Landon’s laptop alerted him the second Julian opened the files. He felt bad for lying to the Goyle about certain things, but hopefully getting Katherine’s name cleared would ease some of his guilt. Then again, probably not. He had committed too many sins against the Clan to ever be forgiven. Landon never intended to become so entrenched in their lives once he arrived in the States. He merely wanted to observe the Clan. To see how different they were from those he had been raised with. He now had more respect for Rafael Stone than ever before. The male was an honorable King, and Landon would have been proud to serve under him if things were different.

He hadn’t been lying when he told Julian he was going after his mate. He would do whatever it took to have a life with the male, even if it meant continuing to lie and deceive those around him for the rest of his life. He was tired. Tired of being alone. Tired of being used. Tired of traveling the world without his mate by his side. All he had to do was convince his male to make the right decision this time.

Landon shut down his computer and stored it in the carrying case. He slung the duffle bag containing his clothes over his shoulder, picked up the case, and headed out the door of the small apartment he’d been living in the past six weeks without sparing it a second glance. It wasn’t that he minded the small space. He was used to living in smaller, but it wasn’t home.

He is our home.

Yes he is, and we are going after him.

 

 

Katherine set the table while Julian finished supper. Instead of asking him to tell her what Landon found, she first asked him why some of the Gargoyles bowed their heads and touched a fist to their chest. He explained that was their way of honoring the mates and children of their fellow Clansmen. She then asked him about his past, so he told her about his family and growing up in Italy. Kat was amazed at everything he had seen over the years. The changes in the world and the people. One thing that hadn’t changed was his love for his family. Julian the computer genius was a completely different male than Julian the younger brother. While he had great admiration for Frey, Julian was almost like a kid talking about Nikolas. Earlier when he mentioned relocating, he had said he would not move without discussing it with her and Nik first. Now she understood why. He and his brother had been practically inseparable over the years.

As badly as Kat had wanted siblings or cousins even, she couldn’t be jealous over Julian’s large family. They were now her family as well, and she wanted to get to know them all, especially the women. Kat wanted the closeness she saw with Isabelle and Sophia. Tessa had already welcomed her with open arms, and Kat wanted that with everyone – Kaya included. Since neither woman was going to be together in a work capacity, she hoped they could put their past behind them and start anew. Katherine wasn’t the same person she was before. Out in the field, she had to be tenacious. Now, she could be relaxed, and that should go a long way in easing things with Kaya.

It was going to take a while to get used to the whole King and Clan deal, but she was ready for it. Kat had gone from being an orphan turned foster child with little family to a mate with a multitude of family to call her own. Julian continued giving her everything she had ever wanted.

When they were finished eating, they took their wine glasses into the living room and sat on the sofa. Instead of sitting next to him like she wanted, Kat left some space between them so she could turn and face Julian. It would probably be better if she was holding his hand so he could keep her calm, but she wanted to see his face when he told her the truth of her past. Not that she thought he would lie to her, but if he was touching her, he could feel her emotions. He would stop telling her what she wanted to know if he thought she was in distress, and she needed to know everything.

“I know no easy way to tell you other than to start at the beginning. Your real parents’ names were Salvatore and Nora Fiore. Salvatore was the head of the largest Mafia syndicate New Atlanta had seen since the nineteen seventies. Nora had minor mental issues when they met, but Sal loved her and married her anyway. When you were four, Sal had Nora institutionalized when he felt he could no longer care for her. Not long after that, a rival Don took down Sal and kidnapped you. That man’s name was Tobias Fox. Tobias and his wife Emma raised you as their own child. They changed your name from Katarina to Katherine.”

Kat had been staring at nothing while listening to Julian talk, but when he said her name had been Katarina, she glanced up at him. “Maybe that’s why I chose Trina as my false name. Somewhere deep in my subconscious I knew.”

“Maybe. Probably. A few years after you were taken from Salvatore, someone came in and killed Tobias and Emma. This you already know from your dreams. I can only speculate the man responsible knew you, knew your real father, and wanted to avenge what happened to him. Unless Connor’s vision comes true, that is something we will never know for sure.”

“What about my mother? Is she really dead? And if I’m a clone, where is the sibling I was cloned from?” Julian tried his best to keep his face impassive, but Kat had been staring at him for days and did not miss the slight tick in his jaw at her questions. “Julian, I want to know the truth.”

Julian set his wine glass down and took hers out of her hands so he could hold them. He rubbed the backs of both hands with his thumbs while he spoke. Kat swallowed hard and braced herself for whatever he was going to say.

“Nora Fiore is still alive and in the same facility Salvatore put her in. Landon checked the records, and someone has been paying for her to live there all these years. The same someone who visits her once a month. The man’s name is Francis Costello.”

“Francis… Francis… That doesn’t ring a bell. Do you have the name of the facility? I want to go see her. Is that okay?”

“Absolutely. I would want to visit her if I were in your shoes.”

“Will you come with me?” Katherine wanted to meet her mother, but she was afraid to do it alone. She wanted Julian there for emotional support.

“Of course, Sweetheart. I will always be there for you whenever you want or need me.”

“Thank you. Earlier you said you knew who framed me. Who was it?”

Julian’s phone rang before he could answer her question. “It’s Nikolas calling.”

“Go ahead and take it,” Kat told him. While he talked to his brother, she picked up her wine glass and sipped, hoping the alcohol would give her the strength she needed to hear the rest. She had a feeling the information about being cloned was going to be the worst of it. It was going to take longer than the duration of a phone call for her to wrap her mind around everything Julian had told her so far, but the one bright spot was she had a mother and that mother was alive, even if she was in an institution.

As crappy as her history was, Katherine had to laugh at herself. Before she knew the truth of Julian and what he was, she had thought if he told her his family was mafia, she might not choose to stay. And here she was, a mafia princess.

“I agree it makes sense, but it still isn’t definitive proof,” Julian said. Kat somehow felt his mood take a nosedive, and she forgot about her own situation so she could concentrate on her mate. Julian stood from the sofa and began pacing. “Maybe so, but he found the information on who framed Katherine. It wasn’t Alistair but someone who held a grudge against Kat’s father. Or one of them. Listen, we are in the middle of discussing what Landon found. Can I call you back? Thanks, Nik.” Julian disconnected the phone but didn’t immediately return to the sofa. He was clenching his empty fist, and again, Kat felt as though she was the one who was mad.

“Uh, Julian? I hate to bother you…”

He turned to face her, and the anger was pouring from him. Whatever his brother told him had set him off, and she didn’t like it. Not one bit. “Julian,” she said softly, holding out her hand like one would to a strange dog. She was afraid to go to him, because she had yet to learn his moods. She had felt and seen his anger, but that had been directed at those who hurt her. Julian stepped toward her and took her hand. She pulled it to her mouth and kissed it like he’d done hers. The tightness in her chest abated, and Julian shook his head.

“I’m sorry, Sweetheart. Nik and Sophia found something I wasn’t prepared to hear. I’m still not.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“No. As I told Nik, until we have definitive proof, I will not believe Landon to be our enemy.”

“Enemy? If that’s possible, how can you trust the information he gave you about me?”

“While there might be a possibility he was responsible for what happened in the past, I feel this information is true. Call it a gut feeling.”

“I have always trusted my gut feelings, and they never steered me wrong. Let’s continue our conversation then. What about my sibling?”

Julian sat down on the sofa and turned to face Kat, taking her hands in his as he did before. “This isn’t easy to tell you, Sweetheart.” Julian stared at her for a beat, and when she squeezed his hands, he continued. “Salvatore and Nora had a baby girl named Katarina. Landon couldn’t find exactly why she was cloned, just that she was, and the other baby was put up for adoption. You were the other baby, and your name was Carleigh Brooke Harris. Eighteen months later, Carleigh died. Considering you are very much alive and the Harris family buried their baby girl, Landon figures there was a swap of the babies at some point. Again, he has no proof, but it is the only thing that makes sense.”

“How sure is Trevor that I’m a clone? What if he got it wrong? What if I am Katarina Fiore?”

 “I have never researched cloning, but Trevor has for many years now. He will be able to tell you how that works. And if he can’t explain it properly, Jonas most certainly can since he is the father of cloning.”

“This is all a little surreal. I’m kind of glad I didn’t find this information out on my own. I wouldn’t have had anyone to share it with or help make sense of it.”

“What about your boyfriend?”

“David? He wasn’t really my boyfriend. He was convenient. I would never have shared something so personal with him.”

“Weren’t you dating him when you were arrested? How is he going to feel when your name is cleared?”

Kat pulled her hands away from Julian’s and moved onto his lap. She knew where this would more than likely lead, and she wasn’t opposed to that, but she wanted to make her feelings perfectly clear. “I honestly don’t care how he’s going to feel. Like I said, he was convenient, but David never held my hand, or kissed my neck, or offered to give me nine babies. He didn’t rescue me from FSM. He didn’t bring me into his home and make it mine. He didn’t give me a family. I agreed to be your mate. Your life partner. Mother to your children. I chose you even if you didn’t choose me. I wouldn’t have gone back to him even if you and I never happened.” Katherine leaned in and kissed Julian, pouring every ounce of what she was feeling into their mouths.

She wanted Julian to feel the tether tightening between them the same way she did. Wanted him to know beyond a shadow of a doubt she was his and only his. Julian deepened the kiss, and Kat didn’t hold back. The information about her past would have her reeling for days, and she wanted him to make her forget about it for a little while. She had the rest of her life to ponder it all. When his cock got hard, she moved against it so he had no doubt as to her intentions. Julian grabbed her hips, but he didn’t try to stop her. If anything, he pulled her down as he pushed his hips up, grinding against her. If they didn’t stop, she was going to come with her clothes on.

“Julian,” she husked against his lips. In one fluid motion, he stood from the sofa, wrapping her legs around his waist. He continued kissing her while carrying her up the stairs, not breaking the kiss until he placed her on the bed and stripped her out of her clothes. Kat stretched out on her back while Julian undressed. She licked her lips when he lowered his pants and his erection bounced against his stomach. Julian took his length in his fist and stroked it slowly. Kat couldn’t take her eyes off the show her male was giving her. She ached between her legs for him to fill her. Sliding her hand down to her clit, she rubbed the nub in time with Julian’s passes up and down his cock. When her fingers slid through the moisture gathering at her entrance, she brought her fingers to her mouth, but before she could taste herself, Julian was on her, sucking her fingers into his mouth while he slid his cock home into her pussy.

 

 

His little minx was going to kill him. Julian about lost his shit when Kat raised her fingers to her lips. Never in his long life had he shot his load early, but the sight of his mate pleasuring herself had him damn close. They spent several hours making love, bathing, fucking, sucking, and doing it all over again until Kat could no longer hold her eyes open. He had already memorized every feature she had, but Julian took the time to go over them again, from the freckles on her shoulder to the different shades of red in her hair. Her chest rose and fell slowly, indicating she was out of it deeply.

When he left the bed to call Trevor, Katherine rolled over and muttered his name, pulling his pillow close. Before he let Kat meet with Trevor, Julian wanted the human to prove to him she was indeed a clone. It was bad enough she had never known the truth, but if the truth turned out to be a mistake on Trevor’s part, Julian would have words with the human, and he didn’t want Jasper coming after him. The Clan had enough on their plate without interfamily squabbles. After all they had been through together, Julian considered Jasper family.

Keeping his senses open to his mate, Julian called Jasper’s phone and told the Goyle what he wanted to speak to his mate about. Jasper didn’t hesitate to hand the phone over, and within two minutes, Trevor had explained the difference in blood cells between a human and their cloned counterparts. When Julian disconnected, he was sure his mate was the cloned baby Carleigh and not the original Katarina Fiore. Julian was proud of Kat for the way she handled everything he told her. Granted, she had crawled in his lap and used sex as a means of distraction, but he didn’t mind. She could use him in that way any time she wanted as long as she faced the truth later.

Instead of retreating to his office like he normally would, Julian carried his laptop to his bedroom and set it on his thighs so he could stretch out next to Kat while she slept. He opened the files Landon had sent and read through them all more thoroughly. Nikolas and Sophia were sure they had found Landon’s origins, and Sophia was convinced Landon was Achilles. If he was, why would he have gone above the scope of what Julian asked of him to find the information on Katherine’s past? Was he atoning for past transgressions? Whatever the reason, Julian was grateful. They were now one step closer to clearing Kat’s name and being able to move forward with their lives instead of her hiding behind a false identity.

The part of it all he didn’t have a chance to tell his mate was Joseph Long, Deputy Director of the FBI, was responsible for Katherine being framed. Julian read and re-read the document Landon had compiled against the human. Landon had been able to hack into the man’s computer system and copy all his documents. His phone was also connected to his system, and Landon had transcripts of every call made to and from the man. Julian had seen a lot of corrupt humans over the years, but Joseph Long was at the top of that list. Landon had carefully constructed a plan for the director’s files to be confiscated so it would be legal. If he had copied the files and sent them to someone within the bureau, the information would have been inadmissible, and the man would probably have walked away.

Landon also found copies of the deed to the house where the weapons had been stored. The house was deeded to Martha Bailey, Emma Fox’s aunt. According to the information Landon uncovered, the house had sat empty for over twenty years. He also found that the house had originally belonged to Sylvia Long, Joseph’s grandmother. The motherfucker changed the deed so he could link it to Katherine’s family.

Julian was ready to go after Joseph Long and take the human’s head. It was his fault Katherine had been arrested and tortured, but the reason why was still a mystery. Emma Fox had been dead for eighteen years, so why come after her supposed daughter now? Julian was glad Long would be arrested and tried, thus clearing Kat’s name, but prison wasn’t good enough in Julian’s opinion. His beast was getting angrier, so he closed that file, deciding to ponder on it more the next day. Instead of reading the rest of the information, Julian powered off the laptop and placed it on the floor by the bed. He let the softness of their mate soothe the beast, and they held her close the rest of the night.