As cold washed over Akira’s skin, a soft slap sounded.
Jaxon giggled as Cort jumped and turned to see Silver.
“Are you serious right now, you big lug?” Silver shook her head and pulled Akira into her arms. “The two of you haven’t put her through enough?”
Standing in the doorway, Oriana sighed. “Didn’t they teach you in kindergarten not to hit people, Silver?”
“Tell me he didn’t deserve it.”
“I kinda did.” Cort hugged Oriana, grunted as Jaxon jumped on him the second he let her go, then picked up the little boy and started down the hallway. “I hate seeing him hurt, but I’ve seen injuries like this before, so I wasn’t as scared as Akira or Jaxon. But I wasn’t sure details would be helpful while he was still in surgery.”
Silver gave him a dirty look. “They’re still not helpful.”
“Understood,” Cort said, grinning when Jaxon immediately asked what kind of details he meant.
Looked like the little boy was back to himself, now that the worst had passed. Akira smiled, but made sure not to walk too close to them. She had absolutely no interest in hearing about the time Cort had pried a bullet out of his father’s shoulder with a pocket knife.
Ew.
The doctor only let them go in two at a time, but made an exception for Jaxon, simply warning the little boy that his father needed a lot of rest to recover. Jaxon nodded solemnly, then slipped into the room ahead of Akira and Cort. He stopped. Stared at Ford. Didn’t move.
“Hey, you.” Ford opened his eyes in slits, lifting his hand and holding it out for his son. “I have a question.”
Approaching the bed slowly, Jaxon hesitantly put his small hand in his father’s. “Yeah?”
“Can you teach me how to play hide and seek. You’re fucking awesome at it.”
Jaxon let out a watery laugh and pressed his head against Ford’s shoulder. “I am, aren’t I? That fucker never would have found me.”
“Damn right. But you were smart to go to Cort.”
“But…” Jaxon lifted his head. “He got hurt because of me.”
Ford’s brow furrowed. He looked over to Cort, his eyes locked on his face. “The bastard shot you?”
Cort shook his head, reaching out to take Akira’s hand and draw her closer to the bed. “No, Laura shot him and her bullet clipped me. It’s nothing.”
“Is he…?” Ford shook his head. “Never mind. We can talk about that later.”
Probably a good idea, but one look at Jaxon and Akira could tell he didn’t agree. His eyes went hard as he straightened, looking from Ford to Cort.
“You don’t gotta hide things from me. I want to know if he’s dead.” Jaxon fisted his hands at his sides. “If he’s not he can hurt us again. He’ll keep coming back, I know he will.”
Akira crouched down, turning Jaxon to face her. “Even if he’s alive, he won’t get you, Jaxon. He’ll never have a chance to hurt anyone, ever again. What he did will have him in jail for a very long time.”
That didn’t seem to be enough for Jaxon, but he inclined his head, then went back to Ford, speaking to him quietly, even as Ford’s eyes drifted shut. Akira didn’t want to interrupt Jaxon’s time with his father, but she couldn’t stand back anymore. She needed to touch Ford. To feel him alive and whole. To make sure this was real and he would be all right.
She stepped up to the bed, putting her hand over Ford’s free one, air coming a little easier as he laced his fingers with hers. He was cool to the touch, his skin so white against hers, but he was moving. Breathing. Watching her with a little smile on his lips.
“I love you.” He whispered, stroking the back of her hand with his thumb as Jaxon moved away from the bed to pull up a chair, looking like he planned to stay a while. Ford glanced down at his son, then lifted his gaze back to meet hers. “What you did for me…for him…”
“For us, Ford.” She lifted his hand and pressed her lips to it as he drifted off to sleep. “For our family.”
Cort’s hands settled on her shoulders and she tipped her head back as he jerked his chin toward the door. They went out in the hall so Ford’s sisters could see him. She could tell her man had something on his mind.
“We have a problem.” Cort held up a hand when her lips parted. “Kyle is dead. We don’t have to worry about him anymore.”
“Then what?”
“What was happening with him wasn’t the only thing Ford was hiding.” Cort latched his fingers behind his neck and pressed his eyes shut. “I couldn’t figure it out at first. What could be so bad he’d keep it a secret, even after coming clean about what Kyle was forcing him to do?” He inhaled roughly. “Anthony wanted some way to keep the team here.” He lowered his voice, looking around to make sure no one could hear him. “Which had to involve Keane. But Ford hasn’t spent any time with Keane. Hasn’t made any moves that I’m aware of.”
Considering Anthony had been the first to use Jaxon, and he’d have wanted Ford to prove he would cooperate before letting him see his son, Ford must have found something he thought might work. As desperate as he’d been, there were no lines Ford wouldn’t have crossed.
“Keane’s a businessman.” Akira watched Cort as he began to pace. “Do you think Ford found some way to make the team look less appealing to potential buyers? Rigging games wouldn’t do much during the pre-season.”
Cort shook his head. “Something like that would ruin the team if it got out. It took a long time for the franchise to shake the suspicion that it had happened before.” Cort’s lips thinned. “But Keane’s more than a businessman. He’s a father. And like Ford, there’s not much he won’t do for his kids.”
“Ford wouldn’t threaten Keane’s daughters. There’s no fucking way.”
“No. But he might try to get them to put pressure on their father.” Cort stuffed his hands in the pockets of his bloodstained, dark blue jeans. “Heath was with one of Keane’s daughters tonight. Which, fine, he’s not much older than Mackenzie and she’s a pretty girl.”
“Then why does them being together—?”
“I might be wrong. Fuck, I hope I am.” Cort pulled a phone out of his pocket. Ford’s. “But the last text Ford got was from Heath.”
Akira had never gone through either of her men’s texts, she trusted them and she’d always figured if she had to start violating their privacy, their relationship had bigger problems than whatever she might find. But when she took the phone, she realized Cort hadn’t gone looking for anything.
The message was right on the screen.
Ford must have missed the text while he’d been at the Forum with Jaxon.
Heath: I can’t do this anymore.
“Shit.” She gave Cort back the phone. “This can’t get out. It will destroy both of their lives.”
“Agreed.” Cort shoved the phone in his pocket. “Is it horrible to hope they work things out, fall madly in love, and this all just fucking ends well?”
“No. I’m kinda hoping the same.”
“But it’s unlikely.”
Looking back toward Ford’s room, Akira considered everything that had happened tonight. And over the past month. She loved Ford. She could forgive him almost anything. Including this…but it would be hard. She was torn between knowing he’d been raised to win at all cost, no matter who was hurt, and knowing he’d become a better man.
She understood he’d done it for his son. That he probably hadn’t seen any other way.
But how far would he go next time?
When would it end?
“I don’t think we should tell Ford what we suspect. If Heath ended things—which would fit with the text—then hopefully it will be a normal breakup between two teenagers. It would hurt Mackenzie more if she found out why he was with her. Assuming he didn’t have feelings for her.” Akira hugged herself, hating that she half wished this all to just go away. “I want Ford to tell us himself. To explain exactly what he did. I need to hear him say he knows it was wrong.”
&nbs
p; “He does, Akira. Hey, look at me.” Cort cupped her cheek in his hand. “You have every right to be upset. And I won’t ask you to forgive him until you’re ready. But he did this because he was backed into a corner.”
“He did it because he wasn’t willing to ask for help. Because in the world he grew up in, cops and lawyers are the enemy.” Akira’s eyes burned as frustration brought her to the edge of tears. “He’s not living in that world anymore.”
“No. He’s not.”
“But he’ll keep making choices like he is until he believes it.” She ground her teeth. “How do we make him see that?”
“I don’t know.” Cort’s brow furrowed. He combed his fingers into her hair as he held her gaze. “Are you ready to give up on him?”
Finally, a question she had an answer for. Her lips slanted as she stared up at one of the two men she loved, all stitched up and battle-scarred and sometimes still too close to the edge between right and wrong himself. But he was a good man. And he proved it to her every single day.
“After everything we’ve gone through?” Akira rose up, kissing Cort and smiling against his lips. “I don’t give up. You taught me how to fight for what I want. And I’m more than ready to kick some ass.”
Cort grinned. “Once he’s back on his feet.”
“Yup. Then we make him suffer. In the most loving way possible.”
Chapter 34
For the first few days that Ford was home from the hospital, everything seemed perfect. The threat of losing his son was gone. Sure, Jaxon still had his insecurities, and it would take time, love, and therapy for him to fully accept he finally had a family he could trust. But he was so damn resilient, sometimes Ford could almost forget his son had gone through more than any child should have to.
Sitting on the porch, Ford kept his breaths shallow to avoid moving too much. He carefully leaned back in the rocking chair Akira had dragged out here so he could get fresh air. She’d laughed at him when he’d grumbled that the thing made him feel like an old man, then held back a grin when he’d admitted it was damn comfortable.
Out in the front yard, Jaxon was helping Cort rake leaves. He should be having fun, but this was one of those times Ford could tell his son was trying to prove he was good enough to keep. Most kids his age would be playing in the pile of leaves, throwing them around and having a blast.
Jaxon’s expression was serious as he gathered every stray leaf, then began picking them up and stuffing them in the compost bags.
“Hey, Jaxon!”
Looking up at Cort’s call, Jaxon let out a surprised yelp as Cort lifted him up and tossed him in the huge pile of leaves he’d piled up at the other side of the walkway. When Jaxon popped up, Cort already had an armful of leaves ready to dump over his head.
“Hey!” Jaxon laughed, shaking the leaves out of his hair. “You’re making a mess, man!”
“Me? Looks like you’re the one wrecking my pile!” Cort folded his arms over his chest, his lips quirking at the edges. “Time for payback.”
“Huh?” Jaxon’s lips parted as Cort headed over to the leaves he’d gathered. “Oh no you don’t!”
Dashing across the yard, Jaxon wrapped his arms around Cort’s legs. Cort toppled over as though Jaxon had actually thrown him off balance, which made Ford chuckle. Damn, his man was good with his son. He pressed his hand against his side, eager to be healed enough to join in the fun.
Unfortunately, he wasn’t supposed to be outside for too long for the first few weeks, because of the risk of infection. As the door opened and Akira came out, he stood slowly, hand on his side.
“I hate this for you.” She held the door for him, chewing at her bottom lip as he made his way inside. “I swear, if that bastard wasn’t dead, I’d hunt him down and kill him myself.”
Shaking his head, Ford ambled into the living room, settling in the chair closest to the window so he could continue watching Cort and his son play. “But he’s dead. And things are good.”
She watched him for a moment. “Are they?”
He stilled, turning to face her, but she’d already gone back out, carrying the tray she’d grabbed off the coffee table with three mugs of hot chocolate.
A fourth had been left on the table for him. He picked it up, taking a sip of the rich, creamy beverage that Akira had learned to make from scratch. She’d been doing that a lot lately, trying different recipes whenever she was home, telling him and Cort how much healthier home cooking was for a kid than all the instant meals with all kinds of preservatives. She’d been reading up a lot about raising kids, joining mom groups online and taking all the advice to heart.
Between her and Cort, Jaxon wasn’t lacking for anything. Which Ford was so grateful for, but part of him felt like he was on the outside, looking in. Everything seemed perfect.
But there was distance between him and his man and his woman. A distance he didn’t see between Cort and Akira. They were completely at ease when they were together. But the atmosphere in the room changed the minute he walked in. Akira still smiled, but there was a tension in her eyes. Cort’s bearing was protective as always, but guarded.
They were…waiting for something.
Probably for the other shoe to drop. Fine, no one could have predicted Kyle would kidnap Jaxon, but the hell they’d gone through for weeks before that was all on Ford. Because he’d handled trying to get custody of his son in the worst way possible.
And that wasn’t the only situation he’d completely fucked up.
Luke had called him the other day. Given him updates on Heath and Mackenzie. Seemed to wonder why Ford was so interested. Sure, Heath was part of the team, but Ford hardly knew the kid—as far as Luke was concerned, anyway.
He’d almost told Luke right then. But…he couldn’t. This wasn’t some small, shady shit he’d pulled that their tentative friendship would survive.
His relationship with Cort and Akira might not survive his stupid choices either. He’d been considering how to come clean to them for days, but kept talking himself out of it. They deserved a break from the disaster he’d caused. Only, was it really a break when they knew he still hadn’t been completely honest with them? That was the only thing that could explain their behavior.
I have to tell them. Let them decide if they can forgive me. Ford rubbed a hand over his face and sighed. It was so much easier to pretend life could go on, without dragging up his mistakes again and again. What if telling them ruined what Jaxon had now? He was getting comfortable here. If the truth came out, Ford might have to find a new home for them. Maybe even a new school.
The truth always comes out in the end. Better they hear it from you than from someone else.
Showered, teeth brushed, and ready to be tucked into bed, Jaxon stared up at Ford as he pulled the blankets up to his son’s chin. “Dad, is everything…okay? You were really quiet tonight. Are you hurting bad?”
“No, I’m all right, Jaxon.” Ford sat on the edge of his son’s bed. “I’ve just been thinking a lot.”
“About why Cort and Akira are mad at you?”
Ford cringed, glancing over at his son, who gave him an expectant look. “What makes you think they’re mad at me?”
“I don’t know. Just…” Jaxon sighed and shook his head. “Uncle Kyle was always mad, so I didn’t give a fuck, you know? But when I upset Auntie Andrea, it was different. I’d do something bad and she’d find out and would talk different. Like, she still loved me, but she was disappointed. I stole money from her purse once and it was like that for a week until I finally told her what I’d done.”
“Yeah, I can see that. And it probably took a while to earn back her trust.”
Jaxon nodded. “But she told me I couldn’t start earning it while I was still lying, you know?” He lifted his shoulders. “Now I don’t lie to her ever. She knows I fuck up, so—”
“Jaxon, we talked about the swearing.”
His son snickered. “But you hardly ever notice that I’m doing it because you swear
all the time.”
“And I really gotta work on that.” Ford smoothed Jaxon’s hair away from his face. “We’ll work on it together, okay? And you need a haircut.”
“We gonna do that together too?”
“Sure.”
“Cool.” Jaxon rested his head on his pillow and closed his eyes. “G’night, Dad.”
“G’night, son.” Ford pressed a light kiss on Jaxon’s forehead, shut off the light, then left the room.
Leaving the door open a crack, he made his way downstairs, where Cort and Akira were sitting in the living room. Akira was on the floor in front of the coffee table, working on the music for the next few Ice Girl performances, earbuds in, head bopping slightly to the music as she chewed on the back of her pen.
Cort was sitting behind her on the sofa, running a soft bristled brush over her hair while watching a wrestling match on TV. He’d been doing that almost every night, a ritual between him and Akira that was soothing to watch. They both worked a lot, which limited their time together, but they managed to make sure every second counted.
Maybe now wasn’t the time to interrupt them with a confession.
There was always tomorrow.
The day after?
Never?
Ford’s throat tightened as he thought back on what Jaxon had said. If the kid had noticed the tension between them, it was only getting worse.
He slumped in the armchair across from the sofa, biting back a wince at the painful tug in his side. Then he did his best to sit up straight. “Let’s do this.”
Cort’s brow lifted.
Akira took out her earbuds.
“I…fuck, I don’t know how to say this, but I’ve gotta come clean.” He rubbed his hands on his thighs, lowering his gaze as they continued to stare at him. “You guys know this all started with my father. When Kyle told him about my son Anthony paid to have Kyle, Jaxon, and Andrea come stay with him. He had them there for a while before he even reached out to Oriana to set the ball rolling. Probably to get a feel for them. He realized Kyle would go along with his plans, that he was just as willing to use Jaxon for the right payoff.”
OverTime (The Dartmouth Cobras Book 9) Page 35
