Page 54 of Forbidden Cravings

The thought of Angie having to marry that brute was entertaining. It would be nice to see her put in her place. She was a brat who needed taming, and Tirenti’s son wouldn’t tolerate her spoiled attitude. He’d likely have her submitting and on her knees before the wedding ended.

I wiped my hand down my face, remembering that Donelli had Casey. That he’d taken care of her for years and had been working with me for longer.

“What are you asking? You want me to talk to Tirenti?”

“No, I’ve tried. He won’t budge,” he said. I could tell he was keeping something from me.

“Why won’t he budge, Donelli?”

Silence again, and with each passing second, my ire increased.

With a sigh, he said, “Because she opened her big mouth and insulted the idiot.”

I stifled my laugh. She’d gotten herself into this mess. “So, when you said he’d taken a liking to her, you meant he wants to punish her and marrying her ensures he can do that without repercussions?” And he’d be punishing her in more ways than one. Not only was Angie a brat, but she was also a party girl who was fucking and drinking her way through life. Tyson had filled me in on her. It surprised me that he’d never fucked her, but after meeting her, I understood immediately that she wasn’t worth getting involved with.

“Yes.”

“How do I fit into this? If I can’t talk him out of it, I’m not forcing him. I won’t risk upsetting the balance between our territories or the agreements we have in place. Not for your daughter’s ineptitude.”

“If she’s already spoken for, he can’t force her to marry him.”

The hackles on my neck went up. “I know you’re not asking me to marry your daughter.” The thought was sickening and insulting.

“No, of course not. I would never…but Tyson?—”

This time, my laughter filled the car.

“I’m serious, Mason. It doesn’t have to be real, just long enough for this to blow over.”

“You must be joking. You want me to convince Tyson to have a sham marriage with your daughter until Tirenti’s son turns his attention to someone else?”

“Exactly.”

“Fuck, Donelli. That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard in ages. He won’t go for that, I can assure you of that.”

“He will because you’ll convince him. I’ll tell Tirenti she has an offer I can’t refuse, and he’ll back off when he finds out it’s Tyson.”

“And cause friction between my family and his.”

“I can always tell him how you and Tyson aren’t exactly a team right now. I’m sure that knowledge would be beneficial to a boss whose loyalty to you isn’t as secure as mine, especially one who would love to take control of the assets you provide him and spread his power to a territory like Treemont.”

They were bold words, a threat that would have had my gun to his head if I’d been with him. I sat back, resting my head on the seat. He had me cornered, and I didn’t like being in that position. But it was a temporary one. Once I worked things out with Tyson and had Casey with me, there would be no threat, no loose strings.

“I’ll talk to Tyson about it. I can’t guarantee he’ll agree, even if it is a façade to appease Tirenti.”

“Good, because I’ve already told him his son won’t be touching my Angela.”

“You what? Dammit Donelli, you play a dangerous game.”

“And you’re weak right now, Mason. My game could be more dangerous if I wasn’t loyal to you. Right now, I have Casey protected and safe. But she doesn’t have to be.”

I sat up, gripping the phone. “Are you threatening me?”

“No, of course not. I’m merely reminding you of what you stand to lose if my loyalty ever shifted.”

“I’ll talk to Tyson. But if you ever pull this shit on me again, ever threaten me or any of my family, I’ll burn you down so fast, Tirenti will be the least of your problems.”

I hung up, slamming my fist against the seat in front of me. I needed to fix things with Tyson quickly before I lost not only my hold on Casey but my hold on the empire I’d built as well.

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