Page 2 of Don't Break My Heart
His fingers press into my chin as he forces my face up to meet his, our eyes lock again, and I see the determination he still has inside even when his body is so broken. He hasn’t lost the will to fight. “Find something deep down inside. I don’t care if it’s rage aimed at us for letting this happen to you, but fucking find it, doll face. Stay strong. You have all of us. Orlando will be by your side, and Onyx, Reef, and I will be in the same villa with you as well.”
“What, how?” I ask, wondering how they managed to keep us all together. Reef has work back here, and the way their papa looked atOnyx made it pretty clear that he didn’t trust him. Why would he let them come to Italy with us?
He leans a little closer so his lips brush over my earlobe. “The old man isn’t as smart as he thinks. He might be a master manipulator, but he taught both of his sons how to be as well.”
“Reef’s job?” I ask, my voice hardly a whisper because I already know I don’t want the answer. If he’s free to come with us, I know it’s bad.
“Don’t ask.” He sucks in a sharp breath, and I see the sadness that washes over him, and I know Reef no longer has a job. Fuck, he lost his job because of me. My chest aches for him. “He and Onyx will be your security while we stay in Italy.” He slips his hand free and stands carefully, sucking in a labored breath as he does. “Better help get your bags packed, we can’t keep him waiting.” He moves into the walk-in and returns with an armful of my stuff, carefully folding each item before placing them in the bag. He removes what I already had in there as well, neatly folding every item until it’s packed the way he likes. I stare back at him, my body too numb to move. “Go get your stuff from the bathroom,” he encourages me.
But I can’t move, I can’t help pack the bags that will see me dragged away from my life. I’m devastated for Reef, devastated for myself. How can this man have so much control over all of our lives, and there is nothing any of us can do about it? It’s so wrong.
He takes my shoulders in his hands and helps me to standing, turning me in the direction of the bathroom. “Quickly, Sloane.”
I give a small nod. On autopilot, I move into the bathroom and take everything I need from the drawers. On the counter are a couple of toiletry bags that I fill. I also grab my pills, the ones I have been so good at only taking my two a day. It’s why the boys trusted me with them again. I glance over my shoulder to make sure Romeo isn’t watchingbefore I pop open the top and grab another two out. I toss them back with a handful of water from the sink.Some days are just harder than others and you need it,I tell myself, even though I know I shouldn’t be taking more than my prescribed dose. Today I need them to block all of this shit out. To numb the constant pain my body is in. I pop the bottle in my jacket pocket just in case I need more.
When I return from the bathroom, Romeo has two bags stacked on the bed, one with clothes, the other shoes, handbags, and accessories. The sight of it all makes me feel sick, Orlando really does see me as some doll he can play dress-up with. Why else would he buy so many designer items for me? He’s dressing me to be his wife, his pretty possession standing quietly at his side. “Where do you want these?” I ask, trying not to act guilty as hell after taking more pills than I know I should.
He takes the bags from me and places them in with the shoes, trying to shove the thing closed. “How do you have so much stuff for your island stay?” he asks with a half-smile. I know he’s trying to lighten the tense mood, even if his smile doesn’t meet his pained eyes.
“Orlando,” I whisper, feeling kind of bad at how I treated him earlier. Especially now that I know what he’s been through. But he did this to us. He could have come clean with me anytime and told me I was already his wife, and he didn’t. I pick up the ring box again, not sure what to do with it. He clearly left it here because I need to wear it, but I don’t know if I can. Sliding that piece of jewelry onto my finger as a permanent reminder of who I am to him feels like admitting defeat. “The club?” I ask Romeo instead.
He takes my hand, squeezing my fingers tenderly. He knows what that club means to me. “It’s okay, doll face, we can run that place from anywhere in the world. At least now you can come out of hiding and communicate with your staff again.”
A small amount of hope ignites inside of me. I get to talk to my girls. I’ll take any silver lining I can.
Orlando’s voice comes from the doorway. “Are you packed? It’s time to leave.” He looks awkward, not sure if he should enter his own room or not.
“I’ll see you on the boat,” Romeo says, giving my hand another reassuring squeeze before he collects one of the bags and wheels it past Orlando.
Orlando closes the gap between us, standing just out of reach. “You need to wear it,” he demands.
I glance back at the ring then back to him. “I don’t want to be married.”
His eyes flash with something dark and unhinged. “But you are.” He snatches up the box and takes the ring out of it. “When this is all over, you can have a divorce if that’s what you want.”
“When this is all over.” I huff out a laugh. “We both know there is no way out of this situation you have me trapped in.”
With a cruel smile, he takes my hand and slides the ring onto my ring finger, looking satisfied once it’s in place. “There never was for me. It’s always been you, treasure.” His voice is lighter and filled with the warmth he normally holds for me. But his body language and features still hold a hard edge to them that says don’t fuck with me.
The ring sits heavy on my finger, like a lead weight dragging me down. My heart races as I stare back at him, the intensity of his words too much to take in my fragile state. This is what he wanted all along. For me to be his. His papa might be enforcing our contract, but he’s all in. And I know there is no way out. I’m his wife. Owned by the mafia and their soon-to-be new don.
Chapter 2
Afterwegotoffthe boat, our extra-dark-tinted Range Rover was escorted directly to the airport tarmac, followed by an equally well-concealed Mercedes that contained Emilio and his two bodyguards. The car ride, much like the boat ride, was deadly silent. At times I could feel their eyes on me, but I couldn’t look back. If I did, I would have crumbled into a mess on the floor and probably never been able to get back up again. The only way I can deal with this now is to block them all out.
Still, even without making eye contact, I can feel the oppressive heaviness hanging in the air. Our lives as we knew them will never be the same again, and there is nothing Reef, Onyx, and I can do about it. From what I witnessed this morning, Romeo and Orlando are just as helpless. It’s hard for me to imagine these four men at the mercy of a decrepit tyrant, but they are. It’s why Onyx didn’t kill him on the spot when I know he was ready to and why Orlando acted like a domineering psychopath, nearly strangling the life right out of me just to prove to his papa how powerful he really is. He holds something over all of them. A history or just the threat of hurting me. I wish I shot him when I had the chance. I could have done it, taken out Syd then gone for Emilio as well. I know if I did, I wouldn’t still be breathing, but what is worse, being killed knowing you have wiped pure evil offthis planet, or living and having to watch your life slowly being stolen away from you at the hands of a misogynistic dictator?
I glance past Romeo and out the window of our car. A small private jet waits for us to board, and I can’t help the churning in my stomach at the thought. The thought of flying when I never have, the thought of being trapped up in the air with such evil, the thought of what awaits me on the other side of the flight. I swallow the lump in my throat and try to get the sickness under control. I have to appear tough, even if I don’t feel it right now.
“Are you okay?” Romeo asks me, his voice holding an edge of concern. “I know you haven’t been on a plane before. The first time can be daunting.”
I fiddle with the ring on my finger, turning it round and round as I peer out the window toward the jet. “I’m fine,” I snip, bitchy as all hell. “It just looks small, not what I was imagining.”
Orlando takes my wrist like he’s about to drag me from the car, and I try to pull away from him. “Don’t touch me,” I warn under my breath. His forehead creases, but what the fuck did he expect after the way he treated me this morning?
I hear Onyx growl and see the way his fists clench. He’s on edge and barely holding it together, and if Orlando doesn’t watch himself, he will lose it completely, and I won’t stop him when he flicks to hulk mode.
Orlando’s lips twist at the sides as his dark eyes lock onto mine, and I feel like I’m seeing the real him for the first time, he’s like Jekyll and Hyde. “You’re my wife, and from now on, you do as you’re told. If you can’t...”
