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“I’m fine. I—”
“Shut it,” Rowe snapped, pointing at Dom. “You’re on my shit list right now. You get looked at and then fill us in on what the hell is happening.”
“Right, Boss.”
“Seth and Garrett will stay behind and wipe off potential prints. When they’re clear, Quinn will put in an anonymous call to the cops.”
“Agreed,” Abe said, putting Dom’s arm over his shoulder. He was sticking close to Dom. Regardless of what he’d learn in the next hour or two, he was not leaving this man’s side. Though from the pained look Dom was giving him, Abe had a feeling it wasn’t going to be easy to hear.Chapter ThirteenDom felt like shit. And it wasn’t just his aching ribs or his throbbing skull and cheek. He couldn’t meet the eyes of his friends who were gathered around him in Rowe’s office. It was by sheer luck that they managed to catch Rowe’s friend Dr. Frost as he clocked out from his shift as a trauma surgeon at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. Snow, as he was known to his close friends, managed to meet them at Ward Security and gave him a quick look-over. The doc estimated that Dom likely had some bruised ribs and a mild concussion, but nothing more. He pressed for Dom to go to the hospital for a thorough check, but he wasn’t going to budge.
The hospital was dangerous. It put him out in the open and potentially away from Abe. And nothing was going to separate him from Abe, even if the man didn’t want to see him again after learning everything.
Exhausted, Snow just threw up his hands, asking why he’d even bothered to show up if no one was going to listen to him. Noah swooped in and walked the doctor to his car. Dom could have sworn he heard the man whispering something about plans for a twisted baby shower later that fall to celebrate Lucas and Andrei’s impending bundle of joy. It was enough to distract him, because the doc’s low chuckle echoed down the hall.
Sighing softly, Dom risked a glance up at the people gathered in Rowe’s office. Garrett and Seth were still on their way back from The Joint, but Quinn hovered near the door, while Rowe sat on the edge of his desk. Royce, who’d just gotten off duty, was leaning against the wall. And Abe sat on the big leather couch next to him, his big hand wrapped around his forearm, but above the bandages Snow had wrapped around his wrists. He’d shredded them in an attempt to get loose.
Closing his eyes, he just couldn’t look at their worried expressions anymore. He didn’t deserve it. Didn’t deserve their concern. Didn’t deserve to be there.
“Dominic,” Rowe said firmly but gently. “What’s going on?”
“I’m a fraud. I’m a fucking fraud,” he choked out. He had to say the words. Had to purge all the lies like cutting off a rotting limb. Even if it meant losing the only family he had left. Even if it meant losing Abe.
“You’re not a fraud,” Abe said sharply.
Dom opened his eyes and looked over at Abe, but he was all blurry. Dom blinked and then looked away again, focusing on his own shaking hands in front of him. “I am. My name isn’t even Dominic Walsh. It’s John O’Brien. My brother, James, is my identical twin. Growing up in California, we looked exactly alike. We dressed alike. We even talked alike.” He paused and snorted derisively. “I was even sure that we thought exactly alike.”
Pausing, Dom looked up at Rowe. God, how he looked up to that man. Rowe had quickly become his hero when Dom came to work for Ward Security. Not only did he know everything about Dom’s past and still choose to take him on as an employee, but he took the time to teach him everything he knew. Rowan Ward was fucking fearless. He protected his friends and his family with a ruthlessness that was both frightening and awe-inspiring. In the years since Dom had come to work for Ward, he only wanted to make him proud. But now, Dom simply felt like a failure.
“It’s okay, Dom,” Rowe murmured.
“My father was a grifter. He taught my brother and me what he considered the family trade. He showed us all his tricks, and then he convinced us to pretend to just be one person—James O’Brien. John didn’t really exist. We were always James.”
“But what about school?” Abe asked.
Dom shook his head. “We didn’t go. Dad taught us the basics. We knew math for setting odds and taking bets if he was running books. We knew how to read and write for jobs, but that was about it. Rowe was the one who pushed me to get my GED.” Dom closed his eyes. He couldn’t look at his coworkers or Abe. The man he was falling for had at least one college degree and was hands down one of the smartest people he knew. Dom was barely fucking literate.
