AllFreeNovel
Share Us
His head snaps up so fast I swear he got whiplash. He narrows his eyes at me and glares. “You.”
“Turn it off, we all need a family chat.”
“We don’t want you back here,” he snarls at me.
“Trust me, I’m not back. Just here for a chat.” He flinches as if I slapped him.Fuck, I need to work on my people skills.
We all sit around the table, and I look to Shayla. “You want to say anything before I do, because I’m not pussy-footing around this shit.”
She shakes her head, and tears leak out from her eyes.
“What’s going on? Please tell us,” Laura pleads.
“You know why I left all them years ago?” I start.
Laura gives a slight shake. “I just knew there was lots of fighting.”
Luca snorts. “He left cos he’s a dick. ‘Nuff said.”
“Watch the attitude and the language!” I snap. “I left because your mother cheated.”
“What?” the kids ask in outrage.
“Mom said you cheated,” Laura says quietly as she stares at her mother.
“Never cheated. I loved your mother. Found her with my brother.”
Luca glares at his mother as Laura finally looks away, looking down to her lap.
“I was forgiving, stayed, trying to work it out with her, until I found out something I couldn’t forgive, ever. I filed for divorce, I thought it was all done, over with. I met someone, love of my life that woman, but because the divorce decree your mother mailed to me was a fake, I couldn’t marry her. Our wedding day, I found that shit out.” Laura then turns back to glare at her mother and Shayla looks at me. I wait to see if she’s going to say anything.
“What was the thing you found out that you couldn’t forgive?” Luca quietly asks.
I brace myself, knowing that what I'm about to tell them is going to fucking kill them and decide to just go for it, do it fast. Like ripping off a band-aid. “You guys, ain’t my kids.”
With that Shayla starts her bawling, and I roll my eyes.
“Your Uncle Matt is your father. That’s why I left. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t stay here, knowing you weren’t mine, knowing what my brother did to my family, and his.” Laura cries, Luca doesn’t look as angry with me as before. “I’m sorry kids, I was willing to leave this all a lie, but I can’t. I need my woman back, but I need to fix everything first. She thinks I have kids, you guys, and that I just left you, not caring.”
“But you did leave. You still abandoned us!” Luca snaps.
“I saw you, trust me. I just didn’t ever approach, it hurt too much. I know me leaving and not contacting you again was a shit thing to do, but it was something I had to do. I had to get away from the hurt and anger I felt towards your mother, and you kids. I didn’t want to leave you guys, but at the time it felt like the only option I had. I was never going to be out of your lives forever. Work has been my top priority, and I couldn’t just leave a job to check in.”
“But mom said you could have, that you had plenty of time to see us or call us, you’re only a bouncer at a bar,” Luca says, looking confused.
I give him a small smile. “Thing is, I’m not a bouncer, or any of the other jobs over the years I said I had, I’m a cop. Have been since before I married your mother, and a damn good undercover one too. I was never allowed to reveal that in case of my cover being blown.”
Shayla snaps her eyes in my direction.“What the hell?” I raise a brow at her, and her dark skin pales. “You’re going after Matt, aren’t you?” she whispers. “That’s why you told the kids the truth.” She’s partly right.
I nod. “My team is on their way to his offices now. I already called Layla and asked her to meet me in an hour and to turn her phone off. I want to be the one to tell her how Matt and you destroyed her life.”
Her face is so pale, and she’s shaking so violently, I almost feel as if I should back away in case she barfs.
“So,” Luca speaks up after a few minutes. “Does that mean we have to call you Uncle Dray now?” he asks, looking disgusted.
I give him a small grin. “Yeah, kid.” I pull out my phone, bringing up a picture of Melissa and our daughter Mikayla, and hand it to the kids. “That’s my woman and kid.”
I watch the kids scroll through the photos and smile, Luca laughs when he comes to the picture of me covered in baby shit that Melissa snapped before helping me out.
