Axel: A Bad Boy Romance (22 page)

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Elizabeth bustled about the room. She was supposed to be making tea, but mostly she was picking things up and putting them down nervously. Marie sat at the kitchen table with no idea what to say or do. Axel was doing his own version of his mother’s action. He was closing and locking every window, drawing the shades closed and turning off any unessential lights.

Marie wished they would stop, or at least give her something to do. She was sitting at the kitchen table waiting for tea she didn’t really want. She wished she were doing something, but every time she tried to move Elizabeth and Axel would both tell her to sit and relax. Behind her Axel moved to another part of the house. Marie quickly wiped a tear away hoping no one had noticed she was crying. She hated that she had brought this violence to this nice woman’s house. Hayden was right. She was infecting things. She was ruining lives.

She should just go. Except, what about Cate? If it were just Marie, she would go back with Austin just to make it stop. But she couldn’t bring Cate back to that. It wasn’t safe. Her stomach roiled beneath her; she felt as if she were going to sick.

Finally, the teakettle began to sing and Elizabeth quickly poured the steaming water over loose leaves in a strainer. She let it soak for a moment and then added honey and brought the drink to Marie. “Chamomile mint,” she said with a smile. “It’s my own blend. I grow the leaves in my garden. It’s very calming.” She gave Marie a reassuring smile.

The minty smell of the tea wafted up towards Marie and she closed her eyes for a moment and focused on the smell. She took a sip and the warm water flowed through her. She closed her eyes and focused on the sensation and the smell and the taste and she found it
was
calming. Her heart slowed, her hands stopped shaking, and she was finally able to breathe without the threat of sobs overtaking her.

“I’m so sorry for the fuss,” Marie said as there came a slamming sound from somewhere as Axel closed a door. “I didn’t mean...”

“Oh, dear, I don’t want to hear another word of apology come out of your mouth, do you understand? What, do you think we would toss you out into the cold? That wouldn’t be very Christian of us, would it?” She crossed herself and looked to the sky for a moment. “You consider this house your house.”

“Thank you,” Marie said.

“You’re welcome. And I’ll admit I’m eager to meet this new girl who has my son breaking all his rules.”

Marie’s stomach dropped and she looked away. Hayden had been telling the truth. Axel was breaking the rules for her. Was his training falling behind because of her?

“Um...” Marie said with no idea what she was expected to say. Twenty minutes ago she was planning on never seeing Axel again and now she was in his mother’s house.

“Not that I mind, of course. I never agreed with all of Hayden’s rules.”

Marie looked up hopefully. “Has Axel not been doing well recently?” Marie asked.

“Oh no, to hear him tell it this is the best he’s ever been. He’s ready for the match. That makes one of us, of course. I can barely stand to watch the fights. It’s hard for a mother to watch her son get hit.”

“I thought maybe he had been slacking off in practice...”

“Not to my knowledge. He’s been training every day and coming here and doing hard labor on the weekends, until recently that is. Now he spends all his weekends with you, not that I mind.”

“Sorry,” Marie said blushing.

“Don’t be. You have nothing to be sorry for. I’m happy, is what I’m saying. Axel deserves a good and honest girl, someone to keep him grounded. Someone to love him for him and not for his title or his money.”

Marie nodded. “Sometimes I forget he has the title.”

“Me, too,” Elizabeth said. “I’m forever surprised when people know more about him than I do. The other day the boy at the checkout counter was asking me how much Axel ate in a day and he started telling me how much time my own son spent in the gym. He had Axel’s full itinerary down. It was a little unnerving, honestly. But to a certain set of people, he is very famous.”

“I didn’t know that when I met him,” Marie said.

“I know. He’s told me quite a bit about you, Marie. You’re the only girl who’s ever managed to get him to willingly go to a dinner at the historical society.” Marie smiled and Mrs. Connelly continued, “It’s always been just me and Axel for the longest time. I’ve always wanted us to have a bigger family and now we can.” She reached over and put her hand on Marie’s cheek.

Marie leaned into Elizabeth’s frail hand and smiled at her. “I have a small family, too,” Marie said. “It’s just me and Cate. My parents are gone and Cate’s dad is…not a good dad,” Marie said. “I always wanted a big family, too.”

The two women smiled over the table as Axel finally joined them.

“What now?” Marie asked Axel.

“We wait. He’ll try and get it touch with you and then we can get rid of him for good. You and I will sit down with him and explain to him that it’s over and you’re never going back.”

He sounded so confident. She knew he could do it, but could she? It was hard for her to imagine saying no to Austin. He was scary when he was mad, sometimes he was terrifying. There were fights where Marie had feared for her life. She never wanted to feel that way again. 

“I’m gonna go check the garage. Stay here,” Axel said. They watched him go. His energy seemed boundless while Marie only wanted to take a nap.

“I know this is hard,” Elizabeth said. “I can only imagine how hard. But you have to have faith and be strong now. My son cares for you very deeply and I know he won’t give up on you. But you can’t give up on him or yourself. You can stand up to this man. You have to.”

“But what about Cate, and Axel?” Marie said. She had a sudden image of leaving Cate here. She could allow her daughter to be raised by this nice woman. Marie would go back to Arizona with Austin. Cate would be safe. It was a twisted fantasy and one she quickly dismissed. She would never leave her daughter.

“We’ll be strong for each other and we’ll look out for each other,” the other woman said.

Marie looked into Elizabeth’s dark blue eyes and nodded. She was right. This was the only way. Marie had to trust in Axel. She had to make a stand.

“I knew my son made a good choice with you.” Elizabeth said. “He was different the day he met you. All of the sudden he had this starry-eyed, far away look on him. Like he was always thinking of someone else. He fought it, but I knew he would eventually open himself up to you. And I’m glad he did. He’s been a better son since he’s been with you. The only person who’s gone sour is Hayden.”

“Hayden!” Marie repeated. He had something to do with this. He had to. He had warned Marie her husband was coming. He had lied to her about Axel’s training. Was he the one who contacted Austin? Marie stood quickly and said. “I need to talk to Axel, now!”

“Wait just one moment, dear. He’s checking the garage and he asked us to stay here. We should wait for him to come back. We don’t know what might be waiting out there.”

Then there was the sound of tires crunching on gravel. Marie hurried to a window with Elizabeth right behind her. She hunched down and peered over the ledge at a black truck that was pulling into the driveway. She couldn't see the driver, but she recognized the truck. The man who she that had been taking her picture had got into a truck that looked just like this one. Her heart stopped as the door was opened and Hayden jumped down to the ground.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Austin stood outside of Axel’s gym and waited. There was another team at Axel’s apartment, but no one had shown up there either. Where were they going? Where could she be? He walked over to the hood of his black SUV and peered over the map spread out in front of him. Paper maps were still in use in Austin’s business. Sometimes he needed a bigger view of his surroundings. He needed to think of all of the places where his mark could be going.

The various streets and highways slid along streams and rivers on the paper below him. There were train tracks still in use in this area, as well. There were two major roads that led to one major highway. They were near hunting grounds and there were miles of nameless roads dotted with hunting cabins. Marie could be at any one of those.

“Axel fucking Connelly,” he said shaking his head.

“It’s crazy,” Charlie said next to him.

Austin was drinking an energy drink and his stomach was starting to hurt from want of a good meal. It had been a long flight with a long and miserable layover in Charlotte. They had arrived in Philadelphia about two hours ago. Austin had been in a foul mood ever since. He wanted to take a shower, his suit was rumpled, and he had been stuck sitting on the floor for the layover. Marie was going to be in a lot of trouble for all of this.

Hayden had been sitting at the bar, one of only two patrons there. Austin had marked him right away. He was sitting, hunched over, desperately clinging to a beer and looking around nervously.

“H?” Austin demanded.

Hayden had jumped and then stammered an introduction that included his first name. He cursed his own mistake and Austin smirked at him and waited for him to make another.

“You got the money?” Hayden demanded in a harsh whisper. His hand was resting on a manila folder and he drummed his fingers nervously on it.

“Yes, I do.” Austin said. He remained calm. He looked at Hayden directly in the eye. He only said what he needed to say.

“Well, where is it?!” Hayden demanded. Austin’s hands were empty as were the hands of the other men with him.

“I’m not just carrying ten thousand dollars around with me. It’s in the car. Let’s go downstairs where we can talk in private.”

“I kind of thought we could do this in public,” Hayden said, shifting back and forth on his feet.

“You thought wrong.”

Hayden chugged his beer and dropped a ten on the counter. Austin led the way down a steep set of red stairs to the street below. They stepped out and into a waiting limousine. Inside there was a suitcase filled with neatly stacked rows of money. Austin sat down next to Hayden and nodded to Charlie to hand the case over. Hayden’s mouth fell open as he stared at the neatly stacked pile of hundred dollar bills in front of him. He reached out to grab onto of the bundles to make sure it was all actually money. He flipped through and his eyes grew big as saucers as he saw hundred after hundred flicker past him.

Austin slipped the folder out of Hayden’s arm and began to flip through it. He saw Marie’s address in some small town called Harskburg not too far away. There was a picture of her coming out of a huge mansion and several more of her walking down the street.

“She lives in a museum?” Austin demanded.

“She’s the caretaker,” Hayden said. He closed the briefcase and took it from Charlie and made a move from the door. “We never met and this never happened.” He stepped out and into the street and Austin let him go.

He had considered flipping on Hayden, taking the info and keeping the money. But he didn’t have a lot of contacts down here and he was worried about making an unnecessary enemy. Besides, the man had been an enormous help. Austin might never have found Marie without him and Austin believed in paying for good service. They left Austin behind and drove straight to Harksburg.

Austin had planned on grabbing her at the museum and bringing her home. It was supposed to be done quick and easy. She would see him, know her little vacation was over and then they would get into the car and go back to Arizona. He wasn’t interested in starting a manhunt in an unknown town. He would have to bribe the local cops to look the other way, he would have to create contacts, and he didn’t have the time for it. Standing in the street like this was the last thing he wanted to be doing. They were not supposed to be standing guard or setting up traps. It was supposed to be a rush job, in and out no complications.

But she had said no. That bitch had actually said no to him. Who did she think she was? Didn’t she understand she was nothing without him? She was trash and he had made her something better. How dare she think she could ever leave him? She was coming home and he didn’t care what it would take to get her there.

Charlie was trying to call Hayden, but there was no answer. Ten thousand dollars should buy him a lot more than an address and a couple of pictures. Hayden was going to have to help Austin wrangle Marie into some sort of trap. Austin was pacing in front of the entrance to the gym. People walked past him on the street and gave him a strange look, but he ignored them and focused on pacing.

Axel Connelly,
the
Axel Connelly, she was with him? It was impossible. Austin knew who Axel was. He had followed the same eating plan as Axel. He had read about it GQ. He had idolized Axel Connelly and now that guy was dating Marie. It was impossible. Marie wasn’t good enough for a guy like Axel Connelly. She was barely good enough for Austin. He didn’t know how to deal with this. He couldn’t accept it. How had she even met Axel Connelly?

“He must live here,” Austin said out loud, standing in place. “But why would he live here? He could live anywhere. He must have some attachment to this town. Maybe he was born here. Maybe he has family here?”

“Searching now,” Charlie said as he started tapping his phone.

“We any closer to a phone number?” Austin said to the tech nerd sitting in the back seat of the SUV.

“Working on it,” the tech said.

They were close. Austin could feel it. Marie was nearby. She was like a deer hiding in the forest. But he would find her. He would track her. He would sniff her out.

“His mother still lives in Harksburg. Name is Elizabeth Connelly.”

“Searching,” the tech said. “Got it. Her address is 447 Sycamore Grove. It’s less than five miles from here.”

“Good!” Austin said. His heart began to pound. He was close. They were at the mother’s house. That had to be Marie's only other connection in town. That was where she was. There wouldn’t be anywhere else for her to run.

“Boss,” Charlie said. Austin turned to look at Charlie who had his hands up in a conciliatory gesture, “Maybe we should think about this. It might just be an old woman. We can’t just all descend on her. She could call the local cops and they’ll want to know why we’re here. That leads to a lot of questions we don’t want to answer.”

Austin glared at the other man, but he knew he was right. “Send a car to the house. Check it out but be discrete. Find out if his car is there.”

Charlie nodded and made the call and Austin stared at the tech. “Get me a number,” he spit and the man stared at his computer and typed as fiercely as possible. This was infuriating. Marie was so close. He was tempted to get in the car and go and get her himself. But Connolly was there. Austin was a good fighter, but he might not win against an MMA champion. This was why he had brought his team with him. He wasn’t alone and he was planning on using his numbers to his advantage.

“The car is at the house, but all the lights are out,” Charlie said, holding his phone to his ear.

Austin nodded. Now what? He began to pace again. His hands clasped behind his back. What was the right way to play this? He needed to get in touch with Marie. He needed to get her on the phone. He knew how to push her buttons; he knew how to get her to do what he wanted. But he couldn’t do anything until he found her or a way to get in touch with her. It was frustrating.

Soon. He forced himself to count to ten as he paced. Soon, he would have her. Soon she would be back and this could all be in the past.