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“Valentina,” he cuts me off, voice hard. It shocks me, and I stand up straighter. He glances down the hall and beckons me closer. “There are things that have been hidden from you. You must be careful of what you ask.”

Shuffling toward the stairs, I turn over his words. What things have been hidden? Did my mother have more secrets?

“Like, what?”

“Like things that you should know,” he signs, “but there are things that must be kept secret. For now. The fallout would be too much.”

Depositing me at my bedroom door, he kisses my temple briefly. It’s nothing more than a fatherly peck, and I inhale his comforting scent—a rich aftershave that seems to linger when he’s gone.

Before he leaves, I grab his arm. “Does this have anything to do with my arrangement with Freddie?”

He nods. “It has everything to do with that.”

“How do I stop it?”

Ello tilts his head. “Cherry told you. Take the one thing you have away from them both.”

“The only thing I have is myself.” I frown down at my body. “Just me.”

He taps my nose. “Exactly.”

An ominous feeling weighs down on my middle, and with one hand, I place against it, entering my room. It could be from too much practice—or because Ello said something my conscience understands.

Roman only has me, and I’m his only bargaining chip into Freddie’s family.

Wait, not me. My body.

My virtue.

My virginity.

Thoughts sprint through my mind like shooting stars, colliding in the cosmos. That’s what they meant. My virginity is the only thing tying this marriage agreement together. If I’m no longer a virgin, the contract falls apart.

Dropping onto my bed, I smile up at the ceiling, a sense of relief battling back the despair.

I know what to do to break this marriage.

Now, I only have to give my virginity away to someone. And fast.

10

BRIAR

Sandwiched between my two pseudo brothers-in-law on bar stools, I look out into the seedy, shadowy bar. A jukebox plays over crackling speakers, and old men occupy the two pool tables. The small wooden bar under my hands is on a cobbled-together platform, held up with super glue and a prayer. I’m afraid to sneeze, risking the whole thing collapsing.

Killian scans the room, nursing a glass of something amber, elbow propping him up. His nails clink the sides.

“Sure, this is the place?”

“My contacts are never wrong,” I defend. The glass hovers in front of his mouth, and Hayes snorts.

The hitter takes a swig of his beer. “Why this place?”

I shrug. “It’s off the beaten path and not owned by either of the parties involved. Seemed like a safe bet.”

Killian runs his tongue over his teeth. “I’m going to need a tetanus shot when we leave here.”

“Shut up.”