“How many kids’ lives have they destroyed so they can keep this control?” I ask, my stomach twisting with sickness for them.
He shakes his head, and I see the torment he’s warring with. “Far too many. Us three are the lucky ones. We got out of that place alive, we have decent jobs and make it work for us. My time in that place was fucking messed up, Sloane. I have scars on the inside and out, ones time will never erase. But I got Romeo out of it and now you.” He offers me a half smile. He’s always looking for the silver lining, even when the situation is beyond horrible, and I know that’s what makes me adore him even more.
My heart sinks, knowing I’m not the blessing he wants me to be. They had it good, the two of them, before I came along. “I’m a complication you all can’t afford, aren’t I?” I blink back at him waiting for his response, even though I already know it’s the truth.
His green eyes meet with mine, and I see the pain he carries, but I also see something else when he looks at me, hope maybe. “You’re worth the trouble.”
I sigh heavily, feeling the weight of his words pressing down on me. “I’m not. Why did you and Romeo get involved with me? You should have stayed the hell away.”
His arm snakes around my shoulders and he pulls me in closer to him, kissing my forehead. “We couldn’t, wildcat, we both knew you had to be ours.” His lips find mine again, and he kisses me, his hands coming to either side of my face so he can hold me close.
When we eventually pull back from each other, I’m breathless. This man hardly knows me but makes me giddy with just a kiss. I gaze up at him, wondering how we can ever really make a relationship work. It’s clear he and Romeo are in love, and they both think they want me as a part of their relationship, but then there is Onyx and Orlando. When the five of us were together last night, it felt possible. But in the light of day, that all feels like a fantasy that could never be real. It’s all just so complicated.
“We couldn’t believe it when we started to research you and worked out Onyx was working for your family. Neither of us had seen him or heard from him in years. I honestly thought he was dead.”
“Why did you think that?”
“He went out one night to one of the underground fights they made him compete in, and he never came back. Kids had died at them before, we all knew they had, but we couldn’t believe it because Onyx was different, he never lost.”
Goosebumps scatter up my arms. I see the unshed tears in his eyes; he really thought his friend was dead. For years they must have both thought he was, that’s horrible. “But he was sold to my family that night, that’s what happened, isn’t it. That’s what Orlando said.”
His gaze finds mine, and in the depth of his eyes, I see the confirmation I need. “You need to ask Onyx about whathappened to him that night, it’s his story to tell.” His tone shifts, a seriousness creeping into his voice that I don’t like.
“You saw Onyx working for me and then what?” I ask, needing the rest of the story I interrupted.
The cheeky smile returns to his face. “Then we knew we had an in with you.”
My eyes go wide. “Onyx let you in my club?”
“Wildcat, you’re not easy to get access to. Even when Romeo had worked out how to manipulate your brothers, Onyx would do anything to protect you and make sure no one ever got close to you. You only got to know Romeo and me because Onyx allowed you to.”
I stare back at him, more confused than ever. Onyx didn’t want me to get to know either of them. He called my brothers in on Reef twice and had a go at me about talking to Romeo at my party. He made it so hard for me. But I also remember his words the day after Romeo and I hooked up—he said I had started something I wasn’t going to be able to stop. He meant for all of them and me. He knew what this was and how deep I was going to be in with the lot of them. He let it happen anyway, and that only means one thing. He wants this just as much, even if he won’t ever admit it.
I study Reef as he runs a hand through his sandy-blond hair. He’s the easygoing one of the three of them, happy to go along with the others’ instructions. Romeo comes across as the boss, he likes to be in charge and dish out the orders, but when it comes to Onyx, I don’t think that’s true. Onyx holds something over him. Maybe something from their time at the home. Reef did say he was unbeatable in his fights. “Is Onyx in charge of you and Romeo?” I ask, knowing it sounds strange, but I need to understand this dynamic. I know Onyx wants to control me; he has some serious boundary issues when it comes to me. Is he likethat with everyone? And was that the only way the boys got an in with me? If they followed his instructions?
“Don’t ever ask Romeo that question.” A low chuckle rumbles in his chest, but his eyes hold a chilling seriousness. Romeo would never admit to being under anyone’s thumb. I already knew that much, but it doesn’t mean it’s not true. “We have a lot of respect for the big dude. He saved my life on more than one occasion back in the home, Romeo’s as well. That’s how we became so close. If it wasn’t for him, we both wouldn’t be here today, and that’s the truth.”
I glance back up the cliff and find Onyx leaning into the wall with a cigarette in his mouth. He’s watching the two of us. Even if he’s keeping his distance, he’s never too far away. I bet he wishes he had video surveillance right now like he would in the club, so he could hear this conversation. “We all owe him our lives,” I agree.
Reef nods. “I heard what he did for you the night Orlando came for you. The night your mom died. He’s a good man, he would do anything for the three of us. What I can’t understand is how you can forgive Orlando for what he did to you. It killed me to see those videos of the two of you together.”
My stomach knots up. “I’m so sorry, Reef. He shouldn’t have done that. It’s fucked up he sent them to you guys.”
“Yeah, it was. I’ve never seen Romeo so furious.”
“As much as he can be a jealous asshole sometimes, he’s not the same man he was back then. He cares about me.”
“Are you sure about that?” He cocks a brow like he doesn’t believe it.
“Positive. I wasn’t at first, I swear I had every intention of killing him and getting back to you guys any way I could. But I got to know him this week. I’ve seen how different he is for myself. I know it’s hard for you to imagine, but he’s been really kind to me. He took care of me when I got injured. And when Ireally needed him to, he got me out of the club so Syd couldn’t get to me. I owe him a lot as well, probably my life.” As I say it, I realize how much I really do owe him. He’s saved me, and not only that, but I’ve fallen for him just as deeply as I have the other three.
“It’s true, he would do anything for you,” Reef agrees, but a shadow of warning flickers in his eyes.
“But you’re still not convinced.”
“Sloane, I’m not supposed to tell you this, but Orlando is coming out of hiding to accept his place as the don of the Moretti organization in Italy. He’s about to become the very man he’s been hiding from all this time. And we both know what that means. He will have to become the cruel leader he’s been trained to be. It’s what’s expected, and his papa will accept nothing less.”
My body stiffens as anger courses through me. How dare he! “He lied to me. He said he was going to put his younger brother in charge.”
