Page 7 of Don't Break My Heart
With my heart hammering so hard I think I’m about to have a heart attack, I manage to pull my hand from his, trying to squeeze some life back into it as the blood pumps through my fingers again. There are so many things I want to say to him. I bite the inside of my mouth to stop the explicit words from spewing out. Because as much as death would be an easy way out here, I’m not a coward. I will fight this fucker with everything I have, even if I have no idea how. “I guess I should be impressed. Is that what you want? Me to congratulate you for your masterful manipulation skills?” I clap my hands. “You trapped all of us, good for you.”
Emilio’s glare darkens. “This isn’t some game, Ava. There is a war raging with the Contis, another Italian family. They run Conti Media and have been trying to take over our share for years.”
I feel Orlando stiffen at the name, and his fingers brush back up my leg. “Tell her what this is really about. She’s not stupid, she will find out soon anyway.”
Emilio’s eyes narrow on his son as he considers him. “Those Conti motherfuckers have been chipping away at our territories, and we need men back on the ground to fight for what I have worked so hard to build. Orlando and Romeo will take their place back in my family, alongside my other son, Valentine, giving us the upper hand again. They know their place and so will you. And every fucker in our family and the Contis will know who you are and exactly what you mean to our family from the moment this jet lands. It protects me and what is mine, and you will be my boys’ reason to fight for the legacy I built them.”
“This is all over drug territories?” I snip, disgusted.
“Amongst other things, but you won’t need to concern yourself with all of that, just be available to sign on the dotted line when Orlando needs you to.”
Rage bubbles up inside of me. He’s going to fucking use me to do his dirty work, and I won’t even know what the hell I’m involved in. Fuck this piece of shit. I sit forward to tell him as much when the harsh beep of the seatbelt light slices through the silence, its red glow pulsating over his head. We’re coming in to land. “Fu—” Orlando’s hand flies to my mouth, his fingers pressing over my lips so tightly the rest of my words come out muffled.
Emilio grins, knowing I’m angry, and there is nothing I can do about it. This is what he wanted. For me to suffer. “That is all. We can talk some more tomorrow when you come for dinner with the rest of the family to celebrate after my media conference. I just know Valentine will love you as much as my other sons.” Emilio dismisses us with the wave of his hand.
Orlando keeps one hand over my mouth, and the other arm wraps around me, collecting me from my seat as he practically drags me back to the boys. He doesn’t take his hand away until I’m slumped backin the plush leather chair. “What the fuck did I tell you about talking back. Do you want to get us both killed?”
I shake my head, frustration bubbling through me. “I hate you.” I’m so much more fucked than I even thought. This is why they are not fighting him. He’s set it up so if they do, I will die at the hands of his enemies. They have to work for him to protect me.
“It’s probably for the best.” Orlando looks me over, disappointed. That I hate him or that I wasn’t the perfect yes-girl he wanted me to be, I have no idea which one.
Romeo buckles my seatbelt for me when I haven’t moved to do it myself. “Are you alright?” he whispers in my ear, his words prickling over my skin.
Am I alright?! In what universe would I be? “Don’t even fucking pretend you care,” I snap back at him, bitchy as all hell. But fuck him. They both knew about this, and they let their papa blindside me. I get it, they will do anything for me. Watch over me for years, buy me every expensive item they can, kill… everything except stand up to Daddy.
Our jet touches down on the runway at Rome’s Ciampino Airport, and my heart leaps into my throat again. I grip the armrest, digging my fingernails in. Both Romeo and Orlando take my hands. Not even their papa’s steely glare stops Romeo this time. But the fear of flying fades in comparison to what is waiting for me on the ground in Italy. Emilio made me his sole heir, and not only will their brother hate me instantly, but his enemies become mine.
I stare at Onyx and Reef, trying to focus on the only good I can right now. I have them here with me. They won’t let anything happen to me, right? Reef offers me a tight smile, but I can’t even give one back. I’m done with all the fakeness. I want to curl up in a ball and cry until this is all over. That’s what they have reduced me to.
Once the engine dies down, the flight attendant from earlier appears again, smiling brightly at us. “Your bags are being unloaded as we speak and will be ferried to the waiting car. Just a few quick security checks, then you will be free to disembark,” she explains, her fake-as-fuck lashes fluttering flirtatiously for Onyx and Reef. The chirpiness of her voice grates on me like fingernails on a chalkboard.
Two men board the plane in official uniforms, their faces giving nothing away as they ask for our passports. Orlando hands over both mine and his, and they look over them briefly. Once they are satisfied, they move through to where Emilio is sitting, saying something in Italian I don’t understand. He hands them an envelope, and one of the men slips it inside his jacket pocket. They laugh together like old friends.
I glance over at Reef and Onyx, my brow raised. The look Reef gives me tells me he disapproves of whatever Emilio is up to. Some sort of bribery. Looks like he’s paying the authorities to let us all in the country without the proper checks, that’s my guess anyway. Either that or there is more on this plane than just people being brought into the country.
The two men leave with a curt nod in my direction.
First to disembark is Emilio, his two guards at his side, their hands resting near their weapons. He watches me as he passes, his eyes lingering on me with a smug, almost arrogant expression that makes my skin crawl. One I want so badly to knock off his face.
I sit forward, sighing heavily, knowing I have no choice but to get this over with. I’m here in Italy and there is nothing I can fucking do about it. “He trapped all of us, didn’t he?” I whisper to the boys.
Orlando stands and holds his hand out for me. “No more questions, treasure.” He almost looks apologetic as hesays it. Almost.
I glare back at him. Fuck, he’s pissing me off today. I can’t deal with being blocked out and told to just co-operate. Don’t they get it, I’m going to lose my shit if this is the life I have to live. With a heavy sigh, I place my hand in his, knowing I have no other choice.
With Reef and Onyx in front of us and Romeo behind, we move off the plane and down the stairs. A black Range Rover Autobiography LWB with extra-dark-tinted windows pulls up behind another one, where Emilio and his guards are getting in. The whole thing looks like a scene out of an action movie, and as we walk toward the waiting car, I feel like I’m having an out-of-body experience. Like I’m watching some other poor sucker go through all of this.
The boys take my hand, helping me into the car. Romeo’s lips drop to my ear. “You’re going to be okay, doll face,” he whispers. But I don’t believe him. It’s all lies.
The driver takes off as soon as we’re all in. I stare blankly out the front. We’re following the car carrying Emilio and his guards off the tarmac slowly, but I have no idea where we are going. Part of me wants to ask the others, knowing I will get no answer anyway.
The driver takes the corner, his tattooed fingers turning the wheel with grace. Strangely, he has the same ink as my brother. I glance at the man in the passenger seat and see he has Cruz’s messy blond hair hanging from under his baseball cap. Cruz and Jagger? My heart kicks up a beat. For a second I think I’m imagining them, so desperate for some sort of normality that I’m conjuring up hallucinations. How could it be them? It couldn’t. They really have sent me to a point of insanity, I’m actually losing my mind.
But as the passenger turns and winks at me, I know it’s Cruz.
I can’t help the stupid squeal that escapes me, a small slither of hope crawling under my skin for the first time today.
“Hey there, little sis.” Cruz grins at me, tipping the cap he has on in greeting.
