Page 163 of Dangerous Contract: Part 2

He scoffed. “Save your explanations for the children you actually raised. Not the ones you left.”

“I had no choice. Your father was a horrible man,” she started. “I...”

“You just said he was a horrible man, and yet, you left us with him,” Raz interrupted, his voice thick with disdain. “You left us with someone you feared. Someone horrible. Someone who hurt you. You left your three babies with someone you were afraidof and never came back for them or sent help when you could. What does that say about you?”

Her face paled, her carefully composed mask cracking under his words.

“Go home,” he told her, his voice exhausted, resigned. “You’re years and hundreds of emotional scars too late to play the loving mother. I understand why you left. But you need to understand that we’re no longer the boys you left behind. We no longer need your help or your support. And you obviously never needed us. So, let this, whatever this is, go.” He looked down at Monique, his voice softening as he whispered, “I’m tired. Let’s go home, love.”

Monique nodded, her gaze filled with quiet understanding. Together, they turned toward the exit, followed by his brothers, young Denver, Leo, and Monique’s friends. As they passed his mother, she reached out as if to stop him, her hand brushing his arm.

Raz felt a surge of discomfort, but before he could pull away, Monique’s voice cut through the tension.

“Don’t touch him,” his Rosa hissed. “You don’t know him well enough to touch him.”

His mother jerked her hand back. “I’m his mother...”

“Mother is just a title,” Monique replied. “I have one too. We all have one. But not everyone has a mom, someone who protects them from the world. You’re not his mom. You left and never looked back. A mother doesn’t do that. You may not have had the courage to protect him, but I do. So, don’t touch my Raz.” She looked up at him. “Let’s go home.”

Raz couldn’t stop the smile that tugged at his lips. “Yes, ma’am.”

Together, they continued toward the exit. They were almost at the double doors when Cas’s voice broke the silence, forcingRaz to stop and look back. Cas, standing with Meka by his side, was staring at their mother, a conflicted expression on his face.

“I just have one question,” Cas said, his voice thick with emotion.

“Come on, Cas,” Rome urged.

“Not yet,” Cas said. “I have one question.” He met their mother’s eyes. “Will you answer it truthfully?”

A tear slipped down her cheek before she whispered, “Of course, son.”

“Don’t call me that.”

She flinched, going silent.

Cas took a deep breath and released it slowly before asking his question. “Was Don Cattaneo, the old don, my father? Or was the man I thought was my uncle... uncle Patrick, was he... my real father?”

The color drained from her face. She opened her mouth, but no words came out. However, the truth was there in her silence. She looked so upset, so broken, that Raz felt sorry for her. He hated that she’d experienced hell at the hands of his father and uncle.

He hated that she’d left Cas behind, not knowing whether or not he’d experience hell also. Cas was his responsibility. And as his big brother, he had to put Cas first. And he knew this was going to hurt his little brother for a very long time.

Finally finding her voice, she whispered, “I... How... How did you find out?”

Cas’s shoulders slumped, and he seemed to cave in on himself. Rome started in Cas’s direction but paused when Meka gently rubbed Cas’s back, her touch causing his shoulders to go back and motivating him to stand up straight again. Raz watched Cas stand tall for the woman he loved. His little brother’s gaze jerked to Meka’s.

“Let’s go home and talk about it,” Meka murmured softly. “We’ll get through this together. We’ll get through everything together.”

With a small nod, Cas leaned down and pressed a kiss to Meka’s forehead, then looked over at Raz. “Let’s go. There’s nothing left for us to do here.”

Raz nodded.

“First stop, hospital,” Rome insisted as they strode out of the building, leaving their father behind for the crew to clean up and leaving their mother standing, staring after them.

Raz loved his family. But he also understood that not all family was blood-related and not everyone who was blood-related should be considered family. Family were the ones who stood by you, the ones who fought beside you, the ones you protected and who protected you.

Family were the ones who chose to show up when you needed them. And right now, Raz was surrounded by family. With his Rose by his side, he headed to the car awaiting them, leaving the ghosts of their past behind.

And there was something else they were leaving behind. That was years of generational baggage. They’d been taught that love was weakness. They’d been taught that only family would have your back.

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