Forgivable Sins Bellandi Crime Syndicate #2 Adelaide Forrest Copyright © 2020 Adelaide Forrest All rights reserved The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher. Cover design by: Adelaide Forrest Proofreading by: Horus Proofreading Printed in the United States of America About the Author Adelaide lives in her tiny house with her husband and two rambunctious kids. When she's not chasing all three of them and her shepherd/husky mix around the house, she spends all her free time writing and adding to the hoard of plots stored on her bookshelf and hard-drive. She always wanted to write, and did from the time she was ten and wrote her first full-length fantasy novel. The subject matter has changed over the years, but that passion for writing never went away. She has a degree in Psychology, and prior to having her kids she worked as a therapist using horses in her treatment strategy and working with adults and kids with disabilities. Adelaide started her journey as a published author in September 2019 with her other pen name, Kenna Bardot, where she writes reverse harem. Having achieved her passion of becoming an author, she's expanding with the launch of Adelaide Forrest. Dedication To all the readers who made the launch of Adelaide Forrest a dream come true, and the Beta Readers who helped make it possible. With special thanks to Ashley and Kelly who went above and beyond to keep me sane during the editing process. About Forgivable Sins Samara They say love heals all wounds. If only I knew what love was. What my failed marriage taught me is that I don’t have the first clue. I made the wrong choice, and I’ll have to live with the consequences of it in silence. Because if Lino learned the truth, I’d lose him to the darkness that lurks just beneath the surface. I’ll do anything to keep that from happening, to keep the Lino I love in my life. But he’s the only one who makes me feel, the only one who can break through the walls I’ve built to see the secrets I keep. But I can’t let him in. Lino She’s my everything. I’ve loved her since the day I first heard her sing, since the day I told her I would marry her at ten years old. But my father’s cruelty knows no bounds, and I made the biggest sacrifice of my life to protect her. When her ex-husband’s gambling debt puts her at risk, I’ll do anything to keep her safe. Even if it makes her hate me. And I won’t stop until she’s my wife. Disclaimer Forgivable Sins is book two in the Bellandi Crime Syndicate and is a full-length standalone novel with crime syndicate members and dark and graphic content that may be offensive or triggering to some readers. Samara is a survivor healing from abuse at the hands of her ex-husband. The Bellandi Crime Syndicate Series includes several full-length standalones with HEA that can be read in any order, but would present a better reading experience following the suggested reading order. For questions regarding triggers, please don't hesitate to reach out to Adelaide Forrest on Facebook. Soundtrack "Damage" - Outr3ach "You're No Good" - Hidden Citizens "What It Takes" - Adelitas Way "Feel Something" - Adam Lambert "Ego" - Smash Into Pieces "Too Late" - Folded Dragons "Drown" - Martin Garrix "Conquer" - MAGNUS "Worst of You" - Maisie Peters "Power Over Me" - Dermot Kennedy "Beyond Today" - James Gillespie "BOOM" - X Ambassadors "Grace" - Lewis Capaldi "Coldest Water" - Walking on Cars "Stay" - The Score "Dreamin" - The Score "ICFTI" James Gillespie "Champion" - Elina "Power" - Isak Danielson "Make Believe" - The Faim "Hold Me Up" - Sam Tinnesz "Leading the Pack" - Sam Tinnesz "Fighter" - Jung Youth, Sam Tinnesz "Be Legendary" - Pop Evil "Silence" - No Name Faces "Warriors" - League of Legends "Conversations in the Dark" - John Legend "Protector" - City Wolf "Everything or Nothing" - Willyecho "The Fear" - The Score Prologue Lino Nineteen years ago S amara sat at my mother's piano, pressing the keys quickly and lightly as she sang a soft melody. I recognized it as one of the popular pop songs the girls at school listened to, but the sweetness of her voice made it seem like the song belonged to her and no one else. Gentle. Clear. Haunting. Even then, I felt everything inside me tighten as something snapped taut and vibrated through me. I stared at her as she faltered when she caught me watching her from my place next to her on the bench at the piano that nobody ever used. Not since my mother's accident years ago. The shy smile on her face made me beam at her, but instead of teasing her like I might have ten minutes ago, I reached forward and tucked her frizzy copper hair behind her ear so she couldn't hide the blue-grey eyes she covered with thick-rimmed black glasses. "Your voice is pretty," I whispered, trying to straighten my shoulders to look taller. I wasn't short for my age, but my cousin Matteo was taller than me already and girls flocked to him. He said chicks liked tall boys. Even eleven-year-old chicks, apparently. “Thank you,” she replied, her cheeks turning pink with the blush that so often covered her face. She smoothed her hands over her green skirt, moving to stand and put some distance between us, but I stopped that by grabbing her right hand in mine and running my thumb over the odd heart shaped birthmark on her palm. "One day when we're married, you'll sing to me every day," I said, watching as the smile faded from her face and her pursed mouth parted in shock. "When we're married?" she whispered, the blush fading in favor of her golden skin paling. I nodded. "I’m going to marry you." She huffed in laughter, but I knew Samara well enough to know I'd made her uncomfortable with my declaration. She was my best friend and had been for years already. I also knew she had years to face the inevitable reality that I meant every word. My father cleared his throat, and I turned to see him standing in the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest. I deflated immediately but smiled to reassure Samara. I knew she worried about our friendship, knew she worried that my father's disapproval of her being a part of my life would have consequences for me. But there was nothing I wouldn’t do to have Samara in my life. Even face my father's wrath. "It's okay," I whispered. "I'm sure your mom will be done soon. I'll see you at school tomorrow." She nodded, casting a wide-eyed glance to my father before she darted off to the attic where she, her mother, and her brother, Yavin, lived. She had to pass my father to fit through the narrow doorway, and for a moment panic coursed through me that he might touch her. Hurt her to punish me. But she escaped unscathed. I knew I wouldn’t be so lucky. "I thought I told you to stop hanging out with the cleaner's kids," he snapped, and I knew Samara wasn't far enough to have avoided hearing him. It was intentional. Everything with my father was a deliberate action, all part of the greater games he played to gain control over everyone in his life. I'd have to talk Samara down from the edge again, because every time he pulled this stunt she didn't want to come between a father and his son. I didn't have the heart to tell her that my father's fists were already between us and there was no room for anyone else in that gap. Not when she still mourned the loss of the father she couldn't even remember, and not when she was the one who fussed over my cuts and bruises. "And I told you, Yavin and Samara are my friends." I stood from the bench, closing the keylid gently and reverently. All my strongest memories of my mother were at that piano, and I knew one day, I'd have the same kinds of memories with Samara. "You told her you would marry her. Let me be very, very clear, Angelino. That will never happen. Not so long as I'm alive. No son of mine will marry a Jewish brat." I kept quiet, because I knew there was no point in arguing with him. But one day, I'd do whatever it took to find a life that was happy. A life where my father didn't dictate my actions. I wasn’t surprised when his long legs carried him across the room to close the distance between us. The slap of his hand against my left cheek was no shock either, and I barely flinched. He'd done much worse. "Am I understood, boy?" I grimaced, sucking my teeth as I murmured, "Yes, father." It hadn't been the first time I lied. And it would be far from the last.