But Aydin nudged past us. “Move,” he ordered them.
Michael crossed his arms, glaring down at him.
“I’m a physician,” Aydin pointed out. “I can help.”
“She has the best medical care money can buy,” Michael told him. “You’re not needed. Good night.”
Aydin stood there as Damon and Kai flanked Michael, none of them budging.
I felt like stepping in and helping him, but part of me knew they were right. He cared, but did he care enough? How long would he stick around? She didn’t need the hurt anymore.
Aydin’s chest rose and fell, the wheels turning in his head as he came to terms with the fact that he wouldn’t win in a fight against all four of them.
I stood back with the girls as Will joined his friends in shielding Alex.
Aydin turned around, looking ready to leave, but then he just stopped, letting out a breath. “And if I marry her?” he asked.
My heart skipped a beat, Rika and I straightening as my gaze flipped between him and the boys.
Aydin spun back around, facing them. “If I promise to marry her, will you let me in?”
Michael’s gaze thinned. “No.”
He didn’t believe him.
“Still want to marry her?” he taunted.
Was Aydin just saying that to get in the door? Or was he absolutely serious.
Damon stepped in, grabbed Aydin’s collar, and shot a fist right into his gut. I flinched, having enough violence for one night.
Aydin lurched forward, bending in half and grunting, but Damon pulled him back up, straightening his shirt.
“Yes,” Aydin gasped. “I still want to marry her.”
I bit back my smile.
Kai reared back and threw a punch across Aydin’s face, Aydin whipping around and wincing. “Fuck,” he growled.
But after a moment, he turned and faced them again.
“Get out,” Michael told him.
“No.”
Michael grabbed his shirt, held him tight, and tossed another punch across his jaw. Aydin’s arms stayed at his sides, his fists balled, but made no move to fight back.
Blood trickled out of the corner of his mouth as he breathed hard and let the pain course through him.
Slowly, he turned again and faced the guys, raising his chin and ready for more.
He knew what would happen to him if he broke her heart. He had to know that now, and he was still here.
I glanced at Michael.
“If she says yes,” Michael told him, “and you don’t come through, we will kill you.”
I smiled to myself.
Kai cocked his head. “She deserves a huge wedding at your expense.” He glared at Aydin. “You will invite everyone. You will give her the party of her life and honor her in front of the entire fucking world. Do you hear me?”
He nodded. No hiding her. No shame.
“She deserves a beautiful dress and flowers and a seated dinner with a band,” Will advised, holding up his finger. “Not a DJ. I’m thinking a day wedding. In Boston Common, maybe.”
“Oh, that sounds nice,” Damon cooed, glancing from Will to Aydin. “I like that idea.”
Banks snorted behind her hand, all of us amused at them planning the wedding for him.
“And a honeymoon,” Kai added, “in a private bungalow in the Balinese jungle with first-class service.”
“And you’ll swim with her naked,” Will demanded. “And have candlelit dinners.”
“All right,” Aydin growled, trying to shut them up.
“And you don’t touch her until the wedding night,” Michael told him.
Aydin’s eyes shot up, his spine steeling. “What?”
They all remained silent, standing their ground.
Oh, boy.
“I’ve never even kissed her,” Aydin gritted out. “I want to hold her. I want to—”
“When you’re her husband,” Michael clarified.
I pursed my lips to keep from laughing. They were adorable.
Aydin seethed, and I could tell this would be a far different story if it were just him and Michael. “Fine,” he finally replied.
He started to move around Michael, but Damon spoke up. “And one more thing.”
Aydin stopped. “Jesus, what?”
“Meet us at Sensou tomorrow night. 10 p.m.,” Damon told him.
“Why?”
Damon smirked. “Having Alex means you’re in the family, and there are two ways to get initiated into our gang. If you want to be in ours, you can either be beat in or—”
“Damon!” Rika barked.
The guys started laughing and Damon quieted, looking at Rika like a four-year-old saying “what did I do?”
What? I looked around at all of them, lost. What was he going to say?
“I was just kidding,” he told Rika.
I shook my head, making a mental note to get caught up on that joke later.
I pushed off the wall and slipped through the guys. “Us first,” I told Aydin. “Wait your turn.”
I stepped into the hospital room, a nurse tending to Alex’s monitors, and my gaze fell onto the bed, seeing her as everyone trailed in behind me.
Her shoulder was bandaged up, her arm tucked into her, and her hospital gown and blankets keeping her warm.
She’d already been to surgery, as it had taken about two hours to get through the police and finding Martin’s body.
I should take a picture. She was going to be really pissed when she saw her hair hanging all limp like that.
The girls and I crowded around the bed, seeing her eyes start to open, and I leaned down, hating how pale her lips were. Alex always had color there.
“Just a few minutes, everyone,” the nurse warned and then left the room.
“How are you?” I asked as Will pulled the curtain closed from the night outside.
Alex’s head bobbed a little. “I feel so good right now.”
Rika laughed under her breath, leaning over from the other side. “A little high, are you?”
“Yeahhhhh,” she said, sounding all satisfied about it.
“I think Aydin wants to be naked in this bed with you right now,” I told her.
“He’s sooooo adorable.” She blinked, looking sleepy. “Did you see his muscles in that T-shirt? Shiverrrrrs.”
“Jesus Christ,” Damon grumbled, turning away.
“He wants to sit with you tonight, but we want to stay,” I said. “He can see you tomorrow. If you want.”
She didn’t say anything, but after a few moments, her eyes opened and she took a deep breath, looking more alert.
“Let him in,” she told us. “Go wake up that judge and finish that wedding.”
I shook my head. “No, we can do that tomorrow.”
“Tonight.”
She met my eyes, and I pushed the hair out of her face, Rika diving in and kissing her temple.
“I’ll see you later,” she said.
But…
“Go,” she ordered. “And don’t leave each other…go for at least eight hours.”
I chuckled, but I closed my mouth, not arguing any further. They had things to say to each other, at any rate. She needed to be alone with him.
“Send him in for me?” Alex asked as we all started to drift out.
“We’re leaving Lev right outside,” Michael called out.