Page 7 of Axle
The door clicked shut behind him, and suddenly, it felt like there was less air to breathe.
Mason shifted his weight, his hazel eyes locking on mine with a focus that made my skin prickle. “Who’s after you?”
“I don’t?—”
“And why are there stacks of cash in the bag?”
My pulse stuttered at the fierce gleam in his eyes. “Give it to me, and I’ll be gone before you know it.”
A muscle in his jaw ticked. “You’re not going anywhere.”
“That’s not necessary,” I shot back. “You don’t understand what?—”
“Doesn’t matter,” he growled. “You’re safer here than anywhere else. Anyone who fucks with the Redline Kings finds out fast just how bad of an idea that is.”
The stubborn set of his mouth told me there was no use arguing. But I still tried. “I’m not sure that’ll make a difference to the guys who’re after me.”
“You can argue as much as you want.” His voice hardened as he added, “Not. Fucking. Happening.”
It was a good thing Cage didn’t have me hooked up to any monitors because my heartbeat spiked so hard it almost hurt. Mason made me feel cornered—and something else entirely different that I didn’t dare examine too closely—in the same breath.
Mason’s jaw was set like stone as he turned toward the door.
“I’ll be back.”
It sounded more like a warning than a promise.
“You can’t just?—”
But he didn’t wait to hear the rest. The door shut behind him, followed by a sharp click that echoed in the quiet.
He’d locked me in—like I couldn’t be trusted to decide where I went.
I shoved the blanket aside and slowly shifted my legs over the edge of the bed. The bruises in my ribs pulled tight, but the ache was nothing compared to the hot spike of frustration at being locked in.
Except I discovered there was nowhere to go. My legs were wobbly as I made my way to the only other door and heaved a deep sigh when I saw it led to a bathroom with no window to climb through.
Without any other option, I shuffled back to the bed and pulled the blanket over me. I hated the idea of putting Mason and his friends at risk, but I was also relieved to be somewhere safe. Even if just for a little while.
4
AXLE
Istared at the closed door longer than I should’ve. My angel was still in there—battered, bruised, and trying way too fucking hard to be calm about it. Which only confirmed what my instincts were already screaming.
She wasn’t running from something small. No, she was running from hell.
And now, I’d stepped into the fire with her too. But despite having just met her, I didn’t regret it.
The reception area in the front of the clinic was silent. Dim morning light filtered in through the blinds, dust catching in the sunbeams. The room smelled faintly like antiseptic and motor oil. Cage had set up his clinic like any typical doctor’s office, with two exam rooms, except there was also an operating room. The building was across a small parking lot, close to the small garage. Oil and blood. Fitting combination for our lives.
Her duffel was where I left it, right by a padded chair. I crouched, and with tension buzzing just under my skin, I unzipped it slowly. The metal teeth rasped, loud in the quiet.
I expected maybe a weapon. A burner phone. Some kind of ID. Instead?
And the cash I’d gotten a glimpse of.
Stacks of it.
