Page 16

Brooke

I shouldn’t have gone over to ask Axel if he wanted another beer. Maybe then, I would have remained oblivious to what Axel felt about us, but no, I just had to overhear something I didn’t want to.

“Do you love her?”

Everything in me had wanted to turn around and run the moment I heard Gray ask Axel that question, but for some reason, I couldn’t make myself move.

My feet felt glued to the ground, air stuck in my throat as I waited for his answer.

If he had told Gray that he was still figuring it out, I could have accepted that, but no.

Axel’s feelings are rooted in a sense of obligation to my father.

“I made her father a promise.”

The tears don’t stop spilling, but I’ve long quit trying to hide them from the Uber driver, a nice older gentleman who keeps tossing worried looks my way. “Are you okay miss?” he asks when we pull up at a red light, and my first instinct is to tell the man that I’m fine, but that would be lying.

No, I’m not fine.

“The man I love doesn’t feel the same about me,” I blurt out, dropping my phone to my lap. He wants me, sure. The attraction between us is undeniable, but “I want more than what he can offer me.”

The driver sighs. “You young girls and your fragile hearts.”

Well, that was unhelpful. What use was it asking me if he was going to judge me for my answer anyway? I sit back with a sigh, sniffing into the sleeve of my sweater as I stare out the window. Maybe I shouldn’t have been so quick to leave, but I couldn’t stay after hearing those words.

“I care about her… I made her father a promise.”

To anyone else, this would have meant everything, but to me, it sounds like a man stuck in the responsibility he was given. It’s the basis of everything he’s done so far. Of course he cares about me. I’m his best friend’s daughter.

I wanted his love, not his obligation.

For years, I’ve craved his love. A feeling exclusive to me, but it seems I’ll never get that. In a perfect world, Axel would have told Gray that he was madly in love with me. Loved me so much that he was terrified by the intensity of it.

“I made her father a promise.”

My thoughts wander, and before I know it, we’ve arrived at my apartment building. My shoulders sag in relief when I see Scarlett waiting outside the entrance holding a bottle of wine. I don’t know how she got here so fast, but I’m grateful she was willing to leave her family to meet me.

I quietly thank the driver before climbing out and walking toward my best friend.

She opens her arms before I reach her, and I fall against her, crying into her shoulder.

After a few moments, I push open the heavy glass door of the lobby and lead the way to the elevator.

The elevator arrives quickly and ride in silence.

I wince when I catch a glimpse of my red-rimmed eyes and the tear stains on my cheeks. I look like a pitiful mess.

When we reach my apartment, Scarlett helps me unlock the door and guides me inside and immediately over to the couch. She sits next to me, holding my hand in both of hers and asks gently, “What happened?”

Between tears, with my head on her shoulder, I pour my heart out to my friend.

She’s known since we met how I feel about Axel, and I’d kept her updated via text since we left the club the other night, but I hadn’t told her what happened when I’d asked her to meet me after leaving the clubhouse tonight.

“That jerk,” she offers sympathetically, drawing me fully into her arms. Her tone is soft, but she looks ready to find Axel and break him to pieces.

“I appreciate you coming over. I’m sorry I interrupted your Sunday with your family.”

“None of that,” she cuts me off, and I can’t tell if she’s avoiding the family conversation as she always does or trying to comfort me. My bet is on a mix of both.

Not for the first time, I question about Scarlett’s family.

The one time I asked, she said something about her father being an investor in several local businesses before quickly changing the subject.

I’ve had suspicion that her family is into some shady stuff, but I’m not exactly in a position to judge seeing that I turn a blind eye to things I’ve heard about the Rebels.

In a sense, I understand her. I would never betray the Steel Rebels for anything.

They were my father’s family, and now they’re mine.

Maybe this is why Scarlett and I have been friends for as long as we have.

We understand the need for discretion when it comes to protecting the people we care about.

Even when they break our hearts.

“I really thought he was at least starting to love me,” I say miserably, reliving the past couple of days in my head. “The sex was mind-blowing every time, but I thought it was more than that between us.”

“Every time? You’ve done it more than once?” she gasps. “It’s only been, like, a day since I last saw you!”

Has it? I could have sworn it’d been longer, considering how much Axel and I have been all over each other.

“Well, I guess it’s a good thing we did, since I don’t think it’ll ever happen again,” I pout, feeling a fresh wave of sorrow roll through me.

“He doesn’t love me, Scar!” I sniff into her shoulder when she pulls me back into a hug.

“He’s only stuck around because of that stupid promise he made my father. ”

“That can’t be right. Surely he wouldn’t have made love to you if he didn’t have feelings for you.”

“He does.” And that’s the worst part. “Just not the feelings I want.” I push back from the embrace to meet her eyes filled with pity.

“Axel is only with me out of a sense of obligation, to keep me safe. He promised my father he would. He cares about me, but he doesn’t actually love me, not romantically at least.”

“Did he say that?”

“Not to me.” I sniff, thanking her when she passes me a tissue. “I heard him talking to his friend about it. God, I feel terrible knowing that I might have trapped him in a relationship against his wishes. That first night, he never would have made a move if I hadn’t pushed—”

Her eyes flare as she grips my shoulders, shaking her head fiercely. “Axel is a grown man; you did not push him into anything—”

“I seduced him! I made him mad on purpose!”

“He could have left after he took you home! He didn’t have to sleep with you to keep you safe.”

“He couldn’t. He’d never hurt my feelings on purpose. I pressured him.” I shake my head, replaying the moments of our first time together. What he said after he gave me my first orgasm should have been a warning sign.

“I’m sorry, Brooke. I never should have touched you.”

“Fuck this,” Scarlett curses, something she rarely does. “I propose we drink some wine and forget about men named after car parts.”

An incredulous giggle escapes me, but I don’t argue as she gets up and heads toward the kitchen. I stand and follow, settling on one of the stools to watch her pour out two glasses. “You have great taste in wine,” I say when she passes me a glass.

“It’s my Italian roots.” She chuckles, flinging her beautiful long dark hair over her shoulder as she brings the glass to her lips.

If my father were here, he’d have a thing or two to say about me drinking underage.

I bet Axel wouldn’t approve either, but he doesn’t have to worry about me anymore.

Once the sound of heartbreak stops echoing in my brain, I’ll talk to him about ending whatever it is we’ve started.

It’ll only take me a lifetime to get over the man, but I have to accept the truth.

Maybe I’ll try traveling after all. I look across the counter at Scarlett and wonder if I could convince her to come with me.

I bring the glass to my lips and take a sip, humming at the taste. It’s dark and smooth, with a hint of cherries and chocolate. It’s far better than any cocktail I’ve tried before. “This tastes…expensive,” I comment, but Scarlett only tosses me a smile.

“Let’s grab some snacks and have the wine while we watch a movie—”

Her words are cut off by a sudden pounding on the door that echoes through the room.

It’s a jarring intrusion that disrupts the easy air.

Scarlett’s smile falters, her gaze shifting away from me and to the entrance and growing uneasy.

She gives me a knowing look, then places the glass on the counter. “I think I can guess who that is.”

I watch her walk to the door and look through the peephole before turning to me with a sigh. “It’s Axel.”

I turn in surprise, quickly lowering my wine glass to the counter and rushing to my best friend’s side. “What should I do?” I ask her, unsure if I’m ready to face the man just yet.

“Do you want me to ask him to leave?”

“No,” I whisper. If Axel is here for me, nothing short of a dozen men will force him away.

Besides, it’s probably best to clear the air now.

I’ll end things, and then he can move on with his life without feeling obligated to be with me because of a promise he made.

“I’ll talk to him. I’m sorry for dragging you into this. ”

“We’re friends, I will always come to you when you need me.”

I smile at her, but it’s nervous at best. “Thank you, I’ll just…”

She nods when I point to the door, turning the knob and pulling it open. She doesn’t move out of the way or invite Axel inside, just stares at the man I’ve fallen desperately in love with.

“Don’t you want to know whether he has feelings for you or not? What his plans for you are? Isn’t it easier to know now and not have the questions loom over you every time you’re together?”

My conversation with Jade and Ingrid from earlier this evening comes back to me as I look at Axel.

Well, now I do know and wish I didn’t. If I could turn back time, I would have stayed at the bar with the girls and let Axel get his own beer if he wanted one.

Knowing the truth, I can’t keep this man bound to me any longer.

I need to absolve him of all responsibility.

Free him from the promise he made to a dying man.

“I care about her.”

Somewhere out there is a girl who will be gifted this man’s whole heart, and it hurts that she is not me. That it will never be me holding his heart.

But I have to free him so he can find her.