Page 51 of Dangerous Silence
“We’ll see,” she said.
Axe opened the door to the dining room. When those narrowed eyes finally found me, they opened and lit up with warmth. I followed him out. I expected us to go through the woods to his workroom, but instead, he led me back to the newly-purchased sedan. We grabbed our bags from it, switching to another white work van waiting nearby. They had four others waiting in that clearing; I guessed the one we had left behind didn’t matter much in the end.
At his apartment, he opened the door for me. I put my backpack on the ground, and Axe placed my duffel bags next to them, but I immediately noticed something: the mattress wasn’t in the front room anymore.
“What happened to your bed?” I asked.
He pointed down the hallway. I leaned over, looking through the opening. A queen bed was elevated on a box spring, as well as a recliner sitting at the foot of it. There was even a comforter on the bed.
I raised a brow. “Not the floor?”
He shrugged.
“What’s with the recliner?” I asked.
“For me. I don’t sleep much anyway,” Axe said.
“So you want to sleep sitting up?” He didn’t answer, but before he went off to that faraway place to ruminate, I interjected: “Do you think the police are involved?”
Axe’s eyes turned to me, staring coldly.
“We own the police station.”
I stepped forward. I had figured that much for Sage City, but that didn’t mean they owned law enforcement everywhere else too.
“But what about the police in Brackston?” His jaw went slack, and I realized that I didn’t know half of what was going on, and when I said things like that, it made it feel all the more real. I felt stupid and flustered, but like the stubborn woman that I am, I kept going at it. “It’s worth a shot, isn’t it? I’m not the only one who thinks it’s a good idea. Maddie does too.”
He studied me for a moment, then shook his head. “I thought an idea like that would have come straight from you.”
I could see why, but that wasn’t the point.
“You know she used to live in Brackston, right?” I asked. “She knows what it’s like there.”
“Living in Brackston doesn’t make her an expert.”
“Come on,” I said. I could feel the tension rising in my voice. I had finally decided to help his family, with whatever their crisis was, and he was being so resistant. All I wanted was for him to confirm that he knew I wanted to help, but even that was still hard for me. “I don’t know exactly what’s going on. But I know you need to give every option a chance.”
Please,I thought.Give me a chance.
I came towards him, raising a hand to hold his face. That scar on his ear caught my eye. Did it still hurt? My fingers ran over the scruff, the weathered skin that held so much tension every day. His lips were soft, giving that dip an aching feel, reminding me of what it felt like when he rubbed his lips against my clit. He leaned in closer, his breath on my lips. What would it be like to kiss Axe? How could he kiss methere, but hadn’t yet kissed me on the lips?
Axe lowered his eyes, then shifted away. He pulled out his phone and dialed Derek, going down to the bedroom. I stayed in the hallway, out of sight.
“Have we checked the Brackston PD?” he asked.
Those knots in my stomach turned to heat. Axe might not have kissed me, but he was giving my ideas, as stupid as they might have been, a chance. And that meant something.
CHAPTER 16
Axe
I adjusted the phone against my ear. “The PD?” Derek asked. “I doubt they’d be any help inside of Brackston.”
I knew that. Just as our local municipalities were on our side, the law enforcement in Brackston would be on Muro’s side as well. It was possible that even the neighboring territories would know to direct any of their calls about Midnight Miles Corporation over to Brackston.
But I also knew that Demi needed this more than I did.
“Have you verified?” I asked.
