Page 48 of Hostile Cravings
“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 Donelliwhen 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 didnothing 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?”
