7
1777 Words
Scowling, David glared at his son. Though adopted, he loved the boy as if he’d been born of his own blood. He narrowed his eyes on the small cut above Jaxon’s eyebrow. It was so subtle, so carefully blended in with the brow hair, that anyone else who looked at the teen would have missed it completely.
Lifting his coffee cup, he took a sip while maintaining a glare on his face. If cornered, Jax would bite the hand that feeds without a problem. He’d seen that for himself the night his son came out of the closet. “Where did you get hurt, and whose ass do I need to kick?”
“Oh, yay. It's nine in the evening after a long-ass day and night of coding with Trace and Luke, and I’m getting the third degree? I think that’s a new record, Dad,” the teen groused.
Watching as Jaxon rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands, David’s scowl deepened. He didn’t like that the usually sweet boy had an attitude, but his son did have a point. He and his best friend had been pulling work hours that normal people would have broken from. Yet, when pressed for answers, not even Trace understood how they got through the nights.
Then again, Lukas and Jaxon always did have a deep and powerful bond with each other. They either riled one another up or they calmed each other down.
Setting his now empty mug on the table, David sighed. “Where did you—”
“No. No questions, Dad. Please,” Jax snapped. “It’s my business.”
Anger surged, nearly overtaking his rational thinking. Reining in his emotions, David said, “I don’t care how Goddamn tired you are, you do not disrespect your father. Understand me now?”
Looking away, Jaxon shook his head, the subtle glow of the kitchen light casting shadows over his features. “Why should I tell you? You’re only going to get pissed, go after him, and then I’ll lose out, Dad. Don’t you get it? I’m a liability! Even Lukas trains, but me? Nah, you’re too scared to push me when I need it.”
David, still holding his now empty coffee cup, furrowed his brows in confusion. The tension in the air was palpable, and the small kitchen seemed to shrink around them. “I… what?” David asked incredulously, his voice low but intense. “Training? When did you start training? Who are you training with? Why wasn’t I informed?”
“Catch a clue, Dad. I’m almost sixteen, and I’m starting my courses at OTU with Luke. I need to be able to defend myself if I have to. I’m not going to have Nix and the others to help me out of a bad situation, and Luke can only do so much. I refuse to have some i***t guard follow me around when I can handle it myself. If it comes to a fight, I want to be the one who walks away, not the one left bleeding on the ground,” Jaxon said, his voice steady yet firm, as he placed his dishes in the sink with a clatter.
Falling silent, David bit back the retort on the tip of his tongue. The resolute look in Jaxon’s eyes made it clear he had thought this through. There was no way he could argue with his son’s determined, not to mention completely true, words. “So, you started training in secret. Will you at least tell me who you turned to?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
Turning to his father, Jaxon raised a brow, a hint of defiance flashing in his eyes. “Like I said, Appa, I know you too well. You’d go after him over nothing when it took me almost six weeks of begging and pleading for him to say yes.”
“Damn it,” David muttered under his breath, his grip tightening on the coffee cup.
Jaxon’s eyes went wide, and his complexion paled as he realized his mistake too late. With minimal information, his father had already guessed who his trainer was. “Oh no. No. Dad, please.”
“Really, Jaxon? You got him to train you?” David’s eyes burned with a dark and fierce anger.
“You can’t turn on Russell! I won’t let you! He told me this would happen, but I begged on my knees for weeks before he caved! I’m the one that dragged him into this, not the other way around. Yes, Russell’s training me, but I trust him, and so should you!” the teen argued, his voice filled with conviction.
David’s jaw dropped as he realized the truth. “Anything I should know?”
“Like?”
“What he’s teaching you, for starters. I’d at least like to be on the same page with this crap. If you’re this dead set on it, at least let me have a chance to watch.” David said, staring at the teen with a mix of frustration and pride. He was actually proud that the boy stood up for something. Whether it was himself, someone else, or something he believed in, he held his ground.
Jaxon raised an eyebrow. “Why are you smiling like that?”
The door opened, and they heard Skylar happily chatting on her phone. She walked into the kitchen, her heels clicking against the polished floors. “Of course, Anne. I wouldn’t miss a chance like that. Besides, I happen to personally know Latoya Victors, so modeling their bridal stuff should be no big deal. Great! I’ll talk to you tomorrow at work. Bye!”
Hanging up, she grinned at her father.
It had been a week since she started working with the agency, but rather than feel worn out, she was content to go in every day they needed her. After the fiasco regarding their old investor, they had come to accept that their benefactor was the Kingpin of such a well-known and feared mob.
“Good day at work, Cupcake?” David asked, kissing her cheek. Whispering in her ear, he said, “Depending on how the next few hours go, you may or may not have a boyfriend when I’m done.”
Shocked that her father would be so dark, she pulled back and shook her head. Glancing at her little brother, she frowned when he pointed to his forehead while mouthing the word “training.” Biting her lip to keep from laughing, she nodded as he made the sign for “I got you.” “Daddy, is this about Russ training Jax?”
“You knew?”
She laughed. “I’m the one that convinced him to say yes. We had to do it behind your back because you’re such a freaking hardass sometimes. My poor baby brother doesn’t want to be a liability, and I fully support that. Oh! Here, Jax.”
“Russ took me out to dinner,” she said, preening. “On the way home, he stopped at that cute little Korean Barbeque place you like and grabbed your favorites.”
Their father scowled, snarling slightly as he pulled out a testing kit. He didn’t like it. Someone else bringing home food for his kids that he didn’t approve of wasn’t something he condoned. “He could have asked.”
“Daddy, put that away. Russ already tested the food, and it’s fine. Besides, he hates leaving Jax out of anything and loves including him as much as possible,” Sky snapped quietly.
Where was his animosity coming from? Why was he so bent out of shape over this?
It hurt that he didn’t trust his children’s judgment. Could there be a worse feeling than knowing your parent didn’t want to hear any other opinion than their own? She didn’t think so.
Looking at her brother, she watched him nod. It meant that he’d already blown up at the man who raised two kids on his own with limited interference.
Her mind went back to when she went to Russell’s place with him to grab a few things he would need. Guilt flooded her as she thought about the harsh slap she’d given him over a simple comment. Yet, it was the comment that made her recoil.
“Did you get all dressed up for me?”
Russell had been joking with her, but her mind didn’t see it like that. It went back to the man who said it to her when she was a child, creating a fear that didn’t actually exist. He had dropped her off at the Towers without a word after that. He didn’t even bother to ask or offer to carry her bags.
Tears burned her eyes, but she blinked them away. Hiding what she was really feeling, she smiled. “So, what did you learn yesterday?”
Jaxon shrugged, glancing at their father as they all sat down at the table. He grabbed the pack of cards to deal them for their family game night. “Mostly just defense, blocking, and how to tell if it’s a fight I can walk away from. I went to tuck and roll at one point but ended up banging my noggin off the floor a little too hard. The name of the game is Gin Rummy, Sis.”
“Oh, good! It sounds like you’re really getting the hang of things in training,” his sister preened happily. Grabbing her hand as it was dealt out, she groaned. “This is so not my night.”
“Oh, yeah? You probably got a better hand than I do, Sky,” David chuckled. “Head wounds bleed like a b***h in heat. Was it a small one?”
Nodding, Jaxon took his turn. “Yeah, it was nothing more than a scratch, really. He didn’t freak out or fuss, but he bandaged me up, gave me some acetaminophen, and told me to rest for a few days. He also said to report to Donna Amber if I start showing signs of being concussed.”
Skylar watched her father carefully as he drew a card from the deck, but it wasn’t due to her brother’s high opinion of her boyfriend. No, it was because he had a knack for stealing one extra card than he needed. Her eyes narrowed. “Put that back in the deck, Dad.”
“Yeah, Appa. We saw that, you know,” her brother chimed in.
Feigning hurt, David pouted as he put the card back while his kids laughed at him.
- Writer
