Page 141 of Fighting For Light
I smile and kiss his cheek. “He will get what’s coming to him,” I say quietly so his lady friend doesn’t hear me. He dips down to look me in the eyes.
“You tell me if you need me. I know we will be back on the road soon, but still. Anything, Cordi. You call me.”
“I will. I need to go.”
He waves to us as Kai pulls out of the driveway.
“Everything okay with your dad?” Kai asks, putting his hand on my thigh.
I nod and glance back at Theo, who’s out cold. “Yeah, he’s just worried about us.”
His hand twitches on my thigh, and I put mine over his.
“We’ll be okay, I promise,” Kai says.
I glance at him and try to ignore the worry that fills my chest. “I’m glad your mom is okay. I’d say it was a good sign that she was already telling you guys what you needed to do while she was there.”
He chuckles. “Emerson and Liam will take turns staying with her at the hospital. She hates hospitals, so they won’t be able to keep her long even if they should.”
“Esmarie is a tough woman. There is no doubt in my mind she will come back from this even tougher,” I tell him.
“She always has been.” He sighs.
I only catch the edge of that look in his profile, but I wish I could take his fear away. I wish there was more for me to do, but this is something I can’t, and I have to accept that. But I will be the wife Kai needs and the mother Theo needs. That’s how I can help my family right now.
64
Cordelia
It’s been two weekssince Esmarie was shot, and she’s been trying to figure out how to get out of the hospital and not die. She even tried to get me to sneak her out, but Kai caught her trying and told her no, she needed to stay for a bit longer. Then Emerson gave her those eyes, and she finally relented. Our wedding was featured in magazines, exactly like Esmarie wanted, and the news because of the shooting. Fred Coldwell is using the tragedy as a political tactic. I watched a bit on the news, but we had to turn it off. We got so mad.
Emerson was able to get the bullet they pulled out of Esmarie. With their contacts, they got some information off of it, even a partial thumbprint. Liam and Emerson are on their way here because Kai told them we couldn’t come to them since Theo was napping.
I nervously put together a charcuterie board because I didn’t know what else to do with myself. Kai comes up behind me and grabs my hips, yanking me to his front. “What’s wrong, baby?” he asks.
“I don’t know why I’m so nervous for them to tell us what they found. It’s obviously something important if they want to come here. But what if it’s bad?” I whisper the last words.
“Then we will handle it,” he says like it’s already a foregone conclusion.
I groan and set pieces of prosciutto on the board.
The kitchen door opens, and Emerson and Liam walk in with blank expressions. They are very good at hiding what they think, so I don’t know if that’s good or bad. They all grunt hellos, and I stand there, wringing my hands and waiting for them to drop the bomb.
“Liam made contact with someone on the dark web to see if there was a hit out on our father. There are actually quite a few, but that’s not surprising to anyone. What was surprising was the fact there was no hit called for him in California on the day of your wedding,” Emerson says, looking at Kai.
The blood drains out of Kai’s face, and my stomach lurches.
“What does that mean?” Kai asks. His hand reaches out almost like a reflex. I take it, and he yanks me into his arms like he needs strength from me.
“It means he got what he wanted,” Liam says, his voice full of gravel and pain. Esmarie was the target. They blame themselves for what happened.
“So we’re just supposed to take it?” Kai yells.
“For now, yes. The only way to get rid of our father and stop his reign of terror is to get ahead of him. We have to find every connection and deal he’s made, then blow it up until there’s nothing left,” Emerson says sternly.
“But that could take years,” I say.
“Yeah, or it could take a few months. We don’t know,” Liam says.
