Axel

VI

VI

The Separation

T R I N I T Y

"I swear, if you say I told you so I'll gut you like a fish," I whispered to him as I hopped off the barstool and stepped closer to him. He sent a smile to me as his arms enclosed around me, but his eyes were blazing red with anger so I knew it was just to keep appearances.

"No, no, no, mi angelita, I won't say it. By the time I'm done with you, the words won't matter," he growled.

I rolled my eyes at his empty threat.

"Who was he and who is the Moretti family?" I simply asked.

A harsh glare was his response. I glared right back for a few seconds, showing him that I wasn't finished with this line of questioning, then turned my gaze to the crowd searching for a certain brown-haired man. From his accent, I could tell he wasn't from here. He was cocky too, I'd give him that. Either that, or he didn't know how dangerous we were.

I suppose it was the latter.

Whatever it was, the air filled with tension the second the words Moretti Family came out. And that, even for Axel, said plenty. What I saw in his eyes was... indescribable. For him to get this worked up about something - about someone - told me this was different than what we faced.

So I scanned through the crowds until I found him. He wasn't alone either. He was chatting up two other men and they all looked out of place. How did they even get in here?

The guy started shuffling on his feet, turning to look out to the crowd as well, with his hands folded across his chest. Before his eyes caught mine, I stepped towards Axel and shifted his body so he was trapping me to the bar counter. I wrapped my arms around his neck and started trailing kisses down his neck.

"Trinity now is not the time," he growled again.

I scoffed.

"Don't flatter yourself," I said to him. "I'm watching to see what your little friend is up to."

He didn't say anything else, but I knew he was scowling.

"So, you gonna tell me who this guy is?"

He waited for a few minutes as if contemplating his response, before he muttered, "No."

"Let me rephrase, you are going to tell me who this guy is."

He sighed.

"I don't know him, Trinity," he said.

"Don't bullshit me De Bastardo. Talk," I responded, biting him hard in the crook of his neck. The second I did, his hands came to my waist, squeezing me tightly. Well, that's bound to leave a bruise. I grabbed a handful of his thick black hair and pulled him to stare at me.

"Clever," he spat out before he sighed. "The Moretti family and mine have an... interesting relationship."

I narrowed my eyes at him.

"How interesting?"

"They killed my mother as a sick twisted message to my father,"

I didn't know what to say to that. The memories of Hector telling me of his murdered wife came to mind. He said they killed her to have a better position in the business. I remembered because it was probably the only time I saw him sorrowful and weak. Even if was only for a second.

He told me that he raised Axel to trust no one but himself and his training. It made me understand why the guy was such a bastard.

I couldn't bring myself to say the words, so I let my eyes speak for me showing him how sorry I was for his loss. It was a moment of weakness that we both allowed ourselves to be lost in. Only for a moment.