Page 39 of Don't Break My Heart
“How did Sydney Stryker get his hands on this girl?” I toss the image back across the table at Dante, my voice shaky as all fuck. But Iknow that’s why I’m here. He wants me rattled. He wants me to see the harsh reality of what is really going on.
“How do you think, Sloane. He could take his pick while he was working with Emilio.” His eyes meet with mine, something unhinged in them that tells me he might be a motherfucker, but even he draws the line someplace, and this is it. “Are you ready to do something about it yet?”
My heart kicks up a beat, knowing I can’t unsee this place, knowing I can’t walk away from this without doing something to help these women. I glance at Reef and Onyx, wondering what they make of all this.
Reef looks disgusted, and I know this place is making him feel just as sick as me.
“Why do you care so much?” I snap back at Dante, tears welling in my eyes as hopelessness hits me right in the gut.
Dante’s chair scrapes on the concrete, and he stands in a rush, a fresh wave of determination coming over him.
Romeo flies across the room, restraining him before he can move closer to me. “Tread carefully,” he warns him.
“That piece of shit is married to my sister. He’s put her through hell, and she won’t leave him because of the threat he’s put on our parents’ heads. I want her fucking freedom before she ends up dead at his hands, and I know you can make it happen. You have the power to change the future for Daisy and for the other girls suffering at his hands. At the Morettis’ hands.” He says the last part making eye contact with Romeo, shoving him off.
Romeo shoves him back, grabbing him by his shirt collar.
A fresh wave of anger comes over me, a helplessness for the girls’ suffering. “Let him go, Romeo. He has every right to be furious. I’ve seen what your little brother is doing to her, the bruises he’s left on herskin,” I spit out, looking between the twins for their fucking reaction. Their brother is a piece of shit.
Orlando moves toward me with purpose, and he takes my hands in his. “That’s why you didn’t sign the agreement.”
“We have to be sure. You can’t just hand this power over to anyone, Orlando, family or not.”
“That’s not the only reason, is it, Sloane?” Dante tilts his head, watching us together. “You haven’t told them, have you?”
I stare past Orlando and back at Dante, wondering what the hell he’s talking about.
He smirks devilishly, like he has a fucking ace in his pocket and he knows he’s about to win. “That bullet that hit you, Orlando, was meant for your wife. At the order of Valentine. What do you Moretti boys make of that? Looks like little brother is a chip off the old man’s shoulder.”
My eyes widen. Fuck, Dante, no.
Orlando’s furious eyes come to mine, but he doesn’t say anything. He snatches up my wrist, staring me down. “We’re leaving now,” he growls.
“You have my number, Sloane. I hope to hear from you very soon,” Dante calls after us as Onyx opens the door to the little room.
I try to pull free of Orlando’s grip on me, but it’s bruising, fresh rage coursing off him in waves. “I’m not done here,” I seethe under my breath, trying to get back some fucking control.
“Yes. You. Are.” He glares at me, dragging me back through the dingy club and out into the parking lot, with Onyx in front of us and Romeo and Reef behind. Romeo makes eye contact, and I can see he’s just as furious as his brother. But fuck him, I had very good reason for keeping this from them.
Onyx opens the back door of our car for me, and I’m forced inside. I snatch my arm back from Orlando, needing space. I stare out the front windshield as I try and get my erratic heart under control. The rest of them pile in. I’m trapped between Romeo and Orlando, with Reef and Onyx in the front. Onyx’s eyes find mine in the rearview mirror, a look that says it was never a good idea to keep shit from them. But fuck them, they keep shit from me all the time, and I was trying to make sure we had a way out. Not give them ammunition to take out our only option before I had time to investigate and think it all over.
Onyx takes off up the street, driving like a madman back in the direction we came from. And just like that, the meeting is over. I’m caged again.
“You ask me to trust you and you’re keeping shit from me,” Orlando fumes under his breath.
I glance at him, and he looks livid. “Would you have believed me if I told you what I knew about him? He’s your brother,” I spit back, letting him know I’m just as angry.
His eyes lock with mine, his expression hardening. “He’s a product of my papa, I know what he’s capable of.” Orlando’s voice booms through the car, shaking me to the core with our proximity.
“How the fuck are we supposed to keep you safe if you keep shit from us?” Romeo joins in on the witch hunt.
My furious glare flicks between them. “Are you mad at me or your brother?”
“I’m annoyed that my wife doesn’t feel as though she can come to me with vital information. Have you learned nothing in our time together?” Orlando glares back at me.
I stare back at him with the same intensity. What the fuck does he want me to say? This is his fault. If he didn’t overreact so much about everything, maybe I would come to him. But the truth is,I knew better. “When are you going to realize I don’t need you fighting my battles for me. I’m more than capable of taking care of myself.”
“Valentine is cut off. He won’t get any of it,” Orlando seethes, still glaring at me.
