Chapter 61
SIXTY-ONE
Kat managed to book me a charter flight through a company in her personal Rolodex—from Burbank to Denver.
I threw together an overnight bag, and she drove me to the airport herself.
While I sat on the tarmac waiting to take off, I called Genesis.
She promised to keep my arrival a secret from her husband and pick me up at the airport.
Before we left, Jaxon had been carried off the field on a stretcher. The announcers speculated something might be broken. I hope not.
This flight feels endless. I keep checking the time on my phone, even though it’s on airplane mode.
“Prepare for landing,” the captain finally announces.
I exhale, releasing just a little of the tension I’ve been holding since takeoff.
I’m halfway down the ramp when a flurry of delayed messages flood my phone. Both Kat and Genesis confirm the same thing: Jaxon may have a broken leg.
I spot Genesis standing by the back of a black Town Car with tinted windows, waving at me.
“Broken leg?” I ask as my feet hit the asphalt.
“Might,” Genesis says.
The driver takes my bag and slides it into the trunk.
“That’s the worst scenario, but nobody knows yet,” Genesis mutters. “Hurry—we have to get to the hospital. She’s there.”
She raises her hands like claws, mimicking something grotesque.
No need to ask who she’s talking about.
“She’s at the hospital?” I say as I slide into the back seat beside her and buckle up. The thought is almost too pathetic to entertain—especially now, knowing what I know.
“She’s in the waiting room, pacing around like she’s his damn wife. I don’t get it. I know he’s into you. So what the hell is going on?”
I tell her everything—what Kat revealed, how Jaxon lost access to his phone, how he managed to get a message through Anne, and how I suspect Ashley’s been showing up to games thanks to an inside hand giving her those seats.
“What the actual hell?” Genesis growls, shaking her head. “I cannot believe Barber went along with taking his phone. I swear, I’m going to rip into him.”
I place a hand gently on her shoulder. I’m grateful she’s in my corner. It’s comforting in a way I didn’t know I needed.
“Don’t yell at him,” I say. “The team’s gotta do what the team’s gotta do. I think they believe Jaxon’s been underperforming because of… women drama.”
She scoffs. “Please. That makes zero sense. You’re our friend—and so is Jaxon.
And whatever strategy they think they’re using clearly isn’t working.
He played like shit today. The last time he was his old self?
You were there. How do they not see that?
” She throws up her hands. “Idiots. And Roger? Useless. All ego. I should have his job.”
The car pulls up in front of the hospital entrance, and without delay, we’re out and moving fast. Genesis knows exactly where she’s going. I thank my lucky stars I landed on her good side. There’s no way I’d be getting to Jaxon this smoothly without her—and, of course, Kat.
But then—
Cameras start clicking. Flashes pop.
A small pool of media has been cordoned off in one section of the lobby, but they see me the moment we walk in.
“Zara Morgan!” a few of them shout.
And then the questions start flying:
Are you here for Jaxon?
Are the rumors true?
Is your relationship fake?
I bow my head, and both Genesis and I pick up the pace. Thankfully, the elevators are just ahead.
We’re almost there when, from a quieter direction behind us, a woman squeals, “It’s Agent Laura Merton!” The name of my former character on the hit television show Emergency.
I turn just in time to see the fan clap both hands over her mouth, eyes wide and starstruck—like she might cry, or scream, or rush me for an autograph.
That’s when I spot someone else trailing behind her.
Ashley Sweet—more cunning than sweet.
She’s holding a coffee cup like she’s been pulling an emotional all-nighter: frazzled, wrecked, devoted. Playing the perfect girlfriend part.
But that look on her face? She’s more than startled to see me—she’s not thrilled I’m here now.