Page 80 of Thorns of Silence

I couldn’t fucking wait.

I flicked a glance over the room and found Amon talking to Aiden Callahan. Why in the fuck wasn’t he talking to Reina? Fuck the Callahans and anyone else. Jesus Christ, he couldn’t marry them, and I sure as fuck couldn’t marry the blonde ray of sunshine that always strutted around in pink.

Maybe I should stir some trouble?

As if on cue, a flash of pink caught my attention and I spotted Reina.

I reached out and grabbed her wrist. “Not so fast,” I drawled. From the corner of my eye, I spotted Amon making his way toward us with a stormy expression. “Your father wants to speak to us.”

She tried to yank her wrist out of my grip, but I refused to let go.

“I’ll see him later.” She flashed me a venomous smile, then she scanned the crowd as if nothing was wrong.

Reina hated my guts. Almost as much as her sister.

“Now,” I gritted.

“Dante.” Wryness coated my brother’s voice with warning. Reina’s eyes darted to him, and for a moment it was as if the two of them forgot I was here. It wasn’t long before her eyes flashed with cold disdain.

I grinned. Finally we were getting somewhere. “There you are, brother,” I drawled. “You can join in too. We have big news to announce.”

Amon didn’t know about the marriage arrangement, and I hoped once he learned, he’d move faster. I didn’t have another three years to wait.

Reina yanked her wrist out of my hold, and this time, I let her.

“It’s really not a good time for me, Dante,” she muttered, but before she could take a step, her father appeared.

“Ah, there you are, Reina.” She let out a small sigh but kept her smile on. It was fake as shit, but Romero either chose not to see it or ignored it.

“Hello, Papà.”

Romero’s gaze flickered to my brother and then me. “Dante. Amon. I’m assuming you two have already spoken.”

We hadn’t. I’d been delaying it, taunting him, pushing him to lose his cool. If he snapped and snatched Reina, I’d just get the sister I wanted anyhow. Win-win.

“Let’s step to the side, shall we?”

“I’ll see you later—” It was as if Amon were running away from Reina, but before he could leave, Romero stopped him.

“Stay.”

Romero nudged a hesitant Reina to the left, urging her forward until we weren’t in the middle of all the commotion. Music still played and chatter filled the air.

“What’s this about, Papà?” Frustration flickered across her expression while she kept her back to us. “This event is extremely important. My career hinges on making a good impression.”

“You aren’t too busy to hear this.”

Amon’s hands curled into fists at Romero’s tone, but he didn’t move. I let out a sardonic breath. I hated Romero’s guts too, but this was too entertaining not to enjoy. Hopefully Amon would beat him up, kidnap Reina, and we’d all get a happy ending.

“Okay, what’s this about?” Reina faced her father, her spine so straight it might actually snap.

“You and Dante are to be married.”

Shock. Surprise. Disgust. I watched it all flash over her expression. Ironically, Amon’s expression followed the same pattern, with one addition. Fury. His knuckles turned white, and I fully anticipated a punch.

“Papà, c-can we please talk about this?” Reina’s hands were shaking, and I felt the tiniest bit sorry for her, but not enough to jump in and help. She had some explaining to do after all. “Alone.”

The corner of my lips lifted and I decided to be an even bigger asshole and push my brother more. “As your future husband,” I drawled, “you can say anything in front of me.”