Axl

by Sonja B

  THE SALVANT BROTHERS

  BOOK 1- AXL

  A Novel By,

  SONJA B.

  ©2019 Published by After Hours Publications, Inc. www.afterhourspublications.com

  All rights reserved.

  Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage without express permission by the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Contains explicit language & adult themes suitable for ages 17+

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  Love Notes!!!

  To my husband, Randy you are my biggest fan. Words cannot express the love and appreciation I have for you. Thank you for your patience and encouragement. Love you, bae.

  To my sons, Brenden, Zhordan, DonDon and Derek you guys are the best sons ever. You rock!

  To my parents and siblings, thank you for loving and believing in me. I gives me the push I need to continue with my dreams.

  A big thank you to After Hours Publications for taking a chance on a new undeveloped author.

  UniqueWords, LLC, thank you for pushing me to reach higher and explore outside of my comfort zone. Oh, and the promoting doesn’t hurt either!

  Mauro Ponti, man you made my day, the day you agreed to bring Axl to life and work exclusively with my agent. We are going to make a great team!

  Now, to those who hold the most important role on this journey, My Readers/Fans without you I could not do what I do. Your messages and emails mean so much to me. I am humble and grateful for your support of my work. Thank you!

  Prelude

  Axl Salvant

  “Please, no more. I’ll pay Mr. Romano, please.” ‘Lucky’ Paulie Aldean slurs with blood and drool falling from his mouth.

  I’m not sure how he got the nickname Lucky, but luck was not on his side tonight. I’m shocked he’s able to speak after I cracked his jaw with my brass knuckles. I’ve spent the last two hours torturing him, feeding off his screams. He no longer has nails on his fingers or toes. He has knives through his legs, keeping him pinned to the chair I tied him in. Deep slashes with blood ooze from the cuts covering his chest. His nose is knocked to the right, and his eyes have started to turn black from the hits to his face.

  Lucky was an arrogant street hustler who thought he could get over on everyone. Well, his luck ran out when he got a loan with my boss, Andres Romano, and didn’t pay it back. During the last six months, Mr. Romano sent his collectors to obtain the money, and each time Lucky gave some bull shit excuse of not having it or he needed more time. Word got back to the boss that he was going around talking shit about how he got over on him. On top of that, he was spending the money like he won the fucking lottery. He bought a new car, took his girlfriend on trips, and his stupid ass had the nerve to be at the local bar bragging about it all. This idiot, he has been ducking and dodging the boss’ men. So, when they couldn’t find him, the boss called me.

  I’m the one he calls upon when he needs shit done right. If he enlists my services, that means he wants a target eliminated. I ask no questions nor need explanations why. I don’t fucking care, it’s not my business to know. I do one job and one job only. Find the target and snatch their soul, like this idiot, Lucky. It wasn’t hard finding him. I caught him sneaking out of his mother’s house last night. I had been sitting in her house for two days. Late that second night, he was creeping out the back door and I was waiting on him. I snuck up on him and knocked him out when I hit him in the head with the butt of my gun. I threw him over my shoulder and carried him to my car, where I threw him in the trunk and brought him to the warehouse I used to dispose of my targets.

  “Mr. Romano has given you plenty of time to repay him, Lucky. You knew the consequences. Now your time is up.” I tell him, as I pick up the large bowing knife from the table that has all my torture toys.

  “Please, don’t do this! I have a family.” He squeals.

  “So does Mr. Romano. So when you don’t pay him back, he calls me. Do you know who I am, Lucky?” I ask, stalking towards him. He frantically shakes his head from side to side. “I am the Snatcher of Souls.” His eyes widen with recognition, as he tries to struggle against the ropes that have him bound to the chair. I grab his hair pulling his neck back. “May your soul rest in peace.” Lucky screams, as I bring the knife down, stabbing him in the heart. His eyes dim as his screams become silent. I watch as the light in his eyes begin to fade, his soul leaving his body.

  I close my eyes, relishing in the kill. Some might think I’m psychotic or insane, they might be right. This is what I was trained to do. This is what I loved to do.

  I whistle, as I begin to clean my tools. After I took Lucky out, I dumped his body in a vat of acid. I never leave any evidence behind, not even a fucking eyelash. When I’m finished cleaning all the tools, I place them back in the case I had specifically made for them and lock it. To anyone else looking at it, it would seem to be an ordinary briefcase, but one look inside told a different story. Just as I was about to grab my car keys, my cellphone began to ring.

  I smile, looking at the name on the screen, before hitting the accept button.

  “What’s up, little brother?” I greet to Felix.

  “Hey Axl.” He replies. “I was calling to see if you were going to make it for dinner?”

  Felix was going to culinary school and was turning into an excellent chef. “Yeah, I’ll be there. Is Adam gonna be home in time?” Adam was my other little brother.

  “Yeah, he’ll be here, but he said he might be a little late because he was trying to finish putting a motor in.”

  “Okay, cool. I’m leaving the warehouse now. I’ll be home soon, okay?” I tell him.

  “Alright, see you later.”

  “See you, Felix,” I tell him, before hanging up.

  Chapter 1

  Axl

  I wasn’t always like this. I remember a time in my life before I was turned into the Snatcher of Souls. I didn’t have the best childhood growing up with my parents and younger siblings. We lived in the poorer part of town where families lived paycheck to paycheck. Both my parents worked minimum wage jobs that barely bought in enough to keep a roof over their heads, let alone take care of three kids. My father, Sergio Salvant, had a drinking and gambling problem that took money from the household. He lost more than he won. My mother, Elena, would have to work extra hours at her cleaning job to make up for his losses. We always knew when he lost because he would come in drunk, pissed at the world. He’d take his anger out on my mother. I would hide my little brothers in the closet so he couldn’t get to them. When I would try to protect my mother, he would switch his focus to me. I would take his beatings if that meant keeping him off my mother and brothers. I had no love left for him because, in my eyes, he was not a husband or father. A husband was supposed to love and cherish his wife, not degrade her or put his hands on her. He sure as shit wasn’t a father. A father was supposed to teach his sons right from wrong, be a good example for them not to be the exact opposite. I had lost all respect for him.

  We were one of the few white families in the neighborhood. My little brothers and I got picked on a lot. My brothers, Felix and Adam, were like me, quiet and kept to themselves. We were easy targets. I found myself in plenty of fights trying to protect them. Nobody fucked with my little brothers. I gained respect from my peers when I took down the school bully. No one dared to step to me after that or
pick on my brothers.

  When I was sixteen, I fell in love with the prettiest girl in school. Her name was Monica Hampton. She was a beautiful African American girl with straight black hair, dark brown eyes, and the smoothest mocha skin. She came from a middle-class family who was doing well for themselves. She had an older brother, Nolan, who was two years older than us. I’d seen him around but never interacted with him. He hung out with some of the shady people in my neighborhood. Nolan was cocky and thought his shit didn’t stink. He was a small-time drug dealer who sold weed to the kids at school.

  The first time I approached her and asked her name, I thought for sure she wasn’t going to talk to me or be repulsed because I didn’t dress like the other kids in school. I didn’t have the name brands like the other kid’s, but I carried myself like I did. I was tall for my age, standing six-foot-two and one hundred and ninety-five pounds. I kept my dark brown hair cut low. My mother always said I got my emerald green eyes from her father. Anyway, Monica surprised me when she smiled back and told me her name. We talked until the bell rang for our next class. She gave me her phone number and told me to call me later that night. I was so excited. I couldn’t wait for school to be over with.

  Monica Hampton actually spoke to me and gave me her phone number. No one could fuck up my day, not even my piss poor excuse of a father.

  I was nervous as shit when I called her around six that evening, but I didn’t let it show in my voice when she picked up the phone. From that night on, Monica became my girl. I let that shit be known too. She was mine, and I dared another mother fucker to step to her. She became the most important person in my life next to my mother and my brothers. She showed me that people can be nice and kind. She didn’t care I was a poor white boy from the other side of the tracks. She just liked me for me. Nolan nor her parents liked the idea of Monica dating me, but she didn’t care about their opinions. She continued to see me against their wishes. Nolan and I came to blows because I wouldn’t stop seeing her. He nor anyone else was going to keep me from her.

  My only issue was with her quote-unquote best friend, Julian. I didn’t trust him with his wannabe pretty boy ass, with his light skin and hazel eyes. I felt he was too close to her and wanted more than just being friends. He and I bumped heads quite often. I wasn’t stupid, I knew he had a crush on my girl, but Monica would always reassure me when I brought it up that she and he were only friends. Apparently, her parents were friends with his, and they grew up together. To appease her, I dropped the subject, but I kept my eyes on him. Julian had one time and one time only to come at my girl the wrong way, and I was laying his ass out.

  Monica was my heart. I would do anything for her. I got a part-time job at a garage after school so I could have money to take her out. She brought out the best in me and made me want more out of life. She had my ass looking at colleges and shit. I saw a future with her. I knew she was going to be my wife and mother of my kids someday until one night changed everything I hoped for.

  It was a Saturday night, and Monica invited me over to her house. Her parents were out for the night, and Nolan was nowhere to be found. We were watching movies in her room when we started making out. Things started to get hot and heavy. Long story short, I took Monica’s virginity that night. Shit, she took mine too. Before I left her house, we made a move two more times. I didn’t want to leave, and she didn’t want me to either, but I didn’t want her to get in trouble if I got caught by her parents or her ignorant brother. I gave her a passionate kiss before I left, then told her I loved her and would call her as soon as I got home.

  I felt like I was walking on cloud nine on my way home. I had the biggest smile on my face. I knew from that night on I would love Monica always, but that all changed when I stepped foot inside my house. My mother was crying, as she sat on the couch, holding my little brothers while two big ass guys stood behind the couch with guns in their hands.

  “What the fuck is going on?” I roar, taking a step towards my mother and brothers. One of the guys raises his gun at me, halting my steps.

  “So glad you could join us.” A deep husky voice says from behind me. I whip my head around to see a tall Italian man dressed in a tailored suit coming from the kitchen with my father in between him and a beast of a man that has a ghastly scar on the left side of his mouth that extends all the way up to his ear.

  “Who the fuck are you, and why does that mother fucker have a gun on my mother and brothers?” I look between him and my father, who goes to sit in his recliner.

  “I see we’re going to have to do something about your mouth. I’m sure your father taught you how to respect your elders.” The asshole replies.

  Balling up my fists, I say, “My father ain’t taught me shit. Now answer my fucking questions! Who the fuck are you, and why do my mother and brothers have guns on them?!”

  He chuckles. “I am Andres Romano, and these are my men. We are here because your father has found himself in a fucked-up situation. You see, he borrowed a lot of money from me for his gambling habit and has yet to repay it. I’ve come by personally to collect what he owes. Now imagine my surprise when he tells me he doesn’t have it.”

  I glance at my father, who has his head down. I want to rush his ass for putting us in the middle of his shit. “Look, I have some money saved up. You can have it if you leave my mother and brothers alone.”

  He and his men begin to laugh. “Whatever little bit of money you have will not cover what your father owes me, but rest assured your mother and brothers will be fine. Your father and I have come up with a solution to this problem.”

  “And what is that since he doesn’t have the money? How is he going to pay you back?” I ask.

  Romano smiles, saying, “With you.”

  My whole life flashes before my eyes, as I attack my father, raining down blows on him. He doesn’t even fight back. My mother and brothers are screaming for me to stop, but I don’t. This worthless excuse of a father just sold his son to the devil. Romano’s men grab me, pulling me off him. I fight against them until one of them catches me with a hit to the side of my head, throwing me off balance.

  “Dear lord, Sergio, what have you done?!” My mother cries. My father doesn’t respond as he lays in the recliner with his face covered in blood. “Andres, please, I beg of you, don’t do this! He’s your son!”

  Romano grimaced at my mother’s words, before he leers at her from head to toe. “It was either you or the boy, Elena, and your husband chose your son.” My mother sobs harder. My brothers cry out my name with tear-stained faces. Romano locks eyes with me. “Or would you prefer it be your little black girlfriend that your father told me about?”

  Monica. My rat of a father told him about Monica, and he just threatened to take her. I growl, as I try to get to him.

  “Take him out of here,” Romano commands his men.

  I struggle to get free. “Mom! Mom!” The men tighten their grip on me, as I struggle to break free. I peer at my father, who is trying to sit up. “I fucking hate you! I will never forgive you for this!” My need to get back at him makes me tussle even more. He looks at me with hurtful eyes, before everything around me goes black.

  Chapter 2

  Axl

  It would be a long time before I would see my family again and even longer before I laid eyes on my beloved Monica. When I came to, I was lying on the cold floor of a dark room. I didn’t know where Romano had taken me or where he was holding me. I sat up with my back to the wall, facing the door. There was only a small cot with a table and chair in the room. I rested my head on my knees, as I wrapped my arms around my legs. I cried for my mother and my brothers. What were they going to do now that I wasn’t there to protect them from that monster, the monster who gave over his son to pay off his debt? I vowed if I ever got out of there, I would end my father. He didn’t deserve to breathe the same fucking air as us. And the shit my mother yelled about me being Romano’s son played in my head. There was no way I was that man’s son. I beli
eve she was screaming out whatever first came to mind so he wouldn’t take me.

  The door to the room opens. Romano steps in with one of his goons. “You’re awake, good. I’m not one for sugar-coating shit, so let me tell you how things will go. You belong to me now. I hold your life in my hands, and if you ever want to see your mother and siblings again, you will do what I say when I say. Am I clear?”

  I keep my head down, ignoring him. Fuck him right along with my father. I hear footsteps coming my way before a hand grips my hair, snatching my head back, emerald green eyes bore into mine.

  “Your insolence will not be tolerated. You will learn to show me respect. I could have easily killed you for your father’s debt, but I saw something in you that might be of service to me. Now, if you want, I can go back to my original plan and take your ass out, or you can accept that this is your life now.”

  What the fuck did he mean ‘this was my life now’? “I don’t understand, what is my life now?”

  He smirks, letting my hair go. “The life that you once knew is over. Your new life begins now. You will find out what that means soon.”

  “What about my mother and brothers?” I whisper.

  “As long as you accept what I am offering you, no harm will come to them. If you don’t, then…” He trails off.

  I couldn’t let anything happen to them. If I had to sacrifice myself for their safety, then so be it. “I accept,” I mumble.

  Romano leans down, cupping his ear. “I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that.”

  Swallowing hard, I repeat myself through clenched teeth, “I accept.”

  “Good to hear,” Romano says, standing erect over me. “Rocco!” He shouts to the man behind him. This guy had to be at least six-foot-five and three hundred pounds. He rushes over to me and grabs my shirt, jerking me up from the floor, before he lands a hard-right punch to my side. Romano laughs, making his way to the door. “This is to teach you to never think about disrespecting me again. Now we’ll see if I was wrong about you. Rocco, try not to kill him.”