Axel: A Bad Boy Romance (20 page)

Chapter Thirty-Four

The daycare had re-opened, the lice thankfully eradicated. Marie was grateful she and Cate had managed to avoid the infestation. They, and the mansion, were lice free. Cate knew the way to her daycare by heart and she was always eager to go. She would race up the block, running as fast as she could, her little arms pumping fiercely, until coming to an intersection where she would be forced to impatiently wait for her mother. She wasn’t yet allowed to cross the street on her own. Once Marie was there, she would take Cate’s hand and together they looked both ways making sure the way was clear and then they would cross the street together. Once they were on the other side Cate would run to the next corner and wait and they did this all the way to the daycare.

Marie was sore as hell. She had taken a couple of ibuprofen, but her legs still cried out with every step. Lifting a coffee cup was agony, and she cursed any steps she encountered on the way. Axel had put her through the ringer yesterday and she was wondering when she would finally recover. It was a good sort of sore, however. It was the kind that came from hard work. She had pushed herself farther than she knew she could go. She would have to keep pushing herself if she wanted to really change. She understood Axel a little better after that last training. He did that every day. He did it of his own accord. He pushed and urged himself on. His strength was amazing to her. After that last day in the gym all she wanted to do was sit on the couch and watch TV. She couldn't imagine doing that day in and day out.

She hadn’t felt this sore since her original training. She knew she was stronger than ever, but she still wasn’t as strong as Axel.  When they had been sparring in the ring he had easily batted her best hits away. She hadn’t landed a single punch or kick. Sometimes, ensconced in their sleepy town, she forgot he was a professional fighter. She had seen the evidence firsthand. It was like she had to get through a brick wall before she could even touch him. Marie was jealous of that power. She wanted to be that good. She wanted to be able to protect herself from the worst kind of hits, both the verbal and physical kind. Once she could do that, no one could stop her. She wouldn’t need to be afraid of Austin; she would be able to handle him. But she still had a long way to go before she was that good.

They were on the block with the daycare and an excited Cate careened inside leaving Marie on the sidewalk. With a shake of her head Marie walked inside and gave her a kiss on her head before heading back out. It was a good thing Cate liked daycare; ever since the success of the fundraiser Marie had been given a lot of additional work at the museum. She was in the process of updating all of their donor information. She was putting together a comprehensive list of everyone who had ever given money to the mansion with names, email addresses, everything.

Lost in thought she didn’t bother with the man who was blocking her path on the sidewalk. Thinking he was lost she simply stepped around him as she debated the best way to sort and filter through hundreds of names.

“Marie DeSantos?”

Marie froze. She literally froze. Every atom in her body stopped moving as she achieved absolute zero on the sidewalk. Her stomach clenched and then dropped as her limbs began to shake. A thousand questions went through her mind and then finally she was able to move and slowly she turned around to face the other man. “Yes,” Marie said. “Can I help you?” Without realizing it she slipped into a fighting stance. Her feet were shoulder width apart and she was light on them. Her hands formed into fists as she looked at the other man. He was short with a weasel-shaped face. He looked familiar, like she had seen him around town, but she couldn’t quite place him.

“I’m Hayden Walker,” the man said. If he noticed Marie’s pose, he chose to ignore it. He kept his hands in his pockets and rocked back and forth on his heels as he spoke. “I’m Axel’s coach.”

That was where she knew him from. This was the Hayden Walker, the one Axel had been arguing with. She had only seen him in passing at the gym. He seemed to always be out when Marie was there. She had wanted to meet him, but Axel felt that was a bad idea and she hadn’t wanted to push him.

“It’s nice to finally meet you,” Marie said, relaxing a little. She had wanted to make a good impression on Axel’s coach. She knew how important Hayden was to Axel’s career and she wanted the two of them to start off on a good foot.

He didn’t respond to her pleasantries. Instead he stared into her face as if he were looking for something there. Marie felt cold under gaze, like a piece of meat in a butcher’s case. It felt like he was looking her over trying to pinpoint her every flaw, noting and cataloguing them for later. He didn’t speak for a very long time. Marie grew uncomfortable under his gaze and she shifted on her feet. How long was she expected to stand in the street with this man?

“Your boyfriend’s looking for you, and his daughter.”

Nausea swelled in her stomach, she felt light headed, and her vision went fuzzy. For a moment she almost lost her balance and she came dangerously close to toppling over into the street. But then the moment passed and she looked at the man across from her. She reached down into herself and searched for the strength she knew was there. She was not some meek little mouse who was going to let Austin scare her from afar. She was a lion now. Her vision cleared, her nausea disappeared, and she took a step towards Hayden. “He’s my ex and I don’t care what he wants anymore. You should be wary of contacting him. He is a dangerous and violent man. You shouldn’t meddle in things that are none of your concern.” She was in his face now, her lips pressed together as she breathed through her nose. Her fear was replaced with anger. Did Austin really think she was going to go back to him? Never. She was done letting him intimidate her.

“The thing is,” Hayden responded, “it is my concern. Axel is my concern. I’m his coach and his manager and you are bad for him.” Marie took a step back as if she had been slapped. What did he mean? “You’re ruining his career,” Hayden continued. “Ever since he’s met you he’s been a mess. Missing practices, crapping out on his trainings. He’s not looking good for this fight with Castellano. He’s not ready. Being with you is ruining him.”

“But he said he was fighting better than ever...” Marie said, her voice trailing off. Had Axel meant those things, or was being with Marie actually hurting him?

“Oh I’m sure he has. This is typical Axel. He gets nervous before a big fight and finds some girl to help him relax. But it doesn’t really help. It’s more he’s running from his problem than dealing with it. Then he gets too involved with this girl, because he’s nervous about the fight, and his training goes to shit and everything implodes. I hate to break it to you, but you’re far from the first girl Axel’s gotten himself all tangled up in. This is what he does. He’s gonna bomb this fight, blame it on you, break it off with you, and then get back to work.

“The problem is, fighting is a young man’s game and Axel is at his peak, but he ain’t getting any younger. I don’t know if his career can take this hit. If he stays with you he’s going to lose the fight and his title and his career might be over for good.”

Marie was shocked. Axel hadn’t told her any of this. He told her he had been a lifelong bachelor with just a few flings here and there. He told her his training was going great and he was going to beat the snot out of Castellano. Was he lying to her? Was he trying to cover up his insecurity with empty promises? Marie didn’t know what to think or who to believe.

“And what happens when your boyfriend comes here and sees you and the kid with Axel? Think he’ll take kindly to that? Or do you think that will make him very, very angry? What happens if he takes that out on Axel? You could get him killed. Is that really what you want?”

“No,” Marie whispered, shaking her head. She looked into Hayden’s beady eyes. She still wasn't quite sure what was happening. How had her nice day turned into this? Where had she gone wrong?

“I get that you have problems you’re running from. But the thing is: those are your problems. You made them. It’s not fair to dump those all on Axel. He works hard and he deserves success; he doesn’t need your added drama. It’s only going to ruin him. I think you need to take care of your own house before you go getting involved with other people. Those problems aren’t going away. They’re going to follow you and then what are you going to do? Just keep ruining lives until you finally end things with your ex for real?”

Marie fought back tears. He was right. That was the worst part. She was ruining other people’s lives. She had run away from her problems instead of dealing with them and now they were coming to get her. But not just her. Axel, too, Axel who had been so good to her and Cate, so kind. She didn’t want to ruin him. She didn’t want to be the thing that undid him. She could never live with herself if she was. This man was right; she would have to leave.

“Your boyfriend doesn't know where you are – yet. But he’s going to find out. I suggest you leave town before he does.”

Hayden turned and walked away. Her mouth hanging open Marie watched him retreat. The wind picked up and lifted Marie’s hair off her neck as a car drove slowly past her. From the driver’s seat an unknown man stared her down. Austin was coming for her and Cate. Hayden had just said that. He was coming and every instinct in Marie’s body was telling her to run.

Marie couldn't depend on Axel for this. It wasn’t fair to him. This could ruin his career and any chances for future success. Axel wasn't the one who had got himself involved in some crappy relationship – Marie was. He wasn’t the one who should have to deal with this. It was Marie’s problem. Marie looked up and down the street and at that moment she knew she would have to leave. She loved this town and Axel and she couldn’t let herself bring danger to them. She would have to leave to keep everyone else safe.

Chapter Thirty-Five

The garage was almost done. Contractors had come in and completed the work Axel couldn’t do on his own. Now it was clean and empty and structurally sound and his mother could actually park her car in it. Axel watched as she carefully and slowly drove her old Honda into the garage. She seemed nervous – as if she didn’t trust it or herself, but she finally managed to park the car and then stepped out and looked around.

“It certainly is larger in here than I remember,” she said, fidgeting nervously with the hem of her shirt.

“I know,” Axel said, a hint of exasperation in his voice. “That’s why I cleaned it out. Now you have all this extra space in here for storage.”

“It seems strange after all these years to have those old cars gone,” she said walking around the empty space as if she had never really seen it before. “I was so used to seeing them. Not that I’m not grateful for all of your help, I am, but it’s just going to take some getting used to.” She looked around with a sigh and then smiled up at Axel. “Come on, I’ll fix you something for lunch.”

Once inside Axel sat down at the old, chipped kitchen table as his mother busied himself behind him. Plates and silverware clattered on the counter and she made him a sandwich. “Haven’t seen you as much,” she said slyly over her shoulder. “Something been keeping you away? Or should I say, someone...?”

“I hate living in a small town,” Axel said as he scowled down at the table.

“I’m not chiding you. I’m happy. I just want to know when I might get a chance to meet the lady.”

“Soon, Ma,” Axel said as she presented a sandwich to him. Ham and cheese with mustard and mayo. His favorite. He bit into it hoping it would stop the conversation, but his mother just sat down across from him and patiently waited for him to finish.

“What’s she like?”

“Funny, smart, beautiful, but also a little shy. She’s just getting out of a bad relationship.”

He looked up at his mother who was looking away from him now, the mention of a bad relationship sending her down into her own memories of her late husband. There were a lot of unsaid things between the two of them. There were things about Axel’s father he had never wanted to bring up. He knew talking about these things was too painful for his mother.

“Why didn’t you leave him, Ma?” Axel asked.

His mother fretted with the hem of her shirt and looked away from him for a moment before finally speaking. “I was scared. I didn’t have a job or money or any skills to make money and I had you. Things were different back then. Your father would have won custody if I had fought him over it and I couldn’t leave you alone with him. I thought about it, dreamed about it, but I couldn’t do it. It takes a lot of strength, courage, and luck to walk away from something like that. I was never very lucky. And then he passed and I didn’t need to leave. Had he lived longer...” She let the possibilities linger in the air.

Axel reached across the table and took her hand, giving it a light squeeze before withdrawing. “It was better when he was gone,” Axel said.

“It was, wasn’t it?” his mother agreed with a secret smile. “Your girl have a guy like that in her past?”

“She does. A real son-of-a-bitch.”

Mrs. Connelly shook her head sadly. “It’s good, then, that she has you. It’s good she has someone to lean on. I couldn’t imagine walking away from that all alone. It would be too hard.”

“She’s stronger than she looks.”

“My sweet boy, are you in love for the first time? My, how I’ve waited and prayed for this day.”

“Hayden’s not happy about it.”

“Oh screw Hayden,” his mother said, waving her hand as she released a rare profanity. “He is your coach, not the boss of your life. What does he know anyway? That man has never had a woman or been in a real relationship. Why would you listen to him? You should listen to your own heart. This is your life and you can’t let anyone else run it for you.”

Axel couldn't help but smile. It was always funny when his mom got all riled up like that. She was normally serene and little sedated. Until it came to love. Then she was like some unstoppable relentless force that wouldn’t stop until everyone she knew was happily married.

“I think I might have to let Hayden go,” Axel said. It was the first time he had said the words out loud and they sounded wrong to him. “I don’t like the thought of it. He’s been with me since the beginning, but he refuses to see my side on this issue. He’s become so rigid; he won’t allow any changes in my training regime even when they’re good for me.”

“Well, it would be a shame for you to let him go. But you’ve always had good instincts and you should trust them now. It’s possible you’ve outgrown Hayden; it happens in life.”

Axel sighed and nodded. He didn’t know how he would even begin to extricate Hayden from his life. Not only was he Axel’s coach and manager, but they were also close friends and had been since they were just a couple of kids. If only there was some way he could make Hayden come around on Marie. Maybe it wasn’t too late to fix everything.

But to do that he would need to get Hayden in the same room with Marie and the other man refused to do it. He refused any conciliatory gesture from Axel. His stubbornness was going to ruin him as Axel always knew it would. They say in fighting that you have to be willing to bend. You sometimes have to lean into a hit and change strategies mid-fight. Remain rigid and you’ll break. Bend a little and you can last long enough to stand back up straight.

His mother’s phone rang and she stood to pick it up. “Yes...hello?” he heard his mother's voice say from the next room. “Yes, he’s here, just give me one moment.” She came into the room with a cordless phone in one hand. She stretched it towards Axel and said, “It’s Ingrid, she wants to talk to you.”

He stood and lifted the phone to his ear. Panic coursed through his veins followed by the icy calm of his training. There was no point in panic. It did nothing. It only slowed you down. Panicked people made poor decisions. “Ingrid?” Axel said into the phone.

Her voice was a hurried rush, words were tumbling over each other in her haste to get them out, “Now I don’t mean to pry into private affairs, Axel. But I know you and Marie have become very close recently and I’ll be honest, I was glad to hear it. She’s a sweet girl and I know that at heart you’re a good boy-”

“What’s going on, Ingrid?” Axel said cutting off the old woman.

“Well, I was just wondering - but not prying, mind you- if something had happened between you and Marie. She just called in a hurry saying she was awful sorry, but she had to leave. No notice or anything. She said it was an emergency back home, but I had sort of gotten the feeling she didn’t have anyone back home. No family, if you get my meaning. She looked upset and I’m worried about her. She’s packing as we speak and I just wondered if maybe you and she had got into an argument-”

“I’m coming over now. Don’t let her leave,” Axel said into the phone. He ended the call and headed towards the door. “Something is up, Ma. I have to go. Do me a favor and stay inside tonight. Lock the doors and draw the curtains. I’ll have someone come and check on you a little later.”

“What on earth is going on?” Mrs. Connelly demanded, clutching at the collar of her shirt.

“I think Marie is in trouble. I need to go to her,” he stopped at the door and looked at his mother. There was fear in her eyes, but she clenched her jaw and nodded at him.

“You be careful now,” she said.

Axel nodded and stepped out into the warm night. He jogged to the car and started the engine, peeling out of the parking lot and heading to the Hawk’s mansion. He sped up as he raced down the back roads going double the limit as his heart began to pound.

Why hadn't she called him? Why was she running without even so much of a goodbye? She was probably doing something crazy like trying to protect him. But he couldn’t let her do it. Marie was not going to spend forever on the run. He wouldn’t permit it. His engine roared as he skidded onto Main Street. He parked in a red zone in front of the mansion and jogged up the large marble steps before yanking the large wooden doors open.