Page 27 of Don’t Break My Heart (Secrets of Ravens Hollow #3)

The five of us line up at the dimly lit club just before eleven. Orlando grips my hand with a vice-like strength. On my other side is Romeo, and behind us is Reef and Onyx. The tension has hit a new all-time high between them and me, with not one of them talking to me on the car ride over here.

They’re pissed.

More than pissed, they’re furious that I wouldn’t let this meeting with Dante go.

I know their papa said Dante is the enemy, but from all accounts I have seen, it was their papa that was the evil motherfucker destroying all their lives, and if he’s done the same to Dante and his family, then he has every reason to hate the Morettis.

I don’t trust him as far as I could throw him, but I want to hear what he has to say.

We pass the bouncer on the door, a burly man with his face covered in tattoos.

His piercing eyes rake over me in a way that makes me step closer to Orlando.

With nothing more than a nod from Orlando, he lets us inside.

This place isn’t like The Voliera; it’s grimier, darker, the scent of cheap perfume and cigarette smoke lingering in the air.

There is also an eeriness that gives me the creeps.

Skinny girls who look barely legal dance on the raised stage to a hypnotic beat, their eyes empty in a way that sends a shiver slithering down my spine.

“Who owns this place?” I whisper to the boys as we pass the run-down bar .

“You,” Onyx snaps back.

“Us, our papa used to,” Romeo responds quietly.

Sickness fills me, and I know they can see it written all over my face. They must. A club like this is my worst nightmare.

“We shouldn’t be here,” I hear Reef mutter to Onyx.

“Give her ten minutes to see the truth, then we get the fuck out of this shithole,” Onyx snips back.

Dante sees us walking through and approaches with the same two suited men at his sides as the funeral.

“You can’t go anywhere without an entourage of men, can you, Miss Stryker.

” Dante smirks at me, amusement dancing in his eyes.

He looks out of place in his expensive suit.

We all do. My little black dress is probably worth more than the whole property.

Orlando’s grip on my hand tightens protectively, and I feel Romeo’s suit jacket press into my arm on the other side. They sandwich me in, making it damn obvious that Dante is not welcome to come any closer to me. “It’s Mrs. Moretti,” Orlando corrects him, his voice holding a threatening edge.

“Forgive me, Mr. Moretti.” He offers a hand for Orlando to shake.

They share a look, one that says they know each other well.

History, both good and bad, that makes them just as weary of each other as it does familiar.

“Still can’t believe you’re alive,” he says, a warmth to his tone that tells me he’s pleased.

Orlando shakes his hand firmly, their eyes locked for some time. “Very much alive, to the disappointment of most, I’m sure.”

Dante chuckles. It’s light and pleasant, Orlando’s cold exterior not affecting him at all. “Some are very pleased to see you.”

Some? He doesn’t say him, but it’s implied .

Then Dante shifts his attention to Romeo, and the two of them shake hands. “Hope you had a chance to think on what we discussed the other night.”

“Not why I’m here tonight,” Romeo mutters back, his eyes flicking to me briefly, a guilty look in them I don’t like. What were they talking about at the ball?

I look over my shoulder to see what Onyx and Reef make of it, but they don’t give away anything if they know. Their faces are just as stony cold, their posture stiff, Onyx’s hand resting on his gun in a warning.

My attention returns to the man in front of me, wondering exactly why I’m here. Dante’s eyes light up when his attention lands on me. He holds a hand out for me. “Thank you, Mrs. Moretti, for meeting me here tonight. I wasn’t sure you would come.”

“Please call me Sloane.” I smile softly as I place my hand in his, and instead of shaking it, he brings it up to his lips, gently kissing the back of my hand, unaffected by the four men surrounding me.

This guy is gutsy. “It seemed important.” I take my hand back, and Orlando wraps his arm around me protectively.

“I wouldn’t have troubled you otherwise.” He motions for us to walk along behind him.

We follow, but as we go further into the club, the sickness in the pit of my stomach only churns more.

There is something about this place that reminds me of Syd’s club before I took it over.

Depressing is the word that comes to mind most. Romeo said we now own it, and I wonder if he has ideas to transfer what we have created with The Raven’s Nest to all their clubs in Italy. I hope so.

Dante glances back toward me, like he was waiting for my reaction at the state of the place, and I realize why he wanted to meet here and why the boys were so reluctant.

They knew what mess we were walking into, how bad this makes their papa look in my eyes.

“I know your feelings on the exploitation of innocent women for the gain of money-hungry motherfuckers.” He pushes open a door to a private room and we all follow him in.

“You let Valentine take over your Italian businesses, you will be helping to continue the same destructive cycle.” He flicks a button, and the glass wall behind us lights up, showcasing a couple on the stage, the girl bent over a bench, the man fucking her from behind.

“Don’t tell me you’re not here to make money, Dante, I know your type,” I huff out, slightly distracted by the view in front of me.

“Sweetheart. I’m here to make money, a shit ton of it. I just plan on doing it by taking over the cocaine trade, not destroying the lives of the innocent. Since I don’t think you have any interest in that colorful side of this world, I want to cut a deal with you.”

I lock my eyes with him. “I’m listening.”

“Do you know why I wanted you to meet me here?” he asks, motioning to the room we’re now in.

I scrunch up my face. “Because you’re into kinky business meetings with a show?” I sass, not sure why anyone would want to talk business while watching some couple fuck on a stage in front of them.

“Because I wanted you to see firsthand what is going on in Emilio’s establishments.

These women don’t have anyone protecting them, like the women who work for you.

” The edge to his voice tells me he’s done his research.

He knows what I’m all about, and he knew bringing me here would turn my stomach.

I step away from Orlando and move closer to the glass wall, watching the girl on the stage. She’s not into this, it’s fucking obvious. Just like the girls out front, her face is haunted, her eyes dead. Fuck. My hands start to shake, the overwhelming need to do something taking over .

“I’ll help you put a stop to the horrendous things Emilio has been doing with Valentine as his fucked-up sidekick, and you help me save my sister from him.”

“How do you know Valentine is involved so heavily with what Emilio was up to?” Romeo snips angrily from behind me, but I know he’s not defending his brother. He told me himself how horrible his brother is. He knows he’s deeply ingrained in this world.

I turn back to face the room, not able to watch the sickening show in front of me anymore.

Adrenaline kicks in, and I want to smash through the wall and put a stop to it.

My eyes scan the room for something to smash the glass with, but I know right now I have no power to do anything.

I need all the facts before I can act or more people will get hurt.

Orlando is surprisingly quiet, but as his eyes meet mine, I know he’s not surprised by this scene in front of us.

He knew what this was. It’s why he didn’t want me to come here tonight.

Even after all this time, they are both still hiding shit from me.

And I don’t know if it’s to protect me anymore or if they are trying to protect themselves.

Dante takes a seat at the table and pulls out a black folder, sliding it toward me over the little table in the center of the room.

I suck in a deep breath, trying to prepare myself for whatever I’m about to see.

I open the folder, and the first image staring back at me is the vacant eyes of a young girl I have seen before.

Platinum-blonde hair, pretty face, her hands bound.

My eyes flick straight to Romeo to see if he recognizes her as well.

“Fuck. That’s the girl we found in your club,” he says under his breath.

“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 I know 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.