Page 6 of Axel (Riders of Retribution #1)

Hazel

Since my shift at the hospital started, I’ve been watching the clock and looking over my shoulder.

I haven’t heard anything from the Apex Runners since the…

incident yesterday. I’m not naive enough to think that their silence means I’m in the clear.

In fact, I’m fairly certain that their absence is worse than their presence.

I’m prepared for them to come – I really am – but I’d prefer it if this confrontation happened anywhere but my job. The patients I take care of have enough to worry about without their nurse being shaken down by a group of burly motorcycle club members.

Thankfully, the end of my shift comes quickly enough.

So, after ensuring the comfort of my patients and briefing the nurse taking over for me about the care plans, I grab my jacket and hustle out of the hospital.

I don’t necessarily breathe any easier when I step outside, but I’m assured that if anything happens now, it’s my problem and mine alone.

As I walk to my car, I let myself actually consider leaving Rio Lunas.

I was caught up in my own emotions last night when my dad suggested we run away.

If I look at it logically, this is the best way to keep both of us safe.

Maybe I shouldn’t have stopped him when I caught him trying to leave before this whole thing started.

I could have just gone with him and we’d already be living a stress-free life in some foreign country where we’d never been found.

I’m so wrapped up in my thoughts, in trying to figure out where we’ll go and what we need to take, that I don’t notice the Harley parked next to my car until I’m only a few steps away.

I freeze, my heart rate spiking. This is the retaliation I was dreading. They’re going to grab me right here in the hospital parking lot. I’m torn between wanting someone to notice what’s going on and wanting no one to see.

“Angel?” a familiar, unexpected voice says. Axel steps toward me, his brow furrowed.

My entire body relaxes; both the timbre of his tone and his presence making me feel at ease. No one’s ever made me feel so safe just by being near me before. I tell myself it’s just relief, but it takes all of my strength to keep myself from running into his arms and holding onto him tight.

I can’t explain the impulse, but I find that I don’t mind having it. Axel’s the same man who took a bullet for me yesterday. I’m sure that if I acted on it, he wouldn’t care.

“What are you doing here?” I ask, my voice coming out breathlessly.

“I needed to talk to you,” he says, glancing around the parking lot as if he’s worried we’re being watched. The fear isn’t unfounded. “I know you’re involved with the Apex Runners.”

“Excellent observational skills,” I say as my body tenses. I should have guessed this was why he turned up. It would be ridiculous to think he’s here because he felt the same connection I did yesterday. Instead, he’s worried about some turf war that I’m apparently in the middle of now.

“You’re in danger,” he says, sure of himself. But, again, he’s got excellent observational skills. I’m not confirming that for him, though. I need him as far out of this business as possible.

I really need to get this crush under control.

There’s no way that I’ll be able to explore anything with Axel as long as I’m working out my father’s debt.

So, I’m never going to be able to pursue anything with him.

It’s best if I push him away, get him out of my life.

I can’t let myself or him get hurt because of my father’s bad decisions.

“I’m not in danger,” I say, straightening up my back and leveling him with the most confident look I can – the one I use to reassure patients that they have a fighting chance after I give them bad news. “I appreciate your concern, but I’m okay. Really. There’s nothing to get worked up over.”

“So, it’s ‘okay’ that you were roughed up in front of your house?” he asks, no nonsense and firm. “Maybe you have a different idea of what can be considered danger, but the scene I came across was something that warrants concern.”

“Then I guess we have two different ideas,” I say, desperate to cut this interrogation short. If he keeps questioning me, I’m liable to break and tell him everything.

“You’re telling me you don’t care about your safety?” he challenges, stepping close to me. I have to tilt my head up to maintain eye contact. He’s even more attractive from this angle.

God, I need to get out of here before I do something stupid.

“Why do you care?” I say, my words not as strong as I’d like them to be.

Still, I power through, trying to reason with him and myself.

“We just met. We don’t even really know each other.

I appreciate what you did for me and that you’re concerned, but I don’t have any reason to tell you what’s going on.

It’s probably best for both of us that you get out of here before anyone sees you. ”

Axel pauses, and for a moment I think that I’ve gotten through to him and he’s going to leave. He even climbs onto his bike. But then, he looks at me pointedly and says, “Get on.”

“Why?” I say, resisting the urge to do exactly as he says. I need to at least put up a fight here.

“We can’t have this conversation in the hospital parking lot,” he says.

I hesitate, if only so I can tell myself that I tried. Then, I climb on behind, acutely aware of how close together our bodies are pressed. I wrap my arms around his waist and hold on as the engine roars to life.

“Hold on tight,” he tells me, his voice booming over the sound of the bike.

I do as he says, tightening my arms around him. Holding onto him like this makes my face flush. It feels right, and I can sense his strength through his jacket. I wish that we weren’t out in public, that he was facing me and holding onto me too.

He takes off, driving quickly out of the parking lot. We go relatively slowly, riding carefully through the traffic in town. Then, when we hit the open road, he picks up our speed. I’m hit with a rush of adrenaline.

I’ve never ridden a motorcycle before today.

I’ve never understood the appeal or the reason that people are so into their bikes or why MCs host long rides.

I get it now. The feeling of the wind whipping around our bodies and the way the motorcycle roars beneath us is the most exhilarating thing I’ve ever felt.

The longer we ride, the further we get away from town. The joy of the ride starts to fade. There are no signs of us slowing down, and our surroundings are starting to look unfamiliar to me. Being out this far from town with someone I don’t know well makes me a little nervous.

Finally, he stops in a remote place and kills the engine.

After a second of getting used to the absence of the rumble and roar of the bike, I get off, keeping my hands on Axel’s waist until both of my feet are on solid ground.

After I let go, he dismounts, his face contorting slightly with pain when he puts weight on his bad leg.

I glance around our surroundings. There’s nothing for miles, nothing between us and the mountains in the distance. The sun is slowly sinking below the horizon, and the brightest stars are starting to appear in the sky.

Axel grabs something from the under-seat storage area. Then, he offers me his hand. I take it without thinking. I let him lead me even further away from where he parked his bike. When we stop, he unfolds a blanket and lays it on the ground before gesturing for me to sit.

I take the invitation, noting how private this place feels despite the open air. Once I’m on the ground, I stare up at him, watching as he sinks down next to me. He sits close, and I can feel his body heat radiating through his clothes.

He tilts his head up toward the sky, and I follow suit.

The two of us sit in a silence that’s profoundly right, watching as more and more stars join the scenery.

It’s peaceful, enough to remind me that my problems are small in the grand scheme of things.

I’m overcome by the sense that everything’s going to work out. I just don’t know how yet.

“You asked me why I cared about what’s happening with you and the Apex Runners,” he says, his voice soothing.

Without even thinking about it, I lean in closer to him, letting our biceps press together.

“It’s because I want the people in my community to be safe.

It’s obvious that you don’t want to be working with them.

And, since I’m being honest here, I like you Hazel.

I don’t want to see you get hurt. I want to help you. ”

I shrug, unable to ignore how comforted and cared for those words make me feel. I should open up to him, but the thought of doing that makes my stomach twist. So, I say, “That’s noble, Axel. But I don’t know you. I’m not going to tell you all my shit.”

“I figured you’d say something like that,” he says, threading our fingers together. I glance down at our intertwined hands, my heart flip-flopping in my chest at the sight of how his palm completely dwarfs mine. “You know, I joined the MC when I was eighteen.”

“Why are you telling me this?” I ask, looking at his side profile, struck by how devastatingly handsome he is in the moonlight.

“I can’t expect you to tell me what you’re going through if I don’t share anything about myself first, right?”

“Oh,” I breathe.

“Anyway, my bike was the first big purchase I made for myself,” he says, nodding toward his Harley. “I started working to take care of me and my mom when I was fifteen. I saved for two years to have enough for that.”

“It was just you and your mom?”

“Yeah,” he says, getting a far away look in his eyes. “My dad disappeared when I was twelve.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” I murmur, leaning in closer and resting my head against his shoulder to provide him a bit of comfort.

“It’s okay, it was a long time ago,” he says with a shrug. “Besides, it was harder on my mom. Her grief paralyzed her and she used alcohol as a crutch. She couldn’t hold down a job for longer than a few months. We struggled a lot until I was old enough to get a job and take care of the both of us.”

I rub his thumb with mine, unsure of what to say. This is one of those situations where words don’t fix anything. Besides, it’s an old wound. The most considerate thing that I can do is give him the space to tell his story.

“Anyway, I’d always wanted a motorcycle.

So, when I finally bought that beauty over there, I treated her like a princess,” he says, and I can’t help the way the corners of my mouth twitch up at the imagery.

“I learned how to do the maintenance on her all on my own, and one day while I was working on her in our driveway, Cliff from the MC stopped to tell me about the Riders of Retribution and invited me to one of their Wednesday meetings. I was off work that week, so I went. When I got there I realized they were the family I’d always wanted. ”

“Axel…” I murmur, emotions flooding through me.

I see this man in a whole new light. The two of us might be more similar than I care to admit.

He’s looking at me, and that spark from earlier has grown into a raging wildfire.

Partially because of the insane urges I can’t suppress any longer, and partially because I don’t still want to spill my guts even though he’s offered this information about himself, I surge forward and kiss him.