Page 136 of Devour

“I saw him for myself, baby.” His voice is low. “When Crew and I were coming to find you.” He pauses. “He’d been stabbed. He was already gone.”

My eyes burn, and I press my face into Axl’s chest. He doesn’t say anything. He just holds me tightly.

The way my father had looked at me—he knew he wasn’t walking out of that building.

“He came to my room.” I pull back and wipe my face. I look at Adam. “Before any of it started. He knew the code. He walked right in.”

Adam’s expression doesn’t change, and he glances at Axl.

“What?” I ask focusing on Axl. We’ll see if he means what he said about telling me everything.

Axl sighs. “Your father was involved in trafficking women. It’s why I thought he might have been the cause of your nightmares. We took down their operation, and we were closing in on learning who they were doing business with and how far it went before everything went sideways.”

The words don’t make sense at first. My father was trafficking women. I look at Axl and wait for him to make it make sense, but his expression doesn’t change.

“How long did you know?”

“We’ve been working on it for months.” Axl’s hand tightens on mine. “And we learned of your father’s involvement while watching the building that Justin took you to.”

I pull my hand from his and press both palms against my face. My father knew where I was and how to find me because he helped keep other women there.

I want to hate him. And part of me does. But I’m also alive and was able to defend myself from those attacks because of his help.

“Saylor.” Axl reaches for me.

“He gave me the knife.” I drop my hands from my face. My eyes are burning, but I’m too angry to cry. “I don’t believe he wanted me mixed up in this. But he told me he’d done bad things. Now he’s dead, and I don’t know how the fuck I’m supposed to feel about it.”

Axl doesn’t answer. He pulls me back into him, and his arms close around me. He doesn’t try to fix it. He doesn’t tell me my father was a good man or a bad one. He just holds me, and right now, that’s the only thing I need from him.

Adam clears his throat. “Fathers deal with a lot of complicated shit, especially in our world.” He rises from his chair. “I should get going. Let me know what help you need from me for the other matter.”

He means our marriage. Axl didn’t exactly get down on one knee and propose, but I don’t need that. We both know that this is forever.

Adam leaves us alone, and I just want Axl to myself.

Axl shifts so he’s lying beside me on the narrow hospital bed. His arm is across my waist, and he’s careful with my stitches. I don’t care that we barely fit in this bed. His feet hang off the end. I press my face into his neck, and he tightens his grip.

“Just rest, baby.” His lips are against my hair. “I’ll be right here.”

I close my eyes. His heartbeat is steady under my palm, and his hand is warm on my hip. This man came into that building broken and bleeding for me. He still always shows up for me each and every time. I don’t know how he could think he doesn’t deserve me. But I’m never letting him go.

CHAPTER 58

AXL

The nurse changes the dressing on Saylor’s side, and I watch every move the nurse makes to treat my girl. She peels back the old bandage. The stitches underneath are clean, but the skin around them is swollen and bruised. I have to grip the rail on the bed to keep from taking over to make sure it’s getting thoroughly cleaned.

“You’re making her nervous.” Saylor’s voice is groggy from the meds, but the attitude is fully in-fucking-tact.

“Good.” I don’t take my eyes off the nurse’s hands. “She should be nervous. That’s my girl she’s poking at.”

The nurse glances at me, and I can tell she thinks I’m some possessive, overbearing boyfriend. She has most of that right. But I’m going to be more to my girl than some fucking boyfriend. I’m going to be an obsessive, protective, domineering, possessive, overbearing husband.

“Axl.” Saylor reaches over and wraps her fingers around my wrist. “She’s just doing her job. Sit down, my king.”

She says that last part knowing what it does to me. I lower my lips to her ear. “Those stitches in your side don’t prevent you from kneeling for me, baby.”

She grins at me, and her eyes darken. “Much better than you acting like I’m fucking broken.”