“Holy shit,” I manage to whisper after five minutes of shuddering.
“Yeah, that about covers it,” he croaks into my ear.
He lets me go, and I slowly put my feet back onto the floor. My knees wobble, but I manage to hold myself up. Axel reaches for the soap, and fills his palm. We spend the next hour in the shower, washing each other, touching each other, and just being together for the first time without this wall between us.
It’s perfect.
But perfection never lasts.
CHAPTER 25
AXEL
For you I will sacrifice, to show you, love, you are my life.
Meadow gave me the USB. She put it in my hands, and she trusted me with it. It broke down the last walls between us, because I know how much it took for her to give it to me. Her dad gave that to her, with one order. She made a promise, but she ended up being faced with a situation that tested her, and she decided to put her faith in me. Nothing could make me love her more. Nothing.
Finally, I have my girl.
Then it all goes south.
I hear the rumbling of a mass amount of bikes just as Meadow dozes off against my arm later that night. My eyes narrow, and I slowly get up. She jerks awake, and her eyes widen when she hears the noise.
I don’t know why the guys would come out here unless something was wrong. Shit, is something wrong? I walk toward the window, and stare out, waiting...Maybe they’re just a group of bikes going past? I’d probably believe that, if something weren’t clenching in my chest right now.
Something’s not right.
“Is that your guys?” Meadow asks, stepping up beside me.
“Don’t know, darlin’,” I murmur still keeping my eye on the driveway.
I see lights flash, and then the sounds of bikes coming down gravel fills my ears. This isn’t right. Something is off. I squint my eyes, and then I see them, and I know right away they’re not my guys. My entire body stops for a minute, and fear courses through my veins. That son of a bitch. He must have followed me out here, and then gotten himself some backup. He knew I couldn’t call my guys in time; he knew he’d trap me if I were here.
I spin to Meadow. Her eyes are wide and frantic. She’s seen who they are too.
“You need to run, and you need to run now. Go, Meadow, don’t fuckin’ stop.”
“I can’t leave you here, Axel,” she cries, her face washed with fear.
I take her shoulders, forcing my voice to go hard and steely. “I’m not giving you a fucking choice. Go, get onto the road, find a lift. Get my guys. Don’t hesitate, don’t stop, just do it. If you don’t go, and they take us both, then my guys will never be able to get the leads they need to find us. You gotta do this for me. You can’t argue with me on this.”
“What about Lady?” she gasps.
I shake my head. “She’s out, she will be for at least four hours. They won’t be here when she gets back. Just go, Cricket.”
She slowly nods, just as the bikes come to a skidding halt outside. I rush over to Lady’s drawer, pulling out the two guns she keeps there. I thrust one at Meadow, and then I clutch one firmly in my hand.
“Axel...”
I press my finger to her lips. “Don’t, just run, baby. Run hard.”
She nods, and a tear slides from her eye. She’s terrified, but she sucks it in, and turns and rushes toward the back door. I watch her go, and then I turn to where the sounds of boots crunching are coming closer. Holding my head high, I walk out onto the front porch. Beast is standing in front of at least eighty bikers. I hold the gun in one hand, ready to fight with everything I am.
“Nice one, Beast,” I grunt.
He grins, and walks forward. “You know me. I don’t do anything in halves.”
“What do you want? Clearly something, or you wouldn’t have rounded up a hundred pussies to do your dirty work.”
His jaw ticks, but he keeps his grin. “Big words for a man standing alone.”
I shrug, even though my body is stiff and on alert. “Shit happens.”
“Where’s Meadow?” he asks causally, looking behind me.
“Didn’t you hear? Raide took her.”
He narrows his eyes, studying to see if I’m serious or not. “Well, that just makes my plan a whole lot easier then, doesn’t it? If Raide has Meadow, then we can take you, and I’m sure between the two of them they’ll do whatever it takes to get you back. Like, say, give over a USB?”
“The USB has been destroyed, Beast. You’re wasting your time,” I say, keeping my voice hard, even though I’m racked with fear and rage.
He throws his head back, and laughs. “Now you think I’m stupid.”
“I know you’re stupid,” I hiss.
His eyes grow hard. “As much as I’d love to sit here and talk to you about this, I don’t have the time, nor the patience. I know that USB isn’t destroyed, and I know you’re lying. So, I’m going to take a leap here, and assume Raide or Meadow will come for your sorry ass. Leaving me with only one choice...”
He raises his hand, and a gunshot blares out through the night. My body is shoved back, and a burning pain shoots through my shoulder. It’s like being hit with a hot poker. Blood leaks down my arm, and the pain intensifies to the point where a ragged roar leaves my throat, and I drop to my knees, howling in pain.
“Now it’s time we do this my way,” Beast growls.
CHAPTER 26
MEADOW
As my soul is ripped apart, I will give you, my heart.
I’m drenched by the time a car stops. I’ve been running for an hour and my legs are aching. I feel sick to my stomach, not knowing if Axel is ok, or if he’s hurt. I finally get a lift with a young boy, who drops me directly to the compound. I charge through the front doors, and into the main living area. The moment the guys see me, drenched, panting and frantic, they stop everything. Cobra rushes over first, taking hold of my shoulders.
“Shit kid, what’s goin’ on?”
“It’s Axel,” I cry out. “B-b-beast showed up...I don’t know what happened, he made me come and get you.”
“Where?” he barks.
“Lady’s house.”
“When?”
“About two hours ago,” I whisper.
Cobra spins around. “Boys, get on your bikes. Now!”
Everything happens in a blur after that. The guys get on their bikes, and I hear Cobra barking orders. Soon they’re skidding off into the night, guns loaded, ready to find their boss. I am left behind, alone, with only a few strays left hanging around. I go to Axel’s room, and crawl onto his bed, letting the tears escape. God, they took him, I just know it. I tremble with fear, and pull out my phone, trying to dial his number. It goes straight to voice mail.
The sick feeling that spreads through my stomach is enough to make me run to the bathroom and throw up.
Please God, let him be ok.
The next twelve hours of my life are slow and completely agonizing. I just sit, blaming myself. If I didn’t go out there, he would have never had to follow me. It would have never happened. Colt keeps telling me repeatedly that it’s not my fault. How can he say that? I’m the one who refused not to listen. I’m the one who ran constantly, making Axel chase me. It is my fault. He’s gone because of me. Grief doesn’t begin to explain what I’m feeling right now.
I hate myself.
I’m curled up in a corner, just watching they guys run past. None of them have slept. They’ve been making calls, trying to track cell phones, and doing the best they can to locate Axel. They can’t. Beast isn’t in his compound. He’s not co-operating at all. We don’t know where Axel is. We have no idea. It feels like we’re banging our heads against a brick wall.