Page 46 of Don't Hate Me

“Good idea,” Onyx agrees with him.

And I can’t help but smirk back at him cheekily, giving him a little salute.

“I’ll be in the den for the rest of the night,” he adds, I think just for me, before walking back through to the den.

I go to stand and go after him, but Romeo places a hand on my shoulder, stopping me. “Let him go, doll face. He needs his space.”

I glance at the closed door then back to Romeo. He’s probably right. The five of us in the one room, drinking, isn’t the best idea I ever had. In fact, it could be downright dangerous. And Orlando is used to being alone. This would be a whole thing for him, especially with these men and what they mean to me.

Romeo’s hand laces into mine, and he stares down at me, distracting me from worrying about Orlando. “I thought the worst when you were gone,” he admits, and I see the pain in his eyes.

“We thought the killer had you, Sloane. I’m still having nightmares.” Reef’s hand captures mine as well, and he tugs me up to standing, pulling me onto his lap so the three of us are sharing the sofa, all cozy under a blanket.

I sigh, imagining how horrible it would have been for them. “I know it must have been awful, I’m so sorry you all had to go through that. If it helps, I thought Orlando was Romeo gone fucking mental. Scared the shit out of me as well. And thenI tried to swim away from him and nearly drowned. It was a terrifying night.”

“It doesn’t help,” Onyx snips from his place in the armchair. He polishes off his drink as if the weight of the world is resting on his shoulders, and I offer him a sympathetic smile. I know this week would have been hell for him. The two of us have been inseparable for years, and I know what it was like for me—torturous.

“But he saved you from Syd?” Reef asks, as though he still doesn’t believe it.

“Yeah. Looks like he did.”

One of Orlando’s staff wheels in a trolley with a stack of desserts on it and places it on the coffee table in front of us. She then leaves some mugs and a pitcher of hot chocolate on the table as well. I thank her, and she scurries off back to the kitchen. This must be strange for the staff as well, so used to just looking after Orlando.

Reef pulls me toward him, kissing me as though he just can’t help it. Then Romeo does the same. The two of them just can’t keep their lips and hands off me, and I’m all for it. I missed them like crazy. I take the hot chocolate Onyx has poured for me, having a sip. It’s utterly delicious.

“You should eat as well,” he mutters. “Do you want cheesecake or chocolate pudding?” he asks, looking over the selection on the table in front of us.

“The pudding every time.” I smirk at him, and he hands me the dessert. “Thank you.” I’m half surprised he gave me the option and didn’t just hand it to me and say eat. The boys make their selection as well, and the four of us fall quiet, all trapped in our own thoughts. There is so much I want to say to them. So many questions I want to ask, but it’s so hard in this place.

When I finish my pudding, I snuggle back on Reef’s chest as he strokes my hair tenderly. Romeo watches us together, but notin a jealous way; it’s more like it makes him happy to see us together, and I wonder what it must be like for them. They have been in a relationship for a long time, and now there is me, with all my complications. It must be strange. He offers me a half smile back; it’s the sexy, slow type. But we can’t go there tonight, no matter how much I know he wants to.

“Did you know he was alive? I saw his damn angel tattoo and thought I was seeing a ghost,” I ask the burning question I have had since he came out of the den with Orlando this afternoon.

Romeo shakes his head, and I see the pain he still holds. This must have messed him up, finding out his brother was alive after all this time. “I hadn’t heard anything from him since the night he was supposed to have died. But I knew he was never buried and there was a small possibility he might be out there someplace.”

“I shot him in the chest; he was bleeding out all over your bed, Sloane. He was dead,” grumbles Onyx, and I can tell by his tone he still doesn’t believe it.

“I thought so as well. But we rushed out of that room so quickly, we must have been wrong. He said some doctor found him in the back alley of the club, bleeding heavily and unconscious. He took him in, operated, and saved his life. He was extremely lucky. Your fucked-up papa left him for dead, Romeo. It’s utterly disgusting.”

“Our papa is that kind of disgusting. I just don’t get it. Why hide, why fake your death and create this life away from society?”

I raise a brow, shocked he doesn’t understand. “Wouldn’t you, to escape that kind of life?”

“He was the golden child, our papa’s favorite, the perfect prodigy. Why the fuck did he want out of that life? He had it made, everything was about to be handed to him on a silver platter, including you. Then he fakes his death and vanishes.” Ihear the venom in Romeo’s voice; the anger he holds toward his brother is still there simmering just below the surface.

“I don’t think his life was as awesome as you’re making it out to be, Romeo,” I snap back, bitchy as all hell, but what the fuck, does he have no idea?

He huffs out a laugh. “He has you manipulated and wrapped around his little finger. It’s what he does, Sloane. He made you feel sorry for him so you would fall under his spell. I’m sure it wasn’t half as bad as he’s made it out to be.”

From the position where I’m sitting, I kick him in the ribs. He has no idea what he’s talking about, and that comment just rubbed me the wrong way.

“What was that for?” he complains, rubbing his ribs.

“For being a dick. You don’t know what you’re dribbling on about.” I wiggle out of Reef’s warm arms, needing space.

“Romeo,” Reef chastises him.

“What, I was just saying it how it is,” he grumbles.