Page 18 of All's Fair in Love & Wrath

Warmth spreads through my chest, and I nearly stumble. His words aren’t charming or flirty, they’re just straight and to the point, authentic.

“Well. You’ve seen me. It’s not safe for you here, especially alone.”

“Worried about my well-being, sweetheart?”

“Don’t go fishing for compliments, because you aren’t going to get them from me. No one’s safe here.”

“Not you?”

“Especially not me.”

“Sienna, I want to help you. But I can’t do that if you don’t text me.”

“Why do you want to help so bad?”

“I can’t explain it. I just do. Whatever that looks like. Let me help you.”

“Axel . . . I appreciate it. But I can’t.”

“Look, you seem like you could use a friend. So just text me. Okay? That’s all I’m asking.” His perseverance should be off-putting, should be making me recoil, but it’s having the opposite effect.

“Okay. I’ll think about it. Now you need to go. Don’t comeback this way, okay? You’re putting us both in danger by being here.”

Axel stands, and I take a step back to give him space. His scent wraps around me, all woods and fresh air. “How about a deal then?” I raise my eyebrows at him, biting down on my bottom lip. “I won’t come all this way to see that you’re okay if you text me. That’ll be enough to calm the worry.”

“Fine. Now go.”

“I don’t get to eat my lunch? You’re gonna make me drive all the way back to Amberwood without my meal?” he teases, a little smirk playing on his lips.

“Unless you want to eat floor food with a side of glass, I’d suggest you go and eat someplace else. Not in Autumn Bay.” Axel puts his hands over his heart and feigns heartbreak. I hate how cute he is, how reckless he’s making me. “Bye, Axel.”

“Bye, sweetheart.”

I don’t bother watching him leave, choosing to head back into the kitchen to take care of my cut. Tommy is standing with his large arms crossed over his broad chest, a metal spatula in his hand, eyebrows raised.

“What?”

“Just makin’ sure you’re good, kid. Saint would have my ass if something happened to you here.”

“I appreciate the concern, but I’m okay.” I lift my hand, showing him the bright crimson seeping through the thin fabric of the old towel. “I’m going to go wash this and wrap it up. I’ll be back in just a few.”

Once I’m alone in the bathroom, I unwrap my hand and toss the small, crappy towel into the trash can and get to work washing out my small cut, my mind replaying the interaction with Axel. When I look up in the mirror, I realize I’m smiling for the first time in a long time. That’s quickly replaced when I see the scars on my exposed jaw and neck reflectedback at me.

Axel just might be the most dangerous man of all. After all, he’s giving me hope, and there’s no chance of saving me.

The little cabinMaddox has me staying in now is a far cry from the studio apartment I was living in before Cain returned. It beats couch surfing, and living above the diner, though. It’s got more space, but it’s old. And calling it a cabin is being very generous. It’s more like a hunting shack. But it’s hidden in the woods off a private road, and no one knows about it except us, Cage, and Lincoln. I don’t even know how they found the place or who it belongs to, but it’s keeping me off the radar when I’m not at the diner.

“Things are getting worse,” Maddox says, breaking the silence. I swallow the sudden knot in my throat, the one that usually accompanies the rapid tightening in my chest and the tremble in my hands.

“How bad?” I ask while looking at my brother and studying his face. He’s always looked mature for his age, but ever since that night that our lives changed, he’s aged quicker. The exhaustion seems to be getting to him. I can’t imagine what it would be like to watch the place you love be dismantled and destroyed the way the Kingsnakes MC has been. He runs his hand over his head, looking out the window at the endless row of trees.

“More men are disappearing. The women are . . . I’m sure you can imagine.”

“There has to be something you can do, Mad,” I plead, but he just shakes his head. Ever since Cain took over the clubhouse, every day seems to get worse. What’s more terrifyingthan Cain is that he has a band of club members who are following him blindly. It feels like we’re trapped inside a house that’s slowly filling with smoke, and everyone around us is pretending they don’t smell fire. I wrap my arms around myself, looking up at the ceiling.

“He’s adamant about finding you, Enna. I don’t know what to do to keep you safe. It’s only a matter of time before he turns on me, Lincoln, and Gage.” I’ve never truly understood why he hasn’t already. Why Maddox was spared when our parents weren’t. Why, if Cain wants me so badly, he hasn’t tortured all three of them for the information.

“Has he come for you or the guys?”