Chapter 40
WHEN SOMEONE HURTS THE WOMAN YOU ADORE, AND SUDDENLY, MURDER SEEMS REASONABLE. #PRIMALINSTINCTS
AXEL
“You’re a fucking jackass—you know that?” I snapped.
Mathew’s smirk widened. Mission accomplished, apparently.
“Axel, calm down.” Blake stood up, hands raised, like he was dealing with a rabid animal. Which fair enough. I felt pretty rabid right now.
“Someone should go check on Dakota,” Ryker said quietly, but no one was listening. They were all watching me, like I might spontaneously combust. Or commit capital murder.
I jabbed a finger at Mathew. “You did that shit on purpose. But you hurt her, doing it, not me.”
Look at him with that arrogant smirk. I knew I was feeding right into whatever trap he’d laid, but I couldn’t give a damn. The damage was already done.
“See, Frank? Carl?” Mathew turned to my business associates with theatrical concern. “I told you the guy was unpredictable.”
“I’m going to check on her,” Ryker said, slipping away while everyone’s attention was on the testosterone showdown.
“You’re an asshole, Mathew.” My voice came out low. Dangerous. “If you want to hurt me, hurt me. Do not”—I stepped forward—“hurt Dakota. You leave her out of this, or so help me—”
I lunged, but Blake and Jace were suddenly in front of me like a wall of expensive suits. The influencers scattered to the far side of the room, phones probably already recording. Great. Just what I needed: my meltdown going viral.
Frank and Carl rose slowly, their disapproving eyes sweeping the chaos.
“Seems to me,” Mathew drawled, “if you two really were lovebirds, she’d know all about your other fiancée.”
The room went dead quiet.
Motherfucker.
“You left her.” My voice was deadly quiet.
“You had her, had everything, and you threw it away. And you think you can just walk back in here and claim her like she’s some prize you misplaced?
” The nerve. “She deserves to be with someone who knows her worth isn’t something to be measured against some new job offer.
Her worth is something to be cherished.”
“Well, I’m back now.” He shrugged like we were discussing the weather. “And I’m not leaving again. Dakota belongs with someone who understands her value.”
The way he said value made my stomach curl. Like she was an asset to be appraised.
“You hurt her the other night,” I accused. “She came to me. She cried on my shoulder.”
“People can say things they don’t mean when they’re confused,” Mathew said, his tone turning almost clinical. “Dakota has always been … impressionable. She just needs the right guidance to see clearly again.”
Guidance? What the hell was that supposed to mean?
“Listen to your words,” I snapped, trying to lunge past my friends. “Taking no accountability for breaking her heart. It’s too late to get her back. She doesn’t want you anymore, and getting her upset with me won’t change that.”
Mathew scrubbed his cheek. This was the side of him Dakota probably never saw before. The competitive, calculating side that would gladly destroy her if it served his purpose.
“We’ll see about that.” Mathew shoved his hands into his pockets and started walking toward the elevator. Casual. Taunting. “Dakota and I have a deeper connection than you realize.”
Red. All I could see was red. And Dakota’s face when that bombshell hit.
I was the one who put that hurt there. My lie. But Mathew? He was the one who’d loaded the gun and pulled the trigger.
“If you really cared about her, you never would’ve hurt her tonight,” I said.
His smile was cold, calculating. “She needed to see the truth about you.”
I lunged, but the boys held me back.
“That’s enough.” Frank and Carl were buttoning their suits, heading for the elevator. Professional disappointment radiated from them in waves.
“Careful there, Axel,” Mathew warned with mock concern as the businessmen vanished from my penthouse. “Your deal isn’t inked yet.”
“You came here to sabotage this,” Jace snarled at Mathew, shoving him away from me.
Somewhere in the back of my mind, I registered that I’d probably just blown the one shot at saving my business. But right now, I didn’t give a shit. The influencers, on the other hand, made no move to leave. Of course not. This was social media gold.
#EngagementDrama.
“You’re not good enough for her,” I snarled.
“I was there when she built that online persona. I helped shape it. I know the real Dakota. The one who needs someone to take care of her.”
The possessive way he talked about “shaping” her made my blood boil. Like she was some kind of project.
“Let me go,” I snapped, shaking free of Blake’s grip. I stalked to the other side of the room, shoving my hands through my hair, and glowered at Mathew. “Get the fuck out of my house.”
“Gladly.” His smile was all teeth. No warmth.
My boys flanked me, bodies coiled for violence. Ready to jump in if I completely lost it.
Which I was about to.
“You’re lucky my friends have better judgment than me,” I said through gritted teeth, “because if they weren’t here, so help me God, I would beat the living shit out of you.”
“My, my. Such a temper.” Mathew tsked like a disappointed teacher. “This is exactly why Dakota needs protection from men like you. You know what? You guys had better watch her for bruises. I’d hate to find out you’re violent toward women. Although, given your track record with women …”
I lunged for him, slipping past my boys this time, and slammed him against the wall so hard, the picture frames rattled. My hands found his throat and squeezed until his smug smile finally disappeared.
Around me, chaos erupted. My boys tried to pry me off. The influencers and girls began screaming. But all I could hear was the sound of Mathew’s ragged breathing and the blood rushing in my ears.
This was for Dakota.
This was for every tear she’d cried because of him.
This was for—
The elevator dinged.