Exposed: An Anthology

by Brooke Cumberland

  I laugh harder and almost fall out of his arms. When I finally control myself, I look up into his smiling face. His smile is so wide and his eyes are full of love. “Love hearing you laugh, Princess. Most beautiful sound in the world.”

  He drops me softly down onto my feet and holds his hand out to Sway.

  “Holt Reid, nice to meet you.”

  “Oh, honey, the pleasure is all mine…all mine. Sway’s the name but you can call me whatever you want.” He places his hand delicately in Axel’s big paw and bows.

  This time, Dee joins me and we laugh at Sway’s antics. Looking at the two of them together is one of the funniest things I have seen in a while. Axel is six foot six of pure, raw masculinity, and Sway, with all his short, round fatness stuffed in tight women’s clothing, looks ridiculous next to him.

  “Yo, Reid… We going to finish this shit up or do you plan on being here all fucking day?” I hear the deep baritone of Greg call from inside the open door behind Axel.

  “Oh sweet Lord in heaven…there are more?” Sway asks, looking over his shoulder at me, his long ponytail slapping against Axel’s chest. I can’t answer because the look of horror on Axel’s face has me in fits again.

  “Come on, Sway. Let’s get you and giggles-a-lot inside,” Dee says with a soft chuckle. She pushes me and I stumble sideways before composing myself. “If you don’t help me get him out of here before the rest of them file out, we might be here a while. He’s panting, Iz.”

  “All right, Sway. Dream about my man later. Love you, baby!” I call over my shoulder as we usher Sway back into his salon.

  “Oh, Izzy, girl, how do you let him get dressed? A shame, oh it is a shame to let that man ever put clothes on.”

  The rest of our trip turns out much the same. Sway doesn’t shut up for a second and really loses it when he sees Greg and Maddox walk by the front windows. They both wave in greeting to Dee and me. Sway starts jumping up and down and goes on and on for the rest of my appointment about what an injustice it is that not one of those ‘hunk pieces of sex with legs’ is gay.

  When we (finally) finish up with Sway, it is almost five. Axel’s truck is still in the front, so Dee and I walk over to the office. The front reception area is done in black and gray. There is a reception desk in the middle with the Corps Security logo in the center of the wall behind it in large block letters. The office is simple but professional. I smile at Emmy, the secretary, and ask if Axel is busy.

  “Not at all, or at least he wasn’t a second ago. He’s been itching for you to finish up next door, but between you and me, he was too scared of that little blond guy to come check.”

  I like Emmy. She is soft spoken and somewhat shy, but according to Axel, he wouldn’t be able to run this place without her. She is around twenty-five with long blonde hair, light brown eyes, and a face full of freckles. She is the perfect image of the girl next door. I can’t help but notice that every time all the guys are around she is silent, but her eyes? They are always following Maddox around.

  “Do you mind if I go on back?” I ask.

  “Go on ahead. Beck and Coop are around here somewhere. Greg and Locke left a while ago.” I can’t help but smile when she blushes. Yup, this girl has it bad for Maddox.

  “I’m waiting here,” Dee says. I look over at her, and she is expressionless and the walls are up. There is definitely something going on with her, and I would bet it has everything to do with Beck.

  “All right, be right back.”

  I walk down the long hallway in search for Axel. Passing the many open doors of the other guys’ offices before reaching my destination, I can’t help but smile at how successful Axel has become. I always knew he was destined for greatness.

  Loud and very infuriated tones reach my ears before I can knock on Axel’s door, causing me to pause.

  “What the fuck do you mean you can’t find the motherfucker?” he asks in a low and lethal tone. One that means he has lost all patience. Uh oh. Silence. “He what?” Silence. “Fuck! No, I don’t want you to sit there and play with yourself, dumbass. Find him. I want to know where that bastard is.” Some more silence follows and then there’s a lot more of Axel yelling before he finally slams the phone down in the cradle. I wait a little longer before pushing open his door with a soft knock.

  His enraged gaze hits me and the tension is so thick I can’t help but take a step back into the hallway. I let out a small squeak when my back hits someone standing behind me. Whipping around, I see Coop there, and Beck is standing farther down the hall. Coop’s normally playful eyes are hard and determined. Beck doesn’t look like the carefree guy I am used to.

  “Everything okay?” I question.

  The guys share a pointed look before Axel answers me, and when I look back over at him, he has carefully masked his fury.

  “Yeah, Princess. Get over here. And Coop?” He looks over my shoulder with a scowl. “Get your fucking hands off my woman.”

  God, I love it when he gets all possessive.

  Coop laughs and scoops me up into a big hug and kisses my cheek, earning a deep growl in warning from Axel.

  “You do realize he is armed right, jackass?” Beck asks with a smirk.

  Armed?

  I look over at Axel and don’t notice anything out of the ordinary.

  “Back holster, hanging behind the chair. My guess is he has at least five knives on him right now and an ankle holster,” Coop whispers when he notices my unspoken question.

  “Three and no ankle holster today,” Axel says with an evil glint to his eyes.

  Oh boy.

  “Right. Well if you two are done pissing all over the floor, are you ready to go? Dee is in the lobby and we’re ready whenever you are.” I walk over and offer him a quick kiss, knowing that if we don’t get going we won’t get to dinner for a long while.

  “Let me finish up in here. I need to brief these two idiots and then we can leave. Go wait with Dee in the lobby.” I can tell he means business. Whatever I had overheard before was starting to weigh heavily the air again with his temper.

  “All right, baby.” With one more kiss, I leave the office and shut the door behind me.

  I brush off his mood and continue down the hall. I know they don’t handle small things here, and most likely, whatever has him heated up is just a normal kink in their day-to-day operations.

  With a smile, I walk back into the lobby and sit with Dee and Emmy. Before I know it, we are in a heated debate on the pros and cons of sexting. I make a mental note to send Axel some fun pictures the next time he comes into the office.

  Heavy’s is packed by the time we get there. Saturday is normally a big night for them, but tonight they are slammed. Maddox and Greg got here before us and held a table. We talked Emmy into joining us, so by the time everyone arrives, we are already getting loud and rowdy.

  We are sitting in the back corner, all eight of us squished around a small table. Food and beer are littering every surface. We have been laughing and having a good time for the last two hours. Once dinner is over, Axel pulls me into his lap and starts whispering all sorts of naughty things he plans to do to me later in my ear. I am trying to pay attention to the friends around us, but the only thing I can think of is getting back to the house.

  “What the fuck?” I hear Dee gasp over the rock music pumping through the bar.

  I have to work at clearing my mind. Between Axel lust and the beer, I wasn’t following her sudden change of mood.

  She is staring across the room, where Beck and Coop are at the bar getting the newest pitchers of beer. Coop is flirting with the bartender, but Beck currently has his tongue shoved down the mouth of what we liked to call a Heavy Slut. Bar regular and downright trash. This wasn’t normal Beck-style either. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that this is about getting under Dee’s skin.

  “That stupid little fucker. I hope his dick rots off!” she yells in my ear. Axel starts shaking with laughter before I elbow him in the ribs. I give him
a hard look before studying Dee. Now that the alcohol has loosened her up, I can see that, under the anger, there is hurt. Something happened between her and Beck.

  Before I can open my mouth and ask her what is going on, she is on her feet and across the bar.

  “Uh oh, looks like drama is about to start flying!” Greg yells across the table from his corner next to Maddox and Emmy. Emmy, who is wide eyed and a little intimidated by our rambunctious group. “What’s her issue, Iz?” he asks.

  “No clue. She wouldn’t talk about it. I thought they had been spending time together?”

  “Not since last weekend. I don’t know the details, but he showed up at my place pissed as fuck and itching for a fight.”

  We all watch as Dee walks up to the bar and grabs the Heavy Slut by the roots of her badly dyed blond hair, pulling her from Beck’s hold. I can’t hear the words but her face looks horrible. I don’t think I have ever seen hatred like that coming from my little ball of joy.

  What the fuck?

  I make a move to get off Axel’s lap and go help but he tightens his arms around my waist.

  “No.”

  One word but no bend. He isn’t going to let me wade in.

  “Ax, I have to.”

  “No. Not your fight. They need to work this shit out themselves.”

  We watch for a few more seconds. To my fascination, Dee throws all her strength into a move that would make any badass proud. She pulls her hand out farther and literally throws this woman across the room. I think everyone at the table is shocked, but then she jumps in Beck’s face, giving a few stabs of her finger to his chest and a lot of words before he gives her a feral smile. She cocks her head to the side and shrieks loudly when he jumps forward and throws her over his shoulder.

  Before anyone can blink, they are out the door.

  “What the hell just happened?” I ask.

  “Oh my God!” Emmy gasps.

  Maddox is silent, but Greg barks out a loud laugh.

  “Princess, that’s what happens when shit festers and bitches act like bitches.” I turn on Axel and give him a hard glare. He pulls both his arms from my body and holds them up in surrender.

  “Shut up. Is she going to be okay?” I ask, all joking aside.

  “Yeah, baby. My guess is she will just be well fucked in the morning.”

  “I’ll second that,” Coop says when he slides into the seat Dee left. “That was some crazy shit. Who knew that little Miss Cheerleader had it in her!”

  All the guys laugh, but I can’t help my worry that Dee might be in over her head with Beck.

  The night continues with more beer, great food, and a lot of laughter. Even Emmy starts to come out of her shell a little, yet with one look at Maddox, she is right back in there. Axel started rubbing his hands up my legs thirty minutes ago, and I am about to come out of my skin.

  “You almost ready, Princess?” he ask against my neck, biting the skin softly before letting me turn my head. “If you say no, I can’t be held responsible for my actions. I’m so fucking hard right now I’m ready to throw you down on the table and take you in front of everyone.”

  And blast off.

  “Let’s go.”

  He smiles and we quickly say our goodbyes before heading home.

  We didn’t make it two steps into the house before he had me against the wall and screaming in pleasure.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Oh God. I throw my head into the pillow and moan loudly. My stomach lurches when I feel Axel move next to me.

  “You okay?” he questions, rubbing his hand down my naked back.

  I shake my head. That does nothing but make my stomach protest.

  “You didn’t drink that much baby. What’s got you upset?”

  “Stomach,” I croak.

  Oh shit. I jump out of bed, and run naked across the room, and slam myself onto the floor in front of the toilet. Everything from last night comes rushing up. I feel Axel come behind me and gather my hair before pressing a cold cloth to my neck.

  “Just let it out, Princess. I knew all that BBQ was going to bite you in the ass.”

  “Shut up,” I grumble before letting out a few more heaves. There is nothing left in my body but my stomach is still in knots. Just the thought of all the food I consumed last night causes more heaving to rush up the back of my throat.

  Axel stays with me until I feel well enough to get up. I brush my teeth and let Axel carry me back to bed.

  “Better?” he asks, the worry clearly dancing over his face.

  “Yeah, I’m okay. I guess stuffing the last two plates in my mouth last night wasn’t the wisest decision, huh?”

  He offers me a weak smile before kissing my forehead and standing from the bed. For the first time in months, the sight of his naked body doesn’t immediately make me want to jump him. No, not today.

  “Let’s try some toast, okay?” he asks. I can tell he is about to crawl out of his skin. He is so concerned something is wrong.

  “I’m okay, baby. Just ate something wrong last night. I’m good.” I offer him a weak smile before pressing my face into his pillow and pulling in his scent. My nerves calm instantly.

  He stands there next to the bed for a few minutes to make sure I’m okay before walking off. I hear him rummaging through the dresser, assumingly to get dress.

  “Be right back, Princess.”

  “Okay,” I mumble, already falling back to sleep.

  Axel returns after a couple minutes carrying a tray with dry toast and ginger ale. He smiles shyly at me when I look up at him.

  “God, I love you.” I say.

  “Love you too, Princess. How’s the stomach?”

  “Better. At least it isn’t protesting the sight of food.”

  We sit there for a while and I slowly eat the breakfast. Everything seems to be staying down and I see the concern start to leave Axel’s eyes.

  “What’s your plan for today?” he questions, clicking the channel over to the local news.

  “Not much. Just catching up on some clients that needed a few things.” I actually planned to finish wrapping up his presents, but he doesn’t need to know that.

  “I need to tell you something and I’m not sure how you’re going to take it.”

  I don’t like the sound of that at all. I put the tray on the table next to the bed and shift to look at him.

  “Okay…I’m listening?” I can already tell I won’t be happy by the way he keeps looking at me with dread. “Axel?” I prompt.

  “Okay. So I want you to remember that everything I do is to protect you. Got that?”

  I nod my head, narrowing my eyes.

  “Right. So I’ve had the guys keeping tabs on that fuckwad for a while now. So far, we haven’t had an inch to go on until last week when Locke finally found some irregularities in the company reports.” I go to interrupt him but he just shakes his head. “Do not ask me how we got those. You don’t need to know the particulars. Anyway, he’s been combing over those reports day and night and finally put it all together. Deep, baby. He’s been pulling thousands—I’m talking hundreds of thousands—right out from under the old man’s nose. Two days ago, Locke followed that trail right into Brandon’s pockets. Long story short, Locke sent a nice care package to dear old dad outlining and showcasing all the evidence. The last thing I heard from my inside guy was that old man went balls-to-the-fucking-wall mad. Police were called in and warrants sworn out for Brandon.” He studies my face, looking for any sign of displeasure with him for disregarding my wish to just let it all be. He won’t find any. As upset that I am at him for keeping his thumb on Brandon, I know why he did it—respect it even.

  “And...” I add. “I know there is more, Axel, or you wouldn’t be sharing.” My tone is neutral but my body is wound tight.

  “I had a guy on him. Not one of our men, but one who I know and trust. Brandon, at this moment, is unaccounted for. Police are looking for him. The boys are looking for him. I’m looking for him. He wo
n’t hide from me. Hear me now, baby, I will find that fucking shit. But I need you to be safe. Stick close this week, okay? I know you aren’t happy about this, but it needed to be done.”

  I reach out and grab his hand, giving him a small squeeze. “I understand. I’m not mad. A little upset maybe, but I understand where you’re coming from. If I’m honest, I don’t think I would feel safe knowing he was floating around there.” I give him a small smile, noticing that the worry lines have left his face.

  “I’ll find him.” A threat. There will be no mercy from this man if he gets his hands on Brandon.

  I snuggle into his side, and we spend the rest of the morning in our bed watching TV and just enjoying being together.

  The rest of the day passes uneventfully. Housework and catching up on some of the things I have put off throughout the week.

  I have been calling Dee all day but so far haven’t heard from her. Axel tells me to leave it be for the day. Chances are she isn’t able to come to the phone anyway. He tries to call Beck when I wouldn’t leave him alone but just gets voicemail. With a smile and a shrug of his shoulder, we go about the day. I decide to take his advice and just let her call me when she is ready.

  I am still not feeling back to normal, so the night ends with us watching movies in bed before drifting off to sleep.

  Monday morning starts off much like the morning before. Axel gives me a kiss before the sun is even up and tells me that he needs to go into the office for a few hours but will be back for lunch.

  Rolling over slowly, I try to calm my stomach but am unsuccessful and dashing off for the bathroom a few minutes later. I spend the next thirty minutes dry heaving into the toilet before I am able to crawl back to bed. I drift off to a restless sleep not long after my head hits the pillow.

  I jolt awake when a chill climbs up my spine. Throwing off the covers, I run down the hallway and stairs before crashing into the office. Pulling up my calendar, I start doing some math in my head. It doesn’t take me long before I am dropping heavily into my desk chair.

  Holy shit. It can’t be.