Page 19 of Axle
He wandered in with a lopsided grin and a mug of something that smelled like coffee strong enough to strip paint. Tilting his chin toward the door, he murmured, “Figured you’d be upstairs guarding.”
“I am guarding.” The wrench clicked once, twice, moderately satisfying. “Doesn’t require staring at her sleep.”
“Sure. Keep telling yourself that.” He took a sip, eyes glinting over the rim. “Skills must be slippin’ then ’cause your woman’s drifting.”
I froze mid-turn. Just a flicker. Drift’s grin widened like he’d been waiting for it.
“Define drifting,” I said, setting the wrench down hard enough to make the tool cart rattle.
“She’s creeping.” He hooked a thumb over his shoulder toward the main hallway. “Bare feet, quiet as a shadow. Slipped by the common room, skirted the pool table, hugged the wall like she learned it from a manual.” His eyebrows went up as he took another sip from his mug. “Sweet as she is, the woman’s got instincts.”
The sound that left me was more growl than breath. “You didn’t stop her, did you?”
“Nah.” He flashed teeth. “Left the catching up to you. Figured it would be more fun this way.”
A pulse throbbed in my jaw. “Of course you did.”
“Headed toward the back exit at the end of the main hall. Might want to move your ass before she gets outside and runs into a prospect while not wearing your brand. They might assume she’s?—”
“Keep talking, and I’ll forget the difference between your face and a speed bag.” A slow burn hit my bloodstream, tightening everything in me. The stool creaked as I stood, and my hands curled as the urge to drag her back coiled through my chest.
Drift snorted. “You wouldn’t hurt this pretty face.”
My elbow “accidentally” cracked against his jaw as I shouldered through the door into the kitchen. The tile floor, white-washed walls, and stainless steel all carried the faint lemon of cleaner and the heavier comfort of grease from hundreds of breakfasts. But my only focus was on my little jailbird.
8
AXLE
Icrossed to the shadowy corridor that led to the back rooms and paused. The standing lights were set low, just enough to keep a toe from stubbing and a drunk from dying. My boots went soft out of instinct, and I silently crept forward.
Ten yards from the exit, I spotted a small dark shape sliding along the wall. One hand skimmed the paint, and the other tucked to her belly like she was holding her ribs in place. Every line of her said purpose. They also said ache. The thought of her in pain pissed me off, but it was even more maddening knowing she was doing it to herself, while disobeying my instructions.
I closed the distance between us in seconds.
“Keep going, Ashlynn,” I growled in a menacing tone. “And we’re gonna have a problem.”
She jolted, spun, and flat-palmed the wall to steady herself, breath catching when her eyes locked on mine. No scream. No gasp. Just that sharp inhale and the kind of focus that told me she was already deciding how to get past me.
“You walk very quietly for a man your size,” she murmured, her voice guarded.
“Nature of the beast.” I closed the distance with deliberate and unhurried steps, cornering her without touching her. “Where, exactly, were you planning to go at one in the morning wearing my shirt and a borrowed pair of sweats?”
Her chin tipped up. “Same place I’d go at one in the afternoon. Away.”
“That’s not happening.”
“It is.”
She slid sideways along the wall like she could melt into it and slip past me if she timed things right. I moved with her, blocking her with little effort. There was no fear in her eyes, just that stubborn spark that told me she was trying to protect me and everyone else under this roof. It was admirable, but infuriating.
“Ashlynn,” I said, soft in sound but hard everywhere else, “you’re not making it past the garage before my brothers stop you. You know that. And I’m not letting them drag you back when I can do it myself.”
Her jaw tightened. “I’m trying to keep you out of this.”
“Too fucking late.” I stepped in. She tried to slip the other way, but I caught her with one arm hooked under her, then I tossed her over my shoulder like she weighed nothing.
“Mason!” She smacked my back, furious and breathless. “Put me down.”
