Page 27 of Hostile Cravings (Wicked Cravings #3)

“No. He knows I’ve got Donelli’s back and Tides has mine. He won’t mess with Donelli, but having Angie gives him leverage.”

I pulled at my hair, resting my head in my hand.

“Joey’s a monster, Mace.” The thought of his slimy hands on her had me sick.

He would hurt her. He wouldn’t appreciate her smart mouth, or her witty comebacks, the insults she threw that caused my balls to clench.

He would hit her and bruise her delicate features, punching away the things that I loved about her until she was no longer the woman I’d fallen for .

“I know, and Tirenti knows that. If she marries Joey, Donelli will do anything to keep her safe. He’d sell his soul to Tirenti, which is what he’s basically doing by letting him have her.”

“A bargaining chip to keep them both alive? But being with Joey will kill her. If he doesn’t physically do it, he’ll wear her spirit down until she’s lost.”

“Damn, you’ve got it bad, Ty. I always wondered if that irritation at her wasn’t hiding something. Especially when you got that viper tat.”

“Shut up, Mace. This is serious.”

He sighed, and I sensed his frustration running as deep as mine did.

As much as we held rule over several families outside our province, that rule was always situated on a house of cards.

We were hours away from the three bosses in Armina.

They could turn on us at any time, which was why we always took precautions, keeping men undercover in their territories, monitoring their dealings, and always doubling down on security when we were there.

Donelli was the only one we trusted but with Tirenti pressuring him, there was a chance he would waiver, especially if his only daughter was involved.

By now I had paid my tab and walked out of the resort, Finch and Creek with me. “So Tirenti and Donelli work out an agreement, Tirenti gets Angie, Donelli thinks Tirenti will keep her safe from his deranged son and not touch Tony. What’s in it for Tirenti?”

“A stronger hold on the territory,” Mason answered.

I kicked the sand with my shoe, watching how the grains scattered as they fell. “No, he’s up to something. I don’t think he gives a shit about Angie. He’s just making his son happy and giving him a new pet.” I clenched my teeth at the thought.

“What are you thinking?”

“That he’s turning on us.” We’d suspected, but Tirenti was an old school boss like Tides.

He took his time. His patience wasn’t at the level of Tides, but he wasn’t one to rush.

“He’ll hit Donelli when he’s down and let the Bad Omen walk right into the province.

With Donelli out of the picture, he and the Omens rule the bulk of the territory and Strint, no matter how strong his family is, won’t stand a chance. ”

“The Omens then have a stronghold on the west coast,” he mused.

“One that rivals the one we have now that Tides is on our side.”

He was angry, but I could also sense him thinking it through.

Mason was sharp and there weren’t many bosses as smart as he was, as calculating, which was why the others feared him, even when we were young.

“I’m sending the plane to bring you home.

In the meantime, let me see if I can reach Donelli.

It’s too late to save Angie, but I might be able to warn him to watch his back. ”

The phone remained to my ear long after he’d hung up.

Those words, that it was too late to save Angie, fell like lead on my shoulders.

I had no way to reach her, no way to unravel the words spoken between us.

The tide was drifting outward, the water pulling the sand back with each wave, and I sat, thinking of how the tide was like fate, pulling Angie away from me bit by bit.

Returning home did nothing to ease the absence of Angie’s presence. Each step toward the door reminded me of the first night I’d brought her there. I dropped my bag at the door and walked into the kitchen, only to find Mason drilling into my sister, half her clothes off and his still on.

“What the hell, you two,” I complained, covering my eyes from my sister’s body and turning back around and leaving the room. “Dammit, Case, put some clothes on!”

“Didn’t expect you home yet, bud,” Mason called, his breathing labored. “Go unpack and let me finish my dinner. ”

“You’re an asshole, Mace!” I walked faster, not wanting to be anywhere near him when he was touching my sister that way. And I definitely didn’t want to be close when they finished. The thought of him making my sister orgasm was revolting and anger inducing.

I trudged to my room, throwing my suitcase in the corner, my eyes falling to the spot on the bed where Angie had slept that first night.

The scarf she’d found in my closet was still in the spot.

Its presence was comforting, and I picked it up, smelling her perfume on it.

The smell drifted through my senses, causing a pang in my chest. Still, I wrapped it around my hand and held onto it.

The idea of having it close was like being close to her.

The bed looked inviting, but I didn’t think there was any way I could sleep. My mind was too alive with thoughts of all that had happened. Instead, I changed into my gym clothes, heading back out just as Mason was coming down the hall.

“Where’s Casey?” I asked, throwing him dagger eyes. “You keep that shit to your bedroom, asshole. I don’t want to see that.”

He shrugged, giving me a smug grin. “She’s too sexy to resist.”

I punched him, and he rubbed his jaw.

“Don’t say shit like that around me. I’m going to the gym to take my anger out on the bags and not your face.”

I pushed past him.

“Thought you might want to know the wedding is tomorrow.”

My feet faltered, stopping me in my tracks.

“Donelli sent me an invitation.”

Turning, I stalked back to him and snatched the phone from him. A plain black and white invitation announcing the marriage of Angela Rosallina Donelli to Joseph Luca Tirenti at one o’clock the next day was staring starkly back at me.

“Is this some kind of joke?” I asked him. “Nobody gets married that fast and Angie would never go for that. ”

“She would if her father didn’t give her a choice, and I’m sure Tirenti pressured him into moving fast.”

“But we’re not even divorced yet.”

He raised a brow. “You were never married, Ty.”

“I know,” I said, rubbing my face and hating how depressed my voice had sounded when the words had slipped free. “It’s just they think we were and that would mean a normal course of separation before she can marry again.”

“Different province and Tirenti wants it annulled. Donelli owns the cops and the courts in that territory, so naturally, Tirenti would know he can pull off an annulment in record time. I’m sure Donelli countered that point, but Tirenti is too corrupt to go for it.”

“Why so fast?” I was having a hard time comprehending it. Just this morning, I’d been taking Angie hard, reveling in the sound of her moans and the pleasure of her body. How could she be marrying that asshole a day later?

“I think you’re right. Tirenti’s up to something. It’s like he wants Angie far from Donelli and quickly.”

“Like he knows Donelli’s going down?”

“Maybe.”

I looked at him, seeing the concern etched on his features. The invitation on the phone was still sitting there, a reminder of what I’d let slip through my fingers.

“I need to hit something, and Casey will kick my ass if I hit you.” I looked around. “Where is she, anyway?”

He gave me a guilty grin. “She went to clean up. I told her she should walk down to see you with my cum dripping from her just to irritate you, but she said she’d cut me off the rest of the night if I even thought about it.”

“You’re a real shithead. I don’t know why I keep hanging out with you.” I tossed the phone at him, his laughter trailing me out of the house.

I spent the next few hours pounding my fists until they were raw, my body was drenched with sweat, and the gym had closed.

It was mine, so I could have stayed there the entire night, but I knew I needed to return.

No matter how much I tried to punch the image of Angie leaving from my mind, I couldn’t erase it.

The more I punched, the worse it became.

Images of her smile, her body, her eyes, plagued me until I finally gave up.

Mason and Casey were nowhere to be found by the time I walked into the house.

Grabbing a bottle of water, I made my way to my room, ignoring the scarf on the bed until I’d showered.

I sat in the chair across from my bed, my eyes fixed on it.

Midnight had come and gone, but I wasn’t ready to sleep.

I didn’t even think I could. At this time tomorrow, Angie would be Joey Tirenti’s.

She would be in his bed, his grimy hands touching her body, hurting her and making her do things I only wanted her to do to me.

Sweeping my hand over my face, I leaned forward, staring at the rings in my hand.

I’d picked them up when I’d packed, pocketing them.

I should have left them there, leaving the memories behind, but I’d been unable.

How had things changed so quickly? A woman I hated, one I had despised for years, had suddenly become a craving I couldn’t resist until I’d given in and let her overtake everything I was.

Letting her change me until she’d unraveled me into pieces I couldn’t seem to reform now that I’d lost her.

Lost her over an idiotic misunderstanding, something she’d assumed, and, in my anger, I’d validated for her.

The rings danced in my hand as I rolled them around, thinking about the situation.

About Angie. One misunderstanding, one wrong decision on my part, and now one day.

I sat back, my brows knitting as I thought back to my conversation with Mason.

Everything about this seemed wrong. Donelli was caving, but Tirenti was pressuring him.

But why so fast? Why tomorrow? Even with as entrenched in security and violence as the families were, they celebrated things like weddings.

They were careful, discreet about them, but they were still celebrations.

One day didn’t allow for guests, for family, for the things that were usually involved.

Tirenti had been suspicious of how quickly Angie and I had gotten married when we’d given him the story.

Now he was doing the same thing with Joey, hastening a wedding.

There was something there, something going down.

My instincts were on edge, screaming at me that I was missing something.

Rising, I dropped the rings on the bed where the scarf sat and headed to Mason’s room.

Banging on the door, I heard his grumbling as Casey answered. Her cheeks were flush, her curls messy.

“Do you two ever stop?”

She stuck her tongue out and I ignored Mason’s comment about using it the right way. He was sitting up in bed with no shirt on, his pants unbuttoned and the bulge below looking uncomfortably hard.

“Keep that erection in check, buddy, or I’ll change my mind about letting you have my sister.”

Casey reached up and smacked the back of my head.

“That’s my girl,” Mason said as she hopped back in bed with him.

“You two are gonna kill me.”

“Then leave,” she said, snuggling into his hold. She looked blissful and, to be honest, I’d never seen her as happy as she was when she was with Mason. Nor had I seen him as happy before Casey.

“Something about tomorrow doesn’t feel right,” I told them.

“Aside from the fact that the love of your life is about to marry another man?”

“A slimy weasel who disrespects, rapes, and murders women,” I growled.

“It’s rumor, Ty. We still don’t have proof,” Mason said, but I could tell from the way he’d unconsciously pulled Casey further into him he believed the rumors as much as I did .

“Still, he’s a creep,” I groused. “And she’s not the love of my life,” I added, hearing the mistruth in my words.

“Keep telling yourself that, Ty,” Casey said.

“What do you want to do, buddy?” Mason asked.

I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to stop this, to steal her away from this debacle, and make love to her the way I’d avoided, because that was something I didn’t do.

Making love was emotional, and I didn’t do emotion.

Sex for me was raw and dirty, emotionless, without commitment, without attachment.

At least it had been until Angie. Now all I desired was to hold her in my arms like Mason was holding Casey.

“I want to go to Armina. I want to get Angie and make her mine.”

Casey beamed, her excitement reflected in the way her hazel eyes glittered and how she was nearly jumping out of the bed. I glared at her, not needing her sunny disposition, even if it usually made everything better.

“Then we go. I had the plane fueled up, and the crew is on standby.”

“You knew?” I asked, my eyes wide with surprise.

“My best friend doesn’t do love,” he said with a shrug. “I knew you’d go after her once you pulverized your fists.” He pointed to the split skin on my knuckles.

“When do we leave?” I asked, trying not to let my excitement show.

I couldn’t because as much as I was looking forward to claiming Angie for myself, there were too many unknowns in the way.

The risks were high that one of us wouldn’t make it out alive or that I would lose her forever.

And they were risks I normally would have avoided, but for Angie, I’d face them all.