Ryder’s Claim: A Dark Mafia Romance Read online

  Ryder’s Claim

  A Dark Mafia Romance

  Isabella Starling

  Raven Scott

  Ryder’s Claim

  She’s hiding a dirty secret… and I’m going to use it to destroy her.

  RYDER

  Nobody is as off-limits as her - Nicoletta Carlucci, my brother's wife to be.

  But Nicoletta doesn't want my brother. She wants me.

  Except she doesn’t know something - I’ve found out about her dirty little secret.

  Nicoletta isn’t who she says she is.

  She’s a filthy liar, and I’m going to expose her.

  And nothing, not even her innocent wide eyes or the way she begs, will make me change my mind.

  NICOLETTA

  I’m not who I say I am.

  I’m not the perfect, sweet mafia princess my father wants everyone to see.

  The truth is twisted, dark and cruel, just like him - Ryder Bernardi.

  The only man that has the power to ruin me…

  And the only man I want to own me.

  Ryder's Claim is the second book of the Mafia Heirs series. This is a dark mafia romance.

  Copyright © 2021 by Raven Scott & Isabella Starling

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Glossary

  Prologue

  1. Nicoletta

  2. Ryder

  3. Nicoletta

  4. Ryder

  5. Nicoletta

  6. Ryder

  7. Nicoletta

  8. Ryder

  9. Nicoletta

  10. Ryder

  11. Nicoletta

  12. Ryder

  13. Nicoletta

  14. Ryder

  15. Nicoletta

  16. Ryder

  17. Nicoletta

  18. Ryder

  19. Nicoletta

  20. Ryder

  21. Nicoletta

  22. Ryder

  23. Aurora

  24. Ryder

  25. Aurora

  26. Ryder

  27. Aurora

  28. Ryder

  29. Aurora

  30. Ryder

  31. Aurora

  32. Ryder

  33. Aurora

  34. Ryder

  35. Aurora

  36. Ryder

  37. Aurora

  Epilogue

  Connect With Me

  Thank You!

  Julian’s Torment

  Glossary

  cazzo - prick

  reietto - outcast

  dio - God

  merda - shit

  bambina - babygirl

  Prologue

  Ryder

  4 years ago

  I know I'm being followed.

  I can hear the footsteps behind me, soft as they are. I don't react to them. I pretend I haven't noticed the person sneaking out after me. I'll confront them soon enough if they keep this shit up.

  Striding through the estate, I smile tightly at all the people I'm supposed to be mingling with. I mutter hellos and shake hands until I'm finally outside in the open. The fresh, cool night air hits me like a slap to the face. I could barely breathe in there. These mafia gatherings are just a fucking show. People here are merely competing to see who has more power.

  I can still feel the person behind me, quietly following in my footsteps. I keep walking, across the garden to the maze. It's been here for as long as I can remember, but I'm the only one of my siblings that gives a shit. I like the maze. I figured out a way out of it when I was a kid, and even now I find comfort in letting myself get lost amongst the hedges.

  Weaving my path through the grass, I keep walking faster and faster until the footsteps go silent. I smirk to myself, knowing my stalker is now lost in the maze. I retrace my steps, one by one, until I find the offending bastard who seems dead-set on knowing what I'm doing.

  "Ow!" I bump into the figure a little too hard and send them flying to the floor. It's a girl, with pretty, golden blonde hair that reaches her butt. She looks up at me, eyes wide and hurt. I smirk at her, not offering her my hand to help her up. "What the hell was that for?” she whines.

  "You were following me," I hiss. "Who the fuck are you?"

  She picks herself up with a huff. She has green eyes. She's pretty for a kid, like a doll. "I'm Nicoletta Carlucci. How can you not recognize me?"

  Even though her name strikes a chord, I don't show it. Instead, I take a step forward and growl, "I don't make it my business to know the name of every lost, dumb little girl at my father's party."

  Instantly, tears well in her gaze and I roll my eyes. I don't have time for her drama.

  "Why the fuck are you following me?"

  "I don't know," she shrugs. "I'm not supposed to be here. But everyone was talking about business, so I slipped away."

  "You shouldn't be out here," I mutter. "Don't you know it's inappropriate to be alone with me? Your papa would have a fucking heart attack."

  "You're Ryder Bernardi, aren't you?" she says. "Our fathers are working on an alliance together, did you know that? Maybe one day we'll get married."

  I can’t help but laugh. "Doubtful. You're just a kid. And I'm not interested."

  The words seem to hurt her, and she blanches, staring at the grass beneath our feet. "It's not up to us, I guess."

  The girl is sweet. But she's too young and my feelings for her seem more brotherly than anything else. "I don't want to ruin your little prince charming fantasy, but you need to get back to the house and stop following strangers around the estate. Got it?"

  She shrugs, so I take a step forward and tip her head back, forcing her to look into my eyes. She averts her gaze. She can't even handle looking at me.

  "How old are you?" I bark at her.

  "I'm thirteen," she whispers.

  "Too young."

  "Too young for what?"

  "All of this bullshit," I grind out. "Go back to your papa. Tell him to protect you. You're going to get hurt without someone to watch over you."

  "Can you show me the way out of the maze?" she whispers, and I nod, grabbing her by the arm.

  The last thing I fucking need is to get in trouble for being around a prized possession like the Carlucci heiress.

  Of-fucking-course I've heard of Nicoletta. Her father, Gustavo, must be somewhere nearby. I've never met the man but word travels fast on the island and I know he's just as influential as Father in our crooked world of darkness.

  Leading the girl out of the maze, she comes to a stop in the gardens and keeps her gaze trained on me. "Please, you have to help me."

  "Help you?" I laugh. "What could a mafia princess like you possibly need help with?"

  "My papa." Nicoletta swallows thickly. "He... he doesn't let me go anywhere. He locks me up. I've never been to a party like this. I think I’m only here so they can convince some man to marry me."

  "How is that my problem?"

  "Don't you feel bad?"

  "Why would I?" I shrug. "I don't know you. Your problems are your own."

  She grabs me by the hand. As her eyes meet mine, I can see they're panicked, swimming with worry. "There's something else."

  "What?"

  "I think... I think someone's trying to hurt me, and Papa."

  "Who?"

  "I..." She glances around fearfully, as if she's expecting someone to jump out of the bushes and bus
t us together. "I want to tell you more, but it's not safe here."

  "I don't have time for this." I shake her hand off me. "You're just a kid and you seem very confused. Also, I–"

  "Nicoletta!" We both raise our eyes to find an older man with salt-and-pepper hair standing by the stairs leading up to the mansion. "Get back here."

  His expression is thunderous. Gustavo Carlucci seems pissed.

  "I have to go," she whispers. "I'm sorry."

  Confused by the entire encounter, I watch her walk up sheepishly to her papa. He scolds her before escorting her back inside the mansion. She doesn't look back once. After a few steps, they're joined by someone else.

  It's another girl, probably the same age as Nicoletta. She has blonde hair too, although hers is paler, more cool-toned than Nicoletta's honeyed locks. She doesn't see me, but I instantly take notice of her. There's something about her, something that makes me unable to tear my gaze off her. I've had reactions to women before, but not like this, not for a kid. The fierce need to protect her takes me by surprise.

  I have one rule in life: I always come first. I don't give a shit about anyone else. I'm the only person I can count on to take care of myself. But suddenly, I want to follow the other little blonde girl. Keep her safe. Make sure no one looks at her or touches her inappropriately.

  Confused by my own emotions, I find myself following the trio inside the house. The girls hold hands – it seems like they're friends.

  It's easy enough to slip inside unnoticed. I watch Gustavo lead the girls away. Once they're almost gone, Nicoletta turns around and catches me looking. But it's not her I'm staring at. It's her little friend who still hasn't even noticed me.

  Nicoletta's lips form a thin line. She seems upset, disappointed, probably because she's not the center of attention like she's used to. But I only have eyes for her friend. A fierce need to make sure she's okay awakens inside me and I fight the urge to follow them again.

  "Ryder, there you are." My brother Adrian pulls me over for a conversation with one of Father's business partners. Soon enough, he notices I'm distracted and barely following, and he excuses us from the small group of people that have gathered around us. He pulls me to the balcony while I crane my neck to see what happened to the blonde. "What's going on with you? You're not here, mentally, at all."

  "Who's the blonde kid with Nicoletta Carlucci?" I ask, ignoring his questions.

  "I have no idea," he shrugs, giving me a strange look. "Why are you asking after her?"

  I don't answer, I just keep my eyes trained on the crowd, trying to catch another glimpse.

  "She's a kid, Ryder," Adrian reminds me.

  "You don't need to tell me. I just want to know who she is," I hiss. "I want her name. Now."

  "Father won't like this."

  "So what?" I grunt. "I just want to know her name."

  "She's probably a maid or something," Adrian mutters. "Nobody for you to concern yourself with."

  "I just –"

  "Ryder," Adrian cuts me off with a dark glare. "Don't get yourself into more trouble. Do I need to remind you what happened last time?"

  I swallow my reply. My brothers never bring this up. I glare at Adrian, fire burning in my eyes. "That was a mistake. And it's over."

  "Yeah, it's over," Adrian hisses. "It’s over because we had to kill her. Because of what you told her. And I fucking hope for your sake, Ryder, that you learned your lesson."

  I shut my eyes. I remember her. Livia, with her jet-black hair and brown eyes and tanned skin, with the full lips and the tight little waist. She's gone. Gone because of me.

  "I did learn my lesson," I mutter, fighting my own emotions to get the words out. "I won't make the same mistake again."

  "She was a liar and a cheat," Adrian says ruthlessly. "She deserved to die."

  He pats my shoulder before someone calls him over. He throws me one last look before disappearing to talk to a business partner, Livia's name still hanging in the air between us and reminding me of the bitter fucking truth.

  She didn't deserve to die, but she did anyway. And it's my fucking fault.

  Livia filled me with lust, desire and possessiveness. All those emotions are so fucking different to what I felt with the blonde girl. But she's a kid. Of course they were fucking different. Besides, I can't let myself love again. Not when I know what happens to the people I love. Not when Livia's blood is still on my hands.

  I stare down at my palms. They're tanned, no blood in sight. But I can still see it. Feel it. The thick, dark blood seeping into my skin, marking me with my crimes for-fucking-ever.

  It doesn't matter who the blonde girl is. I shouldn't ask. Shouldn't show my interest. It will only end in fucking disaster, and my need to protect the girl is fiercer than the desire to find out who she is.

  After all, I know my love only means one thing... death. Or pain.

  Father will pick a bride for me, to strengthen the alliance with one of the other mafia famiglias. I don't get a say, and I don't want to get a say. I will not be the goddamn reason another innocent life is taken.

  Not when Livia's memory is still so fucking fresh I can hear her desperate screams every time I close my eyes.

  Not when I can still feel her silky soft skin against mine, her pillowy lips pressing kisses against my mouth.

  Not when she's gone, dead, killed because of me.

  I'm not letting that happen to anyone else. I refuse to be the reason someone I love dies.

  The little blonde is better off never knowing I exist. I probably won't see her again, anyway. She already belongs to the past, just like Nicoletta Carlucci and her fears of getting hurt.

  There's no way I can help those innocent creatures. My interest in the two blondes will only end in sorrow.

  Downing a glass of champagne, I head back and rejoin Adrian with the business partners. He claps me on the back, delighted I've gotten over my little obsessive episode and I'm back to being reliable, cold, cruel Ryder Bernardi. I join in the conversation, full of cool smirks and bragging about how many people we've killed.

  And all the while, my eyes scan the crowd, hoping, fucking praying, for another glimpse of the pale blonde who prompted such a reaction from my broken heart.

  1

  Nicoletta

  My father is a cruel man.

  I've always known it – it's not as if he kept it a secret from me. But I know as long as I keep playing my role perfectly, Papa will go along with everything I do, give me everything I want. All I have to do is be a good little girl and raise absolutely no suspicion about the Carlucci famiglia. And I've played my part so very well. I am the quintessential mafia princess, the girl Papa always wanted me to be. But deep down, something else bubbles beneath the surface. Something dangerous and sinister. Something I can't reveal to anyone.

  The Carlucci Villa has been my home for the past four years. We moved here from the mainland when I was fourteen. Papa bought the property and built this house to show everyone who passed by how rich we are. Papa is obsessed with money and making sure everyone around us knows how loaded we are. Papa likes to intimidate people. He wants them to be afraid of him. He says that's the only way to keep us both safe.

  But now I'm older, no longer the little girl I was when we first moved here. Papa has told me that I'll soon marry to strengthen our bond with the Bernardi family. I don't get a choice in the matter, but I never expected to. I'll say I do to the man my father picks for me and be a good girl for him just like Papa wants. I can only hope the man he picked for me, Adrian Bernardi, is kind and not as cruel as some of the men who run this island.

  Despite my father's best efforts to shelter and protect me, I've seen the ugly side of the mafia too many times to count. Some of it even from Papa. I'm not as innocent as he likes to think. Not just because of what I've experienced, but because of the hidden need deep inside me, growing with each day that passes, bringing me closer to my eighteenth birthday.

  Papa wants me to stay a litt
le girl forever, but in my mind, I grew up the moment he made me move here, to Palermo. This need, this thirst for physical touch, is something I've never told my father about.

  I discovered I could make myself feel good years ago, but Papa caught me. And when he saw what I was doing, he threatened to lock me up in chastity if I didn't stop. So, I did as I was told. I kept my hands off the parts of my body between my legs that ached to be touched the most. I'm innocent in everyone's eyes except Papa's and my own. My virginity is intact, just like Papa wanted. But I'm more eager than ever to get rid of it.

  That's why I'm excited to meet my husband-to-be. I've heard rumors about Adrian Bernardi. The quiet, brooding son of Bruno Bernardi may be adopted, but he is just as powerful as he would be if he were Bruno's blood. They say he's unforgiving and vengeful. I can only hope he'll be a good husband to me despite all the rumors circulating around him.

  I will meet Adrian tonight.

  He's coming to the villa to be introduced to me, and I'm anxious. As I sit in front of my mirror, combing through my pale blonde hair for the hundredth time, I try to picture what Adrian will be like. My heart beats faster than ever as I imagine all the scenarios in which I could find myself in a few months. Will he be kind? Cruel? Will he hurt me?

  My skin erupts in goosebumps and I shake my head to get the thought out. I can't allow myself to get turned on thinking about him. I don't want to be too obvious. I don't want him to know how eager I am to get away from the villa, to run away from my controlling father. There's a part of me, quietly warning me that Adrian could do the same thing to me. Keep me under lock and key, force me to be a recluse, lock me up.