I swallow. “Do we know who they are? What they want?”
“Not yet, but one’s going by ‘Ax.’”
Axel. Of course.
My throat goes tight. “Keep me updated. If anything else comes up, I want to be the first to know.”
Everyone here thinks Lina is my sister.
Once upon a time, IwasLina Harrington. Now, I’m Aro Collins. My appearance has changed enough that no one from back then would look twice. My long, golden hair is now a dark, shoulder-length bob. I’ve aged well, sure, but hard years have dulled the shine in my eyes. I’m no longer a naïve, abused teen. I’m twenty-six. Hardened. Wary. Surviving.
Sean steps closer, voice low. “Jesus, Aro. Did he even make you come?”
I raise a brow at his bluntness. “If the sex was good, I wouldn’t be talking to your ass through it.”
His jaw tics, anger flickering behind his calm facade. I like Sean, probably more than I should, but I’m starting to think he cares too much. I’ll never leave Marcus. Not with Joe still out there. Marcus keeps me safe. He has the resources, the muscle, and the reach. But if he ever dumped me? I’d hope someone like Sean would want someone like me.
Speaking of not getting dumped… maybe I should fake a few orgasms next time. Remind Marcus how good I am on my knees.
“You deserve better,” Sean murmurs.
His words cause me to flinch and take a step back. He doesn’t know what I’ve done. What I’ve had to do just to survive.
“No, I really don’t. Worry about your own orgasms, big guy.” I clap him lightly on the shoulder and head for the kitchen.
I might look calm, but inside, I’m unraveling. If Axel’slooking for me, then Nik and Johnny aren’t far behind. Johnny blamed me for his mom’s death, and I’m sure Axel does, too, to an extent. I left Nik without telling him the truth and with no explanation. Whatever reason they’re looking for me, it can’t be good.
After my mom died, DHS asked me to testify against the police force. While they built their case, I was placed in the custody of my biological father, Ben, an FBI agent who I thought had died when I was a baby. It’s a long story, but he was obviously very much alive and living in Tennessee with his wife, Maryanne, and her sons, Axel and Johnny.
While in Tennessee, I grew close to both boys and their best friend, Nik. Their kindness and patience taught me how to open up and love again, even if it was only for a moment.
Unfortunately, the night after my eighteenth birthday, Joe found me. He compromised my new identity, killed Maryanne, and shattered my illusion of safety. I only knew her for four months, but she was the only woman who ever mothered me right. I miss her every single day.
Ben and I still talk through a burner phone once a month. I can’t tell him where I am or what I’m doing, but just knowing I’m alive seems to bring him comfort. I wish we could have more of a relationship, but until Joe is caught that’ll never happen.
A few years ago, DHS finally came to collect on the testimony they felt I owed them, and shit hit the fan. People were outraged, and although I was testifying as ‘Jane Doe,’ Joe still found me. He always does.
But it’s fine. Let the guys look.
As long as I have Marcus, they’ll never find me.
Chapter 2
Axel
“This is fucking pointless!” I pace the length of the room, hands in my hair, tugging at the longer side like the pain might ground me. It doesn’t. My skin’s too tight, my patience too thin, and I’m two seconds from punching a hole through the drywall.
“Relax, man,” Nik says from the couch, calmly, like we haven’t been running in circles for months. “We’ll find her.”
“You don’t know that.” I whip around to face him. “She’s a ghost. We’ve been chasing shadows for nearly a year, and we’ve got jack shit to show for it. How do we even know she’s still alive?”
“She is,” he says simply. “Ben would’ve told us if something happened to her.”
“You think he’d know?”
“You think hewouldn’t?” Nik shoots me a look. “You really believe Ben isn’t keeping tabs on her?”
I stop pacing. He’s right. He’s always right.
