Cross (Dark Kings 3)

“I’m fine.” Alexa pats her back; her eyes meet mine briefly over April’s shoulder. “I wasn’t there.” She pulls away. “How did you—?”

“Someone sent me the news footage of your bar up in flames,” Grave growls, interrupting her. He looks at me. “I’m not asking again. What the hell happened?”

Jasmine stands as well. “Someone caught the bar on fire. We think it was Alexa’s ex.”

“Why would he do that?” Grave digs.

No one answers him, and it just pisses him off even more. “Kings.” He snaps his finger. “Office!” Then he’s storming off out of the living room and down the back hallway.

Letting out a long breath, I follow him with Bones and Titan on my ass. We enter the office, and he’s pacing in front of the desk. The curtains are open, showcasing the Strip lit up at night.

“Grave, it’s okay,” Bones starts. “No one was there. Someone saw it and called it in. It’s not a total loss—”

“We need to call the fire marshal,” Grave interrupts him. “Get him there right now. To find out what happened.” He nods to himself.

“It’s taken care of,” Titan states.

Grave comes to a stop, his head popping up, and he stares at us. “How so?”

“He was already here,” I answer. “He confirmed it was arson.”

He leans back against the desk, crossing his arms over his chest, and bows his head. Silence falls over the office while we let him process this. “Alexa can come stay with us. She’ll be safe—”

“That won’t be happening,” I say, interrupting him.

He slowly lifts his head, and his blue eyes meet mine. Tilting his head to the side, he says. “If her ex is after her, she can’t go home. She needs to be somewhere safe.”

“She will be safe,” I say vaguely.

His brows pull together. “Her ex is after her. He obviously wants to hurt her.”

“We don’t think that’s the case,” Titan states, leaning up against the wall.

“Then what do you think?” Grave snaps.

“We think—”

“We think that he’s trying to frame me,” I interrupt Titan. Grave needs to hear it from me.

He pushes off the desk, squaring his shoulders. “What would make you guys think that?”

“Because he knows that we’re together,” I state. Okay, so it’s not official, but I’ve decided for the both of us.

He stares at me, his eyes narrowing slightly while he sucks in a long breath. “Uh, what?” he finally asks.

“We’ve been—”

“Behind my back?” he shrieks, not allowing me to finish.

I can’t argue with him because it would be a lie. Alexa and I chose to keep it a secret from him for this reason. So, he wouldn’t overreact. But I do understand the situation has changed. There’s an unpredictable new player. And her life is in danger. Along with Jasmine’s. What if she had been there in the basement preparing for Kink? Would she have been able to get out? Would she have burned to death? The what-ifs are staggering.

“It’s not like that,” I say.

“Then what the fuck was it, Cross?” he demands. “I told you she was off-limits.”

“You don’t own her!” I shout back at him. “You can’t tell her who she can and can’t date.”

“Date?” He chuckles roughly. “You mean who she fucks!”

“It’s more than that!” I argue.

“Oh, really?” He arches his brows. “So, you’re telling me you love her?”

The door swings open, and April enters the room. “We can hear you guys in the living room,” she whisper-shouts. “Lower your voices.”

Grave doesn’t listen. “Your best friend has been fucking Cross.” He points at me as if there’s another guy who goes by that name in this room.

She looks at me. Her ice-blue eyes are sympathetic before they go back to him. “Grave …”

“You knew?” he states breathlessly, taking a step back like she hit him.

“Yes.” She doesn’t even bother to lie.

His face falls and so do his wide shoulders. “You kept another secret from me?” Before she can answer, he looks around the room at each of the Kings. “Did everyone know?”

“Yes,” Bones and Titan answer at the same time, not wasting a breath.

His blue eyes drop to the floor, and he nods once before heading to the door.

“Grave …?” She reaches out to him, but he shrugs her off and exits the office while she chases after him, calling out his name.

I go to follow them to try to help calm the situation, but Titan stops me, grabbing my upper arm. “One problem at a time.” He gestures to the hallway. I know he means Alexa and the situation we are now in. “Grave is upset, but it’s not all because of you and Alexa.” He lets go of my arm, and I understand what he means. April and the baby. That’s not something you get over just because you go on a two-week vacation.

Grave is looking for something to be mad about. Something else to project his anger on. Right now, he hates the world and all of us in it.