AllFreeNovel
Share Us
16
Mercy
Even though Gideonhad said Axel hadn’t offered any useful information about Titus’s death, I’d seen for myself how invested the guy was in his friend’s death. So when I spotted him out in the front yard the next day with a few of his buddies, drinking and smoking cigarettes Wylder wouldn’t have allowed most places inside, I figured it couldn’t hurt to talk to them. I couldn’t exactly end up with fewer leads than I already had.
I made my way toward them, squinting in the hot late-afternoon sun. The sharp scent of nicotine-laced smoke tickled my nose.
Axel gave me an amused smirk when he saw me approach. “We’re being joined by royalty. Here’s the infamous Claws princess.”
So word about my identity had spread around here. Wonderful.
I ignored his bait. “I need to speak to you. Ideally alone.”
He snorted. “You can do it here. There’s nothing I’d say to you that these guys can’t hear.”
The other men were practically leering at me. My knuckles itched to land square on somebody’s nose, but I forced my voice to stay even. “Fine. I wanted to ask you about Titus. I heard you were the last person who talked to him before he fell.”
Axel’s face tightened. He threw the cigarette butt to the ground and crushed it under his heel. “Before he was pushed after being murdered, you mean. What about it?”
“Did he say anything to you about any run-ins he’d had earlier that day? Anyone who’d been hassling him recently?”
“No one was stupid enough to hassle the Titan,” Axel said. “That’s why he was Ezra’s favorite to send in when any of the lowlifes in the Bend got too cocky. But no, he didn’t seem concerned about anyone in particular. The only person I know he’d had a beef with was that attack dog of Wylder’s.”
Kaige. I tried another angle. “He didn’t seem at all distracted?”
Axel scowled at me. “He took his job seriously.”
“I mean, he must have been at least alittledistracted if somebody was able to ambush him.”
Axel jerked around to fully face me, the veins practically popping out of his tattooed head. “I don’t like you implying that he got killed through his own carelessness. If that hotheaded prick hadn’t gone fucking crazy, nothing would have happened.”
“Why are you asking so many questions?” one of the other guys asked.
I didn’t think they’d respond well to the idea that Wylder had me investigating to clear Kaige’s name, so I just shrugged. “I’m curious. Since it seems like I might be sticking around for a while, I’d kind of like to figure out how a person makes sure theydon’tget murdered.”
Another asshole snorted. “Steer clear of Kaige Madden. And get any delusions about joining the Nobles out of your head. Just because your family kicked the bucket doesn’t mean there’s an opening for some ghetto princess. I wouldn’t aspire to anything higher than the big man’s bed.”
The others snickered, and I gritted my teeth. “You definitely won’t find me anywhere near yours,” I retorted.
He took a step closer, purposefully looming. “You’d beluckyto get a taste of this.”
It might have been four to one, and they might have all had a good fifty pounds on me, but I couldn’t stop myself from making a gagging sound. The guy bared his teeth like he was going to bite my head off, and I readied my fists, adrenaline racing through my veins. Maybe I’d get a chance to introduce him to my mean right hook. At least that’d mean a little action.
Then a far too familiar voice called out from across the lawn. “Hey, let’s all take a step back.”
I whirled around to find Rowan walking toward us, his stance casual but his eyes intense. The other guy stiffened, but he didn’t make a move. Obviously he knew better than to challenge Wylder’s inner circle openly.
“Did Wylder tell you to babysit her?” Axel sneered. “You should do a better job.”
“I just think we can give a better impression to one of the Nobles’ guests than getting into a fight with a woman over a few comments,” Rowan said calmly. “None of our egos are that fragile.”
He did have a weird way with them that somehow deflated the tension. I guessed Axel couldn’t exactly argue with his statement. Axel flicked his gaze toward me for just a second. “I’ve said all I’m interested in sharing. Beat it.” He and his group ambled a little farther across the lawn, falling back into their original chatter.
Rowan reached as if to touch my shoulder and then drew his hand back. “Are you okay?”
I glared at him. “I was perfectly fine. I’ve spent more time around guys like this thanyouhave.” Why was he always annoyingly around just when I appeared to need help?
I turned toward the mansion, meaning to stalk back inside, but one of the things Axel had mentioned wriggled up through my mind. Ezra had sent Titus into the Bend to lay down the law when things got particularly bad. Gideon had mentioned something about that too. The start of a plan unfurled in my head.
