Page 117 of Axel

“You get seizures when you deal with men like him.”

“No.” Playfully, I flick his nose ring. “You’ve been giving me daily doses of dickhead so I’ve grown a high level of tolerance. Besides…” I match his softening gaze. “You’ve chased me this far, so don’t give up now.”

“For the first time in my life, I don’t know what to do.” He caresses my hair. “I’ve never been in love like this.”

I swallow the sweet lump he just put in my throat. “And I’ve never been in love like this either. So…” my lips twist, fighting back tears, “don’t make me leave you because I won’t.”

“If I made you leave,” he searches my gaze, “you’d only run back, wouldn’t you?”

“I’m sorry. Is that a question?” My tone softens, tender like my heart, asking, “Would you ever leave me?”

Warmly, he answers with no ice in his eyes. It’s as if I’m the only one who melts him like this. “Ruby, I wouldn’t know how to leave you. Not ever.”

He does it again, seeking more than my lips with his kiss. It’s our lives, hearts, and breath melding with our mouths together.

Kittens mewl, crawling over us. I want Axel and this life together, more than anything, so I grab a soft breath and say, “So, we have a choice: live afraid or live fighting back. Wanna guess what I’ll do?”

“I’m sorry.” He smirks. “Is that a question?”

“Exactly. We fight and we stay together. So what’s next?”

“We initiate Vale tomorrow night. Then we’ll raid a compound. Then Alena’s wedding is the following weekend. Then?—”

“Oh, so normal ex-Bratva stuff.”

“You could say that.” He lets a kitten climb his shirt, not flinching at its tiny claws. “Butthisisn’t normal. I can’t believe it if one of my brothers has betrayed us.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, it’s a man who’s found us. He’s my half-brother. My father’s son with another woman. Grant caught him climbing over the courtyard wall to Delta’s a few weeks ago. Like he was about to ambush us, and we’ve been holding him captive, trying to get intel from him and he didn’t say a fucking word until yesterday. UntilIwas there and he said my name.”

“Aleksi Kholodov?”

“Don’t, baby.” He squeezes my hand. “Don’t put that cursed name in your pretty mouth. That’s not who I am. Axel King,yourking, that’s who I am.”

I nod, agreeing. It felt wrong anyway. Like I was conjuring a deadly curse just saying it.

“So what does this guy want?” Two of our kittens nestle into my lap, cuddling together, their furry cuteness an odd contrast to our lethal situation.

“I don’t know. Apparently, my mom has been interrogating him and?—”

“Your mom knew he’s your half-brother and didn’t tell you?”

“Yeah.” Axel aims his sharpening glare at the night outside. “He looks like me. Like Loch, too. We favor ourfather, and that sadistic man made sure my mother wouldneverforget his face, so yeah … I guess she knew.”

“Well,” I try to soothe him, “I don’t know your mom yet. Not really. But she doesn’t strike as a woman who would betray her sons. She strikes me as an Apache helicopter parent. Like she’d wipe out a village for you. So I’m sure there’s an explanation.”

He fights a grin. “You’re right, and really fucking beautiful for defending my mom. I tried calling her about it this morning, but she texted back, saying she has it under control, and we’d talk about it later. But something’s going on and I can’t tell anyone else.”

“Why not?”

He gets that same heavy look, fury tumbling with betrayal in his eyes. “Ruby, you’re the only one I can trust until I find out which brother sold us out. You’re right. My mother is innocent, and we’ll fight back, but we have to be smart.”

“But your brothers wouldneverdo that. I don’t know them all, but I know that.”

“How else did this man find us?”

I shrug. “A coinkydink?”

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