Page 12 of All's Fair in Love & Wrath

Her eyes flash up to mine in surprise, like she didn’t expect me to ask where the information came from. “My brother, Saint. He’s trying to make things right, to get the club back.”

“He’s a Kingsnake?”

She nods. “From before it was usurped. He’s a good guy, the best, really. I know he’ll work with you if you’re trying to get to Cain. He has his own reasons for wanting him gone.”

“We’re trying to find the guy that Cain had sent to kill our brother, but Cain could do, too. Think we could find a partnership that works for both of us. You’re sure he’ll help us? You’re not having me walk into a trap?”

Her eyes go wide, and she shuffles backward until her back hits the wall. “No, I promise, I wouldn’t.” Fuck, the last thing I wanted was to scare her.

“Hey, hey, I meant what I said, sweetheart. I won’t hurt you. You’re safe with me.”

“I’m not safe until Cain is dead.” Her words hit me hard, turning the blood running through my veins to ice. Now I know for sure. He’s why she’s scared. My eyes flick to the deep scars that run along her neck and trail onto her chest. I’m barely able to contain my reaction of pure rage, and she seems to be the only reason I can. I don’t want to give her a reason to fear me, too, so I reel my emotions in fast.

“Do you have a pen in that apron?” I ask her, motioning to the fabric slung around her waist.

“Yeah,” she answers, pulling it out with a pad of paper. I slowly step into her space, the scent of sweet jasmine filling my nose. God, she smells so good I practically moan. I reach for the paper and pen, my fingers dragging over hers in the process. Her eyes drop down to our hands as I pull away, and I’mpositive she felt it too. The electricity. The spark. Call it whatever the hell you want. It was something magnetic.

I write out a phone number on the pad of paper and hand it back to her. “This is the number to my burner phone. Do you know what that is?”

“Yeah, my brother and I use one to communicate.”Fuck. Something bad is going on here, especially if she’s having to use a burner to talk to her own brother. I’ve always been good at puzzles, and the pieces are starting to paint a really fucked-up picture right now.

“Alright, good. Either one of you calls or texts that number, and I’m there. Let him know all we want is someone named Garrett. Big nasty asshole with a shaved head and fucked-up teeth.”

“I’ll tell him.”

I know this is the end of our conversation, but I’m not fucking ready to leave her yet. What if something happens to her? And why the hell am I making that my problem all of a sudden? She looks from me to the door, and I know I’ve got to turn and walk away, so, fighting against my own will, I do, turning and putting my hand on the doorknob. I pull it open, checking side to side to make sure no one is there, before holding it open for her to walk out first. She hesitates for a moment, but then she finds her nerve, walking right past me, her sweet jasmine scent making my knees weak and my heart ache.

I don’t know what possesses me to do it, but right before she can walk away, I gently grip her elbow, getting her attention. She stops, turning her pretty head to face me, our bodies only inches apart. So close that I can feel the heat radiating from her. This time she meets my eyes right away.Such a good girl. Don’t be scared of me.

“What’s your real name?”

“Sienna.”

“Sienna,” I repeat. Like the sienna-colored leaves in autumn, my favorite season. Much more suited for her. “I’m Axel. I mean it, you need anything, reach out to me on that number.”Please. I almost beg.

“Okay. Thank you.”

“No need to thank me, sweetheart.”

Sienna nods before walking away from me. I leave the bathroom and head toward my brothers, full well knowing everything just fucking changed.

Chapter Five

SIENNA

What the fuck did I just do? With shaky hands and unsteady legs, I make my way back to the kitchen, taking off my apron and waving at the cook, Tommy, signaling I’m taking a break. The old metal door is cool against my hand as I push it open, functioning on autopilot. It slams closed behind me, and then I’m collapsing against the side of the building and sliding down until my ass hits the ground. The balmy summer heat assaults my skin, and I instantly regret coming out here. So much for fresh air. It’s so muggy today that it stifles the oxygen I need to pull into my lungs. My clothes will be sticky before I know it.

Axel’s voice replays over and over in my head, the sound low, careful, and comforting, but not in a condescending or pandering way. I’ve never been spoken to so earnestly before, so genuinely, as if he actually cared. But he’s still a man in a leather cut, and I went willingly into an enclosed space with him like a fucking idiot. Why did I do that? It could have ended up a repeat of before. The thought makes my stomach roll with nausea. Axel’s eyes flash behind my own, and I can’t explain it,but every molecule in my body is screaming at me that he isn’t a threat, that he truly wouldn’t hurt me.

Even so, Maddox will kill me if I tell him what happened, even if I’m positive it sounds like this could be the break he’s been searching for. If Cain actually did what Axel said, sent men to kill his own brother, who was someone important to the other club, then they’re on the same side. They could work together, get the club back. The only issue is that Maddox is stubborn as all hell, and the second I bring it up, the only thing he’s going to hear is that I met another biker and was alone with him. Not to mention, I told him my legal name. At least, my first name.

The leather cut he wore should have made me run. I should have ignored his request to meet him in the bathroom, and I damn well know I shouldn’t have given him any information. I know from experience all bikers aren’t bad, but this is still a different club, from a different territory, and people I know nothing about. Even though the Kingsnakes have never had enemies until Cain, never been involved in turf wars, or bullshit, you never know what Cain has caused now. Clearly, since Axel’s club seems to be tangled up with him.

But when Axel looked at me, I didn’t feel hunted or threatened; I felt like someone was finally handing me a life vest. Which is what I can’t quite figure out or make sense of. Men look at me one of two ways now: pity or possession. Sometimes both. Maddox, Gage, and Lincoln look at me like I’m collateral damage, something fragile to move around and keep hidden while the walls cave in around me.

But Axel?

He looked at me like I was a person. Like I wasSienna. I squeeze my eyes shut, willing the tears to stay away just as a loud bang echoes from the door next to me, Tommy letting meknow that my breaks over. I stand up, brushing off the dirt from my uniform, really not wanting to go back inside.