Mateo snapped his head toward him. “What?”
“When she realized you weren’t coming,” Alejandro continued, voice low, “she called me.”
The hallway suddenly felt too narrow.
Too hot.
“You’ve been talking to her?” Mateo demanded.
Alejandro laughed once without humor.
“She needed someone reliable.”
Mateo lunged forward before he fully realized he was moving.
Security intercepted him instantly.
One guard caught his arm. Another stepped between them.
“Careful,” Alejandro said softly. “You’re already being watched by hospital administration after arriving intoxicated to intensive care.”
Mateo jerked against the guard’s grip. “Stay away from my family.”
Alejandro’s eyes hardened.
“Your family spent the night bleeding alone while you toasted yourself in a nightclub.”
Every word hit exactly where it needed to.
Mateo opened his mouth to answer, but the ICU door opened before he could.
A doctor stepped out holding a tablet.
“Mrs. Valdés is awake,” she said carefully. “But only immediate family for now.”
Mateo moved instantly.
The doctor blocked him with one arm.
“She specifically requested Mr. Reyes first.”
Silence.
Pure.
Violent.
Silence.
Mateo stared at the doctor like he had misheard her.
“What?”