Donovan

12. Truth Is Out

I held his hand tighter as he continued. Donovan had never mentioned anything else about his mother after he had told me that she had died when he was younger.

"My dad was a drunk. A lousy bastard who drank himself to oblivion and beat his wife almost everyday, letting his three sons watch. We were too small back then to fight him. We were weak," his voice became quieter at the end as he held tighter onto my hand. I frowned at the thought of the three of them, watching their mother helplessly being beaten by the one man who was suppose to guide them.

"He was a bad man, Em. I held a gun at eight, did drugs at eleven and that's when my life turned upside down. Part of the reason why I would go on a strict diet or healthy eating was to remind myself that I would never harm nobody like that ever again. Our father was in some sort of gang, or so we thought it was but turns out, he worked for Marco Del Reyes who was also known as one of the most well known mafia leaders but everyone knew him as Shadow. The reason behind his nickname was because that's what he was. No police, FBI or any authorities had a picture of him and if he targeted a certain person, they would be gone without a trace. Even if you run, he has connections and he follows you everywhere."

"Like a shadow," I said in a shaky voice. He looked over to me and nodded.

"My father worked for him, Hell, he was his right hand man. The person he relied on the most. But Marco was in love with our mother so when our father suddenly took off, he took us under his wing and taught us the business." I looked up to meet his eyes with sorrow in mine. They were just children. How could a man do such a thing and teach them how to kill at a young age before teaching them how to love?

"Our mother hated him. She despised everything he stood for and how he was teaching us criminal ways but she told us to never take in the information that he poisoned us with. She raised us to be better men and we tried to get out of it but it was too late. We didn't even learn that Marco sent men to kill our mother until Vincent came back from his two year job." I gasped.

"Marco wouldn't cut us any slack though. We were his money makers because we were just that skilled at what we did for a living. We made up to millions each. He threatened all of us that if we were to leave, he would kill Pierce in front of us. Believe me when I say this, Marco is a cold-hearted son of a bitch. The only reason why Vincent left was for some job that Marco sent him on and it was some fucking suicide mission!" I held onto his arm as he slammed his glass across the counter.

"Wait. Why is Marco after Pierce then?" I inquired. He stared off blankly until his attention turned back to me.

"Pierce killed his son."

"Wait. He killed..."

"Marco's son. Gabriel Del Reyes was a sick fucker. He stood for everything his father was and raped women, killed innocents and murdered more people and children than you would ever believe." Donovan stared blankly at the counter before letting out a shaky sigh.

"Vincent.. He had a girlfriend. She was absolutely beautiful," he trailed off on his thoughts and I felt a heaviness weigh in my chest. The thoughts of where she was now frightened me but I needed to know what had happened to her. Was she the reason of the sadness behind Vincent's eyes?

"Her name was Alissa. Sweetest girl you could ever meet. She was never a tough person and broke down easily but Vincent and her were inseparable. He fucking loved her like his life depended on it." I felt my own tears blurring my vision but I wiped them quickly, making him glance at me. Without a sound, Donovan stood up and enveloped me in a warm embrace as he pulled me closer to his chest. I was still seated but he still held me closer as he towered me with his frame. I breathed him in like air. Hell. He was air for all I knew.