Axel: A Bad Boy Romance (4 page)

Chapter Six

“Are you nervous?” Marie asked as she squeezed Cate’s hand.

“Nope,” Cate answered cheerfully as she took a little skip. That made one of them. Marie was nervous as hell. Cate had never been to daycare before. Back in Arizona, Austin had refused the very idea. Marie had been a stay at home mom, what would be the point of daycare? He had scoffed and then threatened her that she should never bring it up again.

Cate was “desperate for school,” as she called it. She loved playing with other kids and had been excited about it ever since Marie had told her she would finally get to go. It was also out of necessity, Marie did need to actually work at the museum, so Cate would need to be at daycare at least part time. But this was harder than she had thought. She couldn’t remember the last time she had gone a full day without her daughter. What if Austin had been following them and was just waiting for the perfect opportunity to grab Cate and take her away?

Marie looked around her, searching for anyone suspicious or familiar. But there were only a few people in the street and one car driving past. She was acting paranoid. Austin had no idea where she was. He couldn’t get her. He wasn’t going to find her. She had done everything. She had left her cellphone and credit cards on the table with her short note:
I’m not coming back; don’t look for me.
That was all it said.

She had traded her black SUV in for cash. From Arizona they had taken a bus for five hours to Phoenix where she bought another car, in cash. From there she had just gone. No one knew where she was and she had left no trail for Austin to follow. Her only fear was that Austin would go to the cops about Cate, but Marie was hopeful he wouldn’t do that. He was private security and he hated the police. He would want to find Marie himself and she was hoping with no trail to follow he would get bored and eventually let her go.

Sunflower Daycare was possibly the most cheerful place on earth. The walls were painted a soft yellow and there were several different little playrooms where children ran around, amusing themselves with dolls and trains. Marie opened the door and the full sound of a dozen kids laughing filled her ears. She couldn’t help but be happy in a place like this.

“Hello! You must be Marie and Cate,” said a cheerful looking young woman behind the counter. She came around and knelt down to smile at Cate who gave her a shy little wave. “Are you ready for your first day?”

You can do this,
Marie said as she looked through the window. This was for the best, both for her and for Cate. So why was it so hard to walk away? Cate was already sitting in a circle with another girl putting a Lego castle together. She was having fun and the daycare workers knew not to let anyone else take her home. Marie felt tears brimming in her eyes, but she blinked them back. She was not going to cry. Today was a happy day; Cate was finally getting to play with other kids and Marie was going to get to do whatever she wanted.

She met Austin when she was fifteen and she had been with him ever since. They had broken up a dozen times during high school, but they always got back together. He would break her heart and then come back on his knees begging for a second chance the next day. Then in their senior year she found out she was pregnant. She always tried to be careful, but Austin had a tendency to forget. He claimed the condom was uncomfortable and he promised he would pull out.

She was glad for their mistake. It gave her Cate. But, still, she couldn’t help but dream about what her life could have been like if one of those breakups with Austin had stuck. If she hadn’t had Cate at seventeen, if she had gone off to college instead – her life could have been completely different.

Standing on the street she looked up and down trying to figure out where to go. Across the street was a little coffee shop. Marie walked across the street and into the dimly lit and warm shop. A handful of people sat in front of laptops typing away and Marie went up to the counter and ordered.

She ordered a vanilla latte and sipped it as she walked down the street. Austin had never allowed her to order an expensive espresso drink. He told her they were a stupid waste of money and she should just put more milk and sugar in her coffee. It was the way Austin controlled the little things that had really set her off. Somehow the bigger things were easier to forget. The violent fights had been rare enough that she could blame them on a bad day. But then he started digging in on little things and telling her what she couldn’t have.  Her coffee order, the way she liked her meat cooked, the temperature in the house, if she liked them one way and Austin liked another, they would always end up going with Austin’s choice. She wouldn’t want to fight with him so she would back off and let him win and before she knew it she was doing anything to keep him happy.

How had it happened? She could never remember the first time had had hit her. He had always been a little mean and rough. But he always apologized, and she thought that meant something. Plus, she was so lonely. In high school she lived with her miserable maiden aunt and her five cats. Austin was her savior. He treated her nicely and took her out on fancy dates and defended her and held her hand and in all of that she forgot how he could be violent and cruel. She told herself it was just a phase and things would get better. But it never got better. He was always pushing her and he only grew meaner and more violent as the years passed.

She walked passed the gym and peered inside. She had never belonged to a gym before. Austin refused to pay for one. Her dream from the other night came rushing back to her. She could feel the rope against her skin and the touch of the man whose face she could no longer recall. She had never thought of the gym as a sexy place before, but the world was her oyster now.

She wasn’t brave enough to walk in. All those lithe people expertly working out on their machines intimidated her and she hurried by. She strolled back to the museum and let herself in through the back door. Ingrid was sitting behind the computer with a pair of reading glasses perched on her nose.

“Welcome back. How was the daycare?”

“Lovely,” Marie admitted. “I hope she’s not having too much fun,” she whispered quietly.

“Oh, she’ll have a great time, but she’ll still want her mom when the day’s over,” Ingrid said. “I was just sitting here and putting together the budget for our annual fundraiser.”

“A party at the mansion, that sounds wonderful,” Marie said turning to the other woman. She could imagine it in her mind. The halls strung with lights, waiters in black ties and suits, women in fancy dresses sipping champagne and talking over the elegantly painted portraits.

“Well, we have it down at the Holiday Inn. You would, of course, be invited.”

“Oh,” Marie said, the note of disappointment clear in her voice.

“Something wrong? You don’t sound happy.”

“It’s just...This is such a pretty house and it’s big enough to hold a big party. It just seems like a shame to have this big, beautiful house and then have a fundraiser at some hotel ballroom. I mean, is the hotel historical or nice in any way?”

“Well...no,” Ingrid said after a moment. “And attendance has been shrinking these last few years.”

“I just think a fundraiser should be something fun and interesting that people want to go to. Otherwise it’s a chore. The goal is to raise money and happy people are generally more likely to part with it,” Marie turned around to see Ingrid staring at her. Ingrid’s reading glasses were pushed down her nose and she was looking at Marie over them with a pencil in one hand. Marie looked down at the floor feeling suddenly self-conscious. “I’m sorry,” she said quietly eyes glued to the floor. “I shouldn’t have-”

“No,” Ingrid interrupted. “Don’t apologize, I think you’re right. We’ve always debated having the ball here, but everyone was worried we might damage something. But if it’s just guests of the museum and we rope off the more delicate and expensive items...” She trailed off and looked at Marie. “The problem with having it here is it’s a lot of work and I put this whole show on basically by myself. I would need a lot of help.”

“I could help,” Marie said looking up at Ingrid hopefully. “I’m not a professional or anything, but I’ve planned a bunch of parties.” Mostly they were Christmas parties for Austin’s company, but they had been lux and lavish affairs. Catered with an open bar and passed hors d’oeuvres, the house decked out to mimic a winter wonderland. It was one of the few things he gave her credit for doing well.

“We’ll have to get permission from the board, but I don’t think it will be a problem. Why don’t you start putting some ideas together and we can brainstorm later?”

“That sounds great,” Marie said feeling her heart swell. 

“Good, I think you and I will work very well together. You’re a very clever woman, and you're not afraid to tell me when I’m wrong. That’s a good quality to have in a coworker. I’m glad we hired you.”

Marie was pretty sure she was literally going to float away. Ingrid had called her clever and referred to her as a coworker. Her entire life Austin had told he she wasn’t meant for work. She was too stupid and too slow; keeping his house was her job and she wasn't even very good at that. But now she had a real job and, so far, she was good at it.

Marie walked into the large dining room and began to gently dust off the mantelpiece and large table. Was it possible everything Austin had ever said to her was a lie? She knew he had been manipulative and controlling, but maybe it went deeper than that. He almost never complimented her and on the rare occasion he did she acted so grateful, like a dog accepting a hard won treat. She shook her head when she thought back on herself. She looked pathetic in the rearview mirror of her own memories. But that wasn’t it. It wasn’t that she was pathetic; the problem was he was a monster.

The floor behind her creaked and Marie whipped her head around. For a moment she was worried that thinking about Austin had somehow summoned him here. But the room was empty. It was just Marie.
Old houses make noises,
she reminded herself as she got back to work.

Chapter Seven

Seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty, Axel counted to himself as he lifted his body up by his arms. His shoulders were starting to scream and sweat was in his eyes. He had been lifting for almost two hours. He hadn’t been in full training for about a month and his body was straining under the new effort. He still trained in his down time, obviously, but when he was prepping for a fight everything was cranked up to ten especially his workouts.

Finally, he hit twenty-five and he dropped thankfully down onto the blue mat rolling his shoulders. Hayden offered him a towel and he wiped the sweat off of himself. “Go get a shake from upstairs. I’m gonna look into travel and accommodations for the fight.”

“Cool,” Axel said a little breathlessly. He jogged up the stairs and into the first floor of his gym. The lunch crowd was around, trading their suits for cardio machines for an hour of exercise. He couldn’t imagine life behind a desk. A life spent sitting down and staring at a computer screen tucked away from fresh air and physical activity looked like hell to him.

At the juice bar her ordered a double protein shake and eagerly drank the peanut butter flavored concoction as his heart slowed back to normal. He was staring idly out the window, not really noticing anything until Ingrid Michele’s came into view.

“Shit,” he said quietly as he ducked closer to the wall. He glanced out, but Ingrid wasn’t looking at the gym. She was with someone, a woman, and they were walking down the street with Ingrid pointing at this and that, giving the poor girl the all-town tour he guessed. From his secret vantage point he looked out at the two of them.

It took a moment for the woman to turn so he could see her in full, but when she did he couldn’t look away. She was straight up stunning. Her dark brown hair was long and sleek and it fell into loose relaxed curls around her shoulders. She was tall and thin, but still had a nice figure to her. Really what he noticed was her smile. She looked happy. Supremely, unquestionably happy. There was a smile on her face and it lit up every part of her.

Was that Marie? The new caretaker in the creepy Hawks mansion? That didn't seem right. She was so beautiful and modern; she didn’t belong in some dusty old mansion. He wondered what had brought her to this town and what made her so happy.

No! He reminded himself. No women, certainly no new women. He needed to be focused on his training. He needed to train and eat right and stay focused; it was the only way he could win. He couldn’t let the new girl in town distract him. Nope, he was more dedicated and professional than that.

He could look, though. He took in the outline of her breasts in the tight t-shirt she was wearing. He could see the curve of her hips and her thighs. When they walked passed his window he turned and followed her down the street, watching the way her ass filled out those jeans.

“I’m allowed to look,” he said to the kid working the juice bar. The pimply-faced teenager just shrugged at him and turned away. Just look, that was all he was going to do. Plus, it wasn’t like he and this girl ran in the same circles. It was a small town, but not that small. There was an excellent chance he would never get the chance to speak to the beautiful woman currently walking away from him. Crisis averted.

“Hey, Axel,” he heard a sugary sweet voice say behind him. He turned around to see Tiffany D’Angelo standing behind him. She was leaning against the counter shoving her breasts in his general direction. He had gone to high school with Tiffany D’Angelo. She was unquestionably gorgeous. Tall and thin with long blonde hair, a tiny waist and a set of DDs. They had hooked up more than once.

The problem with Tiffany D’Angelo was she was always wearing about ten pounds of makeup. Last time they had gone out her makeup routine had been over two hours. Her makeup cabinet had overflowed and she had more brushes than a painter. She wore a tight pair of booty-shorts and a bright pink sports bra to work out. Not that she actually worked out. She spent most of her time taking endless pictures of herself in the mirror and on the machines. He couldn’t deny she was successful; she had over a thousand followers on Instagram.

The problem was she treated the gym like it was dressing room. Like all of the objects in it only existed to make her look good. He had seen her hog a machine for thirty minutes trying to get the lighting right. People needed to use that machine. Everyone else had come there to work out and she was just in the way. It was a little embarrassing for him. After he realized that, he broke it off with Tiffany. He just couldn’t be with someone who didn’t take the gym as seriously as he did. This was his profession.

They still hooked up on occasion, though.

“Sorry I missed your call the other night,” she said, flipping her perfectly curled hair over her shoulder. “I was at a party in Philly.”

“Don’t worry about it. I survived,” he said with a shrug. He wasn’t in the mood for Tiffany right now.

“Did you call another girl?”.

“No,” he said thinking back to that night. “I just smoked a bowl and went to bed. It was pretty nice, actually. Very relaxing.”

“Well, if you wanted to call tonight, I might be able to do better than weed and bed.”

“I doubt it,” he said.

She huffed at him as if feigning offense and then she swatted him on the arm. “You are such a bad boy. I love it.”

“Right,” he said downing his shake. “I have a fight coming up. So I better get back to work.” He brushed past her and she reached out to touch his shoulder.

“I’ll be cheering for you,” she said.

“Great,” he answered over his shoulder as he headed to the basement with Hayden standing at the stairwell waiting for him.

“Tiffany on the prowl again?” Hayden asked.

“Is she ever not?”

“Might not be too bad to bust your nut on Tiffany. It’ll get those energies out with it getting to your head. You’re not interested in a relationship with Tiffany; she can just be a fun night every now and again.”

“Nah, can’t do it,” Axel answered. “She’s too annoying.”

“All right,” Hayden answered and Axel almost thought he heard a little resentment in his voice. Axel had never liked Tiffany, but Hayden had. She had been two years younger than them in high school and Hayden had been in love with her. But she was pretty and popular and she kept him at arm’s length until his finally got up the courage to ask her out and she turned him down and then told the whole school about it.

Hayden had been embarrassed, but he tried to play it off like it was nothing. Axel knew how much it had broken his heart. But time heals all teenage wounds and within the year Hayden had forgotten all about her and moved on. It wasn’t for three more years that Axel could hook up with Tiffany without feeling bad about it. He needn’t have worried. Hayden didn’t care; in fact he encouraged it.

“So you’re gonna do this training regime without a little something on the side to take off the stress? You sure that’s a good idea?”

“I didn't say that,” Axel answered and without meaning to the image of the dark haired woman walking down the street came back to him. In his mind her clothes fell off her and she was whispering his name. He snapped out of it and continued, “Just not Tiffany.”

“All right. It’s your choice,” Hayden said with a shrug. “Go get on the treadmill.”

Axel got on the treadmill and pumped the speed up to six miles an hour. His legs pounded beneath him as he increased the incline. He felt his mind relax as his every spare bit of energy went to keeping his legs and arms moving. Nothing bothered him when he was training; he was like a blank slate. Everything that wasn’t the upcoming fight went away.

But he wasn’t running to forget Tiffany. He didn’t care about her. There was someone else. The woman walking with Ingrid. He couldn’t get her out of his head. But as he ran the image of her disappeared as his heart sped up.