Page 12 of Ruthless Sinner

Little threats. Cute threats. Threats I’ve been making since I was old enough to walk. “If you threaten me like that again, I will have Enzo hold you down while I cut off your toes one by one. I’m in the market for new jewelry, and a necklace made of your little piggies would do me just fine.”

Tommaso is no stranger to the threats people make in this lifestyle. He does not cower before me; he sits there with his spine as straight as can be and sizes me up. “If you think for even two fucking seconds that you can maim or kill a made man, you better think twice. The Castigliones will be so far up your ass when they find out what you’ve done.”

“You mean my future wife’s family?” I cock my head.

The color drains from Tommaso’s face. I can see that the news hasn’t reached his ears that I’m engaged to the most powerful Midwest boss’ sister.

“You see, I agree. In any other configuration of this scenario, you win. Whatever I do to you or Adalina would happen to me twice as bad. Because the Castigliones exact their revenge with the kind of precision that would overwhelm a lesser man.” I know I’ll still have to deal with them regardless, but that’s a conversation for another day. “However, I’m arranged to marry Lucrezia Castiglione. My saving grace is a sweet, volatile sixteen-year-old girl who means the world to Saverio. If she tells her brother she wants me to be spared, he will look the other way.”

Tommaso must run through a dozen scenarios in his head as he taps his fingers against the dining room table. The cook enters and places wedge salads in front of us before quietly leaving without saying a word. “What do you want, Terlizzi?”

I nod at Enzo, indicating that he should get Adalina. “Only what any man in my position would want.” I grab my knife and fork and cut through the center of my wedge. The head of lettuce splits in two, spilling bacon all over the plate. “Everything, Martinelli. Everything you own. Everything you owe. And everything you hold dear.”

Chapter 12

Adalina

“U

nhand me, you brute.” Dante’s hulking bodyguard tightens his grip on my arm, his muscles flexing like coiled ropes. Enzo drags me forward with ease, his expression stoic and merciless. The memories of my father’s guards doing the same flood my mind, triggering a surge of fear and panic. I try to fight against him, my bare feet digging into the plush carpet as I desperately try to slow us down.

Enzo pauses in the walk, patient with me. “Miss Adalina, I am taking you downstairs for lunch with Dante and your father. You will be fine.”

I debate trusting him. I don’t know this man from Adam. I couldn’t pick him out of a lineup if I tried. “Why is my father here?” I attempt to pull my arm away from him, but Enzo doesn’t budge.

“They’re talking semantics. Your father owes money to the Terlizzi family, and in exchange for getting what he’s owed plus interest, he’s taken you.”

I burst into laughter because neither Dante nor Enzo can see how this will backfire. My father will not pay to get me back. I am worth less than nothing in his eyes. He might enjoy beating me and watching his guards hurt me, but not enough to pay for it. “You should tell your boss this was a stupid plan. He’s bitten off more than he can chew. Now he has a useless captive, and there’s still the debt. Speaking of,” I frown, “how much did my father borrow?”

Enzo heavily sighs and continues pulling on my arm, yanking me down the stairs. “The specifics are none of your business. If Dante wants to confide in you, he will. Now, be quiet. Your role here is the bait that Dante dangles in front of Tommaso Martinelli. The silent bait.”

I have never been a quiet girl. I always spoke up in class and made my presence known in the circles I ran in. Even at home, it is my loud mouth that gets me beaten more than my actions. I’ve never chosen to be silent before, and I won’t choose to be silent today.

As Enzo ushers me into the grand dining room, my eyes immediately land on my father and Dante sitting at the table, picking at their salads. The air in the room is thick with tension. A heavy fog of unease lingers over us like a weight, filling every inch of the elegant space with a sense of foreboding.

“See, as I said, your daughter is safe and sound,” Dante announces with a gesture to me.

Tommaso turns in his seat to eye me up and down. The anger smoldering behind his dark eyes is palpable. I can tell what he’s thinking: when he gets me home, he’s going to make me wish I was never born.

“As safe and sound as any prisoner could be,” I quip with a smile.

Enzo’s fingers grip me tightly, a silent warning to shut my mouth. I catch a glimpse of Dante’s tense expression as he exchanges a knowing look with his bodyguard. The man releases his hold on me only moments later, allowing the blood to rush back into my arm. It tingles and stings as the feeling returns.

Dante smiles indulgently at me before nodding at a seat between him and Tommaso. I’m expected to take it, so I do. “She is being safely guarded.”

My father’s gaze lingers on me, his eyes flickering with suspicion and disapproval. I can practically see the wheels turning in his head, conjuring up a web of deceit and disobedience to justify punishing me. He scrutinizes every detail—my unkempt hair, the unfamiliar dress clinging to my body, the fact that I got out of his house in the first place—each one a weapon in his arsenal against me. This is not a moment of judgment but a looming storm waiting to break.

“Tommaso,” Dante barks, drawing my father’s attention. “Don’t look at her. She isn’t yours to look at.”

“She’s more mine than she will ever be anyone else’s.” Tommaso narrows his eyes.

But Dante is not cowed by the menacing glare or the low rumble of threat in my father’s voice. He laughs, the sound almost jarring in the eerie silence that has fallen on the room. “You say that, but I call the shots here. I could force you to watch me defile your daughter right in front of you. Right now.” The smile slides off his face. “Enzo could hold you down while I bend Adalina over the edge of this table and fuck her until she cums all over my dick. Is that what you want? To see your daughter’s eyes roll back in her head while I stroke her G-spot with my cock?”

I squirm in my chair, my skin prickling with arousal. Dante’s words ignite a fire within me, and I can feel myself growing unexpectedly wet.

“Careful,” Tommaso replies in a lowered voice. “That’s my daughter you’re speaking about. I have her virtue to concern myself with. Not to mention you’re engaged. What would your betrothed think?”

My head swivels so fast that I hear my neck pop. I fucking knew it. I knew he wasn’t single. “Engaged?” I glare at Dante.