Page 42 of Revenge

“Ash, you can’t keep her locked up your prisoner forever. And judging by the way you keep eye fucking her I’m thinking our talk was somewhat effective?” He exhales a cloud of smoke and flicks his head in Charlee’s direction.

I blow mine in his face without answering him. It’s nobody’s business but my own what I do with her. He may have given me the push, but I’ll take the steps on my own, in my own fucking time.

“That’s it, Hellcat. Now we need to let it sit for a couple of hours.” Axel’s voice brings our attention back to them. The little shit is giving me a smug grin as he wraps an arm around her neck in a hug.

My fists clench as I struggle to keep from hopping the counter and beating his ass. He always has to push my buttons. The fucker. He’s lucky Charlee’s standing next to him because I wouldn’t hesitate to do it otherwise, but I won’t risk having her hurt in the crossfire.

Then another thought comes to me. Whoever did this could be coming for her next, which means she’s even more vulnerable without Diego’s protection. Without a word, I put out my cigarette, shove my chair back, and walk over toward them.

Axel wears a shit-eating grin the whole time he watches me and whispers something in her ear that has her throwing her head back in a laugh. That’s it. He’s gone too far. I grab the thumb of the hand braced against the counter and pull it back.

“Ow, fuck!” He yelps like a little bitch and drops his arm. I may have pulled harder than necessary, but it’s not like I broke it or anything. He’ll live. He’ll also remember to keep his damn hands off her.

“You okay?” Charlee looks up from what she’s doing at the sink.

“He’s fine.” I answer for him and take her by the hand. “Come with me.”

“Where are we going?” Charlee’s wary eyes meet mine as she stumbles to follow me.

“Basement.” Guilt seeps into my gut the second I feel her hand stiffen in mine. “Relax. You’re safe, Princess. I promise.” Granted, the last time I took her down there it wasn’t under ideal circumstances. Things are different now. I’m hoping she’ll trust me a little bit. I need to convince her that I’m the monster she’s safer with at the moment. Convince her that things will be different starting now. For both of us.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Charlee

My heart pounds in my chest as we enter the basement. The last time I was down here I was tied to a chair, and I’m not keen for a repeat of that. Asher wants me to trust him, but he hasn’t given me anything to prove I can.

He leads me onto the mat and drops my hand. “Can you fight, Princess?”

“A little.”

“Take that off and show me.” He dips his head down to the bracelet dangling around my wrist.

“Right now?” My eyebrows pinch together as I do what he asked. I’m not sure what I expected when he brought me down here but it wasn’t this. He continues to stare at me and I shift on my feet. I hate being put on the spot like this. “You can’t be serious?”

“Never been more serious about anything in my life. Shit’s going down, Charlee, and I need to know you can do something to defend yourself, to get away if needed.”

“What kind of shit?” That has my full attention. A nagging suspicion creeps its way into my throat. Something about my current circumstances has changed and I don’t just mean between Asher and myself. Ever since he showed me the article about my dad’s murder, he’s been sticking to me like glue and now he wants to teach me to protect myself. It doesn’t add up.

“Nothing for you to worry about just yet.” He shrugs his shoulder and continues on without letting me pry for more information. “We know you’re good with clawing the shit out of people and…” He stops talking long enough to do something I haven’t ever seen him do—smile. “Axel knows all too well how good you are with those legs.” His eyes dip down to my yoga pants as his smile drops. His throat bobs up and down so hard I can feel the violent motion from here as if he’s swallowing me whole. The way his gaze is fixated on my legs is doing things to my insides. I clear my throat to bring his focus back to the here and now. It takes a couple of tries before he’s finally able to pull his gaze from my legs.

“Show me what you’ve got.” He puts his hands up and does a typical boxer stance.

“Fine.” I make a fist and slam it into the block of muscle that is his chest. Pain radiates up my hand the second I make contact. “Ouch.” I shake out my hand to will away the discomfort.

“You call that a hit. That wasn’t even a fucking tap.”

“Speak for yourself, asshole.” I flex my hand a few times to tamp down the pain as my temper flares. He’s pushing my buttons and I want to smash in his big stupid face right now. “It’s not a fair fight. You’re like a foot taller and a block wall of muscle.” I know I’m whining, but I don’t give a damn right now. My annoyance at him is stronger than any common sense.

“You think the asshole who attacks will give a shit if it’s a fair fight?”

“No.”

“Fuck no. Most guys are stronger than you, but you have to be smarter. You’ve got the fire, but you freak out and let your panic take over every time. That’s the worst thing you can do. Focus on your breathing or whatever you have to do to keep your shit together, and take the fucker down.”

“No way. This is stupid.” My head twists to the side so he can’t see the eye roll I’m giving him.

“Don’t roll your eyes, Charlee, or I’m going to spank your tight little ass red.”

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