Page 40 of Dark Truths

She doesn’t respond. I only hear muffled sounds, like her phone is in her pocket. My heart drops to my stomach. It was just a butt dial.?

Still, I ask again, “Gabriella? Are you there?”

“Where is she?” a faint voice asks, and it takes me a moment to realize it belongs to Patrick O’Leary.

“Who?” That sounds like Enzo. The DiAngelo brothers best friend. His voice is a little more clear. He must be standing close to Gabriella.

“Don’t play dumb with me, boy. My worthless daughter.”

“She’s with Michael.” A rush of relief floods through me at the sound of her voice. It’s clear and strong, just like her.?

I throw the phone on speaker and then mute myself so no one can hear me as I stand. Grabbing my bulletproof vest, I quickly strap it on before holstering my guns and extra clips to it. As I reach for my phone, ready to locate her, the unmistakable sound of a gunshot rings out from the speaker, followed by Gabriella’s terrified scream.

17

Gabriella

I’ve always wanted to be an aunt and I knew my brothers would be wonderful fathers given how they cared for me as a girl ten years younger than them. For a little while there was hope when Michael married Sophia, despite my dislike for the woman. But when Michael learned he was sterile, that hope flew out the window.

So imagine our surprise when Rose reappeared after months claiming her baby boy, Liam, was Michael’s son. Of course there was plenty of doubt, but it only took one look at that little baby to know the truth. He’s a spitting image of his father, with the DiAngelo hazel eyes and the same nose. The only difference is his red hair. A trait he got from his mom.

Michael didn’t need the paternity test to prove Rose right, but Dad did. A necessary evil and something Rose understood. So the next question became…why was Michael told he was sterile? Why did the doctor lie? For the most part, I keep out of my family’s politics, but this was different. Someone intentionallybribed the doctor to lie. They still don’t know who, but my brothers will figure it out. And when they do, God have mercy on the poor bastard’s soul.

But the surprises didn’t stop there. Rose took us all for a loop when she confessed who she really is and her family’s identity. Rosaleen O’Leary or Rose for short. The youngest daughter of Patrick O’Leary, boss of the Irish mob in Miami and member of the High Table trio. Just a year younger than me, Rose survived a deadly car accident at twelve years old that claimed the lives of her mother and little brother. Blinded by grief, Patrick sent her away to go live with his brother in Ireland and that’s where she’s been for the last ten years. I only met her once before, at her mother’s funeral of all places, but it had been through a door. Rose had run off during the wake and yelled at me to go away. I was impressed with her fiery spirit and had she stayed, I think we would have been good friends. I’ve met her older sister, Grace, a handful of times at family functions, but I wouldn’t call us best friends. However, from what I have seen, she is a kind woman recently married to her father’s second, a man named Connor. Oddly enough it was at this wedding where Rose disappeared, which we now know was intentional because she would have just learned about her pregnancy. And since her father had brought her home for the sole purpose of marrying Igor Mikailhov, a man old enough to be her grandfather, I can’t say I blame her for running off to protect her unborn child.

“So, what do you think?” Enzo asks, keeping his deep voice light and quiet since Rose and Liam are asleep nearby on the couch.

“About?”

He nods to the pair. “Them. This. Everything.”

I glance at Rose and how she holds one of Liam’s tiny hands in hers. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I’m envious and jealous of the sight. I was a mother who never knew I was until it was too late.And the title was taken from me just as quickly as my baby was. Too young for a heartbeat, too young to know the gender, but my baby all the same. A life created that didn’t get a chance to live.

Sometimes, I dream at night of what kind of life that may have been. A dark-haired boy with bright hazel eyes who would grow up to follow in his mom’s footsteps and become a doctor. Or a little girl with beautiful blue eyes who would be Daddy’s little princess but also kick ass too.

I was angry for a while. And lost. And sad. My emotions were all over the place that school became my anchor to help me refocus among the confusion and numbing pain. I battled with doubt and regret about Dimitri and my actions that night. How I directed my anger and pain at him. Granted, my words were true, but also unnecessary and harsh at the time. The baby was just as much his as it was mine.Instead, I forced an ultimatum on him without giving him a chance to consider anything else before ordering him to leave.

By the time the morning came, I wanted nothing more than to beg him to come back, to apologize and hold me and be there with me through the pain, the rage, the anger, the grief. I called him, but only once. When my call went straight to voicemail, like I had been blocked, I had my answer from Dimitri. He didn't fight back the previous night, like he normally does when we disagree on something, because he didn't care. It was hard, but I eventually accepted the harsh reality that I really had been nothing but a plaything to pass the time at night.Someone he never planned to have a future with.

“I think they’re lucky they found each other,” I answer, my jealousy giving way to admiration. “Back then and now. Love like theirs is rare and special.”

“Yeah.” Enzo sighs. “I sometimes wonder if I’ll ever find something like that.”

I peer over at him with a playful smile. “Have you finally given up on winning your best friend’s little sister over? What happened to our forty-year-old plan?”

The large blond man snorts lightly. “Like you’ll still be single by then. Besides, your brothers would kill me and I rather like being alive. Thank you very much.”

I’m just teasing him. An inside joke between the two of us when Dad first talked about arranging a marriage for me.

“Yeah, you’re right. You’re far too old for me anyway.”

Enzo reaches over and lightly lands a punch to my arm. “This old man can still take you, little girl.”

“You can try. I’m much bigger now and have learned a lot since you were my trainer.”

“Oh yeah? Who have you learned from? Your brothers? They can barely take me down even when they pair up.”

“That’s because you’re the size of a bear and weigh as heavy as one too.”

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