Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 72658 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72658 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
“Fuck off, asshole.” Axel placed me in a chair. He supported me as I continued to cough.
“It was a trap,” my father said. “An ambush.”
Axel left me and rushed my father, punching him so hard in the face, he hit the wall then slid to the floor. “Why the fuck is she here? Why the fuck would you bring my wife anywhere near these scumbags?”
“Axel, stop,” I said between my breaths.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Axel kicked my father and made him groan. “You don’t give a shit about her and never have.”
“Please stop,” I said. “Axel, stop.”
Then Axel spat on him, spat right on his face.
He came back to me, cradling my face in his hands. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine.”
“I can take you to the hospital.”
I shook my head. “I’m just shaken up, is all.”
One of the guys handed Axel a tissue, and he proceeded to wipe the blood off my face.
I knew I was safe, but I was still overwhelmed by everything that had just gone down and the horrible fear of what could have happened if Axel hadn’t come.
“Baby, I’m here.” He bunched up the bloody tissue and tossed it on the floor. “You’re safe now.”
“I know.” I continued to breathe hard, like the danger was still in the room. “It all happened so fast…”
He brought me in close and squeezed me tight, pressing a kiss to my temple. “Baby, I love you.” He squeezed me hard and inhaled a deep breath, like he needed the hug more than I did.
My cheek rested against his shoulder, and I let myself be cocooned by his hold. It took me a second to realize what he’d said…and how he’d said it so effortlessly. The adrenaline paused when I let his words sink into my soul.
“Scarlett.” My father drew near, his face bloody and swollen from the beating he’d taken.
Axel released me with a heavy breath that made his nostrils flare. He stepped aside, but not before giving my father the look of death.
“Sweetheart.” My father took a knee and hugged me. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay. You’re okay?”
“I’m fine.” He squeezed me like I was a little girl. “I’m just glad you’re alright.” He pulled away to look at me, tears in his eyes as he cupped my face, the emotion so potent that those tears turned into rivers and streaked down his face. “I shouldn’t have brought you here—”
“Damn fucking right.” Axel grabbed a chair and threw it against the wall.
The sound made us both jerk.
“But you have to parade her around like a fucking trophy!” he yelled. “Because you’re a sick fuck.”
When my father looked at Axel, the emotional tears were still in his eyes, but he looked livid at the same time. “None of this would have happened if you’d just given them the ten percent—”
“No, they would have killed you, and my wife would be safe in my bed right now. That’s what should have happened, and I wish it had.” He grabbed the chair and threw it at the wall again, as if he was trying to break it down.
“Axel,” I said, trying to subdue his anger.
“I hate this motherfucker with every fiber of my being.” He grabbed my father by the arm and shoved him into the wall. “Has been ruining my life since the day I met him.”
“Stop it.” I grabbed Axel by the arm and tugged him back. “I mean it.”
My father leaned against the wall as he panted, staring Axel down as a mortal enemy.
I continued to grip his arm. “My father would never knowingly put me in danger. Let it go.”
“Let it go.” Axel turned to look down at me. “Oh baby, if only you knew how much shit I let go.” He turned and slammed his fist into the table, hitting it so hard a dent formed in the steel surface. “If you ever pull this shit again, I’ll kill you. I will slam your body into the floor as many times as it takes to break it.” Axel got in my father’s face. “You fucking understand me?”
My father remained against the wall, staring Axel down with equal hatred.
Axel grabbed him by the neck and slammed him into the wall. “I didn’t hear you.”
“Axel, I told you to stop,” I said.
“She’s mine now,” Axel said. “My wife. My family. My responsibility. You understand me?”
Before he could be slammed into the wall again, my father said, “Yes…I understand you.”
Axel finally released him before he looked at me again. “I’ll wait for you outside.” He walked down the hallway, his guys following him, leaving my father and me alone together with the dead bodies.
My father remained against the wall, blood stains all over the collar of his jacket. He stared at the floor for a while, one foot planted against the wall.