Forgivable Sins (Bellandi Crime Syndicate 2)

Samara

Hanging out with Enzo hadn't proven to be too horrible. In fact, he reminded me of Lino. At least, when Lino wasn't bogged down in stress because of my life and the decisions I'd made. He was humorous, thoroughly entertaining, even though he looked like a beast.

I'd met him occasionally, but never seen him in anything other than a suit. So when he'd turned up in jeans and a simple black V-neck with motorcycle boots on his feet, I'd had to do a double take. The word Ride stretched up the underside of his right bicep, Die up the left. I had to imagine there was a creative way of squeezing the Or in under his clothes, and I nearly felt curious enough to ask. The only thing that stopped me was Lino's strange behavior before he'd left the house.

I didn't pretend that I ever knew what went on inside my best friend's head. He was a mystery, but for him to seem so jealous was unheard of.

So Enzo and I spent a few hours watching segments of action movies from Lino's collection, debating how difficult stunts might have been. I seemed to be firmly in the camp of "that shit isn't possible." Enzo was in the camp of, "looks like fun."

Insane. He was insane, but I suspected he did it to entertain me. To distract me from everything going on. I knew, in some vague sense, that he'd been the driver who drove from my house to Lino's the other night. I also knew he was kind enough not to comment on the bruises or the night in question. He didn't act like a babysitter, just went about waiting on me hand and foot in a way that made me feel less like a burden.

So when Lino came home, I was half asleep on the couch, with Enzo sitting in the recliner I knew Lino often favored. The relaxed cadence of Lino's voice was full of relief, and just enough to draw me back from the edge of sleepy land. "Hey, vita mia," he murmured, bending down to stroke his fingers through my hair.

"Hey," I murmured back sleepily.

"How'd it go?" Enzo asked. I turned my gaze his way to find him standing and stretching out his behemoth body.

"It's done," Lino said cryptically.

"What's done?" I asked. I didn't know what possessed me, because I knew better than to ask questions about Lino's business. Nothing good could come of it.

"Your marriage." He grinned at me, handing me a piece of paper that I sat up to accept. The bold words stared back at me, making me gasp in shock.

Divorce Decree.

I was divorced. Finally, totally and completely free of Connor after nearly a year of fighting, all because I couldn't bring myself to admit what he'd done to me. "I'm divorced?" I asked, turning my wide eyes up to him.

"Yes, you're finally divorced." His eyes turned to liquid fire as he stared down at me. I couldn't even guess at what passed through his head, and the moment ended as quickly as it started when Enzo cleared his throat.

"Right then, I should be off." He approached us, leaning down to touch my shoulder. I couldn't help my reaction, still half stuck in the disorientation that came with waking up and having my world rocked by my own divorce.

I flinched back so sharply I jostled the sofa. Shame instantly took over. Because I hated reacting that way to a man who had been nothing but kind to me. My breath came in a wheeze, and I opened my mouth to apologize.

"It's alright, darlin'. Don't you worry about it. Healing takes time. I'll see you when you finally show your face a

t the office." He turned a knowing grin Lino's way before striding out of the living room. I wanted to call after him and tell him I knew he wouldn't hurt me, but my voice seemed stuck in my throat.

"It really is okay, Samara," Lino soothed me, holding out his arms. I nodded, taking the invitation to stand and wrap my arms around his neck. He lifted until I was high enough on his body to switch his hold down to the bottom of my thighs, and the feeling of his fingers so close to the most intimate parts of me should have felt more intrusive. Should have felt scary given the way I'd reacted to Enzo's hands on my freaking shoulder. But instead, all I felt was comfort. Every inch of me that touched Lino never felt anything but safe, and I hoped that would never change.

"How did you get the divorce pushed through?"

"I have friends in high places. Called in a favor with Judge Ed Ryan," he answered, my body barely moving as he strode up the stairs. He kept me so still, so stable in his arms that there was no room for fear. I trusted him not to drop me, trusted that he would do everything in his power to catch me anytime I fell.

I took comfort in the fact that he was my rock, my constant in life that I could always depend on. Even if our relationship was never meant to be more that friendship, there was something truly beautiful in the way we loved each other so fiercely without the complication of sex. He felt like my partner far more than Connor ever had, and I supposed I should have listened to that voice instead of saying I do to a man I had no business marrying.

I'd aimed too high, disappointed him when I couldn't be the perfect society wife he needed. Drove him to drinking and gambling out his regrets for the choice he made in marrying me. But I'd learned my lesson, learned that sometimes a person was truly better off alone.

So I didn't have a man waiting in my bed every night. That was what vibrators were for, and if I wanted to find someone to have sex with, that possibility was always there. I got the companionship I needed from Lino.

Everything else was optional.

“There’s more good news today too,” he whispered as he carried me.

“Hmm?” I asked, sleepiness already setting in after the momentary jolt to my senses.

“Ivory had the baby a couple hours ago. She and Luna are doing just fine.” He nuzzled his nose against mine with a genuine, joyful grin on his face. I’d missed seeing it and hated myself for the fact that my situation had taken it from him—even temporarily.

“That’s good. Has Matteo given them a few moments of peace before he starts peeing on them both?”