Page 5 of Ignite
“I should never have let you kiss me,” I told him. Everything inside of me told me that this was wrong. “Why didn’t you tell me about River’s brothers? What else are you keeping from me?”
Axe threw his head back, forking his fingers through his hair. “God, Kenzi. Don’t you get it?”His eyes were glossy, yet they didn’t hold the same passion they had when he first kissed me. I felt my heart slowly break in two.
“What is there to get, Axe?” I asked. Our once tender moment turned my heart to stone, but I felt no sense of pride when my voice cracked. Our true feelings for one another had been followed by a confrontation, and now I was filled with mixed emotions. “As far as I can see, you’re the one with all the secrets.”
“We all have secrets, Kenzi.”
The way he looked at me, my heart broke even more. “I shouldn’t have called you. I think it’s best if you leave before we say things we can’t take back.”
He glanced down at the couch, then back at me. “As much as you hate me, there is no way I’m leaving.”
There was the stubbornness I remembered so well. “Have it your way. I’m going to shower.”
~
Though 24 hours had passed since Axe showed up at my apartment, both of us were walking on pins and needles, trying hard to stay out of each other’s way. The silent treatment was killing me. Even though I had taken no initiative to start a conversation, it was time. I took a seat on the couch next to Axe and took the remote from his hand and pointed it at the TV. It didn’t matter that it was the first official football game between Atlanta and New York, some things needed to be said.
“We need to talk,” I began, twisting my body to face him. “Tomorrow, I have to be at work. I’m just wondering what your plan is.”
“Call in sick.” Axe didn't look at me, but I knew he was serious about the remark. The set of his jaw said so.
“There is no way I’m going to do that. Have you forgotten that you are being sued?” It was the only excuse I could come up with. I could have done most of the work from the apartment, but I would rather have all the law books readily available instead of researching the Internet for law codes and statues.
Axe saw my annoyance, and instead of saying a word, he stood and headed for the kitchen. I kept my eyes on him as he opened the fridge and looked inside. “There is no beer,” I said beneath a heated breath. “But there is wine in the cupboard below the breakfast counter.”
“Thanks,” he snorted, and pulled out a bottle of Chianti from the cupboard.
As though he knew my kitchen better than me, he pulled open the first drawer and pulled out the corkscrew. The material of his t-shirt was taut across his shoulders and back, straining with coiled muscles as he easily twisted the corkscrew into the cork. I watched the muscles in his arm bulge as he effortlessly pulled the cork from the bottle. Needing a glass of liquid courage myself, I stood and walked to the kitchen. The wine glasses were in the cupboard next to the fridge, and since Axe’s large frame took up most of the space between the fridge and the breakfast counter, I had to squeeze behind him, which caused my breasts to brush up against his back. I just knew he was enjoying the touch, considering he didn’t offer to move. Inhaling, he turned to face me. The muscles in his arm bulged and stretched as he wrapped it around my waist, pulling me against his broad chest. His arm was tight across my body, and I could feel every contour of him through my thin dress. His warm breath tickled my neck and his leg brushed against mine as he leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine.
“If you want to go to work tomorrow, I’ll let you under one condition,” he said as his warm breath caressed my ear.
“And what would that be?” I replied, heated by his touch.
“I’m going with you.”
~4~
River
When I finally worked up the nerve to make that call, it took everything I had to stay calm. I forced the words out of my mouth and asked Axe for his help. The truth about my ties to Van and Niles was out. A few days ago, I learned Kenzi had discovered that Van and Niles were my brothers. This was the reason she left me and the last time I saw her. For the past 15 years, I stayed far away from them. But somehow, trouble always seemed to find me. There was a time when I thought the death of my father was the end of my problems. It wasn't. Other times, I thought being successful would be enough, but it wasn't. And there were times when I thought that fucking every woman would be enough, but they weren't either. It was a vicious cycle. I wondered how long it would take for the bad karma to come back and bite me in the ass. I never thought in a million years that I would ask the enemy for help, especially a man who could take the woman I loved away from me.
My efforts to stay focused went out the window. I hadn’t heard from Mark or Brian since early this morning. I knew Kenzi would head into work at Saxton, Marsh, and Peters. No way would she jeopardize her new position by not showing up. I had Mark and Brian wait outside her apartment building and follow her when she left for work. I had no doubt that Axe would be with her. Just the thought made my stomach churn.
Every minute without Kenzi was making me crazy. I was losing my cool. Staring down at my cell, I took it from my desk, and as I was about to dial Mark, an incoming call came in. I knew this number since I had called it less than 48 hours before. “Tell me that Kenzi is safe and you haven’t taken her from Chicago.”
“She’s safe.” There was a slight pause before Axe continued. “I know you have two men watching Kenzi. I saw them outside her apartment and then again following me to the law office where she works. If you don’t tell them to back off, I will take her back to Atlanta.”
Axe was blowing smoke. No way in hell would Kenzi ever leave Chicago. Her future was here. “Come on, Axe. We both know she would never leave Chicago with you,” I pointed out. “But, since you asked so nicely, I will tell my men to keep their distance. I can’t afford for Kenzi to see them. The last thing I want is for her to find out that I know where she went when she left the Triage Building.”
“You’re awful sure of yourself, Stevenson. When I tell her you’ve known all along where she was and your cronies have been watching her every move, she’d be more than happy to leave just to get away from you.”
I hated being threatened, but Axe was right. If I wanted to get her back, I had to convince her I was a good guy and had nothing to do with her kidnapping or my two brothers. When I hung up with Axe, at least I was left with some comfort that Kenzi was safe. Knowing this still did nothing to help my concentration. I had a meeting in less than an hour and all I could think about was Kenzi and a way to get her back.
The fact that Kenzi had been in danger at all was a problem for me. Who was I fooling? There was no way to get her back at this point, unless I could convince her I had nothing to do with the kidnapping or my brothers. Knowing I had nothing to do with her kidnapping or with her being held captive did nothing to provide me comfort, but at least she was safe.
~
I didn’t know how I got through the meeting with no mishaps. Sarah, my secretary, jumped in when I was on the brink of making a complete ass of myself when answering the shareholders’ questions. She even sniffed out a deal I hadn’t seen. Lyle Tibbet was a pain in my ass. Not only was he a shareholder, but also a board member who voted his own interests over the interests of the company. If I could vote him off the board, I would. He even tried to take credit for the overseas expansion pan. It was all Sarah. It was genius on her part. She had taken an amazing idea, turned it on its head, and came up with something that none of us could have predicted. Creative juices flowed through my mind, and I immediately knew where I could save money and run with Sarah’s idea to make our company more profitable. It would work. It had to work.
