Page 66 of Don't Hate Me

“That’s not what his papa wants.”

“But they think he’s dead,” I say in a panic. He can’t do this, I won’t let him.

“You and I both know Emilio Moretti is a smart man, he wouldn’t have been in charge so long if he wasn’t. Orlando knows as well, that’s why he took the hit on you. He knows his papa has tracked him down.”

“Because of me?”

He nods, and sickness overwhelms me. He stepped in to save me from Syd, and his fucking papa worked out he was alive. “Orlando was obsessed with you from the day he found out you were supposed to be his. His papa knew that.”

Pain radiates through my chest. I fucking knew there was more to all of this. I knew I shouldn’t have let him board that boat today, I could see it in his eyes he was hiding shit from me. “Why now, why let him stay in hiding for nine years if he wasjust going to force him to take over anyway?” I snap, my head spinning with how out of control I feel.

“My guess is Orlando watched you from afar to make sure the connection was never made, till he couldn’t anymore. Then he risked it to save you.”

My chest heaves, my shoulders feeling like they have been stacked with bricks, and my scared eyes connect with Reef’s again. “Fuck, I hope that’s not true.”

He offers me a sad smile, and I know it is. “From what I have heard, Emilio is unwell. Romeo thinks it’s cancer, but no one is admitting to anything. He can’t be seen to be weak in any way, but we believe he’s running out of time, and that’s why Romeo has been given so much control of the American businesses already. The twins will run the family business together, Orlando in Italy and Romeo here. It’s what Emilio always wanted, and together they will be unstoppable.”

My heart races frantically, knowing what all this means. I’m never going to see him again. And Orlando is going to become just like his papa. Romeo as well. “Why the hit on me then?” I ask. That part doesn’t make any sense.

His forehead creases. “You’re their weakness, his way of controlling his sons. They never would have done what he wanted if there wasn’t some threat on you. And my guess is Syd was used by Emilio to scare the shit out of all of us. He’s one crazy motherfucker, and Emilio would have known the boys would do anything to protect you if you came under a threat like that, including Orlando coming out of hiding. I think it was all a trap set up to catch the twins. I told them as much.”

I stand in a rush, adrenaline thumping through my veins in a way that makes me feel crazy. “We have to stop him, Reef, we can’t let him go right into his papa’s trap. He will be stuck in a life he despises. He will become someone he doesn’t want tobe,” I cry, my voice strained, pain aching all through my body for him.

Reef stands with me, taking my hands in his. “He’s doing it for you.”

I pull my hands free, too angry for him to touch me right now. “I won’t fucking let him,” I growl.

“You don’t have any choice, we’re stuck here on this island until Romeo returns for us.”

I look up to the end of the jetty, staring out at the vast ocean in front of us, hopelessness overwhelming me. “You have a phone, we could call the mainland for help. Jagger and my other brothers will come and get us. There has to be something we can do to stop Orlando from giving his fucking soul to the devil. This is what his papa wanted all along, but it’s not him, he’s not this person.” A strangled gasp escapes my lips as the words fight to be released. I can’t think straight, all I know is I have to do something.

Reef shakes his head sadly. “It’s too risky, they would kill me for even letting you try. You mean too much to all of us, wildcat.”

Tears well in my eyes. I’m so overwhelmed with fear and sadness for Orlando. “Why did you wait till now to tell me?” I spit, my words filled with venom. I pace the jetty, erratic energy thumping through me. “Fuck, Reef, this isn’t right! Romeo should stop him. Someone needs to stop him from making the biggest mistake of his life.” My whole body trembles as I say the words. I feel like I’m losing control. Having my own freedom stripped away is one thing, but Orlando losing his because of me is devastating in a whole new way I can’t stand for.

Reef reaches for me, but I shove him away, too frustrated to stay in one place. “Sometimes love makes people do crazy things, wildcat. You have to understand even if you don’t like it, this is Orlando’s choice. He knows what he’s doing. There was no way Romeo could talk him out of it, even if he wanted to.”

I recoil from him, needing space to process his words. I want to fight for Orlando, track his fucking papa down and eliminate him myself. I have a score to settle with him anyway. As I pace, crazy thoughts spiral through my head. I stare out over the ocean, wondering how long it would take me to swim back to the mainland. I have to find a way off this fucking island now more than ever. Or a way to call my brothers for help.

“Sloane,” Reef calls for me when I wander away from him.

“I need to be alone, Reef. I can’t believe all of you kept this from me.” I stride away from him, but then I remember he’s the one with a phone. I turn on the spot and stalk back toward him. I go right for what I want—his jeans pocket. I pull his phone free before he even registers what I’m doing. Then I move as fast as my feet will take me in the opposite direction, my damn sore ankle not letting me run as quickly as I know I can.

With Reef right behind me, I scramble up the rough sandstone steps, the gritty texture scraping against my palms, just before he lunges at me, capturing me in his strong grip. His arms wrap around my front as he brings me down to the ground, wrestling the phone from my fingers.

I cry out as the air is knocked from my lungs, and the chance slips away.

He spins me under him so he’s staring down at me, heaving for breath. “What the fuck, Sloane.”

I stare back at him, panting like a crazy person. “I can’t let him go through with it. You don’t know how evil their papa is.”

His angry eyes bore into me. “I have to because it’s the only way to keep you alive. We all agreed. This is what Orlando wants, and you have to accept it,” he spits back, showing me a side to him I haven’t seen yet.

I shake my head as tears fill my eyes, knowing I have pushed even Reef too far. They all let Orlando leave this place knowing the sacrifice he was making for me. They all kept it from me.I’m livid, but more than that, I’m petrified of what will happen to Orlando when he takes over from his papa. The man I have gotten to know and fallen for will never be the same. And it’s all because of me.

“I’m so sorry, wildcat. I can see what he means to you,” he says, holding me close.

“You don’t understand. He’s going to turn back into him,” I whisper as a sob wracks through my chest.