“Cream, no sugar.” She flicked her hair back off her shoulders as she pulled out a barstool and perched on it, leaning her elbows on the bar as she looked down the corridor from where Axel had first appeared.
“There you go. Are you hungry?”
Her stomach growled in response, but she shook her head, denying her stomach the food it craved. She hadn’t eaten since she’d left O’Malley’s in the city to drive here to Cougar Ridge. “I’m fine, thanks.”
“Are you sure there’s nothing else I can get you?” Axel took his coffee cup and leaned against the counter behind the bar. She welcomed the distance between them.
“No, I shouldn’t have come here. Not without calling.” She closed her eyes as she sipped her coffee. It was good.
“But you did come. Why do you need O’Malley’s help?”
Her eyes widened at his blunt statement and she shook her head, attempting to brush it off. “No reason, O’Malley is a good friend, that’s all. We haven’t caught up in a while so I thought I would pay him a visit.” She smiled evenly. When she’d visited O’Malley’s other bar, she had picked up the conversation that he’d moved here to Cougar Ridge and opened a new bar. Maybe if she’d have hung around a little longer or asked the bartender directly where O’Malley was, she could have saved herself a trip.
“You’re good friends with O’Malley?” Axel asked. Maybe he was just a bartender making small talk.
“We go way back.” She sidestepped the question.
“Military?”
“Not that far back.” She smiled evenly. “I don’t take orders well.”
He let out a short laugh. “You and me both.”
“Yet here you are working for an ex-military guy. Doesn’t O’Malley give you orders?” Jenessa asked.
“O’Malley is a good boss, and he tends to ask rather than order.” He arched his eyebrow over his coffee cup. “Not that he has to ask me to do my job. I work hard. Which is why he left me in charge of the place while he’s away.”
Was Axel trying to impress her on some level?
“O’Malley is a good man, I expect he is a good boss.” She gulped her coffee, needing to get out of there. The way Axel spoke, she suspected if she stayed too long, she’d end up spilling all her secrets to him.
“Are you going to tell me what kind of trouble you are in?” Axel finished his coffee and calmly placed the cup down on the counter before leaning toward her, his voice low. “And please, don’t deny you are in trouble. I’ve seen enough people in need of help to recognize the signs.”
“Thanks for the coffee. I should get going.” Jenessa placed her cup down on the bar and slid off the barstool.
Axel moved. Impossibly fast. One second, he was behind the bar, the next he was there in front of her. “Don’t go. Let me help you.”
“You’re a shifter.” Her words were barely audible, even to herself, but he heard and nodded.
“I am.” His jaw clenched. “I wasn’t sure if you knew about shifters.”
“I grew up around them.” She inhaled and let the breath out slowly as she steadied her nerves. The touch of his hand when they first met, the look of confusion on his face when he’d appeared from behind the bar. It all made sense now.
“I want to help you. Whatever it is you need, I’m there for you.” He was so utterly sincere that her heart contracted in her chest.
“You don’t want to get involved, believe me.” Her mouth turned down at the corners as she glanced at the door, needing to get away, needing to spare this man the trouble she had tailing her.
“I’m already involved. From the moment you walked into the bar…from the moment I sensed you.” His eyes darkened, mesmerizing her as she stared into them. “Let me help you.”
Jenessa lifted her hand and touched the silver hair around his temples. “You need to let me walk away.” Although, she knew for a shifter that was impossible.
At least it was impossible if she was his mate.
She closed her eyes and breathed as the world spun around her head. Wasn’t this what she’d dreamed of when she was a little girl? She’d dreamed that one day she would be the one true love of a shifter. But then she’d been a young naïve girl with her head full of dreams.
“I can’t let you walk away.”
“And how exactly do you intend to stop me?” She straightened up and raised her chin.
“Don’t do that.” His words knocked the breath from her body. “Don’t push me away.”
Her shoulders slumped forward as if he’d beaten her down with just a couple of words. “I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to you when this has nothing to do with you.”
“Whatever this is has everything to do with me. We both know that.” His mouth was set firm, his body tense.
“Pretend you never met me.” As if he could.
Jenessa sidestepped him but he blocked her with his body. She swallowed down her emotions, which were not what she’d expected considering a broad-shouldered man capable of carrying her off to his bed was stopping her from leaving a bar. She could fight him, but she wouldn’t win. He was stronger and faster than her.
She gave a short laugh and turned away, grabbing the back of a chair for support as she dragged a hand through her hair. This was all kinds of crazy. Despite the trouble she was in, despite a man preventing her from leaving a bar, she had images of him naked in bed with her by his side. Also naked.
What happened to her well-honed sense of self-preservation?
“Listen, we could spar with words all day. Or you could just tell me what’s wrong and we could work through the problem.”
“What are you, a math professor?” She turned on him, eyes blazing.
“You probably don’t want to know what I am,” he said bitterly. “I know I don’t want you to know.”
Jenessa turned to face him and witnessed the pain and guilt in his eyes before he covered his raw anguish with a mask. “Axel, whoever you were, it looks as if you have a pretty good life here now. It looks as if you got out. I can’t ask you to…”
“You’re not asking. I’m offering.” He tilted his head to one side. “And I won’t be going back. I’ll be going forward. With you.”
She laughed, her hand on her stomach. “Oh, please. Don’t make it sound as if this is some noble quest.”
“Then tell me what it is.” His expression told her he wasn’t going anywhere.
“Okay. You want to know.” She pulled out a chair and sat down. Patting her hand on the table she said, “You might want to bring something stronger than coffee.”
“I can do that.” He took a step backward. “But first you need to promise me you won’t run.”
She nodded. “I give you my word.”
“Good.” He went to the bar and grabbed two shot glasses and a bottle of whiskey off the neat, orderly display which was so O’Malley. A pang of pain pierced her heart. She wished O’Malley was here. He was good to talk to. With a calm head and a logical mind, he always cut through the chatter and figured out the best move.
Jenessa put her head in her hands and stared at the table as she tried to figure out what exactly she was going to tell Axel. The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Maybe that would be enough to scare him off. But if they were mates, nothing would scare him off, he’d figure it was his solemn duty to help her.
So she would tell him just what he needed to know. But that might endanger his life since he wouldn’t know what they were up against.
So, maybe the whole truth was what he deserved.
Chapter Three – Axel
Axel hadn’t drunk whiskey at this time in the morning for years.
These days you barely drink whiskey at all, his cougar reminded him. But this is a special occasion.
Are we celebrating finding our mate? Axel asked. Or is this drink a commiseration drink since we’re about to find out why our mate is looking for O’Malley? We both know it’s not for a friendly catch-
up between old friends.
Axel placed the two shot glasses on the table and set the bottle down beside them before he pulled out a chair and sat down at the table. Funny, whenever he’d pictured himself at a table with his mate, they had always been ordering dinner, not drinking whiskey before lunch.
At least in this scenario, our mate isn’t a blank face we could never picture, his cougar consoled him.
No, she’s an incredibly beautiful woman with raven-colored hair and blue eyes. Jenessa was unique. And theirs.
“So, go ahead.” Axel poured the whiskey into the two glasses and placed the bottle down carefully. He still didn’t trust his hands not to shake and he didn’t want his mate to think he was feeble and not completely in control of his faculties.
She picked up her glass and took a slug of whiskey. “Where to begin.”
“The beginning?”
“That is so far in the past, we’ll be here all day,” she replied evasively.
“Tell me what I need to know.” He sipped the whiskey, savoring the taste.
She stared at him for a moment as she circled her finger around and around the rim of her glass.
“Maybe your name would be a good start.” He smiled softly and took a gulp of whiskey.
“Jenessa.” She leaned forward. “And yes, that is my real name.”
“Jenessa. Unique.” Like the rest of her. Axel was starting to wonder how he’d deserved a woman like this.
Jenessa ran her fingers through her hair and curled the end around her index finger. “I don’t feel unique. I feel like every other woman who has wound up trying to sort out the mess made by a man.”
“A man. So that is your problem.” Relief flooded through him. “Is the guy pestering you?” Since he’d moved back to Cougar Ridge to care for his mom, he’d shied away from trouble. But if his mate needed someone warned off then he would do it.
“Do you think if it was that simple, I wouldn’t have taken care of it myself?” Jenessa asked tartly.
Axel’s lips curled up on one side. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to insult you.”
She waved her hand at him. “You didn’t. I’m a little cranky.”
“Please, continue.” He poured her another shot of whiskey while he nursed his first.
“I need to go back a little way. To give you some perspective.” She cleared her throat. “My mom had me when she was young, barely out of her teens. She always struggled to get by…” She swallowed hard, her eyes misting with tears that she quickly brushed away. “She did what she had to do to survive and keep a roof over our heads and food on the table.”
“I understand.” Axel had seen the same situation played out over and over again.
“Anyway, she met this guy. It was love at first sight…”
“They were mates?” Axel asked.
“Yeah, they were mates.” She nodded and dipped her finger in her whiskey before sucking the liquid off the tip. “He treated her really well. And the guy adopted me as his own. Even when they had a kid together, he never treated me as anything other than his flesh and blood.”
“So that’s how you know about shifters.” Axel nodded.
“Yes, most of the people I knew were shifters. Ralph, my stepdad, was part of a motorcycle gang.” She glanced up at Axel to gauge his reaction.
“I know the lifestyle.” Too well. But he wasn’t about to reveal that part of himself yet.
“They were into small-time stuff. Nothing too heavy, they just did what they had to to get by. Ralph worked a job in a lumber yard to earn a decent living for his family. Others worked bar jobs… But their life was their bikes and the brotherhood they formed.”
“I get it.” Axel didn’t just get it, he’d seen it. He’d lived it.
“Then my mom got sick. My dad was distraught.” She paused and took a drink.
“I’m sorry.” Axel’s brows knitted together as he watched his mate.
“Ralph gave up the life he loved, the only life he really knew and moved us across the country so she could get the best treatment.” Jenessa brushed a tear from her cheek. “My brother and I went to the local school. We became like regular people.”
“And your mom?”
“She got better. For a time.” Jenessa wiped her cheeks and tapped her feet on the floor. “It was years ago, I don’t know why it still makes me cry.”
“Because she was your mom.” Axel slipped his hand across the table and took hold of Jenessa’s hand. “And because you loved her.”
She smiled sadly. “Yeah. I loved her. More than any other person on the planet.”
“Take your time.” He relaxed his shoulders and sat in silence while she composed herself.
“After my mom passed, my dad didn’t cope too well. He wasn’t there when my brother needed him the most.” She lifted her eyes to Axel’s. “Tyler is the person I was talking about when I said about the mess made by men.”
“Oh.” He nodded, relieved that she wasn’t in love with another man.
“He was a good kid. Tyler.” She breathed out slowly. “He never got into trouble. He had a steady job, then suddenly, it’s like someone flicked a switch, he joined a motorcycle gang and went off the rails, got himself into some kind of trouble.”
“That must have been tough for your dad. And you. To see him get mixed up in that kind of crap.”
“I’ve watched my dad go through all the emotions over my brother. He’s been angry and frustrated but now he’s just sad and worried. He thinks it’s his fault. That his past is the reason Tyler did what he did.” She shook her head, her eyes flashing with anger. “But Tyler made his own choices.”
“What exactly do you need from me?” Axel asked.
She tilted her head to one side and looked at him. “I didn’t come here for anything from you. Remember?”
He nodded, a small smile creeping across his lips. “You do keep reminding me.”
“What I came here for was to ask O’Malley if he could help me track Tyler down. He’s got himself into trouble with a rival gang. He took something of theirs and they want it back.” She arched an eyebrow. “No, I don’t know what it is. All I know is that both gangs are out for Tyler’s blood and despite everything, I don’t want my brother dead in a ditch somewhere.”
“And you have no idea what he took?” Axel asked. Whatever it was, this would not end well.
“No idea. The first we heard of it was when one of dad’s old drinking buddies called and told him there was trouble brewing. He said the Hell Fire MC is looking for Tyler and that his own gang, the Orion MC, has lost patience with Tyler because there was this whole truce in place…” She placed her hands on the table and spread them apart. “This whole you stick to your side of town and we’ll stick to ours kind of a thing.”
Axel leaned back in his chair and rubbed his chin. He needed a shave. “Stuck in the middle of that is not a healthy place to be.”
“Tell me about it. It’s so out of character.” She looked down at the table and her empty glass but didn’t go for a refill. “I keep thinking that if I can find him and get him to come home, I can make it all right. I just don’t want him to break my dad’s heart.”
“I’ll find him for you. That’s a promise.” He looked Jenessa straight in the eye. “I’ll make this right for you.”
“I’m not asking for a promise and I’m certainly not asking you to make this right for me,” she said sharply. “Sorry.”
“That’s okay. I understand you want to fix this for your dad and your brother. But this is not an easy fix.” He was going to need to show her who he was or who he had once been, and Axel was not sure she was going to like it. “I know how these things work. I used to be part of a similar gang.”
She tilted her head back and studied him for a long moment. “I figured.”
“You figured. Is it that obvious?” Axel glanced down at his worn jeans and black T-shirt.
“The tattoo.” She pointed to the tattoo peeking out from under the short sleeve
of his T-shirt.
“Ah, I need longer sleeves.” He placed his hand over his upper arm.
“To most people, it’s just a tattoo. But my dad has a similar one. No doubt Tyler has one too now.” Jenessa sat up straight in her chair, her palms flat on the table. “I would appreciate your help.”
“Then it’s yours.” Axel stood up and picked up the bottle and glasses from the table. “I can’t leave right now, though.”
“Oh.” Jenessa’s disappointment was obvious as she stood up and followed him to the bar.
“Yeah, I’m sorry.” He put the bottle back on the shelf and then went through to the kitchen to wash the glasses. “I have to wait for O’Malley to get back and I’m going to need to find someone to look after my mom.”
“Your mom is sick?” Jenessa asked quietly.
Axel turned on the faucet and let the water run hot. “She was but she’s better now.” He glanced over his shoulder. “I’m a forty-something ex-biker who lives with his mom. Quite the catch.”
He joked but, at that moment, he realized just how little he had to offer his mate. Having spent his whole life drifting with the gang, the little savings he’d amassed were soon gone as he nursed his mom back to health. He should have planned for this moment, saved for his future.
Jenessa walked into the kitchen and leaned against the counter. “If your mom needs you then stay with her. I’ll figure something else out.”
Axel swilled the glasses off and placed them on the drainer while he dried his hands. “She’ll be okay. And she’ll want me to come with you. She knows what a mate means to a shifter. After all, she was married to one for forty years.”
“Your dad passed?”
“Yeah, a few years ago. I should have come home then. But I didn’t.” He turned around and leaned next to the counter. His arm brushed against Jenessa’s upper arm and a thrill of excitement coursed through him. “I spent my whole time growing up wanting to escape my hometown. I wanted to expand my horizons and see the world.” He gave a short humorless laugh. “I didn’t want to be my dad.”
Axel Summer Shifters Season 2 Page 2
