Page 25 of Hostile Cravings (Wicked Cravings #3)

The flight back was quiet. I stayed in the back of the plane, ignoring the family, their stares, the questions in their eyes.

A car was waiting for me when I returned and I knew Tyson had let my father know the sham was over, that I’d walked away.

And I knew what it meant—that I’d have to deal with Joey and his self-imposed claim over me.

The thought was terrifying, especially after learning how he treated his women.

My father would have no choice, though. To keep his hold on the territory, I would be the chess piece he sacrificed.

Without Tyson’s claim, Mason had no say in this part of the relationship between my father and Tirenti.

“Well, well. If it isn’t my future wife,” Joey said as I exited the car.

“What are you doing here, Joey? And why are your creepily stalking outside my home?”

He gave me a smirk, my body’s response nothing like it was to the smirks Tyson gave me.

“My father and I had a meeting here today but with the news that you left Raines, the meeting disbanded and I stayed to claim my prize. ”

I walked past him. “I’m not your prize.”

Grabbing my wrist, he stopped me. “Yes, you are. Raines gave you up, although it seems you let him touch that body before he did. That picture he sent is still in my phone, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve jerked off to your sexy ass.”

“That’s gross.” I tried to pull away, but he held me steady. My ankle was hurting again, so I shifted my weight, tumbling toward him a little.

“Get your hands off my sister,” Tony commanded, storming out of the house.

“I can touch her all I want now. She’s mine and she’s coming home with me.”

Tony’s jaw clenched, his fists bunching, and I knew he was trying not to punch Joey. He jerked me from Joey’s hold, my ankle giving out when he unbalanced me. “Did Raines hurt you?” he asked, steadying me.

“No, I twisted my ankle,” I snapped, not wanting to talk about it. “What does he mean I’m going with him?”

“Let me talk to my sister,” Tony said. “She needs to see my father, too. You can wait out here.”

He ushered me into the house, not saying anything further.

“Tony, what is going on?” I asked, exhausted from the emotional day I’d had.

“What did you do to ruin things with Raines?” he asked, pushing me into my father’s office.

“I didn’t do anything. He did.” My voice trembled. The wall I’d built to keep the pain and tears at bay broke, and I collapsed into his arms. My brother had always been my rock, the only one who saw my vulnerable side, even if I kept it from him most of the time.

He embraced me, soothing my hair with his hand as the tears wracked my body. “Anj, what happened?” he asked, worry lining his voice. “Do I need to hunt that prick down and kill him? ”

I shook my head against his chest. “No. He’s just an asshole and I let my guard down.”

He pushed me back. “Did that asshole touch you?”

“Shut up, Joey. Men touch me all the time and you never give two shits about it.”

“The hell I don’t. I hate that you sleep around, sis. I want to kill every man who touches you because you’re my little sister. But if Raines touched you?—”

“You won’t do anything.”

His brow creased as he studied me. “Something happened, didn’t it?”

“Go away, Tony. Let me see Dad.”

“No,” he said, pushing me back in front of him and holding my shoulders. “Tell me what went down, Anj.”

“You don’t need to know.”

“Yes, I do because that twat out there is about to take you to his territory and marry you now that Raines is out of the way.”

My mouth dropped, my knees trembling. “He can’t.”

“Yes, he can. He doesn’t give a shit about the marriage to Raines and he didn’t believe it in the first place.

With the sham blown up, Mason didn’t have any choice but to concede to step out and let Dad and Tirenti handle it.

He left this morning. Dad’s hands are tied.

He and Mason suspect Tirenti is being swayed by the Bad Omen and the only thing that can stop that is a union between the two families. ”

“Me and Joey.”

“Yeah,” he said, confirming my suspicions about what I faced when I turned my back on Tyson. “Now tell me what happened with Raines.”

My mind was going through so many thoughts that it was hard to find the words. I didn’t want to marry Joey. As much as I’d talked a good game when I’d been angry with Tyson, I didn’t want to be anywhere near Joey. He terrified me.

“I…he…we…”

“Spit it out, Anj. Did he touch you?”

“Yes.”

His anger boiled over, his hands clenching into my shoulders.

“But I wanted him to. It was consensual.” I shrugged his hands away and leaned against the closest chair, trying to rest my ankle. “I love him, Tony. And he hurt me.”

His face softened, then morphed back to anger. “He hurt you? I’ll fuck him up so bad?—”

“No, don’t. It was my fault. I let my guard down and I thought… I thought he was falling, that he wasn’t pretending, and he was. The entire time.”

“He slept with you as part of the sham marriage thing? That doesn’t make sense, Anj. He hates you and you…well I thought you hated him, but apparently not.”

I chuckled, thinking about his words. “But I heard him. He said he was tired of pretending, and that I was just a spoiled brat and being with me was killing him.”

Tony tipped his head. “Anj, what did you do when you heard that?”

“I left. We had a big fight, and I left him.”

He swiped his hand down his face.

“Time’s up, Angie. We’re leaving,” Joey barged into the office.

“Leaving?” I asked Tony.

He nodded. “You’re going with him. He wants a wedding asap. Tomorrow.”

This time, my jaw hit the floor. “Tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow, baby,” Joey said.

“Don’t call me that,” I snapped, the word cleaving my heart.

“I’ll call you anything you want when I’m owning that hot body of yours.”

Tony turned on him, grabbing him by the collar and shoving him against the wall. His men pulled their guns, as did ours. “You talk about my sister like that again, and I’ll break both your legs before I cut your cock off.”

“Enough!” my father’s voice boomed from the hallway.

Tony released Joey, who indignantly brushed at his suit. My father walked into the room, followed by Tirenti.

“Angela.” My father came over and gave me a kiss on the cheek, but I could see the disappointment in his eyes. I’d messed this up, put him in a bad spot, and now we were both paying the price.

“Hi, Daddy,” I said, unable to disguise the guilt that sat heavy on me.

“Your father and I have come to an agreement,” Tirenti said. “We’ll hold the wedding here tomorrow. His attorneys are working on annulling the marriage to Raines as we speak.”

I dropped my eyes, sensing Joey move next to me. His arm came around me and I cringed instinctively.

“Tomorrow still? I can’t wait to become part of the family,” he said, squeezing my arm.

“Tomorrow afternoon,” my father confirmed, his sight on Joey’s hands.

“But Daddy?—”

“No, Angela. The decision has been made.” His eyes narrowed, anger in them, and my father was never angry at me. “Leave us, all of you. Tony, please show our guests and their men out.”

He kept his eyes on me, the proud man I respected not giving the conniving ass behind him a second glass, nor his son, for that matter. We both waited until the door closed.

“Daddy—”

“What did you do, Angela?” His expression was stony, and it hurt.

“I didn’t do anything.”

“No? Then why are you out of his protection? Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”

“He hurt me.” I heard the weakness in my voice, the fear behind it because my father never took his anger out on me .

“What did he do? Did he hit you? Touch you wrong?” He moved closer, looking me over, concern in his eyes.

“No, he didn’t do anything like that.”

“Then you should have stayed, because whatever he did is better than what Joey Tirenti will do.” The hardness in his features softened, a look of defeat taking over him.

“I tried to protect you, Angela. Gave you to Raines in desperation, but now…now I can no longer protect you. With Raines involved, Joey would have lost interest, moved to his next victim, but with him no longer in the picture, you’re his for the taking.

” He sighed, a long, pained sound that said all he needed about how much he’d fought to keep me safe.

“I’m not in the position to fight him, and your brother is too green.

His interests have only now turned to the family business. ”

“But Mason?—”

“No, Mason has stepped out of this. It’s between the families in our province and Mason’s hold on Tirenti is old and it’s slipping.

The Bad Omen have been working Tirenti, wearing him down, and now that Mason and Tides are aligned, Tirenti’s allegiance has shifted.

Tirenti hates Tides. It’s a rift that goes back to before you were born, and one that even Mason can’t fix. ”

I leaned against the desk, realization setting in that I’d done this, making a hasty move, a decision fueled by my emotion. I’d confronted Tyson and pushed him, and he’d sent me away. But I’d always confronted him, always bit back, always pushed his buttons, and he’d never turned away.

“You will marry Joey Tirenti and mend the divide to keep your brother and the family safe,” he said, pulling me from the thought.

He moved closer to me, rubbing his thumb over my cheek and giving me a sad smile. “I miss your freckles,” he said as he rubbed my makeup away. “You look so much like your mother, no matter how you try to hide it. ”

Tears pooled in my eyes, and I fought my hold on them. “I’m sorry, Daddy.”

“I know, sweetheart. I just wish I could fight this, but if I do, I’ll lose you both. Tirenti has promised me no harm will come to you, and I have no choice but to trust him.”

I nodded, hating that I was a pawn in this war.

A pawn that had passed from one player to another, one who would never give me what Tyson had, never touch me like he had, never appreciate the real me, and one I would never love.

Not like I loved Tyson, no matter how much my heart was breaking because of it.

Standing, I held my head high, putting my usual facade on. “I’ll need my nails done and my hair.”

“It’s just a small ceremony, Angela. Just to make it official.”

I grimaced at the thought. “It’s my wedding day. I want to look pretty. And I want to spend my last night here. Not with Joey. He can wait one more day before his slimy hands touch me.”

“Whatever you want, sweetheart.”

He gave me a kiss on the head, squeezing my hand before leaving the room.

I remained there, my grip on the desk steadying me because if I didn’t hold tight, I would collapse.

How had my life turned upside down so quickly?

I’d gone from the safety of Tyson’s arms to a tightrope that would send us all tumbling to our doom if I made the wrong move.

The family business had never been my concern, but now it had become mine to protect and no matter how terrified that thought made me, I had no choice but to accept the fate I’d set in front of me when I’d run from the only man who could have protected me.