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“I counted down those 365 days, hating each day when time moved slowly. On your sixteenth birthday I told River she had to deal with me loving you because I was done waiting and watching you from a distance.” Her eyes are wide and filled with unshed tears. “I went to my sister to tell her I was claiming you and it didn’t matter what she said, I was prepared to fight her if it came down to it.” Sadness laces each of my words.
“What happened?” she asks barely above a whisper, her grip on the blanket is so tight her knuckles begin to turn white.
“I didn’t get a chance to utter a single word, she told me she was proud of me for proving that I was worthy of you by waiting out the year for you to turn sixteen.” I toss the envelope onto her lap and stand turning my back to her. I can’t look at her, it’s too fucking hard. “The contents inside are the truth about what happened six years ago, do with it what you want.” I make my way to the door, needing to get the fuck out of here and clear my head but the sound of her voice has me freezing with my hand on the door knob.
“I thought this is what you wanted? You said you had to know the truth, and now you have it you don’t want it?” She’s confused and I get it. My own head is fucked up. I keep my back to her as I answer.
“After last night, I think I made it clear it doesn’t matter what you do to me because I’ll always come back to you. I should have been more careful about who I trusted but salt and sugar look the same just like how you look like my Lake but you don’t have my Lake’s memories or heart.” I laugh but there is no humor to it. “You may not have her heart or mind but my own fucking heart doesn’t seem to care, so do what you want with the information inside there. If you plan to take me down just do me a favor and spare my mom, Taylan and Xander.” I slip out the door and close it behind me. I give myself a solid minute to get my shit straight before I make my way downstairs to get my men sorted into position.
“That doesn’t work!” Cohen snaps at Floyd.
“Then what the fuck do you suggest because no one can find Gio’s brother, no one even knows what the fucker looks like,” Stu shouts. I scrub a hand down my face and slouch back in my chair. We have been at this for fucking hours. All my captains are here and so are Xander and Taylan, the latter trying to help but Xander has just been sitting there glaring at me and I’m about to pound the fuckers face in soon.
“Mase, you were tracking him, what does he look like?” Patrick asks. Mase opens his mouth, then snaps it closed twice before he finally manages to speak.
“I actually didn’t see his face.” Chaos erupts, they all begin shouting and blaming each other for us not being able to find Gio and Percy but I can’t deal with this shit any longer.
“Shut the fuck up!” I roar. The bickering instantly stops at my outburst, all bowing their heads and claiming their seats. I reach into my desk drawer and pull out the folder on the Dario and Da Luca family, it’s time I told the truth. I find the picture of Christiano and slap it on the edge of my desk so they can all see.
“He looks familiar,” Patrick mutters and scrunches his face as he tries to recall why he thinks he looks familiar.
“I’ve heard whispers about some of the men thinking I was scared and that’s why I didn’t take Gio out years ago.” They each exchange a loaded look while Taylan and Xan stare at me in surprise. I haven’t told anyone the truth about how I came to be the Don of the Re Della Strada formally known as the Da Luca family.
“We’ll take care of it,” Mase vows but I raise my hand stopping him. I should have come clean years ago but I was too jaded and angry. Taylan’s words were what spurred my decision to give her the documents. If she has really lost her memories and my sister’s death wasn’t her fault I need her to know I choose her! She needs to know I will always fucking choose her without thought because make no mistake, Lakeland Deveraux is my person.
“Some of you worked for Roberto Da Luca.” It wasn’t meant as a snide remark but Stu and Cohen both drop their gazes. I gave each man a choice to follow me and prove they could be trusted or fall to their knees and eat a bullet. “Some of you think he chose me to lead before he was murdered. Some think I murdered him in cold blood while others assume I was chosen by the people as the new head of the family.” I search through the file of the Da Luca family and pull the two papers I need out and place them on the edge of my desk. Stu grabs them and reads over each one before darting his shocked gaze at me before passing them to the others who each have the same look on their faces.
“Holy shit,” Patrick mutters as he hands Tay the papers, who doesn’t bother to glance at them before tossing them back onto my desk.
“As you can see from both mine and Waverly’s birth certificates, Roberto Da Luca was our father and I did kill that motherfucker in cold blood and stole his empire out from underneath him before his body was even cold. Giovani only lives because he is Roberto’s half-brother and my…Uncle. The night I shot Roberto in the back, Gio was there. We came to an agreement that he could take up in Quebec and live out his days there in peace so long as he never tried to rise against me.”
“Did working with Percy break that deal?” Cohen asks. Blowing out a loud exhale, I continue on.
“I took Roberto out because he wouldn’t have helped me take out the Deveraux family for killing my sister.” All their eyes are wide, knowing there is a Deveraux under this very roof. “Well, that and learning my mother ran from him because he wanted my sister to turn tricks when she came of age.” Disgust is present on every one of their faces. “Lakeland was promised to Roberto when she was seventeen, that deal was struck because Percy, the dirty cunt, found out Roberto was my father and wanted to punish Lakeland for falling for a street rat and that union would have made him a shit load of money, of course, I ruined that deal. For years we lived peacefully until Gio broke his end of the deal by agreeing to marry my girl?—”
“Your girl?” Xander sneers. Pushing to my feet, I lay my hands flat on my desk as I bend forward, holding his gaze so he can see in my own eyes that if he continues to come after Lakeland that he and I will come to fucking blows.
“Yeah, my fucking girl. You got a problem with that?” His nostrils flare a second before he stands and mimics my stance, leaning in close to me.
“You forgot your girl is the one that killed your sister.” I snap my arm out and grip his throat. Before he can fight back, I start pounding his face in with my other hand. I manage three solid punches before Taylan and the rest of the guys pull us apart. Xander and I continue to shout at each other, promising to kill each other.
“What the fuck is going on in here?” We both snap our mouths closed and turn toward the doorway where my mother stands, looking fucking livid but it’s the sight of Lake standing beside her that captures my attention. My gaze drops to her hands and my breath lodges at the sight of the papers in her hand. I look back at her face and tense at the sight of the dried tear stains on her cheeks.
She may know the truth but I can see it in her eyes that she still doesn’t remember who I am.
Lakeland
I stare at the closed door as his words continue to play over and over in my mind. I heard the truth as he spoke them. I could see it in his eyes how much he meant everything he said. It’s so strange to hear how much he cares for me and loves me, while I know virtually nothing about him. The envelope in my lap draws my attention and I nibble on my lip, trying to decide what to do with it. I am dying to know what is inside it but I’m also scared to find out the truth.
“Ahhh,” I groan as I toss the covers back and head into the bathroom to shower, giving myself some time to calm down and think clearly. After showering, I wrap a towel around my body and cringe at the sight of all the hickeys across the tops of my tits and collarbone. I turn my head to see two large ones on either side of my neck—those are going to be a bitch to try to hide. Resigned to the fact Knox is a possessive asshole and will continue to do what he wants, I pull the ensuite door open and enter the room only to slam to a halt at the sight of the woman with the pain-filled eyes sitting on the chair near the door.
She smiles warmly and some of the tension eases from me until I see her eyes land on the numerous love bites that mar my body from her son. I cringe. She tries not to smile at my clear embarrassment. “Knox asked me to bring you some clothes,” she says, motioning toward the bed. I nod on auto pilot and snag them from the bed, then rush back into the bathroom to change. I roll my eyes at the sight of the red lingerie, knowing that it was all Knox. The jeans hug my curves perfectly. I pull the sweater style top over my head and groan, it’s an off the shoulder top, leaving all the marks exposed. I pile my hair in a messy bun atop my head before steeling my spine and reentering the bedroom, only to cringe in shame at the sight of her making the bed.
“I can do that,” I rush to say. She smiles and waves me off.
“It appears you have something that needs your attention.” I frown, then she points to the manila envelope resting on the bedside table. The air whooshes out of me.
“I don’t think I want to know what’s inside there.”
