Axel.
Seriously? Of all the men in the world who could have shown up at my doorstep, why him?
Taking a deep, steadying breath, I lifted the gun and aimed it at him before I emerged from the shadows.
"What are you doing here?" I demanded.
Axel whipped around and faced me, his eyes widening at the sight of the gun leveled in his direction.
"What the hell? What is with me and bitches with guns? Do you mind getting that thing out of my face?"
I wasn't about to take that bait and try to figure out what any of that meant. It simply didn't matter. It was hard enough just looking at him up close and personal after all this time.
Dark, unruly hair surrounded his face, reminding me of the silky touch of it on my skin. He never did like to get it cut, and it often went beyond his shoulders before he would do anything with it.
Secretly, I'd preferred it like this. It went well with the angular bone structure of his face and the mesmerizing ice blue eyes.
Those I felt clear to my soul every time he leveled them on me. Even now with nothing but irritation and contempt filling them, my belly swooped.
My anger sparked over the emotion he still drew from me. I didn't want to feel any of that. Ever.
"You shouldn't be here."
"You shouldn't have shot out my tire. What kind of bullshit is that? I came to help you."
"I don't need your help. Never have, never will." I hated the words the minute they were out. They were cold and mean and had come out without my thinking them through. But I wasn’t his damsel in distress in need of saving.
"Yeah. You've made that abundantly clear. Repeatedly. Your actions have spoken loud and clear, sweetheart. However, your father disagrees, and despite whether you deserve it or not, I am going to help you because that's what I've been paid to do."
The shame I barely kept contained morphed into anger so white hot I felt the explosion coming.
"Paid?" I spat at him. "You're here because you've been paid?" The taste of that felt like poison working a dark path through my blood. Of course that's why he'd come.
"Yes, paid. Why else would I bother?" He echoed my sentiment as if he'd read my mind.
His question dripped with disdain and dug into me with razor-sharp claws. I thought, after everything I'd endured over the years, I was prepared for this meeting. That nothing else could possibly hurt me. I was wrong. I breathed through the pain and forced myself to stay upright. I couldn't let him see how low he'd just cut me. I had to pull it together.
"You wasted your time coming out here. If you want to help someone, go back to the main house. My father thinks he knows how to handle this, but I guarantee he doesn't."
Axel stared at me for a few long seconds before he took a step in my direction, forcing me to step backwards and stiffen my arm still holding the gun.
"Stop right there. I don't want to shoot you, but I will if I feel threatened."
He smirked. "You won't shoot me."
"Don't presume to know what I will or won't do. I will. It's what I've been trained to do."
"Is that what you are now, Mandy? A killer?"
