Page 150 of Falling Into Gravity

A successful surgery was just the beginning. Now, she had to keep him out of Crescent until Bu could make it all go away.

chapter 26

. . .

The wheels kissedthe runway with a soft bounce, and the jet hummed to a stop.

Aku didn’t move at first. She just waited, knowing on that tarmac was a heart she had to break. French still saw her as his little girl which meant, no man would ever be good enough for her.

The shooting wasn’t going to help her case, but this was life…her life, and Aku felt she had the right to live it however she saw fit.

She sat stiff in the seat beside Malik’s stretcher, her hand still locked in his. Her head had dipped at some point during the flight, but the minute they landed, her eyes opened like they never closed.

Outside, the air was different. Saltier, lusher, and cleaner. Emerald City air always smelled expensive. The doors opened and warm light spilled into the plane.

French and Solar stood at the bottom of the stairs, both dressed like they hadn’t slept but were still trying to pretend they weren’t panicked. Solar had a jacket thrown over a maxi dressand slippers. French had on jeans and a wrinkled shirt with house shoes. Their eyes looked tired too.

The second Aku appeared at the top of the steps, Solar exhaled deeply and stepped forward. French didn’t move.

“Hey, baby,” Solar said, softly. “You alright?”

“No,” Aku’s voice came out flat. “But I’m here.”

The nurse and medic wheeled Malik’s stretcher carefully down the ramp. Solar gasped when she saw him—tubes, wires, bandages, bruises. She blinked quick, covering her mouth. French stared, silent with his face unreadable.

As the staff moved Malik’s stretcher to the ambulance, French glared at Aku like she’d lost her damn mind. “You flew this boy here in the middle of the night without telling nobody?”

“Mama, knew.” Aku squared her shoulders. “But I didn’t have time to ask permission.”

Solar braced herself for the blowup that was waiting to happen.

“Permission?” he repeated. “That’s what we do now? That’s how that nigga got you talking to me now?”

“French,” Solar warned.

“No! Look at him.” He pointed at Malik’s body. “I don’t know what happened but I know this ain’t what I had in mind when I thought about my baby growing up.”

Aku stepped in front of Malik like she was blocking him from the wind. “You never had anything in mind, ‘cause you can’t see past me being a little girl!”

French laughed without humor. “Girl, you just talking...what can you do for him? Tell me…unless you went to medical school without me knowing.”

“Save his life.” Aku hummed her words, tears already brimming in her eyes. She hated arguing with her Daddy. French had always been smooth and gentle with her. She followed his rules, kept him in mind whenever she did anything but this time,her heart belonged to Malik and when it came to being by his side, she wasn’t budging.

“Save him,” French scoffed, his bright skin turning red.

Solar stepped between them, hands up. “Not here. Not on this runway. Get in the damn car and let’s take this home.”

Malik’s hospital bed was rolled straight into Aku’s old room—now converted with soft lighting, a recliner, medical equipment, and white sheets tucked tight. The private nurse started checking vitals again, syncing the machines, speaking low into her headset to someone on her team.

French waited until the nurse stepped out, then snapped. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

Aku turned around slowly, eyes tired but blazing. “You wanna run that back?”

“You moved a critically wounded man across state lines like that ain’t illegal. You got my wife up in the middle of the night. You got my goddamn blood pressure up?—”

“French—”

“No. Fuck that, Solar. She got this boy bleeding out in the guest room like this is a hospital. And for what?”

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