Page 38 of Dangerous Mission

Axel

Chapter Thirteen Axel

Axel tugged at his bow tie for the tenth time. He hated wearing a monkey suit, but the view of Terri’s ass in her form-fitting red dress made it bearable. One night at a charity event, and he remembered why he hated that world. Everyone showed up to flash how much money they had or try to get something.

Terri was the guest of honor for the night. She had to give a speech about why she supported the organization. Axel had had Cy look into the Life of Hope charity. They gave money to at-risk organizations fighting against human trafficking.

His mind went to Casanova, who’d had it the hardest of all of them growing up, but he never talked about it.

Axel scanned the room. Secret Service members were placed at every exit along with security. His team was attending the event as backup. They were working on the information Hex had told them. He’d broken down when they told him about his sister. Then he wanted to jump back on a plane and head to Brazil to help Lila. The night Axel had gotten back, he told Terri about the woman, and Terri cried in his arms. She told him about how her roommate had gone missing. The woman had said to forget about her, but Axel had a feeling neither Terri nor Hex would just forget. Hex seemed to have fallen in love with the woman in a short time.

Xavier’s team was watching over Hex. Doc was at his house with Yara. Gumby, Casper’s neighbor, and another SEAL came along to assist.

Gumby stepped through the main doors. The scowl on his face was enough for Axel to know he didn’t like wearing monkey suits either. Axel raised his glass of water on rocks. He’d paid the waiter to fill a bottle of vodka with water.

Terri smiled at him from a few feet away. He pointed toward Gumby, and she nodded.

Before the event, they’d talked about leaving after her speech. They planned to head straight to the beach house.

“Thanks for coming, Gumby,” Axel said.

“No thanks needed. I can see the way you look at Terri. She’s one of us.”

“Still haven’t figured how I can make it work.”

“It won’t be easy. But I saw the packet of papers on your counter the other day. You haven’t sent them in. Now is the time to make the decision. Do you want to walk away from her again?”

“No.” But if he stayed with her, he would be walking away from his brothers. “I honestly thought everyone on the team would leave at the same time. Hell, I never pictured myself leaving the military.”

Gumby tilted his head to the side. “Have you spent any time looking at her social media?”

“Some.”

“Sidney and I watched a bunch of her videos. She has a good platform. Combined with your knowledge and contacts, I think the two of you could do good. Yes, it won’t be the same, but maybe your time with the service led you to this.”

“Maybe.”

Terri was engaged in a conversation with a senator. From the tick in her jaw, Axel could tell she didn’t want to talk to the man, but she kept a polite smile on her face.

When the senator grabbed her wrist, Axel moved across the crowd and wrapped his arm around her back. “Sorry it took me so long, honey.”

Her blue eyes widened for a second before she smiled. “I was just telling Senator Wilson that my fundraising for human trafficking wasn’t a waste of donors’ money.”

“I have to agree with you. Especially since my family donated a million dollars tonight.”

His statement got the senator’s attention. “I didn’t catch your last name. If your family is so generous, I have a few things they could spend money on instead of helping women who walk around half naked. If you ask me, they ask for it.”

Terri’s nails dug into Axel’s side, and he held back a wince. “The Production for Life foundation doesn’t donate to politicians.” Politicians never seemed to appreciate the money they are given.

The older man’s face turned bright red before his eyes narrowed at Axel. “I can tell you William and Sadie are close friends of mine, and he wouldn’t like you speaking to me this way.”

Axel rolled his eyes. “My father doesn’t have close friends, and I know for a fact there is only one politician he’s ever thought about donating to, and it wasn’t you. If you’re so against this charity event, why are you here?”

A short woman with long dark hair and bright-red lips walked up. Her dress dipped so low that Axel wondered whether her boobs might fall out if she moved wrong. “Oh, there you are, dear,” she said.

“Why are you here, Franny?” Terri ground out.

“Networking. I need to find a new job, since you fired me for no reason and left me almost homeless. If it weren’t for my boyfriend, I wouldn’t have had a place to stay.”

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