Page 81 of Playing for Keeps (Checkmate 4)

I extend my prosthetic and study it. “It’s okay. Dee and I work on it every day. I’m getting stronger, faster. I can jog… really fucking slowly,” I chuckle. “It’s coming along.”

“You’re going to physical therapy and shit?”

“Yeah, few times a week. And Dee and I work at home every other day.”

His eyes come back to Dee, he studies her, as though determining how competent she is. “What kind of recovery they say you’ll have?”

I shrug. “Doc says I should be mostly back to normal eventually. Depends how much I want it. I can work until the new leg is as responsive as my real leg.”

“And how much do you want it?”

It hits me in this moment, Kane Bishop is the first person to ever ask me how far I intend to take my recovery. How hard I intend to work at it to regain my old independence back. He’s the first person to make me see a future where I can still do something important, where I can still uphold the law and help people.

Before now, I would sigh at the prospect of work. Like, maybe I could become a mall rent-a-cop, where I’d slide cards under business doors to assure them I patrolled and their premises is secure. I imagined a desk, and towers of paperwork that I’d wish would topple over and smother me to death.

But now I see something else. Something a little more promising.

Squeezing Andi’s hand in my lap, I shrug. “I’ll take it all the way. I have a family to take care of. I have people depending on me.”

His eyes shoot to Andi’s. “Shit. You got a kid?”

She perks up and flashes a wide smile. “No, but I have a pig.”

Kane’s lips twitch. For the first time since we walked in, for the first time since months before I was hurt, his eyes show something other than rage. “A pig? You have a pet pig?”

“She wears tutus,” I add. “She probably needs a rhinestone collar soon.”

Chuckling, Kane stands and pulls Jess to her feet. Stepping forward, he extends his spare hand and pulls me up. “I’m glad you’re alive, Cruz.” He pulls me in for a hug and slaps my back. “You stood in front of my girl and took her bullets. That makes you a man I’ll forever trust, so when your pig needs a new collar, come to me. I’ll get you work worthy of a man.”

“Thanks, Bish.” We step back. “I’m glad to see you back. And I’m sorry about Jay. Truly. I considered him a really good friend, so I’m sorry he’s gone.”

Mirrors, opposites, Jess steps under Kane’s arm, and Andi under mine. It takes us a moment to see what’s right in front of us, then another for Eric to throw his hands in the air.

“I see how it is. I’m the extra again. Fuck you guys!” He turns on his heels and snags a hat from the pile of shit he threw on the floor when we came in. “You lot can go upstairs and have your orgy. It’s fine, my feelings aren’t hurt or anything. I’m going to the diner to get somethin’ to eat.”

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