Page 46 of Subtracting the Heart

Ford took it and scrubbed his teeth, fighting the bile trying to erupt. Once he rinsed his mouth a few times, Jax pushed him into the hot steam of the shower.

A gentle hand pulled him down on the bench and he didn’t argue with Cade. “Let’s sweat out the poison, and I’ll wait until after I make you some food to ask you what the fuck happened last night to make you get dog-ass drunk and come home without calling either of us. When I left at nine, you told me you’d be home by midnight.” Cade’s words weren’t loud, but they echoed through Ford’s head like he was sitting next to a loudspeaker.

Ford nodded, and Cade continued. “Jax and I waited up, and when you didn’t get home before two, we went to bed. What happened, Branford?”

Ford searched his memory, and for the life of him, he drew a blank.

“Sweetheart, I have no idea. I remember seeing a woman at the club who looked familiar, but I just couldn’t place her. I also remember—I think I remember—a text message. I need to find my phone,” Ford said.

“Yeah, we’ll get there in a minute. Just sit here and drink this.” Cade handed him a bottle of water.

For fifteen minutes, he sat in the sauna function of their large shower, and when the steam cleared, Cade turned the shower heads to cool. Ford’s mind cleared, as the cool water workedwonders. After they washed each other, they walked into the bedroom in towels to see Jax sitting on the made bed in shorts.

“You okay, baby?” Jax asked Ford as he made his way forward on a cane, his cast still in place.

“I have no idea. I’m confused as shit, really.”

Foggy images of the night before danced through Ford’s head, but they were pixilated like a poor-quality video. He simply couldn’t make it any clearer in his mind, but he remembered snippets of a conversation.

“Boss, you okay? Maybe you should go home?” Cleveland was standing behind the bar staring at Ford.

“Did you know that woman?” Ford swayed on the barstool.

“Where’s Kincade Hayes? I need to speak with him, Branford.” The woman’s voice was commanding.

That was it.

“Bix, are you hungry?”

Ford opened his eyes to see Cade dressed and holding a tray of toast and scrambled eggs, which he put over Ford’s lap where he reclined on the bed.

Ford sat up and looked around. “Where’s Jackson?”

“I had Cleve take him to the doctor to get his cast removed. I was going to take him, but you’re my concern right now. What happened to you last night? Cleveland said you were talking with a brunette at the bar one minute, and the next he knew, you were hammered. He said it was busy, so he didn’t notice how much you drank. I’m trying not to think the worst, Branford.” Cade’s serious expression was worrisome.

What did his boyfriend think had happened?

Ford picked up the coffee and took a healthy sip of the dark nectar. Something had happened, for sure, but it wasn’t just him drinking too much. He knew that beyond the shadow of a doubt.

“I think I was roofied last night. There was this woman I’ve met before, but I can’t remember when or where. She waited until I had a few drinks to approach me, and I think she asked about you, but I don’t remember much about it. I could be wrong.” Ford knew he wasn’tthatintoxicated. He’d never blacked out from drinking in his life.

“Okay, well, maybe you stay home today. I can handle the club, and Cleve and Griff will be there if I need them. You stay home and get yourself together, okay?”

“Yeah, maybe.” Ford ate the food in front of him and drank the carafe of coffee Cade had brought up. His mind continued to spin.

The woman was familiar, but he couldn’t place her, and that would drive him insane. He needed to get his head together in order to cull through the limited number of women he’d met in his life. She’d drugged him, he was sure, and he’d search his brain until he figured out who she was.

On Saturday afternoon, Branford walked into his club, having opened the front door without his key, to see there was a lot of work going on without his consent. Before he made a stink, he looked around to find Cade and Griff directing things, and he saw Cleveland stocking the bar. He was the man Ford needed to speak to, so he walked over and took a seat.

“Good to have ya back, Boss. You okay?” Cleve gave him a thorough perusal.

“Can I have a coffee? What the fuck happened the other night, Cleveland?”

The large man walked off to the side and poured a big mug of coffee for Ford. He put sugar on the bar and continued unloading the dishwasher.

After a moment, Cleve finally spoke. “There was a pretty woman who sat down with ya. She said you two knew each other, and she asked about Cade, so I figured you guys were cool. You’d sent him home earlier because you told me you wanted him to have some time alone with Jax, so I left y’all alone for a bit and kept an eye on things. You seemed to be getting pissed at her, so I stepped in. I tried to shoo her off. She wouldn’t go, and she wasn’t nice at all.”

Ford could tell the man was hedging the conversation, but he needed the truth. “Did I say who she was? I swear, Cleve, I think she drugged me. I don’t remember too much about the night.”

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