“Romeo, what can you tell me?” I ask, wondering what he was going on about earlier and who he was talking to.
He places his knife and fork down, collecting up his coffee. He takes a slow sip, his eyes on me the whole time. “About what, Sloane?”
I purse my lips. “Life, the club, devastating life secrets you’re keeping from me again,” I throw out there just to see what he and the other boys make of it. I’m not letting any of them get away with pulling the wool over my eyes. I might be trapped here, but that doesn’t mean I have to let them manipulate and lie to me.
His playful expression vanishes, and I see the worry lines form. What the hell is he hiding from me? A sick feeling sits at the pit of my stomach from his expression alone. “The club is doing well, nothing to worry about there.”
I tilt my head to the side. “Yeah, I’m going to need more details.”
He nods, his charming smile a thin mask barely concealing the truth behind his eyes. “The VIP night was the best one ever, despite how the night ended. You have twenty new sign-ups, and the renovations are coming along nicely for our newest addition. Revenue is also up.”
“You’re going to love it, Sloane, the room is seductive as hell,” Reef agrees with him.
I smile, but it doesn’t reach my eyes. “Can’t wait to see it. If I ever get to.” I push the food around my plate, trying to distract myself from my reality.
“You will,” Romeo agrees.
But my attention is now on Orlando. He’s never going to let me off this island and back to my normal life. He wants to keep me here forever, he’s said so himself. “What about the girls, is everyone happy? How’s Erica? She was upset the last time I saw her.”
“She’s fine, Sloane, nothing to worry about,” Onyx says for him, and I’m not surprised. He and Erica have always gotten on well. He would have been checking in with her for me.
My brow rises, imagining what my brothers are getting up to while I’m away. Asher will be treating the place like his own personal playground, I’m sure. “Asher, is he causing trouble?”
Romeo laughs lightheartedly, I think trying to ease the tension I’m creating. “A little, but it’s nothing I can’t handle; your brother is a man whore.”
Now it’s my time to laugh. “Yes, he is.” And I miss him and his antics like crazy. My head drops, and I fiddle with my hands uncomfortably. I started this interrogation to get details from Romeo, but now I just feel like shit because I miss them all so damn much.
“Myriah misses you,” Onyx says in a way that makes my heart hurt, and my head pops up to meet his gaze. “And Sally, even though she would never say as much.” His kind eyes, filled with a gentle sorrow, mirror the pain that’s consuming me. He knows how much this is getting to me.
Sadness overwhelms me, and I push my chair back quickly, not able to stand all their eyes on me anymore. “Sorry, I need a minute,” I stutter out, taking off for the powder room in a rush.
I can’t stand it.
Yeah, I was trying to bait Romeo to get him to tell me what he’s keeping from me, but fuck, the reality of what I’m missing out on hits me right in the fucking feels. I love that club, it’s my home, the women in it my family, and being away from them is crushing my soul in a way I never thought possible. I try to suck in deep breaths, my ribcage feeling like it’s caving in on me.
A sharp knock echoes through the quiet powder room, making me jump. I suck in a deep breath and fan my face, trying to get my emotions in check for whoever is on the other side.
When I crack open the door, I’m surprised to see Orlando. Out of any of them, I thought he would be the least likely to follow me back here when I’m clearly having a moment.
He shoves his shoe in the gap I have left so I can’t close the door on him. “Are you okay?” he demands, his voice tight.
When I don’t say anything in response, he forces his way in. Wrapping his arms around me, he pulls me in close. “I know why I have to stay here. But every day I do, I lose another little bit of myself,” I admit, my chest heaving with unshed tears.
He strokes my hair tenderly, still holding me close. “Hopefully it won’t be for much longer, treasure.” His voice is quiet, and I know the idea of me going back to my life kills him just as much as the idea of staying here kills me. But I think he would let me go when it’s safe, I think he cares about me that much.
I pull back just a little so I can see his expression. “I won’t leave you, you can come home with me,” I say, hearing the neediness in my own voice. I don’t know how it’s possible, but the lines have blurred, and I’ve become just as addicted to him as he is me.
His steely control slips back into place, and I know I overstepped some fucked-up boundary with him by telling him what I wanted. “You better come out and finish your breakfast, Onyx is getting twitchy. That man has worse control issues than I do,” he mutters with no humor in his voice.
His comment makes me huff out a laugh, knowing how true his words are, but he still doesn’t crack a smile. My eyes meet his, and I stare up at him for the longest time. I feel like I have gotten to know him quite well in our time together, but can you ever really know a man like Orlando? He carries so much damage along with him. Maybe he’s only ever a sliver of who he wants me to see and deep down the monster still lingers, waiting for the moment to break free and rule again. “Orlando, is it you who’s going to break my heart?” I ask, the words no more than a whisper, I’m so nervous to ask them.
His head drops to mine, our foreheads touching, and we stay like this for some time. Him holding me so close, I feel his love for me. It should scare me, and in a way it does, but I want it anyway. “I hope not, treasure. Everything I do, I do it for you. I only want you to be happy.” He sweeps me up in a passionate kiss that I feel all the way to my toes. And I believe him, he only wants the best for me. But it doesn’t solve the mystery of who Romeo was talking to. Or who is going to break my heart.
Chapter 24
OrlandoandRomeodisappearinto the den again after breakfast, leaving me with time to catch up with just Onyx and Reef without the tension of the twins around.
I look over at Onyx, chewing the inside of my lip. “What do you think they’re talking about?”
