Page 11 of Despair

AXEL ALVARES

Axel’s stomachfluttered as he led his sister and Daisy away from Lazarus House. Daisy was out of his league and older than him by more than a decade, more experienced in… everything, and she’d been right. This was completely not the time to go on an outing, but as his father, his pai, always used to say, the moment you give up is the moment it ends.

Call him stupid. Call him hopelessly optimistic. Call him reckless. He didn’t care. Axel’s worth was measured by the hopes and dreams realized in the eyes of his loved ones. That’s all he cared about.

Paranoid about Daisy’s discomfort, he’d let go of her hand but now longed for it back. He spent too much of the short journey internally berating himself for letting go. For most of the walk, they’d escaped stumbling into trouble, but as they approached their destination, he wasn’t sure if their luck would hold out. Or Elena’s energy.

Three older teenagers in hoodies congregated at a street corner, their heads bowed as they spoke quietly to each other. Each had an obvious gun tucked into baggy jeans. They were plotting something no good.

“Stay close,” he said to his sister.

She hugged her jacket and stepped toward him. He was so proud of her. After their parents’ death and before her illness, she’d shut herself off. But a trigger had flipped in her since, and she wasn’t afraid to take risks or try new things. The sad part about that was that she didn’t have enough time to do all the things she now loved. But since his time with the Faithful and CCFD was done, he wanted to give her as many experiences as he could.

A brush at his fingers was the only warning before Daisy stole the gun from him. His mouth opened to protest, but she shut him down with a look. And then there was that split second of physical contact that sent his heart into hyperdrive.

“I’m a better aim,” she declared and then checked the rounds. He tried to protest again, but she continued talking over him. “I was trained as a sniper at eleven. I know what you Faithful are like. You have no real finesse or skill. You’re babies when it comes to real conflict. It’s better I handle protection from here on out.”

Babies?

Irritation swarmed in his veins. He was twenty-five, and no runt either. He packed almost one-eighty and could carry a full-grown man out of a burning building. As a Faithful, he’d killed. He’d rescued. He’d seen a hellova lot in his lifetime.

Before he could reply, the trio of youths looked up and noticed them. Axel tensed, ready to fight, but the youths quickly moved on. Daisy trained her gun on them with cold eyes until they turned a corner. Axel forced Daisy’s weapon down.

“Not everyone is the enemy,” he reminded her.

She frowned at him but acquiesced and, just like that, his earlier irritation was replaced by a surge of masculine satisfaction. She’d listened to him. He liked that. Maybe he could offer something to this strong woman, after all.

“Come on,” he said. “It’s just through here.”

The double doors were locked but a side door would let them in. Down the narrow alley, they stopped at a dumpster with a vented window behind it on the brick wall. Axel slammed the dumpster lid shut and then boosted his sister on top.

“You got it, Ellie?”

She grinned down at him. “Always.”

Then she slid out the glass vents until she’d made a gap big enough to squeeze through. She disappeared into the darkness. Daisy was about to hop up to do the same, but he stopped her.

“She’ll open the door for us,” he explained. Elena needed to feel useful too.

“Oh.” Daisy nodded, then checked up and down the alley. He wondered if she was always switched on like that. After sweeping their surroundings, her arresting violet eyes landed back on him. “You do this often?”

He cleared his throat. “I work crazy hours and we always miss opening times. One night, me and Ellie decided to just find our own way in.”

“You broke in.”

He shrugged. “I guess raising ourselves gave us looser morals than most.”

“You raised yourselves?” Her brows lifted as she stepped closer.

Her floral, heady scent stuck to him like glue. God, she was hot. Instant hard-on hot. Instant trouble. So out of his league, but he was going for it. Sooner or later, he’d have Daisy as his woman, in his bed, and he’d give her the world.

“Axel?”

“Sorry, what?” He’d forgotten the question.

“I asked if you and Elena raised yourselves.”

“Oh.” He scrubbed the back of his neck. He didn’t like talking about his past. He shouldn’t have brought it up. “Our parents immigrated from Brazil.” When he didn’t elaborate, she watched him patiently. He had the sense nothing he would say could scare her away. She would keep their secrets to the grave. “They were illegal.”