Page 7 of Ignite
“What’s going on?” he asked as he adjusted his body to the front of his chair.
“I think I might have found the connection between the company suing you and Van Wilkerson. I think CMW Holdings is an acronym for Clyde and Magdalena Wilkerson.”
He fell back into his chair as though he wanted to melt into it or teleport out of it. His face turned as white as a sheet, and he looked like he might lose his lunch at any moment. Taking his hand in mine, I gave it a light squeeze. “Axe, you don’t look so well.”
Axe pushed away from the table and started pacing around the room. He ran his fingers through his hair, twisting the strands into even more of a mess than they already were. Something had him on edge. It was then that I suspected he knew something about CMW Holdings.
“What is it, Axe? What aren’t you telling me?”
~6~
Axe
Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!How was I going to get out of this one? I thought I had more time to tell Kenzi the truth. Once she learned it, she would never speak to me. But if I didn’t tell her what I knew about CMW Holdings, I would never get Kenzi back. She would have yet another reason not to trust me.
Instead of doing what I wanted, which was fleeing the room as fast as I could, I sat back down. She stared at me, her eyes wide and her expression hard. We hadn’t talked about the limits of our relationship, but I could tell by her expression that she had some idea of what I was about to say. Her face grew paler with each passing minute, and with every minute that passed, I found it more and more difficult to breathe. With only a second to weigh my options, I reached for my Coke and took a healthy sip. When I looked up to meet her gaze again, she was staring at me with her mouth agape. Her face expressed both disbelief and desperation, as if she were waiting for me to tell her it was all simply a joke. It wasn't; there was no turning back. I took her hands in mine and remained silent with guilt, unable to look at her any longer.
“Just say it, Axe. Nothing you could say can hurt me anymore than you already have.” Her words hit me like a Mack truck.
“Davian and the guys found more information on Van and Niles. At first, we thought that Michael and June Wilkerson were Van’s parents. The log cabin Van took you to belonged to them and was left to him when they died. That was how we found it. Turns out Michael and June Wilkerson were fictious names used to cover up Van’s real identity. I swear to you, Kenzi, I had no idea…”
“No idea of what, Axe?”
“River, Van, and Niles are my brothers.”
Kenzi rose from her seat and started pacing back and forth, just as I did moments ago. I could hear the soft patter of her bare feet against the hard floor. I had paced out of guilt while she did it to drive out the negative emotions that threatened to overcome her. Seeing her this way was killing me inside. I pushed my chair from the table and walked over to where she stood by the window. All I could think about was the pain I had caused her. All I wanted to do was wrap her in my arms and take away the pain she was feeling. Without hesitation, I pulled her body close to mine and wrapped my arms around her waist. Kenzi stood still, and I waited until her breathing slowed and her mind cleared. When she turned to face me, her beautiful green eyes were filled with tears. I caused every one of them that fell down her cheek.
Instead of holding back the love I had for her, I lowered my mouth and pressed my lips against hers. I didn’t deserve it, but she slid her arms around my shoulders and pulled me closer. Everything about this moment reminded me of what we had. Our breathing was the only sound I could hear. It was as if we were the only two people in the world. No matter what happened between us, this moment would be forever remembered.
~
Kenzi and I spent the next two hours going over the information she had written in her notebook and the information I added. After getting over the shock that I was related to River, Kenzi admitted that there was something about him that reminded her of me. Having the same father was the only thing we had in common. I was nothing like him. She even went so far as to say that we had the same eyes. Maybe, but only in color. There was one thing we had agreed on. CMW Holdings had no case against me since I had an equal share in the company. According to Kenzi’s research of CMW Holdings’ Code of Ethics, one shareholder couldn’t sue another shareholder to gain control of the company. This was something I already knew from Patton’s research, but no way could I share that knowing with her. With Kenzi being assigned the case to represent CMW Holdings, it was the perfect opportunity for me to do just that. When she offered to help me, I couldn’t bring myself to tell her the truth. If I had, I wouldn’t be here with her.
As I watched Kenzi do her thing, I couldn’t help but be proud of the woman she had become. In a way, I envied her for helping people less fortunate. Ever since we met, I knew she had a kind soul, unlike me. Everything I touched I destroyed. Destruction and hurting people were the only things in my path.
By the time we left the boardroom, Kenzi had drawn up a countersuit against CMW Holdings for withholding information and fraud. More than anything, it was a scare tactic. Since she was representing CMW Holdings, she couldn’t file the motion. I would have to get my attorney to file it. I was hesitant at first, but only because I wanted to keep my relationship with Van and Niles a secret a little while longer. After hearing Kenzi’s plan, which was ingenious, I had to agree that filing the countersuit would be a great way to draw out the truth. All we needed was to get Levi to admit to blowing up Margot’s bookstore under the direction of Van and Niles. How we were going to make that happen was beyond me.
My Tundra was parked in the underground parking garage where the employees of Saxton, Marsh, and Peters could park. When Kenzi got hired, she was given an access pass for the underground garage. Even though she didn’t have a car, she hoped to use a portion of her first paycheck for a down payment on one. Until then, I could use her pass and wouldn’t have to pay for a parking pass.
When we got to the garage, my Tundra was the only vehicle left on the north side of the garage designated for the law office. It was late and as I assisted Kenzi into the truck, my stomach reminded me how late it was. As we pulled out of the garage, I looked at Kenzi. “So, where would you like to go to grab a bite to eat?”
“Are you sure that is a good idea? I thought you preferred to limit my exposure to the outside world,” she stated sarcastically.
“As long as you are with me, there is no reason you can’t enjoy eating out.” Little did she know, River promised to keep his distance and let me protect her. The only people to worry about were Van and Niles. Even though River said he would handle them, I wasn’t about to let my guard down.
“In that case, I would rather order in.” Kenzi’s remark reminded me of her spitfire personality. All I wanted was to pull the truck over and take her over my knee.
Instead of granting her wish, I made a left and headed down the street until I spotted an Italian restaurant where we could eat. Pulling into the first parking spot I found, I turned off the engine. “This looks like a good place to grab a bite.”
Kenzi rolled her eyes and then unfastened her seatbelt. It was a shitty move on my part, but damn if she didn’t deserve it. If only she could understand that I was only trying to protect her.
Before I could open my door, she was out of the truck and heading toward the entrance of the restaurant. She wove between car bumpers and around large potholes in the asphalt with her arms pumping and her head held forward with a sense of purpose. The distance between us was more than I felt comfortable with, but I allowed her to have her little fit while I looked around for any threats. Nothing indicated we had been followed.
The sound of hundreds of voices chatting and clinking glasses filled the space when I opened the door. The restaurant was small, but it seemed packed to the gills with people, mostly dressed in their business attire. As I looked around,the L-shaped bar was busy with young people talking, laughing, and having a great time. The tables were filling up with more customers and I became concerned that I didn’t see Kenzi among them.
With no sight of Kenzi, I headed past the bar to where the restrooms were. She had better pray I found her in the ladies' room. Ticked that she hadn’t waited for me, I pulled the door open. As I looked inside, there were two stalls, neither one occupied. On the other side of the room, past the stalls, were the sinks, where Kenzi stood. Before I laid into her, I turned around and engaged the lock on the door. Kenzi and I were going to have a heart to heart with no interruptions whether or not she wanted to.
Damn if it wasn’t hard to keep my composure as she adjusted the front of her blouse. The crisp white cotton clung to her full breasts, which swayed with the movement and caught my eye. I wanted to reach out and adjust the fabric myself, to see her nipples harden and to feel the weight of them in my hands. I wanted to bury my face in the valley between them and taste her skin. I wanted to bend her over the counter and sink my throbbing, aching cock into her. There was a war raging in my head between what I wanted to do, what she would let me do, and what would happen if she did. She was teasing me and I was aware of all that was going on behind those big green eyes of hers. She fidgeted, then attempted to adjust herself, but there was nothing she could do about the fullness of her breasts that rocked from side to side as she moved.
