Page 37 of Lawless Deception

“I want to talk to him alone,” she states when I’ve finished.

“Hell fucking no, Rox. That is never happening.”

“If you want my help, then, yeah, it fucking is happening! Come on, Zak, do you honestly believe he’ll give you anything with you standing guard over him?” She raises her brows at me in question, and I know she’s probably right. “You can wait right outside but out of sight.”

I can see the anticipation and eagerness for my agreement written all over her face. Maddox will string me up and gut me like a damn pig if he finds out.

“Fine. But I’ll be outside the door, and if he so much as breathes on you the wrong way, then it’s done. And don’t tell—”

“Maddox. Yeah, I got it. Wouldn’t want him to possibly think I can look after myself after all this time.” She rolls her eyes but smiles too.

ChapterNineteen

Roxy

Iask Zak for a first aid kit, and while he gets it, I fill a glass with water and make a sandwich. When he returns with it, he looks at me quizzically.

“For Axel,” I state like it should be obvious. “I know this might be a concept you aren’t familiar with but being nice works sometimes.” I don’t voice the rest of that thought. A good cop, bad cop joke probably won’t go over too well just now.

Once I have everything, Zak opens the door to the cellar, letting me go first. He knows I’ve been down here when he was questioning Axel, if you can call it that, the other day.

I prepare myself for the sight and smell I know I’m going to be met with as Zak opens the door to the first room.

A single bulb hanging from the ceiling fills the space and highlights the dank interior. It’s basically a concrete cell with nothing but a bucket to piss in. Axel is laying on his back either asleep or unconscious in the middle of the room. I can see from here that there are several more bruises to his body and injuries to his face since Zak was here last, which makes me think Maddox has been here at some point.

Despite feeling aroused by watching Zak the other day, I struggle to comprehend what I’m now faced with. It makes me sick to think I could be turned on watching a man torturing another man. I don’t honestly know what to make of the whole thing.

I step inside, turning to ensure Zak is sticking to his side of the deal and remaining outside. Our eyes meet, and for the first time since they crashed back into my life, I see a flicker of uncertainty. He drops my gaze and pulls the door to a fraction.

A groan draws my attention back to the man on the floor. A man who is by no means small and no doubt is handsome when half his face isn’t covered with cuts, bruises and dried blood.

I step forward and kneel beside him, setting the first aid kit, sandwich and water on the floor. He’s not wearing any clothing except his underwear. Scanning my eyes over him, I see the word rat crudely sliced into his skin, and I already know whose handy work that is.

“Fuck,” I murmur into the cold, empty room. Another groan comes from Axel, and this time his head turns my way. He opens his eyes, one still badly swollen, and he starts to panic when he sees me. “Hey, it’s okay, Axel. I’m not here to hurt you.” He stops trying to move, which I realise is painfully hard for him given the abuse that has been inflicted upon him.

“I know who you are,” he hisses. “What do you want?”

I spot a chair over the other side of the room and rising to my feet, I collect it. “I just want to talk, Axel. Can you get up?” He pushes himself up, a grimace on his face the whole time and holding his breath, which comes out in a rush as he comes to rest sitting upright. After a few deep breaths, he attempts to climb to his feet, falling slightly with a cry of pain as he bends, no doubt from a few broken ribs. I do my best to help him, despite his protests, and finally get him seated in the chair.

While he catches his breath again, I kneel on the floor and open the first aid kit. Once his breathing has settled, I hand him the glass of water. His hand shakes as he takes it from me, spilling some over the side. I watch as a big fat drop splats to his knee, dispersing some of the grime that covers his skin.

He gulps it down and passes me the empty glass. I feel his eyes on me as I put it down and then root around inside the first aid box for what I need.

“I can’t tell you anything, so if that’s what this little show of hospitality is for, then you’re wasting your time.”

“It’s nice to see you still have your balls, or is that because I’m a woman and you’re either not scared or trying to save face?” He doesn’t answer, just stares mutely at me with what I can only imagine are hard eyes. “Anyway, I’m here for answers, of course, but don’t be fooled by my nice gesture, Axel. There is more than one way to skin a cat. And despite what you just said, I know you have the answers, so let’s not waste both our time,” I say, easily slipping into my cop persona.

“You can do whatever the fuck you want to me, but I’ll never tell you anything.”

“Okay, well, I beg to differ. And the reason for that is because I know about Eva.” The flicker of his eyes and infinitesimal inhale of breath are the only signs that I’m right, so I push a little more. “The way I see it, if you don’t want any harm to come to Eva, then I guess you best start talking. I’m not so sure Eva can hold up against the Lawlers as well as you seem to be.”

“You leave her the fuck alone.” And there it is. The tiniest nugget of information that comes from the biggest motivator of all, love. “She’s nothing to do with this.”

“Ahh, come on, you don’t honestly believe that do you? And here’s another reason why you’re going be singing out your confession in a minute, but just as a precursor before I get to that, Zak is right outside the door and that means you’re going to take this like the honourable man you so obviously are or risk putting Eva in the firing line more than she already is. Understand?” He nods, and I can see he knows what’s coming before I’ve even said it. “I not only know about Eva, but I also know, as do Maddox and Zak, who her father is, her real father. So, let’s try this again, tell me what you know?”

Zak comes into the room as a dejected Axel spills his guts while I clean him up. When Zak finally has all the answers he’s going to get, I hand Axel the sandwich I made him, and we leave, ignoring his protests and demands to know what’s going to happen to him now.

Back in the kitchen, I dump the first aid kit on the counter and spin to face Zak.

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