Axel: (A Gritty Bad Boy MC Romance) (The Lost Breed MC Book 2)

by Ali Parker

  "Thanks." I grabbed it and tossed it in my mouth before working to gather everything we needed to grill the burgers. "Have you talked to Sis lately? How is she doing? That fucker she's dating behaving at all?"

  Maria laughed. "They're getting married. Stop acting like he's just a fling."

  "I wish he was." I grabbed the burgers and headed out of the kitchen. "How we let her end up with a Mafia warlord is beyond me."

  "Someone call my name?" My brother, Paulo glanced up and gave a goofy grin.

  "Yeah. I said Maria needs a few bitches in the kitchen." I winked. "That would mean all of you."

  They slung insults as I walked out in the chilly late spring afternoon to the grill. We lived on the shitty side of town, or I did at least. Mom and Dad hadn't built or bought another house my entire childhood, and I didn't plan on giving up the one we grew up in anytime soon. It was functional and held a lot of memories, and it was safe.

  I could relax and simply be myself there. There was no reason to toughen up or present a front to my family. They knew me in all my many personas, and they loved me.

  For that, I was blessed.

  The sound of hogs on the road down the street got my attention and pulled me from my thoughts. I finished putting the burgers on the grill and walked around the house to find the guys pulling up.

  "Well damn," I mumbled and walked toward Axel as he parked his bike and pulled his helmet off. "What the fuck are you guys doing here? Sundays are for family."

  Hyde laughed and got off his bike. "We are your family, bitch."

  "True." I extended my hand and pulled him into a quick hug before doing that to the rest of them. "I don't have enough food for you big bitches. You should have told someone-"

  Maria cut me off as she walked down the stairs behind me with another tray of hamburgers. "I knew they were coming. Caleb called to make sure it was okay."

  I glanced over at Caleb, the responsible one and rolled my eyes. "Pansy."

  "At your service." He winked and walked past me toward the house. "I hear bones being thrown."

  "I'm in." Derek followed him and Hyde half-danced up the stairs.

  "You guys are fucking weird." I turned back to Axel, his face a mask of worry. He waited until the door was shut behind me to speak.

  "What were you doing with Candace King last night, Johnny? What the fuck is the matter with you, man? You could have any woman in the whole damn city, and yet you're shaking up with our greatest enemy's little sister? You trying to start something?"

  "No," I barked and gave him a warning look before turning back to the grill. I was the president of our MC, but it wasn't traditional at all. It was a brotherhood that had banded together more than the gang it had originally been.

  "Then what were you doing?"

  "Busting a nut, Axel." I glanced his way and pursed my lips as we stood in silence for a second. "It's none of your goddamn business, and you know it."

  "No. It is my goddamn business. Tanner King hates your ass for leaving them and dropping his sister in a puddle of grief."

  "She used me," I spit out through clenched teeth. "We've been through this a million times. The bitch used me to get what they wanted and fucked up my life forever. You think rotting in jail for five years was fun while they enjoyed the spoils of my adventures? She didn't miss me then. She's a fucking viper."

  "Okay. I'm aware of this." He dropped down on a broken cooler on the ground next to the grill. "Why would you sleep with her?"

  "I didn't sleep with her. I fucked her like a whore and kicked her out." I shrugged and turned to flip the burgers.

  Axel let out a long, exhausted sigh. "But why?"

  "Because I still love her." I turned to him and glared down at him. "Shut the fuck up about it, or I'll treat you like a whore too."

  He held up his hands and nodded. "Alright. I know when to back off. Just know that when Tanner comes after your stupid ass that I'll be there for you. We all will."

  I bit my tongue and kept after the burgers, hoping that he'd go inside and leave things be. I was a grown ass man. I didn't need anyone screening my bedmates. Least of all Axel.

  He fought more demons from his past than all of us put together. Being a part of the Cooper clan from the west coast left him no choice but to fight. He had mafia in his blood. He was lucky those bastards hadn't come to collect him - yet.

  "Johnny." Axel's tone had changed.

  I glanced back to see the concern on his face. "What?"

  "Jason's high again." He turned to walk to the front yard.

  "Fuck." I turned down the heat on the grill and followed Axel to the front yard. My nephew, Jason was getting out of his car, giggling like a school girl and falling all over himself.

  "Hey!" I walked up to him and gripped the front of his shirt. The kid was the spitting image of my brother Roberto. His grave was right next to my mom and dad's in the cemetery down the street. "What are you hyped up on now?"

  "Uncle J." He laughed and reached up to grab my forearms as he slumped against me. He smelled like sex and burnt hair. "Good to see you, man. Men. Mans?" He laughed again as his eyes rolled back in his head.

  "Stupid little shit." I gripped the front of his shirt and half-dragged him in the house. He stumbled behind me, singing something in a high-pitched voice.

  "Oh no." Maria stepped out from the kitchen as I walked back with the idiot in tow. Her eyes filled with tears as she pressed her fingers to her lips. "Jon. Don't-"

  "Don't tell me what to do," I barked angrily and pulled the kid to his bedroom in the back. I jerked him inside and chucked him across the room. "I told you to stay the fuck away from drugs."

  "Sorry, Uncle J. Drugs and me... we'z friends." He smiled and chuckled as he dropped down on his bed and curled up on his side. "Don't be mad at me. I'm just like my daddy. You know. The one you let die."

  "Bastard." I came across the room and jerked him up.

  "Hit me. Hit me hard and knock me out of my misery, Uncle J. Let loose on me. Fuck me up good." His eyes filled with tears.

  "Don't leave this fucking house again until I say you can. Got it?" I dropped him on the bed and turned, slamming the door behind me. My brother's only son was mine now, and I was doing about as good of a job with him as I had with Roberto when our parents died.

  Jason would end up in jail, someone's bitch or dead.

  And once again... it would be my fault.

  Chapter 4

  Dani

  Two Weeks Later

  It seemed impossible to find any joy in getting out of the bed in the mornings. Two weeks on probation duty, and I wanted to turn in my badge and find a different way to make my mark on humanity. Surely there were organizations that I'd worked with in the sex crimes area that needed someone like me. Someone who was fearless and willing to go into the darkest places to bring young girls and women out of the bowels of hell.

  I fixed myself a cup of coffee and padded around the kitchen while it cooled. A new group of delinquents would be mine later that day.

  "Oh joy," I mumbled and leaned over, pressing my forearms to the cabinet. I blew on my coffee and tried not to think about how good it would feel to put Tanner King out of his misery. It'd been a long time since I had to use my gun, but I wouldn't hesitate next time I saw him. He'd ruined more lives and desecrated more women than any of the villains I knew of.

  I picked up my cup and walked to the kitchen table where I had files laid out and my laptop set up. Captain had been good enough to let me make the transition to this new division at home instead of at the station. It was probably better for all of us seeing that I kept losing my shit every time I turned around.

  This new job wasn't me. Not in the slightest.

  Babysitting fucked up dope heads that flipped off society and their parents weren't exactly my cup of tea.

  "Or coffee," I mumbled and opened my laptop to find a new file for review. Most of the kids I had to deal with were following their probation just fine, keeping themselves
in line and hoping to get out from under the stern eye of the law.

  "But this little fucker." I reached up and pressed the screen, opening the file. "Jason Moretti. What a piece of work."

  After reading through his profile a couple of times, I flipped over to his family information. It was always so damn interesting to see who was raising the little shits. Usually their grandmothers, as if life should have allowed such a travesty.

  Not only were most of these women dealing with losing their own kids in some manner, but now they were being taxed by their grandkids and their horrible choices. It hurt my heart, but then again, most things did.

  My phone rang, pulling me from my thoughts. "Markum."

  "Danielle. It's your father."

  I sat back and smiled. "Dad. How are you?"

  "I'd be better if you were in one of these pews in front of me." He cleared his throat. "Is there a reason you're not at church again this week?"

  "Yeah. I'm hiding from a bad guy right now, dad. I'm not sure Jesus would appreciate me bringing him and his guns into the middle of your beautiful church."

  "I think you underestimate the power of God to protect you."

  "Right." I stood and let a breath go that I didn't know I was holding. "Seth was here today. He was looking for you."

  "What?" I moved to the window just above my kitchen sink and reached up to jerk it open. It felt incredibly stuffy all of a sudden. "Why didn't he just call?"

  "He was hoping to catch you. I think you need to pay him a visit. He has some paperwork he needs signed."

  "I'm not interested in giving him all of our assets. He's not playing fair because he has the money to bend me over."

  "Danielle. Jeez." The disgust in my father's voice was palatable. It always was. "You have to finish this. You can't just leave the man hanging. Sign the papers and move on."

  I closed my eyes and tried to hold back the scream building in my chest. "Okay. Thanks for calling dad. Enjoy your afternoon." I dropped the call before he could say another word. There was once a time not too far in the past that we'd been close and taken care of each other.

  Everything changed the day my sister's body was found. It destroyed both of us.

  I walked back to the table and sat down. My hand shook as I clicked through the rest of Jason's file and tried to block the memories of me and Seth making love. Of us walking in the park and buying a puppy and sharing a life. A life he'd destroyed with his infidelities. I wasn't adventurous enough. So, he found someone who was.

  The bastard just forget that his ring meant more than a financial commitment.

  "I hate you," I whispered roughly as I moved through Jason's file. I wasn't talking to the kid, but to Seth, or maybe even to myself. I stopped on the information about Jason's guardian. It wasn't an older woman, but a blistering hot bad boy.

  "Shit." I leaned forward and let my eyes run across the man's face. Deep blue eyes framed by long black eyelashes looked back at me. The depths of them forcing me to lean in. High cheekbones, a Sicilian structured nose, full pink lips and a thick black beard that was cut close to his face. My nipples hardened and I grew warm as lust swelled in my stomach.

  My eyes moved down to his thick neck and the tanned, flawless skin there. I wanted to see under his tight black shirt. He was ripped no doubt. The swell of muscle was more than obvious.

  "Wow." I leaned back and sucked my bottom lip into my mouth. "Maybe I need to pay Mister-" I leaned forward again to search for his name. "Mister Johnny Moretti a visit."

  A knock at my door surprised me.

  Fear raced through the center of my chest, and I bolted up and jogged to the bedroom. After grabbing my gun, I walked to the door and slid the gun into the back of my pants. I'd been trained to survive in any situation, but that didn't make me any more willing to run toward danger than any other woman on the planet.

  "Who's there?" I leaned forward and tried to make out the face on the other side through my peephole. Useless.

  "It's me, Dani. Seth. I need to talk to you for a minute."

  I groaned and opened the door. "What do you want? Make it quick."

  "Can I come in?" He stood at the door wearing his Sunday best. The thick file in his left hand let me know pretty quickly what he wanted.

  Without giving him a second glance, I turned and walked to the kitchen. "Do whatever you want. That fits your style best."

  My heart ached in my chest. The life I thought was mine was a faded memory, and all I had to show for it was a career that I had to fight for every inch of the way. No family. No kids. No house on the hill. No fucking dog.

  "I'm sorry to come over without calling."

  I turned to face him and extended my hand. "Give me that and get out. I'll read it when I have time and then I'll sign if it's fair."

  He tilted his head a little to the side and lifted his eyebrow. "You won't read it. I know you. Just sign the papers and let’s be done with this."

  "Am I getting on Cindy's nerves?" I took the packet from him and walked around him back into the dining room. "Or is it Candy? Randy? Mandy? Sandy?"

  "It's Cynthia, and you know it." He followed me.

  I breathed in the scent of his cologne and tried not to let my emotions get the best of me. He was the only man I'd been with, and the only one I wanted to be with. But I wasn't enough. He'd turned me in for a slut from the bar he met on a business trip. And now she lived in my house and slept in my bed. I bet she petted my damn dog too.

  "Nope. I don't know. Nor do I care." I sat down at the table and glanced up at Johnny again. I couldn't help but wonder what his story was. Had life dealt him a shitty hand, or was he a taker like Seth? Everyone walking around on the streets in their business suits were just one deal away from being homeless. All the happy couples at the park were one mistake away from being single, alone, destroyed.

  "Just sign the papers, Dani."

  "I will." I glanced up at him and forced a facade of indifference on my face. "I'll get them to you by the middle of the week."

  "Promise?" His expression softened a little.

  So many questions pressed against the back of my front teeth as I clenched my jaw. Was she worth it? Did she make him happy? Was he really the boy that took me to prom and promised to be mine forever when we were just in fifth grade?

  Where did that guy go? Did he leave first, or had my sister’s death changed me to the point of pushing him away?

  Was it my fault?

  "Yes." I nodded and turned back to the packet of papers as my eyes filled with tears.

  "Dani."

  "Go. Please." I lifted my hand as he reached for me. Fuck me if my voice didn't break. "Get out."

  "I'm sorry that-"

  "Get! Out!" I screamed from deep inside my chest as my body clenched. He had too much power over me, but he wouldn't for much longer. I turned my attention to Johnny Moretti's picture and reached up to wipe at my eyes. I'd find a way to break Seth's spell.

  Even if it meant falling for the wrong guy for a little while.

  Relationships never lasted too long anyway.

  At least not in my world.

  Chapter 5

  Ryder

  "You're almost late." Axel glanced up from his bent over position beside a new car we were working on.

  "Almost isn't late." I walked past him toward the office. "Move before you fuck the project up. Your part is done. It's my turn to do the touch ups and such."

  "You're right."

  "On both accounts." I ran my fingers through my hair and winked at Ellie, one of the girls that worked in the shop. She was a better grease monkey than most of the boys. If Axel weren’t hiding a hard-on for the pretty thing, I'd have already laid her out and made her scream my name a few times.

  "What shit are you already starting this morning, Moretti?" She glanced up from the pile of paperwork Axel had scattered across his desk.

  "Just making sure everyone knows their place." I reached for the schedule and ran my finger down the long
list of jobs we had to get through. "Who's coming in today for pick up."

  "Nancy Morgan is due in around nine this morning for her Cadi." She gave me a quirky smile.

  "What?" I stood up straight and lifted my eyebrow. "Got something to say?"

  "Yeah, but maybe I should moan it, so you'd understand it better." She laughed and turned her back to me. "You know Axel would be pissed if he knew you were fucking the customers."

  "Would he?" I dropped the schedule back on the desk and walked to the door. "Let Miss Morgan know that she needs to see me to get her keys." I grabbed her keys off the rack by the door and walked out. She was a rich bitch with a horrible laugh, but she could suck a dick like nobody’s business. I was more than happy to give her a little bit of practice.

  "Fuck." Axel walked around a Mustang we had jacked up four feet into the air.

  "What's up?" I slipped the keys in my pocket and gave my closest friend my attention.

  "Ellie keeps leaving her tools all over the fucking place. I almost busted my ass thanks to her wrench being on the ground. The damn thing is covered in motor oil."

  "She's trying to kill you." I nodded. "It's the way women tell you they're interested nowadays. Used to be a little light flirting, maybe a room key, or a subtle foot in your lap to play with your dick, but things have progressed."

  "Fuck you too." He rolled his eyes and walked around me. "She's not interested, and even if she were… I’m not."

  "Okay." I followed him, wanting to push a little harder just for the fun of it. "Then if you're not into her, then move outta the way. She's beautiful. I'd love to spread her taut little thighs and-"

  The quickness of his attack threw me off guard. He popped me in the throat two times in quick succession and the pain of it stole my breath. "Shut the fuck up about her, Johnny. Now."

  I lifted my hands as I gasped for air. "Got it. Damn it, man."

  "Sorry." He ran his fingers through his hair and let out a long sigh. "I can't stop thinking about her. I tried to take a girl out last night and I barely got the rubber on before I called out Ellie's name."