Chapter 9
THEO
‘I’m going to kill him.’
Hours later, having dropped Lottie and Sadie back at the penthouse, I join Axel at Royal HQ – one of Taylor’s exclusive private clubs – and I’m seething. Like take a rattlesnake, step on its tail, then say ‘relax’ and that’s where I’m at.
‘Kill who?’ Axel rakes a hand through his thick, black hair, dark eyes narrowing as I collapse into the leather chair opposite him and grab the whisky he slides my way. ‘If this about your new assistant again, I’ve told you – there are easier, more legal ways to?—’
‘What— no!’ I wince as the alcohol burns the back of my throat and wave a dismissive hand. I don’t have the patience for his twisted humour. Not tonight. ‘Jake’s fine. He’s no Jenny, but I’m cutting him slack while praying Jen will see retirement for the snooze fest it is and make a comeback.’
Axel smirks. ‘Just because you live for your work doesn’t mean the rest of us do.’
‘I don’t live for?—’
He arches a lazy brow.
‘Fine. Whatever. But I don’t see you complaining about the money I made you.’
‘I wouldn’t dare. But if you’re throwing about death threats, I’d like to know who, so I can decide how?—’
‘It’s that bastard Danny. Sadie’s ex.’
That wipes the smirk from his face.
He leans back – coiled muscle and quiet tension – crowding the seat built for two. ‘Why the sudden fire? You already knew he was a piece of work.’
‘Yeah, well, there’s knowing it, and then there’s hearing it from her lips and— fuck .’
I throw back more whisky, chasing the burn.
Trying to cauterise the guilt. Trying to scorch away the nightmare she laid out in the park: her past, her twisted reality.
Then comes the image I can’t shake – her in Lottie’s doorway before I left.
Soft smile. Big eyes. Lips brushing against my cheek. Thanking me.
Thanking me for taking them out.
Thanking me for helping her see a future.
Thanking me… when I sure as hell don’t deserve it.
I should’ve done more. When she all but disappeared from our lives, I should’ve known something was wrong. Should’ve gotten on a damn plane, found her, uncovered the truth, and brought her home.
But I didn’t.
I told myself distance was better – for her, for me.
The truth was, I was a coward.
Because even then, I couldn’t stop thinking about that kiss. That one reckless, stolen kiss. And it terrified me. The passion it ignited when she was too young. Too innocent. My best friend’s little sister, too.
I wanted her. And in wanting her, I ran the other way.
Me – the supposed grown-up – letting her walk away when I should have tried to fix things. Instead, I abandoned her to that bastard. And now she’s thanking me .
Worse than that, as her lips grazed my cheek, all I could think about was kissing her again. She was so close. So warm. So damn beautiful. Her eyes shining, her lips mere inches from mine, that delicate floral scent – hers alone – making my head spin.
And I hated myself for it.
For still wanting what I never should’ve wanted in the first place.
So I ran.
Again.
Before I did something completely unforgivable and totally irredeemable.
Before I betrayed Taylor’s trust, and shattered Sadie’s newfound faith in me.
‘It’s all I can do not to get on a plane to Ireland right now and?—’
‘And what?’
My teeth slam together, grinding away as a hundred violent images flash through my mind. None satisfying. None enough.
But each one feeds the fire under my skin.
I kept it together around Sadie and little Lottie. Kept the lid screwed on tight.
But now I’m free of them… now it’s just me and the rage… and her words on repeat in my head. Of what he did – his rules, his cruelty, his control.
How long had she endured the worst before finally breaking free?
‘We don’t have a location for him yet,’ Axel says into my silence.
‘You must have some idea!’
He doesn’t answer right away. Just shifts in his seat, fist flexing. Then he mutters, low and bitter: ‘We’ve got nothing. No cards. No hotel check-ins. No digital footprint. No paper trail.’ A muscle tics in his temple. ‘He’s ghosted.’
‘Christ, if you and your team can’t find him, what hope have the Garda got?’
He exhales hard through his nose. ‘It’s surprisingly easy to disappear when you’re desperate… and smart about it.’
‘Fuck. Just give me something. Anything.’
‘We’re watching the docks, the airports, the ferries.
Every exit route in and out of the country is flagged.
We’ve got contacts in immigration, customs, even a guy in Dublin who scrubs CCTV feeds.
If he so much as shows his face, we’ll know.
But guys like him… they don’t always bolt; they stay close, take shelter with people they trust.’
‘Unless he’s coming for her, then he’ll have to cross the border.’ I clench my jaw so tight I hear it creak. ‘What’s the point in a restraining order if he can just break it and vanish? What kind of justice leaves her holed up in my apartment, too scared to step outside, while he roams free?’
‘You’re asking the wrong man…’
I grunt. The law and Axel go way back – none of it good. He’s been cuffed, cornered, questioned since he was old enough to spit back. Now he plays nice when he has to, but trust? That’s long dead.
‘I took her to Hyde Park today, and the difference in her once we stepped outside…’ I drag a hand down my face.
‘She flinched at every sound, every passer-by that got too close, her eyes darting around like some hunted animal. She used to be the life of the party, Axel. You remember? Bold, confident, funny… lighting up every room she walked into. And her followers loved that spark. Now she can’t even take her kid to the swings without breaking into a cold sweat.
She’s terrified of her own goddamn shadow out there. ’
‘Give her time,’ he says. ‘The more she gets out, the more she’ll feel in control. That fear’ll ease. She just needs to feel safe again. Once she does, the rest will follow.’
‘But how can she feel safe when we don’t even know where he is?!’
The tattooed knuckles on one hand flash white as Axel grips his knee. He’s hating this. Almost as much as I am.
‘We’re watching social media, too. Friends, old contacts, any account that might be tied to him or his circle. We’ve already flagged two burner profiles watching Sadie’s public accounts. Could be him. Could be someone feeding him updates.’
‘She won’t post anything now. She’s not stupid. Her phone, tablet, laptop – hell, even her Netflix account – are all new and untraceable.’
‘Either way, we’ve got eyes on it. And unless he’s got an endless supply of cash and places to crash, he’ll have to surface eventually.’
‘And when he does…’ I grind out.
‘And when he does,’ Axel echoes, too smooth, too calm. ‘We’ll hand him over to the Garda. Let the system deal with him.’
‘Because the system did such a bang-up job protecting her before.’
‘It’s what we agreed.’
‘Yeah, well, I’m not feeling so law-abiding these days.’
Axel chokes on his beer and gives a rough laugh.
‘Funny hearing that from you. Usually, you’re the one pulling me back from the edge, but this…
’ He rests his pint glass on the arm of his chair, settles that cool, measured gaze on me.
‘Let’s stick to the plan. Drag the bastard out of hiding, haul his arse to the station. Let the law deal with him.’
‘I’d rather break his face first. Then you haul him in.’
His heavy brows pull into a scowl, eyes glittering under the club lights as he runs a hand over his beard. Even without the tattoos snaking up his arms and neck, he’s menacing. Meet him in a dark alley without knowing him, you’d piss yourself and run.
Hell, sometimes even knowing him, I want to run.
But loyalty? That’s ironclad.
Deadly, but loyal as hell, thanks to the streets and the scars buried deep. Most of them were there long before I met him, back when he was fifteen. Two years older than me, but it might as well have been a decade for all he’d lived through.
Now he’s as rich and free as I am, but still shackled by everything life and society threw his way. One wrong word, one wrong move – it’s game over.
‘This ain’t you, Tanner.’
No, it isn’t. But it’s what her ex deserves. And it’s what Axel would do. Maybe that’s why his calm pisses me off even more.
I know if I asked, he’d take care of Danny. No questions. No hesitation.
But he won’t endorse me handling it myself. He’d rather my hands stayed clean while he wades through the filth. Maybe it’s guilt. Maybe pride. Whatever the fuck it is, I won’t ask it of him. I won’t let him spill blood for me. Not even Danny’s.
‘So it’s fine for you to let loose on the bastards of this world, but I can’t?’
‘You’re too emotionally invested.’
Emotionally invested? Too right, I am. The thought of that man laying a finger on Sadie – my God, on Lottie. She never said he did, and maybe he didn’t, but…
‘I want him to fucking suffer. For what he did to her. For what he did to Lottie. He hated her, you know. His own kid. Resented her for existing. Who the hell does that?’
Axel’s frame tightens like a bowstring, his eyes turn to ice. Shit. His old man, his mum…
‘Ax—’
‘We’ll get him,’ he cuts in. ‘And when we do, prison won’t save him. A guy like that? Word spreads fast. Inmates don’t take kindly to men who hurt women. Especially not their own kid.’
It should make me feel better.
It doesn’t.
Because I’ve seen her face filled with fear in the daylight. I’ve seen the way she startles at everyday things. I’ve seen how tightly she holds Lottie when she thinks no one’s watching.
I down the rest of my whisky and signal the waitress over. She’s a tall, curvy redhead – just Axel’s type. Something he’s already making clear as she joins us.
I shoot him a warning glare. Taylor would kill him for hitting on her staff.
Not that he cares. He’s already giving her more eye than puss-in-bloody-boots. And she’s lapping it up.
What is it about a tattooed guy with black eyes?
Women lose their shit.
Add in a tortured soul?