Redeemed (Dirty Air 4)

Fuck. I couldn’t have made up what I was seeing even if I wanted to. And damn, I want to because this is the last thing I expected.

The frame rattles as the shaking in my hands increases. There are two identical Matteos standing side by side. One Matteo beams at the camera while the other keeps a neutral face, looking rail thin and pale.

Matteo runs a finger across the face I stare at. “That’s my twin brother. Dominic.”

Thank God I’m sitting down because I don’t think I would’ve made it to a chair before passing out.

Matteo returns to his seat across from me. “He’s the only explanation for all of this. I never had sex with someone in New York...and my brother...he would get into all kinds of trouble when we visited my mom.”

I don’t care what his brother did as long as I can get his sorry ass here pronto. Chloe won’t give a damn about Matteo’s rejection if I can manage to secure her real father.

“Where is your brother? I need to find him. If I can convince him to come here, then he can get to know Chloe, and it’ll solve all our problems.” And then she will stay.

I can fix this. Sure, Chloe spent the whole summer getting to know Matteo instead of her real dad. But it’s not exactly time lost. He is her uncle after all.

Matteo’s reddened cheeks lose their coloring. “My brother can’t come here.”

“Why not? Where is he? I’ll pay for anything he needs to get here.”

Matteo’s head hangs against his chest.

My stomach drops, and a chill spreads across my skin. “Where is your brother, Matteo?” I bite out harsher than intended.

Matteo sits in silence, staring at his hands.

My patience wanes as Matteo fails to respond. “I’m going to need you to tell me how I can get in contact with Dominic. I don’t care if he’s a bad person or troubled, I just need to meet with him once to clear the air. I’ll fix the rest.”

He looks at me, pain etched into his face like permanent wrinkles. “You can’t get in contact with my brother because he’s dead.”

40

Santiago

I choke on my breath of air.

Dead?

Dead?!

How the fuck am I supposed to fix this if the one man I need isn’t alive to begin with? I wipe my sweaty palms down my pants.

What the hell is Chloe supposed to do if her father isn’t even alive?

I settle on one question despite the flood of them filling my head. “What happened?”

Matteo places the picture frame facedown on the coffee table. “My brother had issues.”

“What kind of issues?”

“The kind that end with an early death.”

I can’t say I’m exactly surprised. Based on the one interaction I had with Chloe’s mom and the stories, it seems like she had a type.

“I’m sorry about your loss.”

His head drops. “Me too. The pain gets easier, but then something like this happens to bring it all back again.”

“I can’t imagine what it’s like to have a sibling who struggled and passed away. The thought of losing my sister alone makes me sick.” I love Maya with everything in me. If she battled the same problems as Chloe’s dad, a part of me would struggle with her.