Chapter Thirty-Three

Akira woke at a gasp from Jaxon, instantly alert. She sat up, rubbing her eyes and staring up at Cort. Her pulse pounded in her skull as she took in the pallor of his skin, which made the harsh wound on his cheek with the row of stitches stand out even more.

But he was smiling.

Stepping into the hospital family room where she’d been with Jaxon most of the night, he reached out and took her hand in one of his, pulling her to her feet even as he put his other hand on Jaxon’s shoulder. “Your dad’s out of surgery. Everything went really good. He’s pretty out of it, but the doctor said you can come see him if you want.”

Jaxon swallowed hard and leaned against Cort’s side. “Will there be a lot of blood?”

“No, no blood, buddy.” Cort brushed his hand over Jaxon’s hair, which was still a little damp from when she’d washed it for him in the bathroom.

Luke had come with a change of clothes for the little boy and stayed with them for a bit, distracting Jaxon with a video game, which had helped so much. For the first hour Jaxon had been panicked about having Cort’s blood on him, and kept begging Akira to help him get it off, even after a nurse had shown them to a shower for him to clean up, since he refused to go home. In fresh clothes, with Luke keeping things as light as he could, Jaxon had started to relax, stopping the game every once in a while to ask how much longer the surgery would take and seeming satisfied when Akira told him the doctors were taking their time to make sure his father would get better fast.

Akira had been tempted to pace and cry and ask what was taking so long herself, but having to be calm for Jaxon steadied her. When Jaxon had fallen asleep in her lap, she’d drifted off without realizing it.

She trembled as she realized Cort could have come in here, found her fast asleep, and woken her with much different news. Ford had lost a lot of blood. When she’d seen him rolled in, she thought he was dead. The doctor’s optimism hadn’t made any sense.

“Come on, love. I think you need to see for yourself that he’s really okay.” Cort tipped her chin up with a finger and kissed her. “I told you the bullet went right through. If it hadn’t hit his liver, he’d probably be out of bed already.”

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 pocketknife.

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.”

“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.”