Page 200 of When We Fall: Part One

A soft knock on the door sounded out, ending the conversation.

“Come in,” I called.

The door cracked open, and Drake came into the room. Dom immediately bristled. I gave him a quick look in the hopes of getting him to stay calm. I didn’t want to have to fight with anyone.

Dom closed his eyes and drew in a few fortifying breaths. Anson and Trent came in just as he was opening them.

“Hey, is now a good time to talk?” Anson asked. “I’ve got some work I need to get done, so I’ll have to leave soon.”

Dom studied him for a moment before nodding. He didn’t look happy though. Drake took a seat far from Dom, which I thought was a good idea. Anson and Trent took up residence on the other chairs. Dom remained along on the couch.

“Speak,” Dom commanded, his attention focused on Anson. “Quickly.”

“OK. I’ll get right to the point. My name is Anson.” Anson sat forward. I admired that he wasn’t going to blow smoke up Dom’s ass. “You know my brother Trent. My birth name is Alessandro Arcangelo De Santis.”

“And I’m Tomasso De Santis,” Trent added softly.

Dom blinked at them in turn. “What?”

“Our sister was Gianna De Santis. She was Trent’s twin. She was murdered along with our mother several years ago. They tried to kill Trent too, but he survived. We didn’t even get a funeral for our mom or sister. We ran and have been on the run since. We didn’t know who our real father was. Mom left him years ago and never spoke of him. I have no real memory of him. No pictures. Nothing. Trent and Trin were just infants when our mother left him,” Anson’s voice wavered.

Dom frowned, but to his credit, he remained silent.

“I’ve been searching for their killer since. We had reason to believe it was one of Ivanov’s men. Trent got into Bolten. He worked his way in with the lords. I worked the streets, following any lead I could. We were searching for anything to go on.”

“Which De Santis are you related to? My grandfather Carmine never mentioned you to me, nor has my father.” Dom sat forward.

Trent and Anson glanced at one another.

Dom looked at me, and I sat forward in case I needed to intervene.

“My search led me to Matteo De Santis,” Anson said softly.

“My father?” Dom’s brows crinkled.

“Your father took me, Dom,” Drake said. “That day at the hospital? He offered me my freedom in exchange for Bianca. If I brought her to him, I’d be free. I accepted his offer.”

“What?” Dom was on his feet. I was quick to mine and got between him and Drake.

“Easy. Let him explain,” I urged. “Come on, Dom. Listen, man.”

Dom glared at Drake before he sat back in his seat. Drake sat too, and I breathed out a sigh of relief.

“Alessio was in charge of overseeing everything with me,” Drake said. “He’s a nice guy. I can see where Vincent gets it from.”

Dom continued to glare. I cast an uneasy look between them again. If Cole hadn’t been set on attending classes today because of some fucking biology test, I’d have him here with me. E was working and Fox had some football stuff to do. The only person I had was fucking Anson.

“He saved my life. Alessio.” Drake continued. “It was he who called off Matteo and Klaus. I was on my knees with a gun pointed at the back of my head. I really thought that was it. Alessio asked me questions about Bianca. About you and the kings. I answered with what I knew. I told him I’d gotten close to her while she was with us. They wanted to know how close. I said. . . things.”

Drake breathed out. “They asked me what I wanted most in my life. I said my freedom. It was offered on the condition that I bring her to Matteo. He really wanted her alive. I told Enzo what was going on. Ethan has developed a drug like his zombie drugs, only this one completely knocks someone out. He made me a dart version. I shot her with it. I faked her death for Tate. I figured I might be able to pass her death off to Matteo, too, rather than bring her to him.”

“Continue,” Dom snarled when Drake stopped for a moment.

“I hired in with your father. I got in close with Alessio. He told me some things. I found out about other things. I went into the fold and did some shit I’m not proud of, but the trust grew. Alessio and I became close. He told me Matteo was in love with a woman before he married your mother. Her name was Delilah. He seriously loved her. Alessio said you and Bianca remind him of Matteo and Delilah. They were young. Carmine had a marriage arranged for Matteo, however. He threatened to kill Delilah if Matteo didn’t stop seeing her. So, Matteo broke it off with her and kept her on the side. It worked for a while until she couldn’t handle him being married to another woman. She took their children and ran. She didn’t go far, though. I don’t know why. Maybe she kept hoping things would change. She did change her name and the kids’ names.”

Dom hadn’t moved an inch. He was way too damn calm. I didn’t know him well, but I did know Dominic De Santis was more dangerous when he was silent.

“Your father had a mistress. Delilah. While married to your mother,” Drake said. “The children are Alessandro, Tomasso, and Gianna.”