AXEL

Strike

Axel rubbed his forehead, wincing at the tender bump swelling under his touch. He sighed, walking painstakingly slow towards the closet door. His hand hovered over the metal handle as he tried to decide if it was a good idea to release the foul-mouthed girl behind it.

He cocked his head to the side straining to hear the light footsteps tapping on the wooden floor out in the hallway. His hands slid under his coat and clutched onto the cool metal of his gun. He spun around on his heel, squeezing the trigger and aiming for the intruder. The bullet ricocheted off the metal hinge and sunk into the wall in the hallway.

Des's high pitched shriek filled the silent room. He dropped to the floor in a heap and covered his head with arms trying to make himself as small as he possibly could.

Axel sighed and hung his head, gun resting limply in his hand. "Hey, kid," he said his voice breaking at the sight of the trembling boy that laid at his feet. He rubbed a hand down his face and added, "fuck I thought you were Len Danvers."

Des peeked through his fingers and glanced up at him. He slowly lowered his arms away from his face and pushed himself up to stand. His eyes flickered to the gun as Axel slipped it back into his holster and he released a breath.

"I saw him leave, I thought it was safe to come back down," he mumbled, his eyes darting around the room as he avoided Axel's intimidating stare.

Axel shook his head, "for a smart kid you don't have any common sense. Danvers knows that something's wrong," he said knotting his tie back up to his collar. He ignored the boy's open mouth and wide-eyed gaze at his words.

He'd discovered that Knox had been collecting intel on the Danvers organisation for years, including the technology wizard that was Desmond Aran. The teen who hacked into Danvers bank to steal their dirty money and hide it in an offshore account. The money never found.

"Where is she?" Des gasped searching the room for his red haired friend.

Axel turned his nose up at the mention of her, "can't have five fucking minutes to myself," he muttered under his breath as he dragged his feet towards the closet. Twisting the handle the door creaked open to reveal Kit curled up on the floor, her fiery hair splayed out covering her face. He gently nudged her elbow with his dirty shoe, even in the dim light he could see sickly coloured jumper.

Kit's lip curled up, "what the fuck are you staring at?" she snapped and just like that she stood up shoving him out of the way. In a blink of an eye, she was by Des's side checking him for any injuries. Her touch was soft as her fingers prodded his face and the faint bruise on his jawline.

He cleared his throat, "Kit," Axel spoke interrupting their exchange of hushed words. Des furrowed his brows, his eyes flicking from her and Axel.

Her hand slipped away from Des's face, a faint smile playing on her lips as she nodded to her friend. She pushed the hair out of her face and licked her dry lips, her focus back on Axel.

"So this is how it goes," Axel said looking over Kit's head to talk to Des across the room. "Des, you make anything up, I don't fucking care what but you're in this as deep as we are. Ring up every speeding cam, CCTV and smartphone you can to show that she has disappeared," he said pointing to Kit.

Des nodded, "I've been searching the cams for days and haven't found anything. Just stay out of London and away from the highly populated towns, I won't be able to help if a red-haired girl flames up on the screen."

Kit shivered at the mention of the city, the grimy streets of the east and the narrow alleyways she used run through like a rat. The air thick with pollution and filled with the sound of sirens, London was a labyrinth of hell for her. The west was her saviour, the Chinese Xhia took her in and taught her how to survive. She absentmindedly touched the silk of Axel's tie between her fingers, the smooth fabric gliding along her torn skin.

Axel snatched the tie away from her hold, "move it," he spat pushing her out of the room. She snapped out of her trance, trailing behind him down the hallway. She had been too consumed with the thoughts of London to realise Des had already said his goodbyes.

She couldn't fight the smile stretching her lips, her focus on the mud coating Axel's shiny leather shoes and hem of his smart trousers. "You look like shit Monroe," she said holding her hands up to block the glaring sun as they exited the house.

He stopped in his tracks and released a deep breath, "well if you didn't take me on a magical mystery tour through the fucking woods I wouldn't look like shit!" he yelled, he willed himself not to look at her smug face. "If you didn't fuck off, we wouldn't be in this situation," he ripped his leather gloves out of his coat pocket and shoved them on.

"The situation was terrible, to begin with," she grumbled glaring at the cuffs still circling her wrists. Her shoulder blades were tight, the burning pain of not having a full range of motion tingled its way all down her arms.

The leather fabric slapped against his wrist as he let go of the cuff and he whirled around to face her. Her eyes flickered to the tic in his jaw, the vein bulging on his forehead like he was about to self-destruct. He grabbed her face, his fingers digging into her cheeks as he leant in. She squeezed her eyes shut to push the pain away.

He was slowly unravelling, one thread at a time and Kit wondered how long it'd be before she saw the real Axel Monroe in all his morbid glory. The man who touched death.

"Danvers is suspicious. I wanted to get here early and brief you on the plan but as per fucking usual, you disobey me," he snarled shaking her in his hold. "Every time you strike out, so will I." His hand loosened, fingers slipping away from her chin and tapping the side of her cheek like he would a dog.

She opened her eyes at the sound of his promise; his threat. She was probably on her eleventh strike by now.

"You men are all the same," Kit scoffed shaking her head. "I'm everything you can't control." She clenched her fists in front of her and challenged his glare.

Axel stared down at Kit, her body trembling with rage like a monster burrowing itself under her skin. The edge of his lip curled up in amusement he'd finally hit a nerve. "Oh you're breaking my heart Kit," he said holding his hand over his chest.

"Oh, I'll break your..."

"It's not Kit though, is it?" he asked tilting his head to the side to catch her gaze. "I mean Des was a little confused at the name."

"It's Kit but can call me kitten if you want," she purred twisting the lapels of his overcoat in her hands. She pulled him closer and standing on her toes, her nose touching his tense jaw.

He shrugged her off, "I don't care for nicknames," he snapped. "In the trunk! We have someone to meet." He tapped the car lightly, encouraging her to come closer.

Kit groaned, "seriously? The trunk again." Her teeth sunk into her bottom lip and she chewed on it glancing to the car and Axel. She slowly walked to the car, her heart hammering in her chest but all she could think of was the CCTV catching a glimpse of her flaming red hair.

She hated it but it was better than a shallow grave which is what Henridge would have in store for her after the many other things he would do.

"Don't worry it's not Henridge. I'll let you out when we're on private land," he said gently pushing her down into the trunk.

Authors note: Kit really likes to annoy Axel but she'll have to be very careful in the later chapter meeting the elusive Knox 😈 Axel is starting to feel the pressure from both sides! Hope you enjoyed this one.