Dax

by Shannyn Leah

  “I’ve been trying to help you get over Dad and now look at us; you’re soothing me.”

  “I’m not very experienced in the whole dating/relationship thing, but I think it’s a two-way street. You give and take. Love and hate. But at the end of the day, you do it together.”

  “Sounds like that might be right.”

  She shrugged. “But what do I know? I tend to run away.”

  “And I tend to build a wall. I guess if we stick with each other we can figure it out together. Maybe even laugh.”

  “Maybe even tell dumb jokes.”

  He gripped the back of her neck and pulled her face close to his. “Maybe christen our new hallway.”

  “I’m not opposed to christening our new hallway.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  ~

  DAX SNATCHED A RAG FROM beside Charlie, scrubbing away the residue from his morning work.

  Stone straightened and stood by his side, not bothering to clean his hands as he folded his arms and looked over the Impala. “You know, after a good sandblast and paint job, she’s going to be a beauty.”

  “He!” Olivia shouted. Dax knew she was somewhere in the shop, but had lost sight of her.

  “What’s she doing?”

  Stone smirked. “You’ll see.”

  Dax heard it first, metal scraping against the cement floor. Through the windows, on the other side of the car, he watched Olivia’s head bob as she walked by. Her humourless face set before she disappeared behind the car and reappeared where he’d been working under the hood. Behind her, she dragged a chair which she aligned upwards before looking at him and Stone. Ross also trailed behind her with the annoying iPad, recording their every change made to Charlie.

  Olivia climbed on the chair. “Charlie is a ‘he’.” She pursed her tiny lips in almost a threatening manner. “Break it,” she said.

  “Break what?” Dax asked and heard Stone and Ross’s low chuckles beside him. “What am I missing?”

  Stone elbowed him. “You didn’t teach her. You just fixed it.” He stepped toward the car. “Rowdy taught her. Why do you think she—he—still isn’t finished? It would be easy enough to fix it himself, but every step he did with Olivia, teaching her.”

  What girl wanted to get greasy under the hood of a car? Oh wait, his girl wanted that.

  Dax froze. His girl. He liked the way that sounded. Liked the content feeling blanketing him because he knew it to be true. Never, in his wildest dreams, had he contemplated sharing a life with a woman and her child, loving them as family, and wanting this future. He had his dad to thank. He didn’t know how, but he damn well knew that his dad was watching over him, pushing him in the right direction even after death, taking care of him, just as he always had. And now it was Dax’s turn to take care of Ava and Olivia.

  Ross waggled his eyebrows, the only part of his face Dax could see, not hidden by the electronic device. “This is great footage. Did you know her last video has gone viral. The rest of the videos have increased their numbers watched and the subscribers are through the roof. This is fantastic.”

  Dax looked at Stone. “What the hell is he talking about?”

  Stone shrugged.

  “Break it, Dax!” Ava shouted, bent in the car.

  He fisted a handful of the back of her shirt. “Would you be careful?”

  Then he heard the sound of breaking under the hood of the Impala and tilted his head to find Stone stepping back, a grin across his face. “Go for it kid.”

  Dax stepped back and folded his arms across his chest. “You just broke my car.”

  “It’s my car.” Olivia’s muffled voice had Dax glancing back at her leaned back in the car.

  “Yeah, it’s her car.”

  Dax was prepared to give Stone a good beating when a deep, thick man’s voice called, “Olivia! Sweetheart!”

  Dax spun at the unfamiliar voice, searching the private bay until he caught sight of a scrawny, sketchy looking fellow whose caved in face and beady eyes sent bad vibes through Dax. Add to the fact that this man was walking into the closed part of the shop and calling out Olivia’s name, put him on high alert.

  He shot Stone a look to watch Olivia, who had her head ducked down in the car. Dax met the intruder half way into the bay, far enough away that hopefully their voices wouldn’t travel to Olivia.

  “This area isn’t open to the public. Can I help you with something?” Dax heard the protective warning in his tone.

  Blue, twitching eyes thoroughly looked Dax over from top to bottom. While most men would take a step back, this foolish man smirked. “You’re the big, macho, smartass thinking you’re Olivia’s dad.”

  What the hell was this moron going on about? There was no “thinking.” Dax was Olivia’s dad. He might not be blood, but he sure as hell was her father.

  The guy stepped closer and Dax fisted his hands at his side. “Yeah, it’s you. The one from the videos.”

  The videos? Dax inwardly cursed as he remembered the tribute that little nerdy intern had made for his dad. The videos including Olivia. These were the reasons Dax could care less about social media. It dragged in the crazies. And now it wasn’t only him and his staff, but Olivia that people were idolizing. He made a mental note to have the boy remove every last video with Olivia in it after he escorted this unwanted intruder out of his shop, permanently.

  “I think it’s time for you to go.” Dax took a step forward, but the man didn’t budge. “Are we going to have a problem?”

  “Not if you give me what belongs to me.”

  Dax narrowed his eyes, tempted to grab the guy by the throat and throw him out. “I’m giving you more. I’m giving you one chance to walk out willingly or I will personally escort your limp body out.”

  “Get the hell out of my way!”

  Dax gave the guy credit for being a stupid ass.

  “That’s my daughter you’re withholding.” The guy’s words winded Dax worse than if he’d punched him in the stomach. “It’s called kidnapping and if you don’t hand her over, I’m calling the police.”

  Dax shot a glance over his shoulder, satisfied when he saw Stone had taken Olivia out of the wing. When he turned back to the trespasser with one too many lenient warnings, he gripped him around the throat and lifted him high enough that panic filled his eyes.

  “Listen here, you piece of shit. That girl doesn’t belong to you.” Dax barely felt the loser’s fingers and nails clawing his hands. “When I let you go, you walk your ass out of my shop and don’t you ever show your face here again. Understand?”

  After several nods and grunts of understanding, Dax released him.

  The guy stumbled to the ground, landing on his ass and scrambling to put a good distance between himself and Dax. Rubbing his throat, he slowly stood. “That’s my daughter in there. Tell Ava that Kevin dropped by. When she confirms my parentage, half this shop will belong to me. The girl’s inheritance is mine. So we’ll be seeing a lot of each other.” His devious chuckle sent shivers up Dax’s spine. “Until next time.”

  There sure as hell wasn’t going to be a next time.

  ~

  THE HIGH SCHOOL staff meeting stayed steadily on track. The principal led the meeting while the timekeeper let the members know when the minutes for each topic on the agenda was up. Ava felt confident she’d be out of the gym on time to catch dinner and a movie with Dax and Olivia.

  She smiled at how easy she could now envision her future with Dax. When she looked at him she no longer saw a single man living in a condo that’d spent his nights at the bar, picking up women. Now she saw a man who only had eyes for her, who came home to kiss her goodnight and took out special time to make her daughter laugh. A man who protected what was his, and his eyes were set on her and Olivia. The principal moved onto the next topic and Ava realized she’d missed the ending of the prior. She needed to get her concentration back on track.

  School. Meeting. Future.

  Truthfully, her heart had belonged to
Dax the moment she’d met him. There had always been something about him that her soul couldn’t resist, a tug, or a connection she couldn’t explain. But her head constructed barriers and it hadn’t been until Dax had given her the space she needed staying on his side of the house, and yet, still being there for both her and Olivia that had given her a peace of heart.

  Now she was happy. Truly, wholeheartedly, happy. She couldn’t remember a time in her life when she’d felt as complete as this very moment.

  Then, as if to spoil her contentedness, the gym doors burst open behind her, startling not only her but abruptly halting the meeting. She heard Dax’s panicked voice before she saw him and immediately her thoughts shifted to Olivia’s safety.

  She shot to her feet, knocking her pages on the floor, and turned to Dax. She’d left her daughter at the shop with him. Where was she now? Why had Ava allowed her to hang around the shop? Shops were dangerous places full of tools, and equipment.

  She crossed the room, leaving her pages scattered on the floor. The closer she walked to him, the more his face revealed anger over worry. It hardly alleviated Ava’s worry. “Where’s Olivia? Is she alright?”

  His curt nod flooded her with relief. But his narrowing eyes and tight jaw still carried concern. “Olivia is fine. Can we have a word in private?”

  Ava excused herself and they stepped out into the hallway. “What’s going on?”

  “Who the hell is Kevin?”

  The air swooshed out of her lungs, leaving her breathless, confused and struggling to stay stable. Her mind uncontrollably whirled, mentally taking her away from standing in the hallway with Dax and directly back to her past with Kevin. The vivid flashes of his malicious, decaying smile and sinister, emotionless eyes made her body tremble, heart race and her mind figuring out an escape plan.

  He’d found her. How? Why?

  What had changed since the house fire that had claimed her entire family? She remembered the evening like it was only yesterday, the sound of fire crackling and windows breaking, the burning smell of wood, and the smoke stealing the air out of her lungs. She’d almost died. There had been a time when she’d wished she had. Until Olivia had given her a reason to live. Until Rowdy had showed her a different way. But now Kevin had found them…had found Olivia. He knew.

  “Where’s Olivia?” she demanded.

  “Is he her father?”

  “Where’s Olivia?” Her uncontrollable scream drained the color out of Dax’s face.

  “At home with Wanda,” he said, eyebrows knitted together.

  “I have to get her.” Ava turned away from Dax and broke into a run. Not to escape him, but to get to Olivia before Kevin did.

  “Hey!” Outside, Dax grabbed her arm, stopping her and swinging her around. “You didn’t answer my question.”

  “If Kevin knows about Olivia, her life is in danger.”

  His jaw clenched. “Okay, let’s go. I’ll drive.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  ~

  DAX DIDN’T LIKE BEING IN the dark about the connection between Ava and Olivia—this asshole showing up in his shop claiming paternity to the young girl…his young girl.

  But he didn’t pry.

  Not during the drive back to the house, anyway. His mind was preoccupied with Olivia’s safety, and didn’t leave much room to consider Ava’s lack of denial at the man’s declaration. If he wasn’t, in fact, Olivia’s blood, Ava would have just said it. Clearly, it was complicated. Clearly, it was something she’d been hiding. And, clearly, she was terrified of the man.

  Dax shifted his hands on the steering wheel, not realizing how hard he’d been squeezing the leather until his fingers cramped under the movement.

  The man didn’t look dangerous, but most men didn’t intimidate Dax. But his woman sat beside him looking truly frightened. If Dax had known about this man or the power he held over Ava, he would have dropped him at the shop and told him, under no uncertain terms, that he was not to contact Ava or Olivia again. Not to say he wouldn’t do just that when the little prick showed up again, but, first, he needed to know what the hell was going on.

  Fortunately, they found Olivia and Wanda contentedly crafting at the dining room table, unaware of the danger Ava spoke of. It didn’t stop Ava from cradling her daughter for a suspiciously long amount of time. Even Wanda glanced at him for an explanation he couldn’t give.

  “I have a dish of lasagna heating in the oven,” Wanda said, rising to her feet. “Are you two hungry?”

  Dax said no, and Ava said yes. He glared at her, wanting the explanation she owed him. She ignored him.

  “Are you hungry, Olivia?” she asked, smoothing her daughter’s hair repeatedly. Dax could see her nerves were on edge

  Olivia nodded. “Yes.” She quickly picked up her pencil crayons and slid them into a bag. “I helped Wanda make the lasagna. I sliced the cheese on the grater and spread it in the pan.” She hopped off the chair, pulling her mother toward the kitchen.

  Dax caught Ava’s upper arm, stopping them. “We need to talk.”

  Ava slowly looked at him. “After I put her to bed.” Her pleading eyes met his. “Please, Dax.”

  He breathed deeply through his nose, his jaw tight and fingers not wanting to release her until she spilled an explanation. He felt Wanda’s eyes burning on them, so he finally let Ava go. He didn’t follow right away, watching her hide away in the kitchen, just as she’d apparently been doing from Kevin.

  Wanda stayed by his side, watching him. “Is everything okay?”

  For the first time since his dad died, he felt the same loss of direction. “I don’t know.”

  ~

  SITTING ON THE edge of the couch, elbows on his knees, and chin resting on his folded hands, Dax waited for Ava to finish tucking Olivia into bed. Soon he heard her light footsteps leave the young girl’s bedroom. He shot to his feet and took the stairs two at a time, heading straight to Ava’s bedroom. She’d left the door wide open, whether for him or because of her fear of Kevin, he didn’t know. Her brief acknowledgement of him with a relieved smile convinced him it was a little of both.

  Dax leaned against the doorframe, arms folded, watching and waiting for her to speak first. The love he felt for these two girls gave him the strength not to demand an answer. The protection he felt inwardly promised that no one would ever hurt either of them.

  But then she stalked from the closet with a handful of clothes and dropped them inside a suitcase. A suitcase he hadn’t noticed lying on her bed.

  He stepped inside the room, watching the world he’d created crumble before him. “What are you doing?”

  “Leaving.” She didn’t look at him or miss a step in her packing, opening her drawers and pulling more clothes out. “It will be easier to take her while she’s sleeping. Less questions and less fighting. I’ll tell her it’s a vacation until we get settled somewhere. Anywhere far away from here. I thought we were far enough away, but now he knows. Now I will have to go further.” She talked out loud, but it didn’t sound like the words were directed at him. Instead, she seemed to be dictating the escape plan to herself.

  “Ava?” She stalked past him, either ignoring him or completely having zoned him out of her thoughts. “Ava!” He grabbed her shoulders, spinning her to face him. “Tell me what the hell is going on.”

  She blinked at him. “I just did.”

  “You told me a plan. You haven’t explained what’s going on with this guy. ”

  “I’m running from him.”

  “Like hell you are.”

  “I can’t stay. It’s not only for me and Olivia, but your safety too.”

  He could have laughed at how crazy she sounded, claiming he needed to fear that little pipsqueak. “Why are you afraid of him?”

  “Because he’s dangerous.”

  “Why?”

  Her hands gripped under his arms, and her eyes grew wide. “Do you smell that?” Her nose flared with her quick inhales.

  “No.”

>   “It smells like a fire. Don’t you smell it?”

  His body went into fireman mode. Inhaling, he analyzed the smells, Ava’s shampoo, a hint of his family home, the lasagna still lingering, but he didn’t recognize anything remotely smelling of a fire. “No,” he said. “There is no fire.”

  She pulled away, her eyes remote. “I can smell it.” She moved around him and dashed out of her bedroom. He followed her down the stairs, watching from a distance as she moved from doorway to window, searching for the smell that didn’t exist. By the time she finished searching, her whole body trembled.

  Dax wrapped his arms around her, soothing her quivering shoulders. “You don’t have to be scared. Not of him, or your future, nothing. I’m here. I’ll always protect you both.” He kissed the top of her head. “I won’t let him have Olivia’s money.”

  She pulled away to look at him. “What?”

  “That’s what he said he wants. To own half the shop, Olivia’s half.”

  “How does he know—”

  “The videos Ross posted online.”

  Her eyes widened in horror. “Those videos were supposed to be a good thing, to memorialize Rowdy and the good person he was.”

  “They were a good thing.” Even though Dax had already phoned Ross to have them taken down. “The information just got into the wrong hands. What can I do tonight? To make this better?”

  Her teeth clamped onto her lower lip as her eyebrows worked together while she thought. Finally, she said, “I can’t sleep here tonight. I have to take Olivia away from here.”

  She wanted to run away. She hadn’t listened to a word he’d said. Damn it, they were in this together. Was he banging his head off a wall here?

  “Will you take us somewhere we’re safe and I’ll tell you everything?”

  Finally, a “we.” He would do anything for her.

  “Yes.”