There is a buffet-type breakfast laid out for us, and the boys all pile up their plates. Onyx hands the plate he was filling to me with a raised brow that saysdon’t fight me on this, trouble. I take it and smile at him tightly. I get it, he needs the illusion of control in a situation completely out of his hands, a desperate attempt to cling to some appearance of order amidst the chaos. But the two of us are long overdue for a serious chat as to why. And while we’re locked up in this place over the next few days, I intend to find out every last thing about him. And Reef for that matter. They are both tight-lipped when it comes to their pasts, but I know there is a story to tell. There has to be. They know everything about me, it’s only fair I know everything about them and how they ended up here sitting at this table.
Starving, I scoop a mouthful of fluffy scrambled eggs into my mouth, trying to concentrate on my food so I don’t have to deal with the awkward tension in the room. Everyone is a little too quiet this morning, even Reef. I glance his way, and he’s already watching me. He gives me a half smile that I can’t help but return, and I wonder what he was thinking about. What they areall thinking about. Do they have regrets after what we did? I still kind of can’t believe it really happened. They brought my fantasy to life, even when they hate Orlando. And I know it sounds silly to say, but I feel different this morning. Like something changed for all of us last night. I know what it was. Just a bit of fun to pass the time. But it felt like more than that to me.
It’s times like this I wish to God I had Harley with me. I could really do with a lunch date with my girl right about now. She could help me get to the bottom of what this is. Because I would never admit this out loud to any of them, but this is more than just sex for me. I feel like there is this invisible chain attaching me to all of them. Like fate has brought us all together for a reason, and like it or not, we’re now stuck together.
A phone rings, its shrill tone piercing through the quiet, making me jump and nearly throw my fork across the table. Reef goes to answer it, his face turning more serious when he checks the caller ID. He stands quickly and moves away from the table. “Tell her I’m going to need a few more days. I have a lead…” is all I hear him say before he makes it out onto the pool deck and his voice is muffled.
“Work?” I ask Romeo. I had wondered how Reef could be staying here with us when he must have police work to do.
“Probably. A couple of days ago when he left, he told his boss that he was following a promising lead in the missing girl case. But who knows how long she will let him get away with that excuse.”
“Why does he need to keep working as a cop anyway. You two have enough money to do whatever you want with your lives,” asks Orlando, aiming his question at Romeo.
I watch Romeo for the answer, curious to know myself. Reef had implied he had a lot of money, but I didn’t realize it was his and Romeo’s together.
“He wants to be a cop,” Romeo mutters around a mouthful of food. “Besides, he can’t leave, not if he doesn’t want retaliation.”
Orlando’s eyes meet with mine. “From the family,” he says, and I know his answer is for me; the other boys in the room already know that little nugget of information.
“Exactly,” Romeo agrees.
I sit up a little taller, placing my knife and fork down. “What does that mean?” I ask, knowing I sound vapid, but what the hell.
Orlando throws me a look, one that makes me feel young and naïve even though we both know I’m not. “Everyone has a role to play. It’s how our papa and the other dons keep control.”
“Everyone except the ghost,” Romeo says with a bitterness to his tone, his comment meant for his brother.
Orlando’s brow rises as if challenging Romeo. “I play my role, Brother. Just because you didn’t know I was there for the last nine years doesn’t mean I wasn’t doing my bit.” His gaze locks with Romeo’s, and the two of them stare at each other for a beat, tension crackling in the air.
“What about Onyx?” I ask out of curiosity more than anything. But Onyx is also staying deadly quiet, and I want to know why.
“He doesn’t work for the Morettis anymore,” Romeo answers for him.
“Why?” I direct my question to Onyx, needing to hear it from him. “You all grew up in the same group home, I’m assuming run by the Moretti organization somehow. Don’t you only get out if you die?”
“Or you’re sold,” Orlando says.
Onyx’s posture changes, his chair scrapes along the ground, and he stands in a rush, looking like he’s going to fly across the table and take Orlando out. “Shut your fucking mouth,” he spits out.
My eyes snap to Onyx’s. “What? My family bought you?”
His angry eyes flick to me. “He has no fucking idea what he’s talking about,” he snips, but I know it’s a lie. I can see it in his eyes. He was sold to Syd, that’s how he came to live with us. What the fuck.
“Watch yourself,” Romeo snaps at his brother, venom in his voice, and I see how protective he is of Onyx for the first time. There is so much more going on here. So much history that I can’t even begin to understand.
With a gentle push, I recline my seat and move around the table toward Onyx. Reaching for his hand, I feel the slight tremor in it. “We don’t have to talk about it,” I tell him, placing my other hand on his chest, trying to calm him down. He squeezes my hand back, but I can still feel the rage vibrating off him and the way his heart races. That comment really has him worked up, and more than ever I want to understand why. I cast a glare at Orlando for causing trouble, and he shrugs, not caring one bit for the problem he caused.
“What did I miss?” Reef comes back into the room, looking toward me and Onyx with curiosity.
“Nothing.” I smile at him, hoping to defuse this situation with the distraction of his call. I move back from Onyx, seeing that he’s calming down. He takes a seat and I do the same. “Are you in trouble with your boss?” I keep my voice light and playful, even though I’m feeling anything but. Fuck, take me back to last night, at least the sexual tension was fun.
Reef retakes his seat at the table, running a hand through his hair, and I see the stress in his expression. He’s so different when it comes to his job. “I have a week to follow my lead undercover.”
“What about your partner, don’t you have to work with her?” I ask.
He lets out a heavy sigh. “I have to check in every day and feed her whatever information I find. It was the only wayI could come to the island with Romeo and Onyx. You boys better sort out your old man quickly. If this shit gets back to the commissioner, we’re all fucked. Sloane will be outed as the missing girl, and who knows what kind of new threats that will place on her head. And if they work out that I’m helping to hide her, I’ll lose my job, and we all know what that means.” The gravity in his tone, thick with unspoken dread, makes me not want to know.
“It’s not going to happen,” Romeo says more seriously, his eyes locking with Reef’s. He’s so protective of him. It’s that same look he gives me when he’s trying to convince me I’m safe with him. It’s sweet how close the two of them are.
