Page 1 of Stains of Desire
Prologue
Axel
There's a clock ticking.No one can hear it but me. It's in my head. All day long, the farther I am from Penelope, it gets louder and faster.
I promised her I would find her daughter. I pledged to her I would only come back to rescue her when her only child was delivered to safety.
But I can't find Millie.
Every clue leads to a dead end. As soon as I almost have her, it's as if they sense I'm coming and move her.
When I saw Penelope last night, it was only by accident.
It's as if God himself knew I needed to see her. And touch her. And be assured that she was all right.
At least for now.
But they are hurting her. She didn't have to tell me. I saw it on her face. I heard it in her voice. And I felt it as she clung to me.
When I held her, the power of our chemistry hadn't changed. It was as potent as the day we met. My skin sizzled with a humming voltage only she had ever created within me. My body wrapped around hers as if I were ivy, spreading all over a tree, leaving no piece of bark or limb uncovered. And the sweet smell of her skin invaded all my cells. When the darkness flew by, the black turned into a white fog that you could almost see through, and we were forced to part ways.
It was like ripping a scab open.
The hardest thing I've ever done is leave her, knowing she's in danger and one wrong move could get her killed. She's playing a dangerous game. It's a match she didn't choose to partake in, but as long as her daughter is still in their hands, there aren't any other options.
Hours later, her scent still lingers on me. The hunger I feel for her isn't gone. If anything, it's only stronger.
The new promise I made her drives me to move forward. Finding her daughter is still the top priority. And I made a new oath about the hand of justice I'll deliver.
Not only will I find her daughter, but when I return for her, those who hold her child's life over her head will pay. My price doesn't involve money, or power, or material things. Nothing they greedily value will buy their way out of their destiny.
When you hurt the woman I love, a bullet is involved. Kidnapping her child and using it to keep her in distress and fear earns you a special ending on this earth. And I'll make sure every drop of blood and breath of air is out of all their bodies before I take Penelope to safety.
But I know the clock doesn't stop. And the longer Millie is missing, the bigger the hole in my gut grows.
I'm a man who's seen the flames of hell. I've looked plenty of men in the eye who are as evil as Satan himself. The ticking in my head tells me that if ever there was a miracle needed, it's now. And it needs to come fast.
