Page 103 of Axel

Even while we held him captive after we trapped him,luring him to us through a gambling golf tournament, Turner saw no faces and heard no names but Nash and Vale’s. It’s unfortunate, but by design.

We cover our faces, use numbers instead of names, and hide our properties behind anonymous LLCs—I make sure of that. We all have second and third hideouts.

And if we need to, any king will take the heat for others. That’s the sacrifice Nash is making for us now, so we’ve got his back.

“And yes,” Nash sighs, “I’ve found my queen.”

I smile, relieved. “Told you.”

I’ve watched Nash’s secret love for Vale Monroe deepen. For years, she was just his daughter’s best friend. Alena and Vale are close. But when Vale matured into a hot, snarking spitfire, giving Nash unrelenting shit? Andme, I might add. He finally saw her as a woman, as his.

He’s killed for her, and now, he’s claiming her.

The irony doesn’t escape me; Nash found his queen, and I found mine. Neither of us would ever share our queens, yet we know we’ll have to.

I don’t gloat about it.

I understand him.

“And you’ve found yours, too, you sneaky piece of shit.” And Nash understands my silence. “Who is she?”

Too quickly, this is getting out of control. Grant, Sire, Jace, and now my mom know about Ruby. And Nash? I’d never lie to him, but I won’t overwhelm him. He’s got enough going on, keeping Vale safe and protecting Alena, too.

“Grant’s in the clear.” I change the subject. “No internal damage, just some wicked bruising.” I glance at my mom and speak of Turner. “We’re going to rip the last pieces of that fucker apart when we find him.”

“We did so much damage already,” Nash replies, “he could’ve drowned.”

Nash took one of Turner’s eyes out for disrespecting Vale. I let him, and then Jace, Grant, and I took turns interrogating Turner for intel—for his hideout and associates. We held him captive on my boat, and we were breaking him until…

“We don’t operate on luck,” I tell Nash while I glare at my brother. “Clearly.I can’t believe Grant let his guard down.”

Grant rolls his eyes while Nash defends him, “He feared we were losing our asset. We always check a pulse.”

He’s right. But that was a close call, Grant, getting shot at point-blank with his gun when Turner grabbed it while Grant checked his pulse. Thank god, my brother was wearing a vest.

I can’t imagine losing a brother or a queen.

“Alena?” I ask. It’s instinct. “The other queens?”

“Secure,” Nash answers for his daughter and Vale. “The Queen?” he asks.

I nod at my brother, his wife, and my mom, hearing every word. “With Grant. And she wants blood.”

“She’ll get it,” Nash promises, ending our call.

Tucking my phone in my pocket, I toss my chin up, blinking at the fluorescent lights, my heart torn in two.

I’m loyal to my family. I want to be here, protecting them. We have a vengeful predator on the loose.

But Ineedto be with Ruby.

Six days without her have been hell. Our calls and kittens are some comfort. But then she gets Zar to send me the hottest shots of her lying topless on a Grecian beach and I fucking die.

Hunger like I’ve never felt pulses through my veins. Like a starving man, the meal of Ruby is all I can think about. Like a dying man in a desert, she’s my water, my survival. That’s this maddening instinct to find her, to have her, to consume every inch of her and...

“Go.” My mother’s voice turns my heavy stare to her. “We’re fine.” She smiles. “Go get your queen.”

“But we have kittens.”

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