There’s a beat of silence. Then:
‘Where are you?’
‘Home. London.’
‘I’m already on my way.’
Axel
I watch her walk away, every muscle in my body screaming to go after her.
To drag the words back down my throat.
To not be this man.
But I am.
I’m the depraved son of a bitch who used her baby bargain to get close.
I’m the foolish bastard who took her over and over and let hope – stupid, delusional hope – crawl under his skin.
Hope that I could keep her, be worthy of her.
Not just her body, but her mind, her soul, her future, her everything.
A fantasy and a lie and all my doing.
I deserve this hell.
She never did.
I slam the car into gear and tear off into the night, letting the darkness finish what loving her started.
25
AXEL
The banging on my door could wake the dead. And I’m that. Almost.
‘Taylor?’ I groan into the dark.
‘Axel! Axel!’ More pounding. ‘You better be in there!’
Not Taylor. Theo. Brilliant.
I peel myself off the sofa, sending a near-empty whisky bottle rolling across the floorboards. Just what I need: his preferred fuel for his self-righteous rage.
The second I unlock the door, he barges past me, storming into the loft like he owns the place.
‘What the bloody hell were you thinking?’ he shouts, rounding on me.
I shove the hair out of my face, squinting against the lights he’s flicked on. ‘Nice to see you too.’
‘I told Sadie you were stubborn as a mule. Didn’t realise you’d inherited thebrainof one as well.’
A humourless grunt escapes. ‘Thought mules were fairly intelligent.’
‘They are – until they’re scared. Then they dig their heelsin.’ He folds his arms across his chest. ‘And you, Ax? You’re the most terrified bastard of the lot.’
