away and he shakes his head. “No.”

“But you asked her here without caring if she died in the ambush?” Rian’s deep voice rumbles with barely contained vehemence.

António swallows, clutching his bleeding, impaled hand to his chest. “Isabelle, I’m s?—”

“Don’t speak to her! Don’t fucking look at her!” Rian’s gun is raised, his arm extended past my head and I press tighter against his chest.

“Cillian and Cormac coming from the back,” Aodhan shouts.

The door opens and my heart bursts when I see my brother’s face because I expected Aodhan to shoot immediately. Ricky slips in, shielding the door from opening again. His eyes widen when he sees me.

“I was really hoping you weren’t here,” he says in a rushed whisper, trying to catch his breath.

“Shoot them! They attacked a member of the Famiglia,” António shouts.

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