Page 27

The darkness in his gaze comes out to play. “Is that a fight you want to pick?”
I cross my arms. “It’s not happening.”
“You belong in my bed, Cassia.”
Batting my eyelashes, I step closer and lower my voice to little more than a breath. “Yeah?”
He bites his lip and nods.
“Well, in that case—” I slam my knee up between hislegs, and he grunts, clutching his nuts, but much to my dismay, he stays standing. “Fuck you, Mace.” I expect anger, maybe to be pinned against the wall again, but all the bastard does is laugh.
“There’s my wife.”
Chest heavy, frustration explodes inside of me. “I’m not your fucking wife!”
“Yet,” he says, straightening despite the pain he has to be feeling. “That’ll change soon enough.”
Helplessness skitters over my skin. The doorbell rings, cutting through the space between us. My heartbeat quickens. “Who is that?” I demand. Vito coming to ensure that Mace marries me?
“Rose.”
My breath catches, and I tear off down the hallway, relief flooding through me. Maybe she can help me find a way out of this.
I’m aware of Mace following me to the door, but with aching balls, his pace is slower. The bell rings in rapid succession before I can reach the door, and Rose pounds on the thick wood.
“Maccon! Open this fucking door,” she snarls.
It’s nice to know I’m not alone in my anger. I wrench the front door open, and Rose’s gaze drinks me in, checking to make sure I’m okay. Seeing her is a punch to the gut. The only real family I have is here. She throws herself at me, hugging me tight, and the gape in my chest fills with warmth.
“I came as soon as I heard,” she says, pulling back and eyeing me. “Remy told me you asked for space yesterday,but he failed to mention you were getting married until I pried it out of him this morning.”
I shake my head. “I didn’t ask for space.”
Anger simmers in her eyes, and her attention jumps to Mace as he shuffles to a stop behind me. She releases me and storms to him.
Dare, who I didn’t realize was with her, watches with rapt attention as his wife walks straight to his best friend and slaps him. The sound cracks through the air, and Mace’s head whips to the side. My hand flies to my mouth. He shakes his head, jaw clenching as Rose rips him a new asshole. Mace lifts his chin, meeting every vicious threat she launches head-on.
I glance at Dare.
“Cassia,” he says with a smirk. “Thanks for inviting us to the party.”
Of course he would consider the situation normal. After all, he forced Rose into marriage, too, but that was different. She tried to extort him into marriage first. Their situation was...complicated, to say the least.
“It feels more like a funeral,” I confess.
He studies me. “Are you okay?”
I tip my head in consideration. “Mentally or physically? You’ll have to be more specific.”
He rubs his jaw. “You have my number?”
Dare would do anything for Rose, and since I’m Rose’s best friend, it gives me his protection too. As annoyed as I am, the last thing I want is to ask him to deal with Mace. Not to mention, I can’t really picture Dare killing him, and even if he did, that still leaves me on the mafia’s radar, with its archaic patriarchal ways. Without a husband, I’m dispensable.
Sighing, I nod. “Yeah, I have it.”
“Good.” He glances at Rose berating Mace. “Excuse me.” Like a moth drawn to a flame, Dare makes his way to Rose, wrapping his arms around her from behind and tugging her into his chest. “Rose,” he coaxes. “Maybe we can talk about this without assaulting Mace?”
Rose gives Dare a warning look. “He deserved it.”