Page 35 of Reckless Pawn

Her voice had softened, the quiet lilt getting under his skin. Not to mention the sound of her voice as it fell from her lips. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. She made it impossible to say no. Dammit. Where the fuck was the vodka when he needed it?

"Maybe if you stay out of trouble tonight you can come down to the gym tomorrow and I'll show you a few things. Self-defense crap and that's it. Still not gonna teach you how to fight."

She lifted her head and met his gaze, excitement pouring off of her in waves. "I'm really not here to start any trouble. I only came down here to talk to you." She glanced around the patio. "As for the other girls, I'm not responsible. They've been drinking daiquiris and margaritas all day long. A freight train couldn't have stopped them from joining in with the boys."

“Yeah, I heard about your girly shit going on up the hill. I guess they got carried away."

She nodded.

"Means they really like you, you know."

For a moment her eyes lit up with a small amount of joy, before some other thought must have kicked in and the light extinguished once again. "It's not real if I am nothing but a prisoner."

He reached forward and cupped her chin, pulling her face up until their gazes met. "Then stop thinking of yourself as a prisoner. No one wants that. There isn't a soul on this compound who wouldn't lay down their life for you."

She blinked. "But why? I'm nothing. Why would anyone here care what happens to me?"

"You have a lot to learn about us still. We're brash and crude, yes, but we believe in life on our own terms with freedom for most at the forefront of that. And we care about what happens to our family."

"I'm not family," she said.

He flattened his mouth. "You're wrong. We made a deal on your behalf, took you in and with all that came a promise. A promise that you would be kept safe at all cost. That, princess, makes you one of us now."

"A deal with who?"

Axel shook his head. He'd said too much. But goddamnit there was something about her that drew it out of him. Except there was a line he couldn't cross and this conversation had to end now. "That's club business."

Anger flashed across her face. "That's bullshit is what it is. The fact you say club business means I'm supposed to automatically shut up and not ask any more questions is ridiculous. Secrets disguised as ‘club business’ are still stupid secrets and probably lies too. So don't try to lay that and your family bull at my feet. I'm not buying it."

"Maybe I do need to teach you to fight. With that level of attitude you could be useful when properly trained." And that was the understatement of the year.

Izzy took another step closer. "Classic misdirection. Why am I not surprised?" She huffed. "Do I really look like that much like a fool to you? Do you think because I'm young that I'm stupid?"

"It's what you want, isn't it? If I give you what you want nothing else should matter."

"If I saw in black and white I would agree with you. However, I've lived in the gray area my whole life. I've watched and observed as my father bided his time and manipulated every person he ever did business with. I've seen lives changed and I've seen lives terminated. There isn't anything about his business I don't know about."

It was his turn to take a step back. Whoa. There was a lot more to Isabella Mazzeo than either he or JD had counted on. It sounded like she had information that could take her father's organization down and they didn't realize…

"Jesus Christ, Izzy. Do you realize what you're saying?"

Instead of answering him, she took a step back and looked around. Fortunately, their argument had drawn little attention.

"I'm telling you not to treat me like I'm some kind of idiot. I'm smarter than I look."

She was right in a way. While the entire club had fallen for the sweet young woman rescued from the clutches of a maniac, they'd failed to appreciate her true value as an asset. He was particularly guilty since he'd spent his time with her thinking about her body instead of her mind.

They were going about this all wrong.

He dug his cellphone from his pocket and started to dial JD's number. "You need to go home, princess. Come by the gym tomorrow and we'll talk." He placed the phone to his ear.

"I'm not going home. I'm going to work."

He started to argue that she shouldn't go dressed like that and decided against it. For one, starting a fight with her about her stupid clothes would get him nowhere with a woman like Izzy. For two, he didn't have time.

"Fine, fine. Go to work. I'm sure the team would like to see that you’re okay after your ordeal." The phone was ringing in his ear, but no one was answering. When it dropped to voicemail he disconnected.

"My ordeal? What is wrong with you? Who are you calling?"

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