Page 8 of Dangerous Mission

“You are like everyone else. Always expect the worst out of me. A long time ago, you questioned my actions more before assuming.”

A man to her right glanced over. She hated that she had to yell for Axel to hear.

Axel grabbed the bottle and held it to his nose.

“I don’t understand. None of this makes sense. Why you were at the restaurant earlier, waiting outside for that girl? In the past week, you’ve come to this club twice, and I could have sworn you looked drunk the other night. Hell, you called an Uber for a ride home. Is this all a show for social media?” He paused. “That doesn’t make sense, because you wore a wig to this club the other night, so you're hiding your identity.”

“I have my reasons,” she countered. Terri bit her tongue so that she wouldn’t spill her guts to Axel. “How long have you been watching me?”

Axel moved closer so that he didn’t have to yell over the loud music. “I flew into town last Sunday with your dad.”

She would have to schedule a meeting with the president. Dad was so busy and didn’t make it to family dinners much. She guessed he wouldn’t be at dinner she promised her mom she would come to. Terri tried to eat with Mom a few days a week so that she didn’t get lonely. The last time Terri had checked, Griffen was overseas somewhere. She wasn’t even sure of the last time they’d talked. The deeper he got into politics, the more distant he seemed.

“I’m really surprised my dad talked you into being my babysitter.”

“It’s not like I could have said no.” Axel winced. “That’s not what I meant.”

She wasn’t dumb. He’d left years ago without even a call or a text. Terri found out that her boyfriend had joined the navy when she came to his childhood house to find out why he wasn’t answering her texts. Axel had told her they were going on a family vacation, and he would call when he got back, but he didn’t. His sister Emily and Terri had been close until that day. She was the one who told her what Axel had done. Terri lost not only the love of her life a week after graduation but also her best friend. She still couldn’t erase the pity she’d seen in Emily’s eyes.

Before she could turn and run, Axel’s mom handed her a note. A fucking note. Terri and Axel had been friends since they were both in diapers. Freshman year of high school, they started dating. Over their senior year, they planned a fun summer trip before they both went to college at Yale. After he’d left with no word, she cried for a few weeks and unenrolled in college then went down the path of modeling, like her mother had wanted. The only reason she’d enrolled at Yale was because Axel had gotten a swimming scholarship, and she wanted to be by his side. Except he had different plans.

Her mind went back to the note he’d written her. She framed it and put it on the wall as a reminder to never to let someone into her heart. Well, that was easy, because he’d ripped her heart out years ago with two simple sentences.You deserve better than me. I’m sorry.Those were the last words she’d gotten from Axel.

Fuck, sitting here with him was bringing back a rush of emotions. She blinked, trying to stop the tears. They were the same tears that happened every so often when she felt alone in the world. Even if she could date, it wasn’t possible. Every man wanted something from her. All she wanted was to help others and have a person who wanted to do the same by her side.

Axel brushed a tear from her cheek.

Terri couldn’t handle his gentle touch. She shot up from the bar stool. “I’ll be right back.” She wiped away another tear as she headed for the VIP bathrooms.

Letting out a sigh, she stepped inside. The room was unoccupied. With a flip of the lock, she let the tears fall for the only man she’d ever loved and for the life she wished she had. She would always be trapped. Seeing him was like getting hit by a Mack truck of emotions.

Terri ran cold water over her hands and splashed her face. The next day, she would go see her father and tell him she would no longer ditch her Secret Service agents. Once she was home, she wouldn’t have to see Axel again. Even if he stirred emotions, she would bury them deep down inside. She couldn’t risk losing herself to this man again.

She peered at herself in the mirror. The whites around her blue eyes were red.

Someone pounded on the door, and she knew her time hiding was coming to an end. After one last peek in the mirror to fix her makeup, she went to the door and flicked the lock. Two women rushed in and went straight to the toilet. Terri gagged as she heard one of the women throw up.

When Terri stepped back into the club, the music was thumping. Axel was sitting in the same seat, his eyes glued on her.

One drink wouldn’t kill me.She glanced around the club until she found her waitress. The young woman was in an argument with a man three times her size. Terri took a step in her direction, when the man put his fingers around the woman’s upper arm. In the distance, she could hear Axel yelling her name, but she didn’t stop until she was next to the woman who’d waited on her for the past year. Most of the time, the nightclub bodyguard stepped in, but he was on the other side of the room, dealing with another guest.

“Do you need help?” she asked the waitress.

“Nothing to worry your pretty little head about. Unless you want some of this.” He dropped his hand from the waitress's arm and waved to his dick. “It's way more than most women can handle.”

“Really?” Terri purred, taking a step closer to him. She ran her hand along his shoulder and down his arm until she reached the pressure point, and the large man dropped to his knees. “Seems like you can’t handle much.”

He glared up at her. “I’m going to kill you.”

“Dude, a woman took you down.” A frat boy behind her laughed. If she had to guess, she would say it was one of the man’s friends.

Terri released his arm, and he shot up and took a step forward. Before he could do anything, Axel was next to her, and the bouncer had an arm wrapped around the guy’s neck.

“Are you okay?” Terri asked the waitress.

Her eyes were as wide as saucers.“Holy shit, can you teach me that?” Then her smile drooped. “That was rude of me to ask. No way would you have time to teach me. Thank you.”

“When’s your next day off?” Terri asked.

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