Page 28 of Fatal Fantasy

“Mr. Cassini. We have much to discuss,” Tyson replies, keeping it short, sweet, and ominous.

“This is not a negotiation. You will return my daughter within twenty-four hours, or what happened to you in New Jersey will seem like a vacation.” The man on the other end of the phone means business, but so do we, and I’ve never seen my brother look so wild, his eyes nearly black as the first threat to our girl comes at full force.

“No, Jasper. No, no, no,” Carter whispers, and I pull her into my chest, sheltering her sobs while she digs her nails into my skin.

That sense of terror is back in her muscles, the sound of her father’s voice putting a fear in her that I’ve only seen in men on the cusp of death.

For Carter, being alive is the threat, and as I hold onto her shaking frame, I wish I’d pulled that trigger today, just so neither of us had to feel the magnitude of pain that this brings her.

“If you want your daughter back in one, perfectly unfucked piece, I suggest you call back when you’re ready to talk seriously about my terms.”

“Tyson!” We scream in unison as he hangs up the phone, tossing the burner onto the bed with a bounce, and while I’m wholly impressed by my brother, Carter is purely mortified.

“Riling him up is the worst fucking idea! He’s relentless, and I’m the one who’s going to pay for that comment!” Carter screams, jumping out of my arms, flying across the room until her fingers crash into his chest, walking him backwards until his massive frame slams against the drywall.

“The only thing you’re going to pay for, baby girl, is the sass that comes out of that pretty little mouth … and you know what I like to fill it with. I’ve got this handled, okay? Do you trust me?” He wraps a hand around her throat, holding her perfectly in place while their eyes lock, and she nods ever so slightly, which in turn, he rewards with a quick kiss to her temple.

“I trust you, Tyson. But him? I swear to God, I will not go back.” She shakes her head, sucking in a breath as he releases her, but pulls her onto his lap while he sits in the chair beside the bed.

“You won’t, that much I can promise you. Me and my brother are the only ones allowed to touch you, to hear the sweet sounds you make when you’re being fucked, and we’re damn sure the last men who will ever see what it looks like when your perfect lips wrap around our cocks. You. Are. Mine.” He nips at her neck, affirming his feral words with a roughness we know she craves, and I watch in awe as her head tips back, soft moans leaving her chest while her hips glide over the bulge in his shorts.

“What do we say when he calls back?” I interrupt, something not settling right as Tyson hasn’t shared much of his plan, and I’m not willing to risk Carter’s safety for even a second.

Getting her back, in every facet of the word, is not what I expected to happen when I arrived in California, but now that she’s here with me, I’ll do just about anything to keep her exactly where she belongs.

“In the morning, when he’s had some time to settle, we’ll send ransom photos and demands. I’ve scouted a few places for the exchange, setting a few security measures in place so we’ll know exactly when to make a run for it.” He nonchalantly spells it out, the fantasy of it all sounding easy to blindly believe in.

“A run for what?” I question, allowing the mountains of doubt I’m carrying a moment to shine and get to the bottom of his masterminded plan.

“Canada first. We’ll spend a few days up North before catching a ride on a cruise ship, after that, we’ll stay wherever feels like home.” he tells us, and while that sounds nice, I can see Carter’s body tensing against his, her own uncertainty in this coming to the forefront.

After all, we’re doing this for her, for us three to have a slim chance of a life together, but it won’t work if we’re not all one-hundred percent on the same page.

Our collective agreements have gotten us this far, and I’ll be damned if a few discrepancies are what keeps this relationship strained or distanced.

“Passports? Money? Essentials? You can’t just drop everything to live on the run, Tyson. It didn’t work last time when we had a seven-point plan, and the truck packed to the brim with shit we thought we’d need,” Carter argues, but Ty holds a finger up, effectively shushing her while he continues to clue us into the abundance of behind the scenes details he has ready to fire off.

“I have all of that, for all three of us. Tyson Kelly Sr. may have been scum of the Earth, but he had a hefty will, all of which I cashed out, sold, and liquidated the day after I saw you. I told you I’d save you, and I meant it, Carter.” He kisses both her cheeks, and although she’s melting at his words, I feel a rage deep in my bones, hating that he only thought of our new life, without consideration for what someone else may be forced to leave behind.

“And what about my sisters, my mother? They’re sitting ducks for target practice! You should’ve let me talk to them before throwing us into a whirlwind of a plan you’re creating in your head!” My voice rises as I allow my emotions to take the lead, not exactly sure when I decided to defend my family so strongly, but knowing that I can’t just desert them, either.

“We have many loose ends to tie up, Massi. Including that little fiancé of yours,” he says, turning to Carter as that specific fantasy of revenge brings up an entirely different wave of emotions than I was feeling mere seconds ago.

The opportunity to get retribution against the man who used and abused our girl lights a raging fucking fire in my stomach, slowly igniting every nerve ending I possess, an animalistic urge to reclaim her honor stealing all the rational thoughts I have.

While I appreciate Tyson’s support in a mission I thought I’d be carrying out solo, something about his behavior, attitude, and overall demeanor since rescuing Carter has been off, but I haven’t been able to pinpoint it until now.

Tyson has always been a control freak, but when his power was stolen – along with Carter – it must’ve snapped something inside his head because this is all so out of character, down to his body language.

It’s as if his own beasts have taken over operations, and he’s rolling with the punches, playing roulette with our lives while he attempts to fix the mistakes we made during our first attempt at a fresh start.

“If it works, it sounds beautiful. Exactly what we dreamed of,” Carter sighs, a faint glimmer of hopefulness in her voice, something I was afraid would require mountains moving before we’d be able to see shine.

“Nobody will ever hurt you again, Principessina, that much I can guarantee.” I fist her hair, pulling her head back until I reach her lips, snaking my tongue between them to ensure she believes every word, and has no choice but to put her faith in us.

I may not be clued into everything Ty’s put into motion, but I trust him, his love for Carter, and the devotion he has to breaking her free from a life she doesn’t deserve.

“I’ll run away with you, on one condition,” she breathes, her cheeks flushed pink from the way she’s perfectly sandwiched between the two of us, a place we all feel the safest.