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Looking into his handsome face, with his hands on her, she was instantly transported to the moment he’d pulled her from the storm drain. This man was supposed to be one of the Faithful, one of the wicked and morally destitute desperados who’d terrorized this city. Back then, Julius ordered Axel to hurt her, but instead he’d found a way to feed her and keep her alive while she was a prisoner.
He’d rescued her, a woman who’d given up.
He seemed to realize he was touching her the same moment she did and let go.
“Axel,” she greeted, and slid her gaze to the young woman next to him. Inexplicable irritation hit Daisy. The woman was pretty beneath her beanie. A little young for Axel, but then again, Daisy was comparatively old to be his mate. There had to be at least ten years between them. Probably more. Her next words came out harsher than intended. “What are you doing here?”
“Um.” He scratched his head. “I’m…”
The more his tongue got tied, the more a blush stained his cheeks. Amusing. The young woman next to him answered.
“We’re out for ice cream,” she said with a genuine smile.
Daisy glanced up and down the street. Every café and restaurant was closed or boarded up. Her brow arched.
“That’s not true,” Axel laughed nervously. “We came to see you.”
“We?”
“Oh,” he jolted, and shook his head. “Sorry, I should have introduced you. Daisy, this is my sister Elena. Elena, this is Daisy.”
Sister.
The word settled something wild inside of Daisy. She studied Elena more closely. She was skinny and weak looking. A thin layer of despair emanated from her. She would be one of those people Julius said took up valuable breathing space and should be put down. There’s no room in paradise for sin. There’s no room for the weak. Daisy pushed Julius’s voice out of her head and forced a tight smile on her face. She should at least try to appear normal and polite.
“Nice to meet you, Elena.” That was the correct way to respond, wasn’t it?
Elena adjusted her backpack. “So… you worked with my brother for the madman?”
Daisy blinked at her candidness. This was now definitely outside the typical social conventions. Daisy’s normal interactions revolved around ordering Faithful to her putting down sinners. Not knowing how to respond, she shrugged. Awkward silence descended.
“Um,” Axel said, his voice pleasantly deep and smooth. “I actually brought Elena here to show her where to go if she needed help. Parker and Alice said I could stop by any time. Hope that’s okay.”
Daisy frowned and fidgeted. “I guess.”
More awkward silence.
“I also wanted to see how you were feeling after… you know.”
Elena tried to hide her smile, as if Axel had said something humorous. Daisy didn’t understand. And she also didn’t know why he was checking in on her. She might know he was her mate, but he had no idea. If he worked as a Faithful, then he was probably dying. That’s the way the Faithful worked. The sick and the dying traded their current life in return for becoming better replicates. There was probably a tank somewhere with a carbon copy of Axel floating in it, waiting for this version of him to kick the bucket so it could be born.
“So how are you feeling?” he asked.
“Fine.”
His brows flinched in the middle. “Are you? Because last I saw, you weren’t looking too good.”
“Bit tired,” she admitted. Her spinal fluid took longer to regenerate than she’d anticipated. And then there were the scars from the exploratory surgery on her stomach. She was stiff, sore, and grumpy. But she wasn’t complaining about that. For all her snippy words at her family, she was still grateful to be alive. Today. Tomorrow might be different.
Her palms itched and she wanted to wash the blood away but knew there was none there. It was all in her head.
“So…” Axel said. “You on your way out?”
“I am.”
He looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to elaborate but she found herself getting lost in his eyes. They were two dark pools of comfort. Looking into them felt so familiar, like she’d dreamed of him so often that the memory of him had imprinted on her soul. The notion made her squirm. She gestured over her shoulder to where she’d come from and blurted, “They’re just so…” She took a breath. Scowled. “And I’m… not like that.”
“Ahh,” he sighed knowingly, a twinkle in his eyes. “I get it.”
