Axel.
MyAxel.
Every time he enters my peripheral vision, the air shifts. Like something heavy and unspoken is pushing between us, demanding to be acknowledged.
Which I absolutely refuse to do.
“Brooks.” Captain Cole snaps me back to attention. We’re in the equipment bay prepping the rig before morning drills. “Vitals bag okay?”
I pop open the case and run a fast but thorough check. “Perfect. Tubes are sealed, BP cuff intact, monitor charged.”
Cole nods, satisfied. “Good.”
I can feel Axel across the room without even looking at him. It’s infuriating—my senses reacting before my brain does.
He’s checking the ladder compartments, jaw tight, shoulders tense, pretending I’m not here.
Or maybe trying too hard to pretend.
He never used to avoid me.
Before everything? I was the one he gravitated toward. Now, it’s like he’s scared of being within five feet of me.
Which is ridiculous, because I’m perfectly fine.
Except I’mnot.And my body knows it.
“Try not to pass out when she walks by, Ramirez,” Torres calls out, smirking.
Heat slams up my throat.
Axel shoots the guy a glare that could incinerate a man.
“I’m good,” Axel mutters stiffly. “Focus on the damn inventories.”
“Sure,” Torres says, winking at me. “I’d be rattled too if my high school sweetheart walked back in without warning.”
My breath stutters, but I keep my expression neutral.
Axel’s jaw flexes once—so sharp and fast it’s like a pulse.
“Torres,” Cole warns. “Knock it off.”
“Just saying,” Torres goes on, unbothered, “the guy used to doodle your name in his notebook.”
Oh god.
My eyes shoot toward Axel instinctively. Stupid. A mistake. Because he’s already looking at me.
And it’s not the look you give someone you forgot.
It’s the look you give someone whose absence rewired your entire life.
My stomach flips. I clamp down on the reaction.
Never let them see you break. Not again.
I turn back to Cole. “Truck’s ready to go.”
