Page 31 of Axel (Belles & Bratva Beasts #2)

“That equates to eight, maybe ten.” Axel pours the salt into John’s gaping wound before slamming his palm against John’s bloody mouth, stifling his scream.

“And they didn’t want it,” Axel snarls. “They didn’t want you .

Because a real man knows. He waits. He asks.

He gives, and he never takes. He doesn’t hurt a woman, you fucking pathetic piece of shit.

Stare in the mirror and know that’s what you are. ”

John’s screams turn into snotty tears.

And still, I’m not appalled.

The only regret I feel is for his victims. I guess I was lucky. If I had said no to him that afternoon, would my choice have been taken by the crime, too?

That’s what makes me sick. The thought that a man like John ever touched me. There are so many like him, and Axel can’t punish them all. But he tries…

“Now, I’m going to take my hand away from your mouth so you can apologize to my queen.” He pushes John, “Are you ready to act like a man for the first time?”

Frantically, John nods.

“Atta boy.” Axel slowly pulls his bloody hand away. “You may speak to her, then never speak of us again, you or your little boy over there, or it won’t be a cut next time. It’ll be a kill.”

I glance at Jace, easily wrangling the other man into submission.

Jace catches my shocked stare and winks, assuring me. He’s super cute, and I fight my smile before swinging my eyes back to the threat of Axel. But I don’t fear him. No, that’s not this warm rush of emotions in my veins for him.

“I…,” John stammers, “I’m sorry, Ru… Ru… Ru…”

Axel smacks the back of John’s head. “Cat got your tongue?”

“I’m sorry, Ruby,” John rushes. “I’m sorry for high school. I’m sorry for what I said. For what I did. And for Jessica being a bitch. And I’m sorry for today.”

“… and .” Axel twirls his knife. “Don’t stop now, Johnny-boy. Cleanse thy soul.”

“And… and…” John wavers, so Axel cocks a brow. “And I won’t ever do it again. And I won’t tell anyone about this. And…” he gulps, “and I’ll donate a million dollars—” Axel smacks his skull again. “Five million dollars to a women’s charity. And?—”

“Enough.” Axel points his bloody knife toward the gate. “Shut the fuck up and leave.”

John hesitates, gesturing toward his squirming friend. “But what about…?”

Jace laughs. “I’ll let Lankenstein go one minute after you leave. Best do it now.”

Without glancing back, John runs out of the graveyard, turning right, then left, as if he doesn’t care where; he just wants to get the hell out of here.

“Now, I’m going to take your little pillowcase off.” Jace engulfs the man, binding him with only one hulking arm wrapped around him. “And you’re going to walk straight ahead, not look back, have a shitty night, and a horrible memory. But first…”

With a brutal punch, Jace hammers his beefy fist down over the guy’s groin, making him grunt, double over, and dangle like a whining noodle in Jace’s grasp.

“If I ever hear of you hurting a woman,” Jace vows, “I’ll cut it off, fry it up, and feed it to you. Shake your head if you think I’m lying.”

The guy stiffens like a board.

“Good boy.” Jace pats his head before ripping the pillowcase off of it. Then he smacks his ass. “Now, run along.”

The guy obeys, grabbing his junk, whimpering with a limp out of the graveyard, turning right, and we don’t correct his direction.

Axel sucks his teeth before swinging his glare my way. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

“I’m okay.” I swoon, “Thank you.”

Axel shakes his head. “Wildfire, I swear, I’m going to?—”

“I’m Jace.” He offers his bear paw for me to shake. “And my brother’s rude. It’s nice to meet you …?”

His voice trails off for my name.

“Reacher.” I shake his hand. “I mean… Ruby. Yeah, Ruby. That’s my name. Sorry. You just look like that beefy actor on the show, but cuter and?—”

Axel rolls his eyes. “Not this again.”

“Nice to meet you, Ruby.” The beard. The eyes. The lips. Jace looks like Axel’s brother, with ink creeping up his neck and over his hand, too, but like Grant, he favors his mother. So, Axel must favor his father. Not only in the face but with his ferocity.

“We good?” Jace asks Axel.

“Yeah, man.” Axel nods. “Thanks.”

“Can I buy you dinner to thank you?” I offer Jace.

One, because he seems sweet, almost to the point of loneliness. I just get the vibe from him. Two, I don’t want to be alone with Axel. Not yet. I know I’ll get a spanking for this, and like it way too much. And three…

I love this .

There’s something about Axel, his brothers, and their world that doesn’t feel like a trap. Not anymore. It feels like a treasure. It feels like I don’t ever want to leave.

Even on my vacation tomorrow.

“Thanks, Ruby.” Jace smiles warmly. “I’ll take a rain check. I promise. But I have a date with a gallery opening.”

“You mean at a gallery opening?” Axel sounds intrigued.

“No, I mean with an opening.” Jace tucks in his starched white shirt. “They feature photography, and I never miss a show.”

Axel and his paintings. Jace and his photography. Sire and his fashion. Nash and his numbers. I know Nick’s into drawing, and I bet Grant’s into woodworking. I’m not sure, but I’d guess Loch is into gardening.

Either way, these beasts are ruthless yet cultured, making me more curious about their world.

Politely, Jace pecks my cheek before leaving me to walk home with Axel. I’m expecting a lecture or for him to punch a window or roar like a lion at any moment.

But he’s silent, so I fill it.

“I got pictures of the man bribing Nick and Zar. He texted me today and tried to bribe me, too, so I set up the drop to find out who he is. It was for our mission.”

For three long blocks, Axel’s quiet until we stop in front of his iron gate, and he gently touches the small of my back. “Don’t do that again. I checked my app and watched the video of you grabbing your phone and purse. You left so fast that you left the door open behind you and…”

The look on his face is haunted. It’s new to me. “Did you think I left you?”

“I didn’t know what to think. You didn’t leave a note, call, or text.” He swallows. “Ruby, I’ll never trap you, but I must protect you. You need to tell me where you go, and hopefully, I can go with you and?—”

That’s so sweet, but…

“Wait. How did you know where I was? How were you only a half block behind me?”

“I tracked your location using your phone.”

“How did you unlock my?—”

“I watched you enter your code. Some stalking habits die hard, but I don’t regret it, and tonight is exactly why. I saw where you were, and Jace was the closest king I could summon.”

“Don’t you think you should’ve asked me? Maybe I would’ve said you could track my location instead of you being sneaky about it.”

“Would you have said yes?”

“No.”

He laughs. “See. Wildfire, you can make it easy or make it hard, but either way, I’m protecting you.”

I want to bark back. I want to fight with him, loving our tension. We thrive on it, but not now.

Not when Axel wears blood on his hands, and it was for me.

While he unlocks his gate, I start unbuttoning my dress. It makes him arch a brow, shadowing me to the front door. With a beep , my thumbprint opens it.

Once we’re in his kitchen, I whip around and yank his golden tie, pulling his lips to mine for a hungry kiss.

His starving moan is instant. He cups my face, soaring the heat between us, his kiss as ravenous as mine.

“Thank you, Stanley the Stalker, for protecting me.” I nip his bottom lip and reach down…

“Now, let your queen thank her king.”