11. Astrid
Chapter 11
Astrid
I was awake all night.
Couldn’t sleep. Couldn’t sit. My phone was always in my grasp as I wandered past the windows. I eventually went downstairs because my room started to feel suffocating. I’d visited other parts of the house, like the study and the kitchen, so I assumed I was welcome to do so.
When I walked into the study, Axel was there.
He sat in one of the armchairs, dressed in the same shirt and sweatpants I’d seen him wearing earlier. His ball cap was gone because he’d left it in my bedroom. He didn’t notice me right away, not until I took a seat in the other armchair, the one I’d seen Theo occupy.
His eyes flicked to me.
“Have you heard from him?”
Axel shook his head .
That was the answer I expected, but it disappointed me anyway. I set my phone on the table beside me and tapped the screen to check the time. It was almost five in the morning. Theo had dropped me off seven hours ago, but now that felt like days in the past.
Axel stared at the cold fireplace.
“You said you weren’t worried. But you look worried.”
“Just anxious,” he said.
It was dark, so I hadn’t noticed the rifle leaned up against the opposite side of his chair. My heart dropped at the sight. “Why do you have that?”
“I told you I was anxious.”
“Axel, do you know something?”
He kept his eyes on the fireplace.
Sheer, raw panic burst inside me. “Axel.”
He continued to ignore me.
“Did something happen to Theo?—”
“I haven’t heard from Theo or heard anything about him.”
“Then why are you on guard with that gun?”
He finally turned to look at me. “Because Theo synced my phone with his alarm system. I can see all the activity in the computer log. His gate opened around three in the morning. And then the front door. ”
“I don’t understand.”
“It wasn’t Theo. He would have told me if he was on his way back from Rome.”
A profound sense of doom hit me.
“So, I think Bolton called his guys once he spotted Theo. And I think his butler is the one who let them in.”
Another burst of panic exploded inside me.
“Otherwise, the alarm would have been tripped. It was deactivated by a keypad password, meaning it wasn’t hacked. There’s only one person besides Theo who has that code.”
There was only one other person in the house where I slept, and he’d been bribed by Bolton. “Theo told me that Bolton got into the house. Wore a bulletproof vest so Theo wouldn’t shoot him. He never figured out how he did it.”
Axel took a slow breath then released it as a sigh. “They know you aren’t there. Whatever is going on between Bolton and Theo is probably happening as we speak, so I’m not sure what their next move will be. If they’ll continue to look for you…or wait for further instruction.”
I looked at the gun again. “You think they’ll come here?”
“I doubt it. I’ve never been one of the Skull Kings. I don’t have any public affiliation with Theo. Anyone who has seen us together probably doesn’t understand the depth of the relationship. ”
“But you’re sitting here with a rifle.”
“I’ve got a wife and two kids sleeping upstairs. I have to be cautious. So, until Theo is back and this shit is over, I’m not moving.”
I’d give anything to know what was happening with Theo at that moment. If he was standing over Bolton’s dead body. If he was on his way home. If all of this was over. Then my phone lit up with a text message. “Oh my god. Theo texted me.” I swiped on his name to read the message.
Axel straightened in his chair.
I read the message out loud. “On my way back.”
Axel released a loud sigh, like he’d been a lot more stressed than he claimed. He grabbed his phone and started typing, probably telling Theo everything he’d discovered about the house and his butler.
I didn’t care about any of that. I was just happy that Theo was alive and on his way home. “I’m so relieved.” I took my first breath. Allowed myself to relax in the chair. Allowed myself to be tired.
Axel continued to type on his phone, like he and Theo were having an in-depth conversation. “Bolton got away.”
All the relief I’d just felt was viciously taken from me.
“Carson’s dead. He said he didn’t have a choice.”
“Is he okay? ”
Axel typed on his phone.
I waited for my answer.
“He’s okay. A bullet in the shoulder and some bruises.”
“He was shot?”
“He’ll be fine,” Axel said quickly. “It’s just the shoulder.”
“ Just the shoulder ?”
“He has a medic with him. Already took out the bullet and patched him up.”
“Oh my god…” I dragged my hands down my face.
“Astrid, he’ll be fine. Calm down.”
“Tell me to calm down again, and see what happens.”
He seemed to finish up the conversation because he put his phone aside. “He wants you to stay here until he handles the house and the butler.”
I wanted him to come straight here—straight to me. “Okay.”
“He’s dispatched his guys to the house, so they should get there first.” He sat back in the armchair and relaxed. He sat there for a while before he grabbed the rifle and removed the rounds from the chamber.
“Thank you for letting me stay here.” I knew Axel had a lot to lose, but he still accommodated me out of love for his best friend…or brother—whatever they were.
“I know he would die for Scarlett and my babies. ”
Theo claimed he struggled to love, but I saw the way he loved Axel so effortlessly, the way he wore his heart on his sleeve the way I did for him. I could be angry about that, or I could be patient. I could wait until he was ready to love me the same way. “Yeah, he would.”