Page 3 of Dangerous Daddy

Adan fought the urge to say it again. Instead, he blurted out his question. “How did you end up in prison? I mean, I know you killed somebody, but what happened?”

Axton took another big swig of the nasty wine, as if he needed fortification. He swiped the back of his hand across his mouth. “How about we trade? I’ll answer that one as soon as you tell me how you ended up with Beau.”

Adan wanted to cringe, but it was a fair trade. He couldn’t imagine prison was much better than Beau. His head spun a little. He leaned back and stared at the sky. The euphoric feeling that slowly overcame him made it easier to talk.

“I was young, dumb, and easily manipulated.” A humorless laugh escaped him. He didn’t want to relive the past, but it was all Adan saw as he explained. “Unfortunately, it didn’t start with him. I grew up being my uncle’s special little guy.” Chill bumps rose on Adan’s skin. If Axton didn’t know what he meant, Adan couldn’t explain. There weren’t enough drugs in the world for that story. “I became someone I’m not proud of, but I survived. Then I met Boone.” A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, just picturing Boone and the way he had felt safe for the first time in his life. “I thought I had won the jackpot. He still lived with Beau back then. I practically lived there too, spending as much time as I could away from home. His house felt like home to me.” It truly had, and he fucking hated that now.

Adan swallowed his bitterness and continued. “Since Boone works for his dad, he had to run errands a lot. It was pretty common for me to hang around even when he wasn’t there. We had a fight. It was so stupid, I don’t even remember what it was about. Probably me being a bitch.” A humorless laugh fell from Adan’s lips. “Anyhow, it wasn’t a quiet fight. There was no need to be discreet since Beau and Tabitha were screamingand throwing shit at each other. Truthfully, Boone’s anger was probably due to their antics. Not that it matters now.”

Adan drew his knees up and wrapped his arms around them, trying to make himself smaller. “Beau stormed into the room, looking thunderous. He barked for Boone to get the fuck out and get to work. Tempers were high all around, but Boone left. When he was gone, I don’t know what happened, really. Beau kind of bitched about me always being there. I got bitchy right back, and he laughed. He transformed into someone I had never seen before.”

He finally looked Axton’s way. “I know you’ve done some work for Beau, but do you know him? Like, have you ever truly sat and talked to him?”

Axton shook his head.

Adan held his stare. He needed Axton to understand this part, if nothing else. “He’s terrifyingly larger than life. When you sit with him, it’s like watching a cobra dance. You know he could strike any second and you’ll be dead, but you can’t look away. Even when he smiles, maybe especially when he smiles, you’re in serious danger.” He looked away and went back to watching the stars. “There’s no soul inside him. What he felt for Tabitha and what he feels for his sons, it isn’t love. It’s possessiveness—like a dragon and its hoard. Once he makes a decision, everyone has to fall in line and play their part to perfection. He doesn’t consider anyone else’s feelings because he has none. Beau enjoys nothing more than to throw the L word around because he doesn’t know the difference between ironclad control and adoration. So when he told me I now lived there permanently and I would neverreturn to the horrible life I had known, I only had one other choice besides doing as told. I could die because there was no way he could make that decision and risk me telling Boone if I said no. It was one thing to break his son while telling himself he had to have me. It was a whole other for Boone to learn he tried to take me, and I refused. I don’t expect you to understand that. You’re not like him. But I understood, because maybe I sort of am like him. I broke Boone and sold my soul. The worst part is, I think—at the time—I wanted it. He was the most powerful person I had ever encountered. I knew no one would dare touch me again.”

He looked Axton’s way again. A bitter smile tugged at his lips. “Like I said, young and stupid. At the time, I didn’t understand that death could sometimes be better. But make no mistake, I played that role. For ten years, I smiled and flirted. Got on my knees. I stood where I was told to stand and laughed when told to laugh. I’ve been a puppet for so long, I have no idea who I am, but I lived. I survived.”

“Jarek says you’re the reason Boone tried to kill himself.”

Adan’s wince came from his soul. He looked away and sipped his wine. No one could know how much Adan hated Axton knowing that part. “Yeah. I thought Beau would toss me out back then, but Boone survived, and it was like Beau had to double down. He had to love me, or he had destroyed his son for nothing. So Beau claimed to love me, and I—” Adan swiped his sweaty palms on his thighs. “So, how did you end up in prison?” He couldn’t talk about himself any longer or the destruction he had caused. Adan already had to live with the pain. He didn’t think he could handle Axton looking at him differently.

“I was young and dumb and didn’t realize there were worse fates than death.”

They shared a smile. It was ridiculous. The moment shouldn’t have been funny, but it kind of was. Adan felt ridiculously close to Axton sometimes. They were so different, yet alike.

Axton broke the spell. He shook his head and looked away. “I ran with this biker gang. Don’t ask me how I got mixed up with them. It was a series of too many small things to recount. Things were bad at home. They were there, giving me an unhealthy outlet. I got pretty heavy into drugs and even deeper into their bullshit.”

A bitter smile touched Axton’s lips. He looked Adan’s way. “It was everything you see in the movies except worse. They told me I had to kill a guy, so I did.” He said the words so casually—like a life meant nothing and then kept going. “My brother is a damn good lawyer, but even he couldn’t save me completely. He got my charges reduced to manslaughter. I still got a massive sentence, but I was supposed to only serve seven years. Then I just couldn’t stay out of trouble and they kept tacking on time. So when I was asked to kill someone else in exchange for my freedom, I did. A murder landed me behind bars, and another saved me. So yeah, I get how you couldn’t say no. Beau wanted me to kill a snitch before the guy could testify against his family. For me, it was a no brainer. Saying yes to Beau saved me too. Maybe not my soul,” he said with a bright smile that was obviously fake. “But that was a lost cause anyhow.”

Yeah. As fucked up as it was, he felt closer to Axton than anyone. His gaze moved over the hair so light, it looked almostunnaturally white in the moonlight. Cold-blooded killer or not, he was grateful Axton was here. Maybe bad people always found each other. Whatever the reason, Adan was thankful for the company at the bottom. Even if he had a choice, Adan would still choose Axton for company. Like recognized like.

Axton saw what Beau had seen in Adan. The guy had a spark. He was beautiful and just the right amount of bitter. Someone like Beau would take one look at Adan and see someone he could twist and bend. He looked too caustic to break. Everything about that would speak to a monster like Beau. There was no sport in crushing a weak man. He wondered if Beau thought he had won now. Unfortunately, Axton had a bad feeling Beau wanted Adan twice as much. That was a deadly spot for anyone in Adan’s sphere. Luckily, Axton should have died a long time ago, and he wasn’t the least bit scared. He had killed for Beau. He could kill Beau too.

“You feeling those pills yet?”

Adan cocked his head, as if thinking over Axton’s question. “Oddly, no. I only feel a slight buzz. That could be the wine.”

“Something more powerful it is.” He picked through the bag again and passed Adan two more pills. “If you pass out, I don’t know how easy it’ll be to carry you down the ladder.”

Adan tossed the pills back without inspecting them. After polishing off the wine and swallowing the pills, Adan stood. “Let’s go inside, then. I bought a different bottle of something or another. We can open that and see if I die.” The way Adan smiled proved he wasn’t opposed to the idea.

“I’d be sad if you died, so maybe don’t do that.” He stood and followed Adan down the ladder. Together, they headed inside Adan’s tiny apartment. Adan made his way to the kitchen, and Axton stayed on his heels. He didn’t know why. Axton just liked being in Adan’s company. He wanted to enjoy as much of Adan’s time as he could get.

Adan pulled a bottle of Jack out of the fridge.

Axton laughed at the sight of it. He didn’t think Adan would handle that well at all, but he couldn’t wait to see.

At his laugh, Adan turned and bumped into Axton’s chest. He eyed Axton’s body, blinking. He laughed.

It occurred to him Adan was more fucked up than he realized.

Adan chuckled again. “You’re just so fucking big.”

A smile exploded across Axton’s face.

Adan didn’t stop there. “You just take up so much space. My apartment feels even smaller.” He cocked his head and metAxton’s stare. “It’s just occurred to me I don’t know what your place looks like. Is it built for a giant?”

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