The line went silent for a moment until River said, “I love you, precious, and I will do everything in my power to keep you safe.”
His words came as a surprise, but still touched my heart, filling my body with so much compassion for him. I replied, “I love you too, River.”
~
I wanted to forget the promise I made to Axe and hide in a corner instead. It was quickly approaching 10:00 a.m. and I still had a million things to do before River picked me up at five. Locking my computer, I headed to the restroom first before meeting Axe in the stairwell where I was sure he would be waiting for me. After he said what he needed to say, I wouldn’t have to worry about ever seeing him again.
Checking my appearance one last time, I knew it was time, and I couldn’t put off this meeting any longer. Opening the restroom door, my heels clacked against the marble floor as I headed to the exit door. I was sure that the noise I was making could be heard through the stairwell door, alerting Axe that I was keeping my end of the deal. As I reached out to open the door, the door opened with Axe on the other side. He took hold of my hand and poked his head out of the doorway and looked to his right and then his left.
He must have been satisfied that we were alone and no one was heading our way because he released my hand and allowed the door to close. When our eyes met, he looked drained, like he hadn’t slept in a week.
We stood in silence, just staring at each other like two people who had never met. It was becoming uncomfortable. “Say what you need to say, Axe,” I demanded. “I have a pile of files on my desk that need my attention.”
Taking a deep breath, he forked his hand through his hair and made a complete circle before he began. “I’ve screwed up so bad. The last thing I wanted was for you or your mom to get hurt.” Taking another breath, he stopped moving and faced the stairwell wall. “Fifteen years ago, I was given the opportunity to join the service. I didn’t have a great childhood. If my dad wasn’t beating me up, he was making me feel worthless. I had to get away. Van Wilkerson was the recruiting officer who helped me get in.”
I could tell this was hard for him when he took a moment to relax and finally turned my way. “Go on. I’m listening.”
“Long story short, I made a deal with him when I got out. I trained with the special services division in explosives. Van made sure I got the training necessary to satisfy the deal we made. When I got out, he found me and my hell began. My new assignment was to blow up buildings. It didn’t matter if the owners agreed to sell or not. After the first job, I had to get out.”
“But you didn’t.” I interrupted. “That’s why you destroyed my mom’s bookstore. Because of this deal you made with Van Wilkerson.” I had heard enough and was ready to leave when Axe grabbed my arm.
“Wilkerson threated to kill you if I didn’t do as he asked. When I found out he took you, all I wanted was to find you. I didn’t blow up your mom’s bookstore. He had Levi do it for him. He found out he no longer had you to use as incentive, so as payback, he, Niles, and Levi took care of it. They planted evidence to make it look like I did it. I swear to you, Kenzi, it’s the truth.”
As farfetched as his story was, it could be true. “Even if you didn’t destroy the bookstore, you still lied to me about everything.”
“It was the only way I could protect you.”
“I don’t need your protection. You ruined everything that was good between us. I’m with River now and I love him.”
“How could you possibly love a man who made you believe I was the bad guy? He can’t be trusted, baby.”
“Don’t. I’m not you baby, Axe. You’ve said everything you came here to say. I have to go back to work. Please go back to Atlanta.” It pained me to say those words, but there was nothing left for us.
“Please, Kenzi. I love you. We can start over again, this time with no lies. Maybe in time you’ll be able to forgive me for lying to you.”
“In time I can forgive you, but I can’t love you, Axe. You took my heart once and broke it in two. I can’t let that happen again.”
Axe released my hand and defeat splashed across his face. As I opened the door to head back to my office, I left him with one last thought. “Don’t hang the rest of your life on us. Someone amazing will come along for you, just like River has for me. Take care of yourself, Axe.”
~20~
River
Something was going on with Kenzi yesterday, by the way she was acting. It wasn’t like her to evade my questions or to lie to me. I had promised her that Mark and Brian would keep their distance, but that was a promise I had to break. It was a good thing I did. Kenzi was like an open book and I could tell when she was lying. She had lied about who she was talking to in the hall outside of the law firm.
My conversation with Mark ended with me trusting Kenzi more. Even though Mark heard the conversation Kenzi had with Axe in the stairwell just a floor above him, I was reassured that she wasn’t going back to him. True to my word, I played back the recorded conversation Mark had sent me. I really had to give it to Riley. He spilled his guts to get Kenzi back. Somehow, though, I knew she wouldn’t budge. Nothing he said would bring them together. She loved me, and her words of confession proved it.
There was still the minor fact that she lied, but then again, so had I. In order to hide the fact that I had broken my promise, the conversation I needed to have with her had to remain neutral. I had to let her think I still trusted her and was unaware of her chat with Axe Riley. Kenzi needed to be the one to come clean with her little mishap in the stairwell.
With only a few things to wrap up with my design team, I was out the door and on my way to the Monadnock Building. It was 4:30 p.m. and I couldn’t wait for the cat-and-mouse game I was about to play with Kenzi. Hopefully, she would tell me the truth without the back-and-forth duel.
Within minutes, I was on the freeway thinking of ways to get the truth out of her. I could let her hear the recorded conversation between her and Axe, but what fun would that be? Smiling to myself, I parked my Audi in front of the Monadnock Building and turned off the engine. Mark and Brian were seated on a bench when I opened the door. As soon as they saw me, both of them stood and walked my way.
Mark and Brian were two of my best men and they deserved the recognition. “Good work, you two. Were there anymore mishaps with Kenzi?”
“No, boss,” Mark replied. “Things have been pretty quiet since this morning.”
Leaving them with another compliment on a job well done, I headed to the elevator while they headed out to catch the Uber waiting for them. It was 4:55 p.m., and I hoped Kenzi would be ready to leave so we could meet Jed Turner in time. Our meeting was at 6:00 p.m. and with the Chicago traffic, I anticipated that we would arrive at the restaurant in time to grab a quick drink. Jed Turner was a snake. Every venture he entered had a stipulation—our meeting was no different. Little did he know, I was ready for whatever conditions he would throw my way. Over the years, I had dealt with men of his caliber. He was an arrogant SOB—so was I. When push came to shove, I always won, and this meeting would be no different.