Orlando doesn’t answer me, his attention staying focused on the boys.
“Who?” Onyx growls, but we all know. That’s why they’re here, it’s the only thing that makes sense. He had to call them in for help because my situation is escalating.
“Ava Kingsley, AKA Sloane Stryker, the hit said. The reward is a million dollars. To be completely transparent, I accepted the hit so it didn’t go out to anyone else, also to avoid suspicion. Ihave a week.” He looks between us. “We have a week, or they will send it to the next person on their list and we lose all control.”
A cold prickle comes over me, the reality of his words sinking under my skin. “Syd really wants me dead,” I whisper, a fresh wave of fear coming over me. This is exactly what happened to my mom. And I’m going to be next.
“It didn’t come from Syd, treasure.” His voice is softer now, and I get the impression he didn’t tell me because he couldn’t. There is so much more to this.
“What?” I snap my eyes up to Orlando. Someone else wants me dead?
Orlando’s haunted eyes shift to Romeo in a way that sends a shiver down my spine. “Our papa.”
Rage vibrates through Romeo; I can feel it from how close we are. Maybe he didn’t know what this was all about. “Are you fucking kidding me? That’s who’s hiding Syd.” He shakes his head. “I should have seen this shit coming.”
Reef holds me a little tighter like it can save me from this asshole. “We all should have seen it coming. There are connections in the past, so of course it was Emilio Moretti calling the shots,” he agrees with Romeo.
“He was the one who sent me the paperwork for the club and said I needed to tie up any loose ends,” Romeo says. “Take back what was ours. He’s the reason we’re all here right now. If he wants Sloane dead, there is a fuck load more going on than what he’s admitting to.” For the first time since I met him, I hear the tremble in his words. Romeo’s scared, and that worries me more than hearing his papa wants me dead.
“Sounds like our papa. Did you not think that this could all be a fucking set-up, Brother?” Orlando growls like somehow this is Romeo’s fault.
I feel him sit up straighter; he’s about to fly across the room. I place a hand on his thigh and meet his eyes. I see the truth—he had no idea this was ever in the plans. “Set-up for what? For years I have been taking over businesses in our family name, turning them around, and selling them off. This is what I do. Why is it different this time?” His words are bitter, but I don’t think that hate is directed at Orlando. I think he’s angry with himself.
The twins’ eyes lock in a knowing look. “This time it’s personal. He thinks that club owes him something, or someone,” Orlando seethes. “He set you up to take over knowing it would lead him to her.”
“Syd gets his revenge on Sloane for taking over his life and turning his family against him and your papa gets his revenge on Vice President Kingsley after all these years,” Reef agrees. “But why a hit? Didn’t he want her married into the family?”
“Yeah, that part doesn’t make sense to me either,” Romeo agrees, and I can see all of them are thinking this over.
I am as well. What the hell does he stand to gain from helping Syd and killing me? “Is it a set-up?” I ask, racking my brain for what else his papa could possibly stand to gain from this.
Onyx’s eyes narrow in on Orlando. “She’s been a target for years. Nothing has really changed. What do you want with us?” he snips, getting to the point, and I know this is back to being a job for him. There is no emotion in his voice, none of the warmth he once had for me. A little piece of my heart breaks knowing what I am to him, and I can’t help but stare back at him, pain radiating through my chest. He doesn’t even look at me.
“Sloane’s safe here. I want you and Reef to stay on the island with her, while Romeo and I take a little trip back home to visit our papa. It’s time the king was knocked off his throne.”
I stare at him, surprised he’s going to let the boys stay here with me. And even more surprised he’s going to leave this place. But I can see it in his eyes, he knows this is the only way to stop his papa from whatever the fuck he’s up to.
“If we don’t come back, it’s on you two to keep her safe,” Romeo adds.
His words send a chill down my spine. “You have to come back.”
“We will,” Romeo assures me, his eyes locking with mine in a way that doesn’t assure me at all. He’s worried.
Orlando nods, agreeing with him. “We leave as soon as the storm passes. I have a couple of guest rooms upstairs, and my staff will take care of everything else while you’re here.”
Storm? I glance back out the window and realize the sky has turned dark. Those clouds that were rolling in aren’t the fluffy kind. That would have been why he didn’t want his boat docked, not because of me escaping after all.
I look back to Romeo. If he’s off with Orlando trying to deal with his papa, what’s happening to my club? “Is the club okay?” I ask him.
He shakes his head, running a hand through his hair. “That’s what you’re worried about, doll face? We tell you someone wants you dead and you’re worried about your business.”
“Well, yeah. If you’re here and I’m here, who’s taking care of it?”
“I left Asher and Sally in charge,” he huffs, and I can tell he’s not impressed that I’m questioning him. But what did he expect? He knows what that place means to me.
I bury my head in my hands and inhale a deep breath. “Oh, dear God, you know Asher doesn’t have a responsible bone in his body.”
“Lucky Sally does then,” he mutters, his hand coming to my thigh as he tries to bring my attention back to him.
