Page 9 of Crave

The door opened and in walked a man I barely knew. A man who looked very much like his brother, Dante Ares.

“He’s saying it comes to me.” Lincoln answered as he stepped inside and closed the door.

Silas just glared at his uncle as he moved inside the room.

“No.” Silas shook his head, then stabbed his finger in the air at his uncle. “Fuck no.”

“Sil.” Jude stepped forward, heading for his brother’s side and put his hand on his shoulder.

Silas shrugged it off hard and pushed away.

“There’s large portions of the…dealings listed in the will that automatically goes to your Uncle, things like…the risk team and negotiators.”

“What the fuck?” Silas shook his head. “This isn’t happening.”

“It’s not the end of the world, Silas.” Lincoln chuckled, shaking his head. “After all, wearefamily.”

I didn’t think anyone could earn more hatred than Silas harbored for me, but as he shifted that barely-controlled look of rage at his uncle, I realized I was wrong.

“Think about it this way.” Lincoln smiled. “We get to finally work together. Your father’s talked about you non-stop, saysyou’re quite the negotiator. I’m looking forward to seeing you in action.”

Silas took a step closer, meeting Lincoln eye to eye. “You and I don’t work together, not now…notever.”

Lincoln’s smile grew wider before he nodded to the thick folder on the desk. “I think you’ll find that it does. I own half the holdings and half the teams. You and your…family, the other.”

Family?

What did he mean by the word family?

What he should’ve said was brothers. Heat rushed through me as the lawyer pulled the file closer. “The business is one large part of your parent’s legacy, but there are others. More personal ones…that involve everyone here today.”

Silas went grey, the color drained out of his face. Gabe glanced my way and reached for my hand. I couldn’t stop from shaking, leaving him to grip me even tighter.

“Your parents have expressed their very strong desire to keep you all together as a family.”

I flinched as the lawyer lifted his gaze to me. “This includes you, Angelica. You’ll all stay in the house and be awarded financial security as a family until such times as all five of you agree to leave. This decision has to be unanimous.”

“What the fuck are you saying?” Theo barked. “We have to staytogether?”

“If you want your money, then yes.” The lawyer answered.

Theo spun, throwing his hands in the air.“What the fuck?”

Then they all looked at me. One by one. Silas wrenched that glare my way, baring his nostrils flared before he muttered. “We’ll just see about that.” He turned away from everyone and strode to the door, yanking it open so hard it hit the wall with a crack, before he was gone.

That burn filled my cheeks as I trembled.

Then Theo glared my way, only he didn’t leave. Gabe gripped me tighter, shifting protectively against me.

“It’s not her fault.” He urged.

“Of course it’s not.” Jude shook his head. “No one’s saying that?”

“It sure seems that way.” Gabe muttered.

“This is a lot for everyone to come to terms with.” The lawyer rose, giving a pathetic smile that was more than a wince. “Maybe take some time, talk amongst yourselves and then we can make time to discuss the specifics?”

He was done, that was easy to see and couldn’t wait to be rid of us.