Chapter 29

Lakeland

I watch him drive away and see several of his men scrambling to get back in their cars and chase after their boss. Guilt churns inside me, after everything I have learned these past few weeks how could I have never thought about my presence being hard for any of them? I'm so angry with myself—no, I'm fucking angry that this horrible thing happened and I can't even recall a single fucking detail about it! I look back to the cabin Clara and the others entered and sigh, I can't go in there. They all hate me and I truly can't find it within myself to be mad at them for it, I deserve their hate.

I decide to give them some time alone and not have to deal with seeing my face and take a walk through the woods that surround these campground style cabins. I see men milling about keeping watch so I know I'll be safe. I follow the worn path and realize after a few moments that this is a trail. I wrap my arms around me to ward off the chill in the air. As I walk, I try to force myself to remember anything from the past about Knox. Each time I try my head begins to pound, the stabbing pain in the base of my skull has my bottom lip trembling as I try to fight off the pain.

I don't realize how far I have walked until the trees give way to a clearing and I spot a moss covered picnic table that has clearly been there for years. Feeling mentally and emotionally exhausted, I decide to take a seat and pray no one finds me. At least out here there is no one around to judge me as I finally allow my tears to fall. I bring my knees to my chest and wrap my arms around them and weep. I don't even know why the hell I am crying, I'm so confused and angry and I hate not being able to remember. Before finding out about losing my memories I was okay being alone in my father's house. I didn't know any difference until meeting Knox. Now, all I want is to just remember what the hell happened to me and why my father wanted me incapable of remembering anything about Knox or about that night.

A gust of wind sends a chill through me and I shiver. Not wanting to get sick at such a tense time, I stand ready to head back and hide in one of the cars but I freeze at the sight of a man standing at the edge of clearing. He wears a black jacket, gray slacks but it's the sight of his leather shoes that tells me he isn't one of Knox's men. His salt and pepper hair is windblown, his face is taught with tension, but it's his eyes that hold me captive, they are rich brown and hold so much guilt in them, that it has me tensing.

"I swore I would stay hidden, never let them know I was here and guard them from a distance but it seems, I can no longer keep that vow." I dart my gaze around, trying to find a quick escape but his eyes narrow as if he can sense my need to flee. "I'll chase you down."

"Why?" I ask, proud my voice doesn't quiver in fear. I know that this man isn't Karl or Gio, I saw their faces on the news.

"I know what happened to you, Lakeland." I suck in a sharp intake of breath.

"How do you know my name?" This time I can hear the hint of fear in my voice.

"I know a lot about you, I also know what it"s like to be with the people you love but because of your past you are forced to stay away because you don't want to continue to hurt them." I cock my head to the side and study him, something about this man seems so familiar, is he someone from my past?

"How do you know me?"

"I will explain everything to you, I swear it but I need you to come with me." I reel back and shake my head.

"You come anywhere near me and I'll scream." I warn him as fear begins to work its way through my body.

"Knox left nearly an hour ago, half of his men followed him and the rest have no idea you have even left the grounds." I back up only to hit my lower back against the table. "I won't harm you, I just want to help him."

My eyes widen a fraction. "Help who?"

"My son." I gasp, my jaw is practically on the floor but before I can utter a word or even scream the pain in my head returns with vengeance crippling me as I slam my eyes closed and cry out in pain.

"If you agree to marry me, I can get rid of Gio and stop him from going after my daughter. I need you to help me save my twins, I'm not the monster they think me to be, help me please, I beg you."

I come to with a groan and grip my head as the pain in my temples makes itself known. I slowly blink my eyes open, only to be hit with nausea. I swallow the bile that is threatening to surface and whimper. I must have blacked out again. I try to recall what caused it and when the memory of the man in the woods hits me, I gasp and bolt upright snapping my eyes open. I look around the dimly lit room and sigh in relief, I'm in a cabin. Knox's men must have found me and brought me back. Swinging my legs over the side of the bed, I stand only to have to grip the bedside table until my head stops spinning. I spot the glass and two white pills there and I smile, thinking about how Knox still cares even though he is hurting. I down them and decide I need to face the others and tell them what I learned.

I take a deep breath and steel my spine before opening the door and walking out only to frown. I don't hear anyone talking but then the scent of mouthwatering food hits my nose so I follow the smell into a tiny kitchen. I slam to a halt at the sight of the man from the woods plating up food on the counter. He flicks his gaze to me and smiles. I spin around and spot the door. I rush to it and try to yank it open but it's locked.

"Sit down and eat, let me explain and if my explanation doesn't appease you I will unlock that door and give you the keys to my car with directions on how to return to my son and his mother." I try to calm my breathing as I release the handle and slowly turn to face him. He grabs the two plates and walks over to a small four-seater table that is set out with candles and all. He takes his seat and motions with his hand for me to take the other. I debate ignoring his request for a second before he sighs and speaks again. "Please, let me explain." The pleading tone of his voice is the only reason I obey him.

I plop down unceremoniously into the seat opposite him, I want to toss the plate at his head but my stomach lets out an embarrassing grumble that has a smirk gracing his face. I glare at the pasta on my plate for a second, before deciding I will need my strength if I have to run so I dig in. I watch out of the corner of my eye as he fills my glass with red wine. I don't drink, never have since dad always told me medication and alcohol never mix well.

"You seem tense." I glare at the asshole.

"You best get right with the Lord and play with Jesus, not me!" I snap, his eyes widen for a second before he throws his head back and releases a throaty laugh that has me staring at him. He doesn't seem jaded or anything like the monster I had conjured him to be in my mind. He almost seems… sad. He grabs his napkin and dabs the corners of his eyes, then takes a sip of his wine before clearing his throat.

"Excuse me, it has been a long time since I have laughed like that. You may have lost your memories but not your spunk."

Frowning, I ask, "How do you know about that?"

The amusement from a second ago vanishes from his features only for them to be filled with sorrow.

"Because I was there that night." I gasp and jerk back into my chair as I grip the edge of the wooden table.

"The night of the accident?" He takes a shuddering breath and nods.

"Yes."

"How? What happened? Tell me—" He raises his hand silencing my onslaught of questions.

"I wasn't in the car, Lakeland, I was with you before you took off with…" He swallows and clears his throat. "My daughter." I hear the pain in his voice, I can feel the agony radiating off of him like I do with Knox whenever he speaks about his sister. I search his eyes and frown, I see it in the depths of those brown eyes.

"You loved them?" I whisper.

He smiles sadly. "Loved, is past tense. I love them is what you mean to say."

I shake my head, feeling more confused than ever. "But, Knox shot you. He took over your family and wiped out the Da Luca name and rebirthed it as the Re Della Strada."

"Ah, yes. The Street Kings." I frown. "That is what Re Della Strada means. Knox renamed the family under a name he thought best described him. He deemed himself the king of the streets so it was only fitting he named the family what he thought would fit. Plus, I knew he would never take my last name, he still remains under his mother's, Bronson."

"How are you not angry with him, he shot you!" I screech.

Roberto sips his wine and shrugs. "Given what Knox was told about me from his mother I understand his reasons and I commend him for it because I would have done the same thing."

"This makes zero sense," I growl.

"Let me make it make sense." I pin him with a deadpan look, he smiles but continues. "As the head of the Da Luca family, I had a target painted on my back always. Clara was my world and I couldn't let her go. Loving her was putting her in danger but I didn't care, I needed her. Then the twins came. I was overjoyed. I had my son, my heir but I also had my little princess, my daddy's girl," he says wistfully.

"Why do I get the feeling you never hurt them?" He drops his gaze to his plate and shoves his pasta around.

"I did hurt them. I made Clara hate me."

"Why?"

"I tried to get her to leave but she wouldn't. She said we could overcome anything as long as we had each other but not this, we could never overcome this."

"If you agree to marry me, I can get rid of Gio and stop him from going after my daughter. I need you to help me save my twins. I'm not the monster they think me to be. Help me, please, I beg you. You said that to me the night of the accident, why? Did it have something to do with you pushing Clara away?"

He nods sadly and slowly lifts his gaze back to mine. "I made her hate me. I told her if she didn't leave I would kill her and put my own daughter out on the street to turn tricks." I gasp and cover my mouth with my hand as I stare at him in horror.

"You are one sick fuck," I sneer.

"I would never have done it."

"Then why the hell would you say that?" I snap suddenly feeling so freaking angry on Clara's behalf.

"Because my brother was trying to hurt my family so I would step down. I forced her to leave and take my children with her so they would be safe. Giovani and I have never seen eye to eye, we both had our parts to play in the crime world so no one would know we were divided. He wanted to hurt Clara and my children just to get to me and I couldn't allow that. I didn't give a fuck about titles or what being the don meant. If he had touched a single fucking hair on my daughter's head I would have killed him and allowed my men to exact their pound of flesh willingly for breaking the code."

"What the fuck happened, Roberto. None of this is making sense."

"In my world, you cannot kill another family member no matter what they have done. I couldn't kill my brother so I did the only thing I could, I chased her away and forced her to hate me… I needed her to. I knew as the children grew older and asked questions she would tell them I was a monster. I wanted that so they would never come looking for me. For a time, things settled between Gio and me, but I was still trying to find a way to get rid of him without costing me my life."

"Why?"

His features harden as he stares at me. "If a Da Luca Don disgraces his family then he is taken out but not just him, the men would have hunted Clara and the children down and eradicated my whole bloodline, it's our way."

"That is fucking barbaric!"

"It was the only way I knew until Knox took over—he changed everything."

"Why did he try to kill you?"

Roberto sighs. "I believe it's because he thought I wouldn't help him look for the people responsible for his sister"s death. He didn't even give me a chance to explain, one second I was stunned at the sight of him being in front of me and then the next I heard Gio shouting for the men to take him out. I spun around to tell them not to touch him and that's when he shot me. I never had a chance to explain anything. He allowed Gio to live and to take some men with him as a show of good faith. Knox thought I was dead, turns out when he had his friends dump my body at the morgue, I wasn't dead and they managed to save me."

I stare at him in a whole new light, he gave up the love of his life and the chance of watching his children grow up because he was protecting them.

"But Gio helped Clara—" I clamp my mouth shut at the angry look he shoots me.

"No the fuck he didn't. She thinks it was him but it was me. I hated that she thought it was my brother but I couldn't correct her. I allowed everyone to think I was dead so I could protect Knox from the shadows. I knew after he thought he had killed me that he would take over but I also know my brother, there was no way he would allow my son to reign as the Don."

"What the hell did any of this have to do with me?" I ask, exasperated.

"Percy was working with me, he started as my real estate developer. I had enough dirt on him that I knew he could never go against me but what I didn't know was my brother was fronting the cash for Percy's side business. The real estate company became a front for his more lucrative business."

"Which is?"

"Your father has a tech company that designs apps… Those apps are used to buy women and children." I gasp, disgust rolling through me and bile threatens to spill from my mouth. "Giovani has always had a thing for… younger girls, preferably before they have reached puberty." I gag and cover my mouth, tears prick the backs of my eyes. "He and your father have made millions. The Irish and English still use your father's company. The Russians used to and so did the Americans, until Tony Murdoch fell and his son took over. Bishop has made it his life"s mission to shut down the skin trade, but with how Gio and Percy operate the auctions now there is no stopping it. Karl is still protecting them because through your father's app he makes a shitload of money without having to get his hands dirty."

"I will ask again, why the fuck were you there with me that night?" I grit out through clenched teeth. Roberto meets my angry stare with a look of sadness that has me on edge.

"You led my brother and Percy to my son." Shock ripples through me.

"No—"

"You didn't do it intentionally, they never suspected Waverly was my daughter even though she hung out with you. They only put it together when they saw Knox on the cameras sneaking into your house. They had planned to sell you on the app in the hopes Knox would come to me for help. The only way I could think of to throw them off the scent was to demand your hand in marriage. Percy was outraged but he couldn't refuse the Don, they still thought I didn't know about their side business. They had planned to use my own children against me and force me to stand down so Canada could become the capital for the skin trade. I had only planned to marry you to protect my children."

I see the truth in his eyes and hear it in his words but something still isn't adding up. "What else happened that night?"

He scrubs a hand down his face and shakes his head as if disgusted. "I will spare you all the gory details but Percy agreed, you hated the idea and I asked to speak to you alone in the living room. You wouldn't listen to me at first, claiming you would kill me when I told you I was Knox's father but then I begged you to help me save my children and you agreed. The problem was, you then told me you were pregnant with my grandchild." Tears cloud my vision as he speaks about the baby I lost. "I didn't know Percy and Gio were listening. Percy lost his shit and struck you. I tried to get to you but Gio held me back. I fought my brother to get to you, I told Percy I didn't care that you were pregnant, that I would marry you now and take you with child but he already knew who the father of the child was and he and Gio could never allow another Da Luca heir to live."

Tears roll down my cheeks. "How did I end up in a car?" I choke out.

"Xander burst through the door." My blood turns to ice as the vision of him comes flashing through my mind, I'll make sure he knows what you did tonight, you took the love of my life from me. "I held Gio back while he got Percy off you, he told you to run and that Waverly was in the car waiting for you. One of Percy's guards managed to knock Xander out and then held me at gunpoint while Percy and Gio went after you. I wrestled with the guard giving Xander a chance to go after you girls in the hopes he could stop them but… it was too late."

"Xander was there," I breathe out in shock.

"Yes, he saved you."

"I… I think I was going to Knox, to tell him what had happened." I try harder to remember that night but I can't.

"The bridge where the accident took place is only a couple miles from where Knox lived, I believe you were trying to warn my son but Percy and Gio… stopped you."

"Percy told everyone I was drunk that night and fed me pills to keep my memories of Knox hidden." Roberto"s face darkens as his anger spikes.

"Your father is a cunt." I snort and quickly cover my mouth. "He wanted Knox to hate you. Gio and Percy both knew I was coming after them that night for what they did. Percy hid out in public places so I could never get to him. Gio went underground with the help of that Irish scum until the night Knox showed up, it was pure coincidence. They were both there to kill me but Knox being my son meant he had the stronger claim to the family. As long as you couldn't remember anything about that night, Percy knew no matter how much Knox hated you for what happened he would never go after you because he loved you, you were your father's shield."

"He wanted me to marry Gio," I mutter.

"Gio grew too greedy, he hated that the other heads of the families recognized Knox as the Canadian leader and chose him to sit at the head of the table. He knew marrying you would start a war with Knox. I'm sorry to tell you this, Lakeland, but you have just been a pawn in a very fatal game. None of this has been about you really, it's all been about my family and I am so sorry you were caught in the crossfire. I made a persona, Christiano, so that I could try to bring them down from the shadows so none of you kids would get hurt but I failed. You're all in this now and I don't think I can stop it."

Numb, that's how I feel right now after learning all of this. I need to remember. I need to know everything.

"I need you to take me back to that bridge, I need to go back to the beginning."