When We Fall, Part One (Mayfair University #5)

1. Enzo

ONE

ENZO

I stared out the window at the hospital, watching the cars move along the highway. The gray skies seemed fitting, considering all the shit happening around us.

“What do you think?” Cole murmured, coming to stand next to me.

I didn’t look at him. Instead, I watched a robin peck at a bug on the ground.

Dominic De Santis tried to kill himself.

We’d been here at the hospital to watch the kings’ backs during the turbulent time.

I didn’t want to have a shootout in a fucking hospital, but I would certainly draw my weapons if it came down to it.

Not only were we horsemen inside, but I had men sitting around on the outside watching.

I expected that if the horsemen needed the kings, they’d do the same for us.

I knew Dom’s old man was a breath away from killing his ass, so I was here to prevent it.

Plus, the kings had become our friends, and friends were there for one another.

“I think it’s gone too far,” I answered back, my voice low. “We need to figure out what’s really going on here.”

“You think Bianca is still alive?”

I considered his question. “I suspect it’s more than meets the eye.”

Cole was quiet for a moment. “What makes you think that?”

I looked over my shoulder to see Vincent and Levin sleeping in their chairs, both looking like absolute hell. The girl they’d brought with them, Stella, was curled into a ball on one of the bench seats, my jacket draped over her.

“Her hair,” I said, meeting Cole’s eye.

He crinkled his brows. “Her hair?”

“You never pay attention, Scott. Always pay attention.” I pulled my phone out and showed him a recent photo of Bianca I had.

“Where the hell did you get that?” Cole peered at the picture.

“I have eyes everywhere. You know that. But look at her hair.”

Cole grunted and stared at the picture for several minutes before looking at me. “It’s long and blonde. That’s how it’s always been.”

“You’re right. I had someone take this photo of her on one of their rare outings. And guess when that outing was?”

Cole shrugged. “I suck at guessing games, man. Just tell me.”

“Vincent took her off campus. It was for only a few minutes. They got ice cream. Dom clearly doesn’t know it happened, or he’d have kicked Vincent’s ass. Her hair was, in fact, blonde.”

“You’ve lost me,” Cole muttered. “And why the fuck are you sending people to follow the kings?”

“I’m always cautious. Always watching.”

Cole sighed. “Fine. You’re cautious, but if they found out you were tracking them?—”

“I wasn’t tracking. I was watching. Big difference.” I glanced to make sure the kings were still sleeping. “Anyway, the girl in the fire. I don’t think it was her.”

Cole raised his brows at me, waiting for me to drop the bomb on him.

“Why not? Everything matches up, man.”

I shook my head. “To the hysterical eye, it does. To the one who is paying attention, it doesn’t.

Her hair, the girl in the fire. She had a dark streak in it.

It was easy to miss if you weren’t paying attention.

It was on the underside. I’m positive it was there.

Bianca didn’t have that half-assed sort of dye job. ”

“Could have been from being burned?—”

“I know what I saw,” I said firmly. “I didn’t want to say anything because the situation was already fucked. I’m going to push this now. Dom doesn’t deserve to go out this way. She’s out there. She’s alive. I can almost be certain of it.”

Cole frowned. “OK. Well, let’s see if you’re right. What do we need to do?”

“I’ve already done it. Anson.”

“Anson? Fuck that piece of shit?—”

“Listen,” I snarled at him. He snapped his mouth closed and glared at me. “He’s working on it. He has loads of connections throughout the Underground. He’s the fucking Archangel. He knows shit, and if he doesn’t, he knows where to go to find it out.”

“And he’s just agreed to nose around for you?” Cole scoffed, a sour look on his face.

“I had to do a little bartering.”

Cole narrowed his eyes at me. “What the fuck did you barter?”

“I’ll tell you, but if you freak the fuck out on me, I’ll punch you in the face to shut you up.”

“Enzo, what the fuck did you do?”

I hesitated for a beat because I knew exactly how Cole felt and how he’d react.

“I told him if he got me the information, I’d consider letting him in .”

Cole’s face darkened with rage, but much to his credit, he didn’t lose it. Instead, he closed his eyes for a brief moment to compose himself.

When he opened his blue eyes, his words were soft and fierce.

“ Never fucking happening. Do you hear me? I don’t give a fuck if he builds a stairway to heaven and goes there himself and brings her back. I will never agree to him joining us?—”

“He’s willing to hand everything over to Dominic. We need that. An alliance could make things very good for all of us. So if we have to eat shit, we’ll eat it.” I hissed at him. “Rosalie may not even agree to it. So keep that faith. I’m sure he’ll fuck it up and nullify the entire agreement.”

“You better fucking hope he does because I’ll kill him before I let him join us.” Cole backed away from me. “That’s a promise.”

He turned, walked back to Fox, and sat down with a pissed-off look.

I sighed and looked out the window again.

I hated this shit, too, but a deal was a deal.

But every deal had a loophole.

And as always, I’d find and exploit it.