He stood staring at his now useless heavy bag, and then shook his head. Jesus, he couldn’t win. Figuring he needed a cold shower and sleep, he grabbed a towel, wiping the sweat from his face as he headed out of the workout room. Before he took two steps, a scream of terror reached his ears, spurring him forward without thought.
As he flew through the house, he snatched one of his guns from the table without stopping. He jumped the steps as if they weren’t even there. The screaming continued, and he swore that whoever was causing her to scream like that was going to die.
He practically knocked Darin down, who was just coming out of the spare bedroom. He heard Darin saying something but didn’t comprehend the words. All he heard was the roar of rage in his ears mixing with the screams of horror.
Axel didn’t even bother with the doorknob. He kicked the door open, breaking the latch immediately. With his gun drawn, he slid inside on his knees ready to take out whoever in the fuck dare break into his house and harm his own.
It took him a second to realize that no one was in the room, but the screaming continued. His eyes went from scanning the area to the bed where Sophia was bunched up against the wall, fighting off an invisible source.
“Nightmare,” Darin said from the door since Axel was blocking the way. “Soph,” he called out, but she was lost in an unseen battle.
Axel stood and set his gun down while trying to calm himself. There was no threat, at least none he could see, and that scared him to death. Her terror radiated as if a part of him.
He sat on the bed, careful in the way he woke her. He knew that could be as traumatic as the nightmare itself. “Sophia, you’re safe,” he said loud enough to break through her terror. “Sophia, it’s Axel. Darin is here. You’re safe.” He repeated the words over and over again until finally, she quieted, her struggling weaker.
After her screaming turned into whimpers, he touched her arm. “Wake up, Sophia. I swear to you, nothing or no one is going to hurt you.” He watched as her eyes fought to open as a tear slipped past. “Trust me, Sophia.”
Finally, she calmed as she went from being tense to the point he was afraid of touching her limp limbs. Her hair was wet with sweat, her face flushed with fear and streaked with tears that had begun to flow. Her eyes slowly opened, unfocused at first, but finally, she escaped her nightmare.
He watched as she studied him for a second before looking away as if embarrassed. “I’m fine,” she whispered, pulling her T-shirt down over her legs. “I’m sorry I woke you guys. I’m fine. I need to go to the restroom.”
Sophia started to get off the bed, her eyes neither meeting his or Darin’s. She moved past Darin and disappeared. Axel heard the bathroom door shut just as Darin looked back in the room at him.
“It’s the same every time,” Darin sighed in a whisper.
“How often does this happen?” Axel stood from the bed, his body still in fight mode. That honestly scared the shit out of him.
“All the time. Every night she’s able to sleep.” Darin shrugged, then glanced back out the door again. “I’ve learned to leave her alone. Make sure she’s okay and then back off. She’s embarrassed by the nightmares.”
Axel nodded, but inside, he thought, Fuck that. Leaving her alone to deal with her demons was not something he was comfortable with. “I’ll keep an eye on her. Go ahead and get some rest.”
“She probably won’t talk much so don’t take it the wrong way.” Darin yawned. “I’ve tried to get her to open up, but she just wants to be alone. It kills me, but I don’t know what else to do.”
“She’ll be okay,” Axel said, but had no clue if that was true. He did know he would do everything in his power to make her okay, yet some things were too traumatic to ever get over.
“You’re a good man,” Darin said with a respectful nod before he disappeared.
Axel had been called many things in his life, but a good man was not one of them. Maybe a beautiful angel could change that. He headed toward the bathroom. It was time Sophia realized she wasn’t going to battle her demons or nightmares alone. Not anymore.
Sophia shut the door quickly and rushed to the toilet. She barely had time to raise the toilet seat before she was puking her dinner into the commode. Hot and cold sweats took over her body as she heaved. Once her stomach seemed to settle, she flushed the toilet then fell back on her ass onto the cold tile.
Bringing her knees to her chest, she wrapped her arms around her legs and buried her face against her knees. She began rocking back and forth, trying to form a thought. She needed to get her shit together, but it was always the same after the nightmares. She felt paralyzed with fear.
She continued to rock, her eyes fixated on nothing, repeating to herself that she was fine. She never heard the knock, never heard the door open and never sensed someone sitting down next to her until she was pulled into strong arms.
Her first reaction was to fight, but the arms that held her felt right, as if she belonged. Her body melted into his, and for the first time in a long time, she felt safe. No tears fell, and her trembling stopped. He was her rock at that moment, and she was leaning into him as if there were no tomorrow. For her, there may not be.
Sophia had no idea how long they sat there, but she could have stayed forever in her safe haven wrapped in Axel’s arms. She knew that wasn’t realistic as she came back to reality from her nightmare. With a sigh, she straightened away from him.
“I’m sor—”
“Don’t you dare apologize.” His voice was even, without anger.
She nodded but didn’t look at him. “If you have clean sheets, I’ll change the bed.” She pushed her sweaty hair away from her face. “I’m a mess.”
“Fuck the sheets.” He stood, startling her, then reached his hand down to help her up.
She stared at his hand then took it. He pulled her up against his body. Flush, neither moved apart. “We’re taking care of you first.”
“I can take care of myself,” she replied, a catch to her voice.
“Yes, you can.” His agreement surprised her. “But sometimes, it’s nice to have someone help, and I’m that someone.”
She remained still, wanting so badly to accept his help, but at what price? Realizing she really didn’t care what price, she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him to her. “Thank you.”
“Never thank me, Sophia,” he whispered into her hair.
They stood there for a while, until she moved away, feeling nasty from the dried sweat. “I really need to get a shower.”
He nodded, then headed toward the closet, getting her a towel and washcloth. “I’ll get you one of my shirts.” He went to the sink and set those down, then grabbed a toothbrush and toothpaste, placing them next to the towel before disappearing out the door.
She watched him leave then took a deep breath. Ripping her shirt off, followed by her underwear, she stepped into the shower. Quickly, she turned it on and stood under the steaming water, letting it wash away the taint of the nightmare.
Once she was finished, she shut the water off then glanced to see Axel’s silhouette on the other side of the fogged-up shower glass. His back was toward her, the towel dangling from his hand.
She opened the door and took the towel as he lifted it without turning around. After drying off, Sophia wrapped it around her while Axel headed for the door.
“The shirt is on the sink,” he said, his back still toward her. “I would give you some boxers, but I don’t wear them.”
For some reason, that made her smile. “Axel, thank you.”
The door opened. “You’re welcome.”
“Did you look?” She didn’t know what made her ask that, but she did, and there was nothing she could do about it.
This time, he turned to stare at her. “Yes,” he replied honestly, a half grin tipping his lips. “And I won’t apologize.”
“I didn’t ask you to.” Sophia couldn’t believe what was coming out of her mouth, but he damn sure made
her forget about her nightmare.
Chapter 15
Axel sat in the library while Sophia read to a bunch of kids. He had done everything in his power to stop her, but she was adamant she would not cancel on the kids. So with the begging of Darin, they piled into his Dodge Viper and headed to the library.
His mind and body finally relaxing as he sat waiting for her, he thought about last night. After she came out from the bathroom, he had taken her hand and led her to his bedroom.
Once inside, he took her to his bed, crawled in beside her and held her, telling her to sleep. She didn’t hesitate, didn’t argue. She fell asleep instantly, but he stayed awake, wondering how in the hell it came to pass that he’d intended to kill her, but now he held her to fight away her nightmares.
“You want kids?” Darin said, thumbing through a magazine, breaking Axel out of his thoughts.
“Never really thought about it.” Axel glanced over to where fifteen kids sat in a circle surrounding Sophia, listening to every word she spoke, watching her intently at her expressions as she read them the story.
“Can you have kids?” Darin frowned, looking up from his magazine. “I mean, I know you can do the dirty, but are your little swimmers dead like you?”
“My little swimmers?” Axel finally pulled his eyes away from Sophia to stare at Darin. “What in the hell are you talking about?”
“Your boys, your baby batter… you know…” Darin glanced around, then as discretely as possible pointed to his own dick. “…your funky spunk.”
“You are not right,” Axel said, but grinned because he couldn’t fucking help it. “And yes, I’m pretty sure I can have kids because I’m not dead. I’m a breed. There’s a difference.”
“Ah.” Darin frowned, returning to his magazine, but Axel knew that wasn’t the end of it. He didn’t have long to wait. “What’s the difference?”
“I don’t need blood to survive. My heart beats just as yours does,” Axel replied as he relaxed on the couch reserved for library guests.
“Hmm,” Darin said thoughtfully. Then after a second, he put the magazine down. “Okay, sorry, but you said you were immortal.”
“I did.” Axel glanced toward Sophia, who glanced his way as she turned the page of the book she was reading, and smiled. He smiled back before turning his attention back to Darin because he knew he wasn’t finished.
Darin was looking around, then he pointed. “So if I took that pole over there and jabbed you in the heart, you’d live, though full-blood vampires would do the nasty ooze death dance?”
Axel glanced at the small pole that held a flag with a rabbit on it reading a book. “If you got anywhere near me to actually… jab that in my heart, then no, I would not die. My heart would repair itself.”
“Then how the fuck…” Darin cringed when he said the word fuck then lowered his voice. “…would I kill you? I mean everybody has a weakness.”
Axel leaned up inches from Darin. “And mine is not telling you how to kill me.”
“Ah, smart man.” Darin grinned, nodding as he pointed at him. “So how did you know the differences between you and other vampires. Is there a vampire guide out there in paperback, e-book maybe?”
“My father was a breed,” Axel replied, realizing he hadn’t talked about his father in a long time. “My mother was human.”
Noise from the kids getting up had them both looking that way. He watched as a few of the kids gave Sophia a hug. Her smile was so pure that it brightened the room.
“Wow, that’s pretty amazing.” Darin stared at him. “Thanks for sharing. You definitely don’t seem like the sharing type.”
Axel shrugged, wondering why in the hell he had shared anything at all about himself. Maybe being alone so long he was just now realizing how lonely he had really been. He glanced over at Darin, who was watching the parents gather their kids.
“So what about you?” Axel asked, curious. Another shocker. He usually didn’t give a shit about anyone other than himself. “You want kids?”
Darin sat silent for a moment as if thinking long and hard. “I might want a rug rat or two.”
Axel’s chuckle was cut short when he spotted two men in suits walk into the library.
“Uh, I don’t think those are dads.” Darin’s observation matched his own.
He stood, ready in case they even looked like they were going to make a move toward Sophia. Then to his surprise, it was Sophia who went up to them. He cocked his head so he could hear what was being said, but with the remaining kids’ laughter, it was hard for him to hear.
“Wait a minute,” Darin whispered. “That guy on the right is the detective who was working Anna’s case. What the hell is he doing here? You think they have a break in Anna’s case. Maybe they’re going after Savior.”
Axel highly doubted it, but he remained calm until he knew for sure. Something wasn’t right. He didn’t know what it was, but the warnings firing off throughout his body told him something was going down.
Finally, as the rest of the kids left, all that was left were the two suits, Darin, Sophia, and himself. Ms. Riddle had left as soon as the kids arrived.
“We just have a few questions, Ms. Deluce,” the man on the right was saying. “Is there somewhere we can talk?”
“Is this about Anna?” Sophia asked as she led them toward a room with glass windows and then shut the door. On her way in, she gave Axel a look as if telling him that she was fine.
Axel watched the other guy closely, the one with the sunglasses on. First of all, it was night time outside, and not many wore their sunglasses inside unless they were hiding something or sensitive to light. The man pulled out his phone and looked to be texting something.
“Is there a back exit to this place?” Axel asked, his eyes on who he now knew was a detective. Their eyes met and the feeling he got from that one-second glance was not good.
“Yeah, it’s right back—”
“Go outside, get the car and pull it in front of that door.” Axel tossed him the keys. “Keep your head down and wait for us. Any sign of trouble, take off and head for my place.”
Darin caught the keys but frowned. “You’re going to let me drive the Viper? Okay, what the fuck is going on?” Darin caught the keys with a frown. “We’re going to die, aren’t we? You’re letting me drive the Viper because you know something is about to happen.”
“Dammit, Darin.” Axel turned to growl at him. “Go!”
“Well, at least I’ll go out in style.” Darin turned to leave.
“One scratch anywhere on that car and you will die,” Axel warned, but his eyes were on Sophia.
“See, I knew death played a part in this.” Darin disappeared as Axel sat back down, but sat where he could see everything. With no background noise, he could hear the conversation and what he heard had his blood raging.
Sophia loved book night with the kids. She tried to do it as often as possible, and she always had an amazing turnout. She noticed Darin and Axel talking, even laughing. What an odd group they were, she thought, and then smiled. Axel had looked at her just then and smiled back. Her heart fell to her stomach and right back to her throat.
He had tried to fight her on coming tonight, saying it wasn’t safe. She just couldn’t disappoint the kids. For some with lower incomes, this was the only thing their family could afford them to do because it was absolutely free. That was why anytime she could find funds, she would throw a party for Halloween or Christmas, have reading time with cookies and Kool-Aid. Getting funds from the city was almost always too complicated and drawn out.
So, yes, she had insisted that they come, and he’d given in. Not easily or quickly, but after breakfast, he had left with the promise they were safe, and he would return shortly. He did return, and with his return, he stated that he would take her to the library for the kids. And that was when she knew no matter what he may be capable of, he was kind.
She realized she had paused, which was something you never did with kids because th
ey’d call you on it every single time.
“Flip the page, Ms. Sophia,” Billy, a blond-haired cutie, urged her. “What did the dragon do?”
She hurriedly flipped the page and continued to read, but her mind wasn’t on storytelling. It was definitely on the man sitting across the room and the memory of waking up next to him. Not once since her sister was murdered had she been able to sleep as soundly as she did last night. After a few minutes of savoring what it felt like being held by him, which was exactly what heaven had to feel like, Sophia had fallen into a comfortable deep sleep. Comfortable being the keyword. Not once had she felt awkward being held by him. It was as if she had known him forever.
Soon the story ended, and as always, some of the kids gave her hugs while others just smiled and thanked her at their parents’ insistence. She didn’t need thanks, though. This kept her sane in the crazy world she found herself in. She did it because she needed it as much as some of the children did.
Hearing the door open, she turned that way and was shocked to see the detective who had been handling her sister’s case walk in the door with another man she had never seen. Finishing her goodbyes, she finally was able to make her way toward them.
“Detective Halloway.” She nodded, disliking the man even more after she saw her sister’s file. “What brings you here? Do you have information about my sister?”
“I wish I did, Ms. Deluce.” He frowned, moving out of the way of some of the parents and children leaving.
“Then why are you here?” Something about this man was off. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but it was there in the way he looked at her.
“Is there somewhere we can talk?” His voice took a turn, sounding more official. This was not the uncaring asshole who refused to do his job when he was looking for her sister’s murderer.
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