"Are you going to make it disappear?"
Bill visibly flinched.
Jackson watched him.
So did Brian.
Bill answered, "No."
Cody studied his face.
"Promise?"
Bill looked toward the entrance where his son was being questioned.
Then back at Cody.
"I promise."
Cody nodded once.
That was all.
Bill stood.
Jackson stepped toward him.
"I meant what I said."
"I know."
"Don't buy him out of this."
Bill looked tired.
"I've been buying him out of things since he was twelve."
Jackson said nothing.
Bill stared toward the school.
"A broken window. A fight. A stolen exam. Speeding."
He rubbed his face.
"I thought I was protecting my son."
Jackson's expression softened slightly.
"Sometimes protecting somebody means letting the wall stop them."
Bill looked at him.
"You learn that in prison?"
"Eventually."
For the first time, Bill almost smiled.
Then a black SUV entered the lot.
A woman in a navy suit stepped out.
Jackson recognized her immediately.
Elena Vasquez.
His attorney.
She carried a leather folder.
"You called fast," Jackson said.
"You pay me too much not to."
"I barely pay you at all."
"Exactly why I'm irritated."
She glanced at Cody.
Her expression hardened.
"This him?"
"My brother."
Elena approached Cody.
"I'm Elena. Jackson's attorney."
Cody looked suspicious.
"Is Jax in trouble?"
"No."
"Yet," Jackson said.
Elena glared at him.
"Not helping."
Cody almost smiled again.
Elena crouched.
"I've also been helping your brother with something else."
Cody looked toward Jackson.
"What?"
Jackson sat beside him.
He suddenly looked nervous.
Brian noticed.
The massive biker had faced an entire school without blinking.
Now he rubbed his palms against his jeans.
"I was going to tell you next week."
"Tell me what?"
"I've been trying to get custody."
Cody stared.
"What?"
"For months."
"You said the house wasn't ready."
"It wasn't."
"And your job..."
"Shop opened."
Cody blinked.
"When?"
"Last Saturday."
"You didn't tell me."
"Surprise."
"That's a stupid surprise."
"Probably."
Elena hid a smile.
Jackson continued.
"I signed the lease on a place in Willow Valley."
Cody's mouth opened.
"Three bedrooms."
"Three?"
"One's a workshop if you don't take it over."
Cody stared.
Jackson's voice softened.
"I already bought you a bed."
Something happened to Cody's face.
Hope was painful when you were not used to trusting it.
"You mean..."
Jackson nodded.
"If the court approves it."
Cody looked at Elena.
She said, "We had a review scheduled next month. Given what happened today and the apparent failure of the current placement to identify significant repeated injuries, I'm filing for emergency temporary placement tonight."
Cody's eyes moved back to Jackson.
"You were already doing this?"
"For six months."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Jackson swallowed.
"Because I promised you I'd get you out of foster care before."
Cody remembered.
Jackson had made that promise three years earlier.
Then the court rejected him because his housing was unstable.
Cody had cried for two days.