Axel Read online

  “Okay, Eden.”

  After downing another drink and refilling his glass, he leaned against the bar and eyed her intently, sending a chill of pleasure up her spine. She didn’t understand how he incited fear in others. When he stared at her, she felt no anxiety, but excitement and longing.

  His deep voice rumbled just below the sound of the television.

  “What do you want to talk about?”

  Surprised, she found herself at a loss for words. Here Axel stood before her, but she had nothing to say to him. “I … I don’t know.”

  Taking a sip of his drink, he gazed at her. She supposed she understood why some in the silo found him frightening. She’d stared up into dozens of inky skies, and she’d never seen one as intensely obscure as Axel’s eyes.

  “See? Nothing to discuss.”

  He grabbed the Fireball and left the room.

  She stared at the space where he’d stood for a long time.

  Yes, Axel did intrigue her.

  Another thing that had brought her anxiety when she’d first moved into the silo had been all the auras. The amount of colors swirling around everyone in here had confused her, bringing her to the point where she hadn’t wanted to be in a room with more than two or three people at a time.

  It had been difficult always knowing what people felt, despite what they said or what their actions showed. For instance, she remembered Christmas Eve eight months ago. Sophia and Blake had been shrouded in black and grey, which conveyed death and sadness, or reliability and drama. She had stared at them a long time and decided that they hadn’t been acting dramatic. In fact, they had seemed to be faking happiness. She’d come to the conclusion that somehow, they had been suffering some type of loss.

  Overall, she could say the silo was a happy place. With the women, she often saw shades of blue, pink, red, and yellow always cascading around them—tranquility, femininity, love, and happiness. Of course, every color had a flipside, as well. Blue could be understood as fear or masculinity, pink as weak, red as anger, and yellow as unstable. Yet, none of those traits ever radiated from the women, so she went with the more positive connotations.

  From the men, she saw shades of blue (masculinity), red (love), beige (dependability), and orange (courage).

  Seeing all those colors mix and mingle together, and trying to figure out the state of each person’s mind, had been overwhelming, especially since she’d only had Benedict to look at for so many years.

  But with Axel, it had been different. She never saw any color around him. If he were angry as everyone assumed, she’d see black. But, she didn’t. She saw absolutely nothing.

  At first, it had unnerved her. Now, she just wondered why. Did he have some way to suppress his emotions, or was he completely emotionless?

  She filed the question away for another time. Perhaps the next time she found herself alone with Axel, she’d simply ask.

  Chapter 3

  Axel stopped just outside of the silo, finishing his five-mile run through the desert. He liked getting out to move his body, to feel his heart thumping, his muscles burning. He hummed along to the music playing through his ear buds.

  While most of the males in the silo preferred hard rock, he enjoyed the talent from the Rat Pack era, ‘Old Blue Eyes’ being his favorite. As Frank sang about doing things his way, he opened the door to the silo, shut it behind him, then moved to the second door. As he stepped into the kitchen, he turned off his phone and almost jumped at the scene before him.

  Eden stood in the kitchen, tears streaming down her face as she yelled at Benedict.

  “I’m so sick and tired of you thinking that you’re my boss! That you have a say over anything I do!”

  Benedict crossed his arms over his chest. “I do. You are my responsibility, just as you always have been. It is my job to make sure you’re safe, that no harm—”

  “There’s no threat, Benedict! We’re among our own people! It doesn’t matter if they see our eyes glow!”

  He shook his head.

  Axel didn’t know whether to slowly back out the door, or to slide through the kitchen and go to his quarters, hoping that no one noticed. He wanted no part of this shit storm.

  Beverly entered, her lips pursed, anger flashing in her eyes. He wondered what colors Eden saw around her.

  “What is wrong with you two?”

  Benedict backed away and Eden wiped her face with her sleeve.

  “You can’t just sit here screaming at each other in the middle of the kitchen! Have a little respect for everyone else in this silo!”

  He continued to watch the commotion, and no one had seen him yet. The three stood in a triangle as Beverly tried to referee. She happened to be one of the few females in the silo that didn’t scurry away from him, and she had always been pleasant.

  “Now, what are you fighting about?”

  Eden sniffled. “I would like my own room, Beverly, and I would like to go into the city and visit the Science Center.”

  Beverly glared at Benedict. “And I’m assuming you have a problem with this?”

  He nodded. “She should stay with me. It’s the way it’s always been.”

  Eden rolled her eyes and stamped her foot. “We slept in the same bed for protection, Benedict! There’s no threat!”

  Beverly sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. “She’s right. It’s time for her to have her own quarters. Consider it done, Eden, and Benedict, don’t argue with me.”

  The male’s dark eyes flashed in anger.

  “Now, you also want to go to the city and visit the Science Center.”

  Eden nodded, the tears still flowing. Axel rubbed the middle of his chest where a low ache had taken up residence. Maybe he’d run too hard.

  “Yes, you can go do that, as well, Eden, but not by yourself.”

  “Why not? You take the kids into the city alone.”

  Beverly smiled kindly at her, as if she talked to a small child, then laid her hand on her shoulder. “Yes, and I’ve been around people a lot more than you. I have what’s called ‘street smarts,’ which means that I’m good at reading people and knowing how to react in different situations. Now, I will be happy to take you to the Science Center, but you’re going to have to wait a couple of days.”

  Eden’s lip protruded in a perfectly beautiful pout, but she nodded. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t tear his gaze away from that plump, quivering lip.

  “Good. Now, you two need to quit fighting,” Beverly said. “I’m going to get the keys to the empty room, and I’ll meet you there in about fifteen minutes, okay?”

  Beverly left, while Benedict glared at his sister. She lifted her chin defiantly in a stare down. Finally, Benedict shook his head and walked away.

  At least he’d gone unnoticed for the main event, but it seemed awkward standing here when Eden could see him at any moment. Axel rubbed his face, then cleared his throat.

  Eden spun toward him, the surprise of his presence evident in her wide gaze.

  “Did you hear all that?”

  He nodded.

  She sighed and wiped her face with her fingertips. “I’m so tired of being treated like a child.”

  Usually, he wasn’t one for giving out advice because he had no business doing it. Who would want to listen to him, the quiet male everyone thought hovered one step away from losing his shit? He figured no one really cared what he thought, but the words left his tongue before he could even consider it.

  “Then quit acting like one.”

  She lifted her chin, just as she’d done with Benedict, then crossed her arms. “Excuse me?”

  He shrugged, figuring since he’d already stepped into this mess, he might as well wade all the way in.

  “Quit with the tears and all the damn yelling. Act like an adult, and people will start to treat you like one. Quit asking people what you can and can’t do. Just fucking do it.”

  As they stared at each other, he once again couldn’t seem to look away. Even with
a red, swollen nose, and red-rimmed eyes, she was the prettiest female he’d ever seen.

  He didn’t wait for her to answer him, especially when he heard footsteps coming their way and the deep rumblings of male voices.

  Moving past her, he strode into the elevator that would lead to his quarters. As he rode downward, he knew he probably should have just kept his mouth shut and minded his own business, but when it came to Eden, he didn’t want to do that. With everyone else in the silo, he didn’t care what they thought, and he really didn’t give any consideration to other people’s drama. However, it seemed that Eden’s business always seemed to be right in his face, so he had the need to address it.

  As he shut the door to his quarters behind him, he glanced around. The mint-green comforter and sheets brought him peace, although he supposed it didn’t seem like very masculine colors for a single male.

  Again, it didn’t concern him. Comfortable in his maleness, if anyone had anything to say about his choices, they could fuck off.

  He kicked off his shoes, pulled off his shirt and socks, then yanked down his shorts, tossing them both into the dirty clothes hamper. Naked, he stalked to the bathroom for a shower.

  As he stood under the spray, ‘the need,’ as he called it, railed through him.

  Tomorrow, he’d head into downtown. The time had come for him to spend a stretch by himself, do his own thing, and get away from the silo and everyone in it—no questioning gazes from Hudson and Benedict, no Eden, no fidgety females glancing at him out of the corner of their eye. Just some time by himself to spend in silence.

  Those few short hours alone usually recharged him, and right now, he felt as if he ran on empty.

  Chapter 4

  “Hey, Noah?”

  The male glanced up at Axel from his stack of papers. “What’s up, man?”

  Like everyone else, Noah simply tolerated him. At some point, they all knew his special skills of assassination would come in handy, but until then, no one really wanted much to do with him.

  “I’m going downtown for a few hours. Just wanted to let you know.”

  Noah nodded. “Great. Thanks. Have a good time.”

  As Noah turned a page on a report, Axel walked out of the War Room and almost ran into Eden.

  “Hey.”

  “Hello, Axel. Did I hear that you’re heading into town?”

  He nodded, unable to tear his gaze away from her. She licked her bottom lip in a way he knew shouldn’t be considered sexual, but his groin answered with a low ache.

  “Well, enjoy your day.”

  “Yeah.”

  He headed for the kitchen, thinking he probably should have responded to Eden’s wish of him to have a nice day, but he couldn’t really think of what to say, even now.

  With a sigh, he grabbed a set of keys, stared at them for a beat, then realized he’d better take a leak before leaving. Traffic could be bad at this time of day.

  He went down to his quarters, then returned to the kitchen, his thoughts on Eden. He hadn’t seen much of her since he’d offered his advice in the kitchen yesterday, and he wondered if she’d taken his suggestion.

  His answer came with a shock after sliding into the car and catching movement in the rearview mirror. A flash of midnight-black hair combined with the floral scent of Eden’s shampoo let him know she’d become a stowaway in his SUV.

  Honestly, he probably wouldn’t have noticed, except she rode in the very back, the cargo hold. Her dark hair peeked above the seat as she rearranged herself. He grinned. She hadn’t asked anyone for permission to take her little excursion, but simply taken matters into her own hands.

  As he drove, he thought about whether to confront her or not, and decided against it for the time being. He couldn’t imagine the fires of Hell that Hudson would unleash if he found out about Eden’s little adventure.

  Thankfully, traffic was light the whole way into the city, and he found a parking spot near the Science Center. He’d have to walk a few blocks to get to his destination—not a big deal. Eden, on the other hand, simply needed to cross the street to find hers.

  He cut the ignition and sat there a moment, not sure what to do. Did he let her know he knew she’d snuck away from the silo, or did he just feign ignorance? Acknowledging her presence would only draw him in further to her drama, a place he didn’t want go. However, he also wanted to make sure she’d be okay.

  Keeping his eyes on the rearview mirror, he heard her stir.

  “Did you bring any money?”

  She remained completely still for a few moments, as if she wasn’t sure if he talked to her.

  “If you’re going to do anything in this city, you need money.”

  Finally, she slowly sat upright. Her dark gaze met his in the mirror, her eyes wide as if she expected him to scream at her.

  Reaching into his jeans pocket, he pulled out a wad of cash, then looked at her again in the rearview mirror. Peeling off a couple of bills, he laid them on the passenger front seat.

  “I’m leaving you some money. You go do your thing, I’ll do mine. Be back in this vehicle in three hours or I leave you here. Are we clear?”

  She nodded.

  “And if you get caught, I’ll play dumb. I never knew you were in this car.”

  He didn’t wait for her to acknowledge his statement. Instead, he exited the vehicle, feeling her stare on him. Without looking back, he rounded the corner and headed for his destination.

  Eden crawled over the back seat and stared at the money lying on the leather. With shaky hands, she reached out and grabbed it, then studied the area.

  Tall buildings sandwiched the road where Axel had parked, and people milled around on the sidewalk. Some were dressed in suits and talked on cell phones as they rushed about, while others had on jeans and casually strolled, as if they didn’t have a care in the world or anywhere to be.

  She shoved the money into her pocket and ran her hand over her hair as she checked her reflection in the mirror again. Her fingers trembled, but she didn’t know if it was from the fact that Axel had caught her, or nerves that she could see the Science Center sign a half block up, or excitement that she would finally be walking through the city streets alone.

  Exiting the car on the sidewalk side, she pushed the ‘lock’ button, then shut the door. She gazed around again, wondering if she stood out to anyone passing by. She’d dressed casually—jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt and a pair of boots. She hadn’t even thought about wearing contacts, but relief swept through her when Axel had said to meet him in three hours. That meant they’d return to the silo before sunset, so contacts wouldn’t be necessary.

  A few men looked twice at her, but other than that, everyone seemed too involved with their own lives to pay her much attention. She felt as though she had a neon sign on her head flashing Half Human! Half Alien!, but no one seemed to be able to see the imaginary display. Taking a deep breath, she tried to relax.

  She walked past the different shops—a coffee joint, a restaurant, a jewelry store. She marveled at the people and the rainbows of colors around her. It worried her that she saw a lot of greys and purples, and based on their demeanor, she took it to mean gloominess and moodiness. Every now and then, she’d come across pinks and browns—friendly and happy—but not often enough.

  Was the world truly this unhappy?

  No one smiled at her, and very few made eye contact as they bustled around consumed in their own business.

  She’d had very little interaction with other humans throughout her life, but the times she had gone into town for supplies with Benedict, she always remembered the people had been kind and gracious, especially around the 1950’s. Now, it seemed they didn’t even have time for a grin or to say “how are you?”

  She kept her gaze trained downward, trying to fit in, wondering if the people who made eye contact with her saw her as different from them, or did they see her as just another woman walking the streets? Did the men who stared at her find her attractive, or wer
e they repulsed? Did any of it matter? She was experiencing the freedom she’d so desperately wanted, and no one seemed the wiser that a half-human / half-alien walked among them.

  When she reached the front of the Science Center, she looked upward and took a deep breath. Nervous butterflies tickled her stomach as she placed a hand over her belly—she would be doing something by herself, among humans. Scared to death and excited beyond words, she opened the doors and stepped inside.

  Her eyes widened at all the people there. Children ran all over while parents milled about laughing and talking, colors of happiness, energy, and love emanating from everyone. A few parents spoke to their screaming toddlers and they had bands of red around them, signaling anger.

  As she handed her money to the woman with the kind blue eyes and smile, grey hair, and the auras of pink, brown, and blue, she grinned.

  “How are you today, dear?”

  “I’m well, thank you.”

  The woman handed her a ticket and some change. “Enjoy yourself.”

  She smiled so wide, it felt as if her face would crack. Her anxiety melted away. Finally, she would do something on her own, without anyone’s permission. “I will. Thank you.”

  Chapter 5

  Axel walked the couple of blocks to Foster’s Tattoo, the guy who had done the sleeve on his right arm. It had been designed in black and grey swirls. Thankfully, Foster hadn’t asked him for clarification on what the tat meant. He had, however, offered what his inked body symbolized.

  The male had been in the special forces of the Navy, and had been deployed many times throughout the world. Foster had explained that his tats started at his neck and went down to his knees, each one representing something he’d seen or done in his clandestine operations around the planet. Axel never asked him to clarify further, just noted that his body had been covered in skulls, roses, flames, guns, and a lot of red coloring. He kept returning to the store for that reason—the male had done and seen some really bad shit, and probably was as fucked up as he felt. A kindred spirit, so to speak. Axel had definitely connected with him right from the start.