“Stomach flu,” he pushed out.
“Alexander,” I said and shook my head.
He gritted his teeth and glared at me. “Arden.”
“I knew you two were hiding something,” Monty argued, pointing between us. “What the hell is wrong with you?” she asked.
Creed was quiet during the exchange. Rafe still looked seconds from pulverizing Alexander, but Thorne and Kane held him back. Thorne signed the exchange so far, and Rafe repeated part of it back.Sick?he signed, his brows drawn in confusion.
My eyes burned when Rafe looked at me. Something about my face must’ve given away how badly I was hurting, because his confusion and anger were traded for dark realization. In that moment, he saw how much I cared about Alexander, and he saw that I was in the middle of another hell.
“Cancer,” Alexander finally gritted out. “I was waiting until we had Florence to tell you all.”
The room fell silent. So many emotions passed across the Ravens. Monty’s chin trembled as she managed, “How long?”
Alexander stared at the ground, his head bowed as he breathed, “A few months now. Maybe less.”
Heath covered her mouth.
“Maybe less?” Monty asked, the first tears falling. “You’re going to die in less than a few months, and you’re just now telling us?”
Alexander’s shoulders slumped in defeat. “I just wanted to do it all at once, with everyone. I don’t know, I—”
“You told Arden,” Mickey argued, his anger clear. “Arden, Alex. She’s been here for a fucking second and you told her before us, your family.”
Heath turned a furious glare toward me. “How dare you keep this from us? After everything we’ve done to welcome you?”
“This isnotArden’s fault,” Alexander insisted, shaking his head. “The only reason she knew before any of you was because of the marriage. I needed her to understand why I did it.”
“And why was that?” Thorne growled, surprising me. He usually wasn’t one to buy into confrontation, especially if it wasn’t directly about him. He stepped around Rafe and Kane and pointed at me, his stern gaze on Alexander. “Why the hell is sheforcefullymarried to a dying man?”
Alexander pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Oh my god,” Monty exclaimed. She shook her head and took several steps back. “Oh my god.”
“What?” Mickey pushed.
But it was Heath who answered, her cheeks wet. “Being married to him means being entitled to his fortune, Delgado. He’s setting Arden up to take over the Ravens.”
“That’s fucking ridiculous,” Matthias said. “She can barely keep her shit together, and you’re handing her our entire operations?”
“She’s been fucking you since the start, hasn’t she?” Monty hissed. “I bet marriage wasn’t even your idea.”
My fists curled.
“Enough,” Alexander spat. Some of the color had come back into his face, his eyes lit with rage. “Only a certain kind of person can handle all of you, don’t you realize that? I have bent over backwards and sold my soul a thousand times over to make sure none of you areeverassets again.”
“You didn’t even ask us,” Mickey ground out. “Do you think we’re that weak? That you’rethatgreat that we couldn’t possibly fill your shoes?”
“It’s not like that. At all.” Alexander waved them off with an exhausted sigh, moving to one of the booths and leaning againstit. Everyone pressed in around him, their voices overlapping as questions and accusations flew left and right.
My teeth gritted. “Leave himalone!” I yelled over them all. The Ravens turned to me, Creed off to the side. They’d been signing among themselves angrily, but they stopped at the sound of my voice. “This isn’t the time,” I said, glaring at all of them. “Florence istrapped,enduring abuse that no person should ever have to face, and you all are attacking a man with fuckingcancerbecause you’re not getting his money?”
“This isn’t about money,” Heath seethed. “This is abouttrust,about finding out a member of our family is dying.”
A groan sounded near the booth.
“Alex?” I heard Monty say, the two of them tucked behind the group somewhere. “Alexander!”
