DONOVAN (Book Three)

FORTY-TWO

"His mother?" I say, astonished. Shocked that Don is working for Eddie is for his mother.

"Yes." Solomon sat back down on his chair.

"Why does Eddie have his mom?"

Solomon stays quiet.

I'm so fucking piss that people will just leave me in the dark. "Solomon, I swear you better fucking-"

"She's sick, and he needed the money."

I thought being in the marine, he would get compensation. At least I know of. I have no clue.

I let my body cool as I ask. "How sick?"

"Very sick. She has Alzheimer's ." I watch the man rub his face in despair and sigh. The twins behind me are in silence.

"She means that much to you," I say.

"She wasn't just Don's mom but all of us," Solomon replies. "When we first met Don, his mom was when we were kids. We all have messed up life; Mordecai had that funny uncle, and I don't mean a comedian; Tech used to steal for his dad and got beat up for being too weak, and the twins had drug addict parents who don't give a fuck about them and me," he chuckles and continues. "I don't know my dad because I had a mom who sleeps around and fucking hates me."

"Had?"

"She ODed."

"Oh..." hearing these stories about Don's men shows me that even though they had a crappy childhood, these men now are who they are today.

"So, when I met Don, he and I always locked fists. It was a 50/50 win or lose on either side."

"Why would you two fight each other when you guys are friends?" I ask.

He looks up at me. "We weren't friends at first. We were more like enemies. Rivals turned to friends. Don and I would fight two days straight to see whether one of us falls first. Eventually, we both fall and laugh it off on the second day." I can see how happy Solomon is when reminiscing about his childhood memories with Don. "To be honest, I was jealous of him as a kid. I bullied him a lot in school. He didn't have a dad, but he has a mom who loves him. Just the two of them, happy."

"So, you guys became close to Don and his mom."

"Sarah, she took us rowdy kids in when no one else could because they knew our history."

"Sarah was the best," said Brandon.

"Not only the best but her cooking as well," Landon moans with the thought of food. "I miss her apple pie."

Solomon pulls a grin on the corner of his face.

"But I heard from my cousin that Don was dropped off by her mom when he was seven or eight."

"No, that wasn't his mom."

"What?"

"His mom was already sick. Although she says she is fine and healthy, she gets sicker daily. Sometimes, they even forget who they are, but it mostly hurts Don because that is her son. The doctor said it was rare for people between 19-40 to get Alzheimer's. Sarah was thirty when she started to forget things, even her son."

"Oh no," I gasped. "Then who was the woman who brought Don to his brothers?"

"That was a caretaker taking care of Sarah while she was in an unstable state."

"What about you guys? Where did you go?"

"We were all put in foster care," says Landon.

"Separate families, but we were put in good homes." His brother added.