Page 53 of Hostile Cravings
“Well, let’s not wait any longer to test that out, baby.” Again with that word that sent bile burning my throat each time he said it. That was Tyson’s nickname for me, that and viper, and the thought of Joey taking ownership of a word that had once made my legs squeeze was almost enough to make me vomit. “Get on with it, priest,” he snapped, pulling his tux back to show the butt of his gun.
He glanced back at me. “I’m gonna put that to use later, too. See how you look coming around it.”
A strangled cry slipped through my mouth because as adventurous as I was, weapon play had never been my thing. I was risky, but only to a point, and that was my stopping point.
“That gun goes anywhere near my sister’s body, and I’ll shoot your cock off,” Tony growled.
I didn’t turn to him, knowing he was desperately trying to find a way out of this, just like I was.
“Let’s go,” Joey said to the priest.
The ceremony began, but I didn’t listen to the words. My mind was going through everything I’d done wrong in the past twenty-four hours. My eyes glanced at the back of the church, hoping to see Tyson burst through and save me, but that was fantasy. He hated me and he was probably still at the resort, having sex with the manager in my place and pretending he never made his mark on me. A mark that would remain no matter how much I tried to remove it and no matter how Joey would try to beat it from me.
Chapter Fifteen
TYSON
The flight to Armina was the second longest I’d ever experienced, the one when we’d gone to save Casey was the first. I paced the cabin while Mason tried to take my mind from Angie. His attempts lacked effort, and I knew his mind was on what awaited us when we got there. This was big. We were going into Donelli’s territory unannounced, stopping a wedding between two other families, and likely pissing at least one of them off. There was bound to be gunfire, and someone would be dead by the end of the day. My intention was for that death to be Joey Tirenti’s, but there were no guarantees.
“You sure about this, Ty?” Mason asked as the car drew closer to the church listed in the invitation.
“Of course not, but I need to stop this. Even if she hates me forever, there’s no way I’m letting Joey Tirenti touch her. I can’t believe her brother isn’t stopping this.”
“He doesn’t have a choice. It’s Donelli’s call, and he’s still in charge until he fully hands things over to Tony.”
I spotted the church in the distance, my eye picking up movement on the corner of the building. Leaning forward, I put myhand on Breck’s shoulder. “Slow down,” I said. “Do you see what I see, Mace?”
He leaned forward, picking up his phone. “Turn down the street before the church and park out of sight. Tell Finch to do the same.”
We’d come prepared, bringing enough bodies to fight the war we expected.
“Breck, drive by, don’t slow down,” he said. “Ty, tell me if there’s another one posted on the other side. Check the shadows.”
I turned my head just enough to see the slight movement of a body in the alley next to the church. “Yeah, at least one.”
“That makes two in the front of the church and one at each corner. I’m guessing they have two in the back.”
He lifted his phone and sent a text as I eyed him.
“You spotted one on the corner?” I said.
“Yeah. Breck, pull up two blocks down. I don’t want any chance of us being seen. And keep your eyes peeled.”
I stared at him, waiting for an explanation because if he spotted another man, he was looking before we were close enough.
“I may have suspected Tirenti was going to turn this into a bloodbath.”
“Those don’t look like his imbeciles,” I said, scratching my head. “He’s not smooth enough for that. Those are Omens.”
“Yeah. After we talked last night, I called Donelli.” He pulled his gun out as Breck parked the car. “I told him plans had changed, and I’d text him if our suspicions were true.”
“Plans had changed?”
He gave me a haughty grin. “I may have planted the seed that Angie’s haste to leave you offered us an opportunity.”
My mouth dropped. Leave it to Mason to have a master plan. “Wait, you let him give Angie to Joey?”
“I encouraged him, knowing Tirenti would use it to get what he wants. His son gets Angie, he gets Donelli and the territory.The Omen get a weasel to control, a weak boss they can manipulate to take down the province. Giving me the prime opportunity to rid myself of a threat.”
