Since the sun was on the rise, he imagined the police forces would come out to play. He’d have to be very careful to not get involved in that.
The Hello Kitty female spoke again. “I was going to take another hit upstairs. Anyone want to join me?”
He nodded and followed her and two other males into the apartment building.
Having no desire to do any type of drugs, he mainly wanted to see if where she went could be considered a control room of sorts. Someone, somewhere, had organized all this, and he wanted to have a little chat with that person after he found Eden.
They walked up two flights of stairs. The shit-brown carpet below his feet had seen better days. Graffiti covered the yellowing walls, and on the second landing, it looked as if someone’s head had met the sheetrock, but the wall had never been repaired.
He followed the crew down to the last apartment on the right side. As they walked in, the smell of rotting food and body odor assaulted his nose. Two males lay on the couches in their underwear, watching the morning news. Axel could tell by their eyes that they weren’t processing too much of what they saw in their high-as-fuck state of mind. Beer bottles were strewn all over the place, and based on the flies hovering over a pot on the stove, whatever had been cooking had been left there for quite a while.
The two males on the couch sat up, and the others grabbed a seat. He preferred to stand. First, if shit went south, he’d be prepared to fight. Second, who knew what lived in those cushions?
He realized a ‘hit’ meant cocaine for some, heroin for others. When offered both, he refused.
Once everyone had consumed their drugs, he asked, “So, what’s next? The fucking city is on fire. What’s the next step?”
They all looked at each other, and then back at him. Hello Kitty girl was the first to speak. “Well, we have the sacrifice for the Countess at noon, remember?”
A sacrifice? Of what? A goat? A virgin? And who called themselves the Countess?
He rolled his eyes, as if she were the dumbass in this conversation. “I know that, but where is it?”
“Probably at the church. Judas was in charge of picking up the women.”
Ah, the betrayer of Christ. Axel supposed if he were gathering up women for a sacrifice, the name fit pretty well. One thing he had to admit, these fuckers were sure creative with the aliases they chose.
He nodded nonchalantly, but his heart pounded in his chest. He had to find the church and see what this whole sacrifice for the Countess thing was about.
“What’s the name of the church again?” he asked as he stared at his phone, hoping he looked like he was finding directions. “I don’t want to miss that.”
Two of the heroin junkies had passed out, and everyone else seemed spacey. There had to be something else in that cocaine, or they’d be flying off the walls instead of staring at air.
“I can’t remember,” Hello Kitty girl slurred. “It’s the one a couple blocks up.”
He turned and headed to the door, considering what he’d learned and his next move. The people in the apartment knew about a sacrifice to be made to this Countess person. That put them pretty deep on the opposing team, namely the Colonist side of this game.
Looking over his shoulder, he knew he should destroy the enemy, in this case, the people sitting on the couches. He pulled his gun out of the back of his waistband and lifted it. No one looked his way. As he wrapped his finger around the trigger, he imagined them falling one by one with Hello Kitty girl being the third, the rest falling before and after her.
He glanced at all the drug paraphernalia, then lowered his piece. These people would destroy themselves in a timely manner.
Besides, he had to find his mate.
Axel jogged down the alleyways careful to stay away from the cops. His phone rang again, and he pulled it out of his pocket.
“Yeah.”
“Did you find her yet?”
“Nope.”
Hudson sighed, and Axel heard the fear and worry in the sound. He ducked into a doorway to finish the conversation.
“Listen, Hudson. I know you’re worried. I am, as well. But here’s the thing—if you keep calling me every hour, I’m losing time. So, please, knock it off and let me do my fucking job, okay?”
His words were met with silence.
“I’ll call you when I find her. In the meantime, quit draining my damn battery.”
Shoving the phone back into his pocket, he peeked his head both ways and when he found it clear, he continued on his path to the church.
Chapter 32
Axel approached the first church ‘a few blocks down’ as the Hello Kitty female had described. The place looked empty. He stood outside the door and pressed his ear up against the panel, but heard nothing. The place felt desolate, but still, he had to check.
He opened the doors and walked into the foyer. As he entered the large hall, he gasped.
The beauty astounded him.
Large, stained glass windows cast rainbows of colors along the walls and floors, and he wondered if it was similar to what Eden saw around people. The thick, brown carpet muffled his footsteps as he passed the rows of maple-colored pews and walked toward the white, marble altar.
He kept his eye on the man on the cross lingering on the wall at the front of the church, His hands and feet nailed to the wood. Axel studied every detail from the thorny crown all the way down to the droplets of blood trickling down His toes.
In his time on Earth, he’d studied many religions, but he’d never actually visited any place of worship. The silence engulfed him and wrapped around him like a warm blanket, offering comfort.
He could feel the sanctity in the air, and sweat began forming on his brow. He didn’t belong in a place like this. Someone pure and good did; someone like Eden. Him being in a church was like a shit stain on a white carpet, and it hurt just a little bit. He wished he knew how to be a different male—a normal one—but he didn’t. There wasn’t a deity who could save his rotten, decrepit soul, but one female made him feel as if it could happen. Instead of staring at the beauty of God’s House, he needed to do the one thing he did best.
Kill.
He turned and walked toward the door.
Stepping out into the morning sunlight, he walked two blocks south and found the other church Google had been kind enough to point out. He heard yelling coming from inside as he climbed the stairs and figured he’d found the right place unless he was about to stumble on a whole lot of praying going on.
He pulled open the large, wooden door and stepped into the foyer. It was standing room only, and he got a fairly good view of what was going on as he looked over the tops of people’s heads.
The church looked very similar to the previous one he’d just been in, except the pews seemed a little darker, and the carpet a dark blue color. The stained glass windows didn’t seem to emanate as much color as the others had, almost as if the building knew it had been contaminated by the whole horrid affair taking place.
Everyone in the crowd remained quiet, but a female voice echoed off the walls. He didn’t catch what she said because the scene in front of him had his blood rushing through his body at such a fast pace, he couldn’t hear a damn thing if he tried.
A few men stood scattered along the walls. Most had guns in their hands, their stares focused on the front of the church. He wondered which one was the infamous Judas, the one who had organized this whole sick scenario.
A group of about ten women stood below the altar completely nude, none of them looking happy to be there. He could smell the scent of fresh blood, but couldn’t see where it came from. Glancing around, he found Eden within seconds, almost as if he was drawn to her, connected in some way.
She stood off to the left fully clothed. She pushed her tangled hair behind her ear as her whole body trembled. Tears washed down her cheeks, and he could practically smell her fear.
A man stood behind her, and Axel pegged him at just over six feet tall, a small smil
e playing on his clean-shaven face. Axel squinted, unsure of what he saw. Did that fucker have horns on his forehead? It didn’t matter because he knew on instinct that this would be Judas, as he seemed to be enjoying himself far too much.
He heard something about the Countess, a sacrifice, then the crowd of naked females was escorted to the right side of the church, while Eden’s group was shoved up in front of the altar.
The woman’s voice echoed around the room. “Undress to be judged!”
He didn’t need to hear any more. No one saw his mate’s fair, beautiful skin, her large, firm breasts, or her precious belly button, except for him. As for the rest of the women in the church … this shit was just flat-out wrong. Memories of his time as a sex slave began to close in, but he pushed them aside. He would do everything in his power to get everyone out alive.
The vast pool of rage he’d kept under control during the night had been ignited, and a blanket of calm came over him. His heart beat steadily; the tension he’d been holding throughout his body loosened. He counted his adversaries, numbering them at fifteen. He would destroy them all without hesitation.
The men in front of him let out a few catcalls as the women began to slowly undress, their cries meeting his ears. He slipped his knife from its holster.
Within seconds, he’d sliced the throats of the three men in front of him. It took a few moments for the Countess’ followers to register that they were being slaughtered, one by one. But when they did, mass chaos erupted.
With his gun in one hand, his knife in the other, the carnage continued. Innocents screamed as they ducked behind pews or scrambled past his feet while heading for the door. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Eden and a herd of other women crawl down the middle aisle toward him, their fear and panic evident in their screams and tears. They pushed and shoved, trying to scurry over the other. If they weren’t careful, they’d all be hurt.
He took aim over the crowd and put a bullet between the eyes of a man across the room who shot at him, then arms circled his neck.
He grabbed them, bent forward, flipping his assailant over his shoulders so he lay on the ground in front of him. Without hesitation, Axel buried a knife in his chest. A stinging sensation registered in his bicep, but he ignored it.
Eden was almost within his grasp, and most of the Countess’ followers came at him with weapons in their hands, rage on their faces. He jammed his elbow into one man’s throat, sending him to the ground gasping for air. As one attacker lunged, he stepped out of the way, then pushed him, sending him head first into a wall. Axel heard the plaster crack above the screams of terror, and the man slowly sank to his knees when Axel put a bullet in his head.
“Axel! Axel!”
He looked down to see Eden at his feet grasping his leg, as if she were going to climb him like a tree. Reaching down, he grabbed her arm and hauled her to standing, pressing her against the wall behind him to shield her. The cold fingers of fear clawed at him, almost crippling him. He’d made himself the focus in the room, and now Eden stood behind him, becoming a target herself.
Another stinging sensation crossed his arm, and again, he ignored it. His main priority now was to get Eden to safety. If she ended up with even a scratch, he’d never forgive himself.
“Hold on to my jacket,” he said over his shoulder, “and don’t let go. Stay behind me.”
He moved to his right, glad to see that the assailants who were left gave him a wide berth. As he swung his gun from side to side, they kept their distance, but with their weapons trained on him. He and Eden had reached the door to the entry hall, and he pushed her backward. Thankfully, she kept her footing and didn’t let go of his jacket. The man who had stood behind her when he’d first walked in now watched the mêlée from the stairs in front of the altar, his gaze never wavering from Axel, and he knew right then and there that their paths would be crossing again. And yes, the fucker did have horns and a gold hoop through his nose.
Once they’d cleared the door and he could smell the cool morning air, he had a decision to make. Not every one of the innocents was out, but if he didn’t lock the bad guys in, they’d come after him.
As he debated what to do, he recalled his time in slavery. He and the other captives had been kept in crate-like cells piled on top of one another, their bodies held in stasis until the doors were opened.
Somehow, one of the other children had escaped, and as he ran from his holding cell, Axel and the others had begged him to let them out. He’d refused, and just kept running. Eventually, he’d been caught, but all the sex slaves had been punished. Axel often wondered if that kid had helped the rest of them escape, could they have fought their way to freedom?
He wouldn’t leave the innocents with their captors, even though The Countess’ followers would come after him, but he’d just have to deal with it. He left the doors open, and he pulled Eden out into the morning sun as sirens sounded in the distance.
He took Eden’s hand and led her through streets, glad all her running allowed her to keep up with him. Thankfully, things seemed pretty quiet after the night of rioting, and they moved down the sidewalk easily once they broke free of the women scattering from the church.
The SUV was parked about four blocks away in front of his studio apartment. If they could get to the apartment and wait for the police to regain control and open the city back up, they could head back to the silo in relative safety.
Axel gazed over his shoulder as they ran to make sure they weren’t being followed. He didn’t see anyone, but he couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched.
They reached the apartment, and he fished the keys from his pocket as they bounded down the steps. He had the door open in a flash, and pushed Eden inside. He followed, then shut the door and pressed his ear against the door trying to detect any sign of anyone outside. When he heard nothing, he leaned his forehead against the panel and fought to catch his breath.
Shutting his eyes, he allowed the exhaustion he’d been holding at bay to roll through him. He’d been up for almost twenty-four hours, and most of that time, he’d been on the move throughout the city looking for Eden.
He heard her come up behind him and place a hand on his shoulder. “You’re bleeding, Axel.”
Yeah, he knew that. That stinging had been bullets catching his arm. “They’re flesh wounds.”
Keeping his head against the door, he feared looking at her. She’d seen him at his worst, or his best, depending on how he looked at it. However, he couldn’t imagine watching him kill male after male had sat very well with the pure and beautiful Eden.
“Can you please look at me?”
He really didn’t want to. He didn’t want to see any fear or disappointment or disgust on her pretty features. However, he could never deny her anything.
Taking a deep breath, he wiped the sweat from his brow and turned.
As he met her gaze, he didn’t see any of the things he thought he would find. Instead, her features were contorted in worry and panic.
They stared at each other a long moment. Tears shimmered in her eyes, and he hoped they didn’t fall. He wanted to make her forget the nightmare she’d been through, but he didn’t know how.
Eden collapsed against him as the tears trickled down her cheeks. He wrapped his arms around her, but then saw he had blood caked on his hands, so he tried to hold her without touching her, without dirtying her.
She gripped his waist like he had become her life vest and she was lost at sea. He didn’t know what to do to take away her fear and pain, so he just stood there and hoped she was getting whatever she needed as the tears soaked into his shirt.
After a few moments, she stepped away from him and wiped her face. Deep purple rings lay below her eyes, and her hair looked greasy and wet, her skin pale. The night had been a terrifying experience for her, and he wanted to kill everyone all over again.
“Are you going to be okay?”
She nodded. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so scared
.”
“That’s understandable, but you’re safe now.”
“How did you find me? What about Beverly?”
“She’s fine. She told Hudson that you’d disappeared and he called me and asked me to find you.” He pulled his phone out of his jeans pocket and handed it to her. “You need to call him.”
As she sat on the bed and placed her head in her hands, he looked at his own. He needed to get the gore off him.
“I’m going to take a quick shower, okay?”
“Yes.”
He walked into the bathroom, but only shut the door part way so he could hear everything from the main room.
After stripping off his clothes, he leaned in and turned on the water, then caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. His beard and face had been splattered with blood. The two bullet grazes on his arm had stopped bleeding, but still looking nasty and might need to be healed or stitched.
Placing his hands on the sink, he stared at himself. He looked just as tired as Eden.
He tried to think of a way that he could have saved Eden without having her witness him killing anyone, and he supposed he could have just hurt them, but then, they’d still be able to injure or kill him right back. That would be unacceptable. He’d been trained to be an assassin, and that’s what he did. He just wished he hadn’t exposed Eden to it.
Stepping under the hot spray, he grabbed the soap and washed his hands, then his face, beard, and hair. The blood came off him in a river of red, and he scrubbed until the water eventually ran clear. He placed his palms on the tile and closed his eyes, allowing the pulsing jets to hit his face.
He also needed to talk to her, to find out the details of what had happened during the night. If anyone had so much as bruised her, he would—
A delicate hand landed on his spine, and his breath caught in his throat. Thin arms wrapped around his waist as Eden pressed her chest into his back. Bowing his head, he looked down at her hands clasped at his belly button, then stood up straight and placed his over them.
Axel Page 15