Page 82 of Don't Lie To Me

“Not this time.” I grin back at him. He did me a solid without even knowing I was using him this time.

His eyes, sharp and calculating, roam over me, assessing every detail. “How close have you and my cousin gotten since becoming business partners?” he asks.

I fold one arm over the other, puffing out my chest, hoping for a surge of confidence. “What’s it to you, Moretti?”

He pushes off his desk and moves in closer to me. “A little birdy tells me he’s moved out of my place and is shacking up with you.”

“Don’t believe everything you hear, Alex.” I huff out a laugh, not needing the whole world to know about the situation I have found myself in.

He chuckles darkly, and I already know he knows it’s the truth. Damn it. “I have something for you.” He reaches into his suit pocket and hands me a folded piece of paper. “Just to make sure you know what you’re getting into.”

Onyx is standing so close I can feel the heat radiating from his body and the sudden tension that stiffens his frame.

I take the piece of paper and unfold it, curious to see what else he has uncovered about his cousin for me.

“You didn’t get this from me,” I hear him mutter, but I’m already distracted reading over the contract.

My hands start to shake as the words make more sense than I want them to. It’s a contract between Sydney Stryker and Emilio Moretti signing me over to his eldest son, Orlando Moretti, as his wife. My eyes rise to meet the two men now standing watching me. “Who is Orlando Moretti?” I ask the both of them. One of them better have an answer for me because this shit is fucked up.

“Romeo’s twin brother,” Alex says, his voice low, eyes narrowed as he watches Onyx for his response.

Irritation crawls down my spine. “Where is he now?” I demand, wondering what fresh hell I have waiting for me when this guy comes for what he’s owed.

“I killed him when he tried to attack you,” Onyx admits.

A sickness washes over me as I spin back toward him. “That night, that’s who broke into Syd’s club and killed my mother? Those assholes were after me because of this bullshit contract.” I shake it at him like it’s all his fault, even though I know it isn’t. I thought they wanted me dead, but somehow this is worse. “I wasn’t even fucking sixteen, and he was going to sign me over to marry him,” I spit out, so much anger radiating through me I don’t know what to do with it.

His eyes meet mine, cold and empty, devoid of any remorse. “Why do you think I got you the hell out of there that night?”

Onyx knew all along. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, he keeps my fucking secrets locked up tight, even from me. “You killed him. Why doesn’t Romeo hate you for it?”

With a determined stride, Alex approaches the door, his hand already reaching for the knob. “Romeo and his brother might have been twins, but they were vastly different.”

I fix my glare on him. He’s just going to drop this shit in my lap then take off to enjoy the party out there? “Is this why Romeo thinks he owns me?” I snap back.

Alex runs a hand through his hair, thinking it over. “My guess is he wants to protect you because he knows how dangerous his family is, and if information like this got into the hands of the wrong person, you could be in big trouble. I don’t think Romeo is the bad guy you want him to be, Sloane.”

“Alex is right, Sloane, this is why you need to start listening to us. The guy stalking you could be anyone, but our guess is he has ties to Romeo’s family. You know they were the ones who killed your parents. They’re after you because of who you are, and they think you owe them something.”

They’re both on Romeo’s side now, they want me to trust him. “One of the men who signed this contract is dead and so is the man I was promised to, so how could this affect me in any way now?”

“Mafia family ties. While Romeo’s papa is still alive, he could be following up on old debts, you know how this shit works.” Alex huffs like he hates this world just as much as I do right now, but that couldn’t be true. He gets off on the drama of it all, it sells him papers.

“What about Romeo, why do you two trust him all of a sudden? He could be the one after me for his family, out for some revenge for his brother.”

Onyx moves closer to me. “If you got to know him properly, you would know there is no way that could be true. He hates his family and everything they stand for,” Onyx says with a bitterness to his tone I don’t appreciate.

Alex nods, agreeing with him. And I remember what they told me last night, about knowing each other from the group home. Him ending up in one of those places in America implies he was orphaned or abandoned. I suddenly feel desperate to understand him and how he ended up here without his family.

“Thanks for your help, Alex.” Onyx gives him a nod, then the two of them share a look, and I know the only reason Alex even gave me this today is because Onyx told him to so I would believe him about how real the threat is. They set this up.

My muscles coil, a furious energy surging through my veins, making my body so tight I’m not sure what to do.

“I’ll leave you two to it then. Use my office as long as you need to, just lock up when you’re done.” The way Alex looks between the two of us irritates me even more. Fuck, I hate the men of this world. It’s all control and secrets, anything to keep their women in line and under their thumb. Not fucking me. I have to work out how to make this all work for me.

As soon as the door is closed behind Alex, silence hangs heavy in the room, and I pin my stare on Onyx. “Give my phone back now and take me to my club,” I demand, my voice filled with venom that tells him not to mess with me.

He crosses one arm over the other, his muscles bulging. “Did you learn nothing this morning, trouble?”

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