Page 34 of Wild Heart
I let go of his lapels. “Talk.”
“I suppose she told you about the marriage I arranged for her?”
My brain’s in a spin. I don’t know what he’s talking about. Carlo must sense my confusion, because he continues.
“A married woman is less of a target then an innocent maid. She loses her value as a hostage once she is married, especially if she’s married to another powerful family. Once Isabella is married to Bruno Moretti, she will have the protection of two families. Anyone crossing me will also cross the Moretti family. Some of my enemies might be stupid enough to take me on, but to take on the Berones and the Morettis? No one is that stupid.”
The blood pulses in my ears. Isabella is promised to someone else. Why didn’t she tell me.
“She obviously doesn’t want to marry this Bruno guy.”
Carlo smiles. “No, she’s made that clear. She doesn’t like the boy. But it’s the best thing for her. You understand that sometimes fathers have to make difficult choices to protect their daughters.”
“But she’s marrying me now.”
Blood courses hot through my veins, and my hands form fists under the table at the thought of my Isabella being married off to someone else.
“Yes. Clever minx. If she’s already married, I can’t force her to marry Bruno.”
I stare at him, trying to keep my expression neutral while my heart splits in two.
“I suppose she had you believe she was in love with you? My daughter has a way of making people think that. You’ve known her, what? Two days, Raiden? Do you think love works that quickly?”
My mind races over the past two days. Every look we shared, every smile, every time she fell apart under my touch. Could she have been faking all of it?
I run a hand through my hair. Carlo looks sorry for me, and I want to wipe the smug look off his face, tell him it isn’t true. But is it? Everything I thought we had, the future I’ve been imagining comes crumbling down around me.
“I’m sorry, Raiden. Isabella is cunning and manipulative. She learned it from me. I’m dangerous, but those qualities in a beautiful woman are deadly.”
I squeeze my eyes shut, remembering her scent, the softness of her lips and the way her eyes shone when I told her I loved her. It’s got to be real; it’s got to.
I stand up so quickly the chair clatters to the floor behind me. I have to see Isabella; I have to look her in the eye and find the truth.
15
ISABELLA
Ipace the room, staying put like a good girl, like Raiden asked me to. But it’s taking too long, and I need to find to out what’s going on. I pull open the door just as Raiden stalks down the corridor.
“Is it true?”
I step backwards into the bedroom as he stomps into my space, his body tense and demanding, forcing me backwards with the force of his anger.
One look at his face, and I know that he knows about Bruno.
“Are you engaged to Bruno Moretti? Did you run away to get out of the marriage?”
There’s no point in denying it. I should have been honest from the start. “My father arranged the marriage. They decided that we were engaged, but I never consented.”
The anger rolls off him in waves, and it’s frightening. Raiden has always been calm; I’ve never seen him so tense. I didn’t think he’d be this cross when he found out.
“I ran away because if I stayed, I would have been forced to marry. I wanted to sully my reputation so the Moretti family didn’t want me.”
“That’s why you chose the Fuzzy Peach strip club.”
“Yes. If I worked there long enough, word would get out and I wouldn’t be a suitable match.”
It seems like a stupid plan now, but I was desperate. I couldn’t run away and leave my father. But I couldn’t marry a man I didn’t love either.
