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CHAPTER31
Emma
“What is the meaning of this?” Tío Andre demanded for the fourth time. He, Tío Jose, and a host of cousins had descended upon the dining room the moment Angel sent the message that his father would be stepping down from his duties as head of the Castillo family. I expected nothing less…but seeing Tío Andre again made my skin crawl. I leaned into Angel, who wrapped an arm around me; his eyes, dark and sharp, were trained on the man as well. “Where is Gustavo? I want the words to come from his mouth.”
“My father is dying, Tío,” Angel said. “He has stage IV pancreatic cancer, and it’s spreading everywhere. There’s nothing to be done but manage his pain.” The smile that stretched across his face was an ugly thing, but somehow, he’d never looked more handsome.
Tío Jose let out a laugh, as if Angel had said something hysterical. “No, he isn’t,” he insisted, as if he hadn’t noticed my father practically withering away in front of them all. “He would have told me and Andre if he were ill.”
“His latest scans are in my office,” Angel assured them. “Manny, run and fetch them for us?” he called to his cousin. “They’re in a manilla envelope in the top drawer.” Manny took off running, and Angel shuffled us so he was sitting in the chair that he’d yanked his father out of, and then he pulled me into his lap.
“There are chairs that I can sit in,” I said, watching as the men all argued with one another and cast wary looks our way.
His hands circled my waist, holding me in place. “I want you close,” he said.
“Sitting beside you is too far away?”
He glanced up at me; the ghost of a smile was on his face. “Yes,” he said simply.
I wanted to lean down and kiss that almost-smile…and when I realized that there was nothing stopping me, I did just that, smacking my lips against his. “By the way,” I said, low and only to him, “I amstillfilthy and cold.”
“This won’t take long,” he promised, but he didn’t offer to let me go shower on my own again. Dealing with his father and being around his family had made him clingy. “Then, I promise that I’ll put you in the hottest shower you can handle.”
I giggled. “Promises, promises.”
Manny came bursting back into the room, holding the envelope aloft. “Give it to Tío Andre,” Angel instructed. “He can read it out for us.”
I watched the man open the envelope and saw the moment he realized that Angel was telling the truth. “Stage IV pancreatic cancer,” he said. “The chemotherapy isn’t working.” He passed the packet of documents to Tío Jose for him to look at it too, as if they needed to confirm it for themselves. I leaned back against Angel’s chest and watched the news settle over them. Most of the younger men looked happy, even relieved, but the older men’s faces grew hard.
“Where is Gustavo?” Tío Jose asked.
“I’m sending him to hospice,” Angel said. “He’ll spend whatever remaining time he has there.”
“Which hospice?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Angel said with a careless shrug. “No one is to visit him; the man dies alone.”
There was an uproar because of course there would be after such a proclamation. My heart kicked in my chest, fear bubbling in my stomach; I was ready to throw myself in front of Angel should any of these men turn on him. Omar and Lili, it seemed, were poised as well because they came to stand by Angel’s side.
“You cannot stop me from seeing my brother,” Tío Jose spat.
“He touched what was mine,” Angel said. “He worked with Luis Rojas to have Emma abducted; their goal was to kill her…and our child.”
Another uproar that was even louder this time. “Where is the proof of that?” someone shouted from the back of the group, closest to the door. I couldn’t see who it was, but it sounded like Stefan.
“David is dead,” Angel said, “because my father let a Rojas into our home.”
“That man could have broken in,” Tío Andre insisted stubbornly. I laughed at that one, and the man’s eyes fell to me. My stomach roiled, and I pressed myself back into Angel even more. His arm tightened around me.
“Our security system is top of the line,” Angel said. “No one is getting in unless they have help from someone inside the compound, or they know the codes. Either way, it would be a betrayal. The ultimate betrayal because he didn’t sic his dog on me; he went after my wife.”
Manny looked at me and seemed to take in my appearance for the first time. “Are you okay, Emma?”
Sweet boy. “I’m fine,” I assured him. “Just…filthy, really.”
He moved closer; Angel eyed him, but he allowed it. “You’re all scratched up.”
I shrugged. “I ran through the Everglades; there’s a lot of brush.” My arms and face began to sting, as if they had been waiting for me to bring it up to make their presence known. “There’s antibacterial cream in the first aid kit upstairs, right?” I murmured to Angel.
