Page 13 of Dangerous Mission

“You left before.” Maybe it was the lack of sleep causing her brain and mouth not to communicate with each other.

Axel nodded. “Yes, I did. But I’m not an eighteen-year-old idiot trying to escape my parents and the life that came with it anymore. Maybe I was a spoiled brat back then, but I didn’t want to go into the movie industry or go to the Olympics a second time. I think it’s been at least a year since I had a phone conversation with my mom. We text here and there. Mostly me saying when I’m leaving on a mission and when I come back. In case they need to get a hold of me.”

Her parents were the opposite of his. She talked to her mom almost everyday and her father a little less because he was busy, but if she called, he answered the phone.

“Your sisters aren’t like them,” she pointed out.

“No, my sisters are amazing and figured out a way to juggle being actresses and having families. Mostly because they have amazing husbands and kids. They both bring the family to set. The other day, Emily sent me a photo of my niece's first soccer game. She went to it. My parents never went to a single meet.”

But Terri’s family had been in the stands for every single one of his swim matches. They’d even taken him out for dinner when they won the state championship. Or when he had a bad match, her father talked it out with him. His junior year of high school, he competed in the Olympics, and her family went and watched him take home two silver medals and a gold one. So Axel had the support, but he chose to fixate on the bad in their childhood and ignore all the good.

“I was there,” she whispered.

Axel pulled two mugs from the cupboard and filled them with coffee. As he slid the dark roast toward her, she wished for a little vodka.

“You were, and I loved seeing you in the stands.”

“Just not enough to stay.” Her words came out sharp.

“Are we going to have this conversation now?”

She was angry and needed to think of something other than her missing friend, the person who’d been helping her, and she’d probably gotten him killed.

“Well, we could have had this conversation seventeen years ago, but you decided to be a coward and leave a note. What is so fucked up is how much you complained about your parents leaving a note for you with the nanny before they left town. You did the same thing. Maybe you were more like your parents, and I didn’t see it because I loved you at the time.”

She was not going to let him know she still loved him. Maybe it was because he left her with so many questions, but it made it hard every time she went on a date, she compared the person to her high school boyfriend, who would do anything for her, including the time she wanted to save the penguins at the zoo. They’d broken in late at night so that she could rescue three she thought were being abused. The break-in was successful. Then he helped her find a caretaker for the little guys. They ended up using his family's jet and flying the penguins to a person they found in Alaska. The woman confirmed the penguins did have an issue and would investigate the zoo. At the time, Terri wanted to fly back and rescue all the animals, but he stopped her from moving forward with the harebrained idea. Instead, they worked with the woman and the media to bring awareness to what was happening. He would never let her go too far on her missions. Without him, she’d gone too far, and someone was hurt.

“You’re right. For months, I made the plan to change my last name and join. Many times, I lay next to you, playing out the conversation. Every time, you would’ve given up everything and stood by my side,” Axel said.

“That’s what you do for the person you love.”

“But your family has done so many good things in the world. Your father needed you for his campaign trail. How would he explain the daughter who’d been by his side since she was in diapers no longer supporting him? The media would have dug in. And the path I took, I couldn’t have my life across the front of magazines. My family left us out of the media because the only people they cared about on the front of the covers of magazines were themselves.”

“The thing is we could have worked something out.”

“Your dad and I talked about it.” Axel winced. “It doesn’t matter. It was years ago.”

The betrayal from her own father stung. “No, you had years to tell yourself, you and my father made the right decision for me. Not once has anyone asked what I wanted or cared about. Then when I try to say what I want, everyone tells me I’m acting spoiled or to let someone else handle it.”

“We can go round and round about what I should have done years ago, but nothing I say now will fix the past. I’m not sure if I would go back and change anything. You’re the only woman I’ve ever loved, and when you love something, you have to sacrifice yourself for that person.”

“That’s a load of bullshit.” Terri huffed. “When you love someone, you talk that shit out. You might have screaming matches, but you make it work. I would’ve walked away from everything back then. But the only thing my father could see when he ran for governor was his campaign. Now I wonder if my father realizes the mistake he made years ago, and this is his way of trying to make up for it.”

Axel shook his head. “The only reason your father came to me was because of the threats on your life. And you kept dodging your security.”

“Was it your idea to give me the note?”

She kept picking at a scab that hadn’t healed in years, hoping for an answer that would explain everything. I hope someone forced him to leave.Technically her dad had figured out her life for her.

“Does it really matter?”

“I know it shouldn’t. But you had closure and got to make the decision. I spent years staring at the note, trying to figure out if you meant something else. It wasn’t until I hit my thirties that I realized you were just a dick like all other men. Look at the man tonight. You mentioned the woman was part of a trafficking ring. Which means he probably bought her. Another man making decisions for a woman.”

“I’m nothing like him. Furthermore, you can’t lump all guys in the same boat because you got your heart broken and never moved on.”

His words hit her to the core. No matter how much she told herself she’d moved on, she hadn’t. She was stuck back at square one with a man she could never have. “I’m glad you think so highly of yourself that I never got over you. For starters, you are nothing like the person I knew years ago. You’re a cold-hearted bastard now.”

“If I was a cold-hearted bastard, I would’ve left you in the care of one of Xavier's team.”

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