Chapter Five
Axel
“AREN’T YOU tired of this shit, man?” Rush questions me as he pulls up to the entrance of The Vault. “You know you don’t need the money.”
Says the guy who has more money than he knows what to do with.
We grew up poor, but we both turned that around. I fought my way to the top and Rush had some rich family who died. When I got hurt, I lost it all and when I was out on my ass, Rush was the one who picked me back up.
“What am I supposed to do? Live off you forever?”
Rush’s expression is indifferent as he shrugs. “What the fuck else am I gonna do with that money?” He slouches back in his seat and lazily drapes his tattooed arm out the window. “I mean, let’s be real here. There’s plenty to go around.”
“Ha!” I scoff harshly, reaching down to get my duffle bag. “I’m not your fucking charity case.”
“Yo, this isn’t the ring and I’m not your opponent, so chill the fuck out,” Rush snaps, glaring at me. “You’re my brother, not a goddamn charity case. What’s mine is yours… unless the pussy is really good.” He pauses with a smirk. “Then I’m not sharing.”
Shaking my head, I push open my door. “You need to get a hobby or something.”
“Another one?” The sarcasm is thick in his voice and he raises an eyebrow at me. “Getting pussy is all about me. If that doesn’t say hobby, then I don’t know what does.”
Climbing out of the car, I pull my duffle bag with me and throw it over my shoulder as I slam the door shut. Walking around the front, I pause by Rush’s window. “Don’t come crying to me when your dick starts burning and falls off.”
Rush laughs loudly as he shifts the car into drive. “Don’t get your ass handed to you in there.”
I crack my knuckles as Rush chuckles and drives away, he circles around the parking lot and pulls the car into his usual spot. He might do more wrong than right in life, but he is right about one thing. Blood or not, he’s my brother and there’s nothing that will ever change that.
Being with me easily got him onto the property and his money could easily get him inside the building, but he never says a word about it. He doesn’t care to get involved and I don’t blame him. It’s a rabbit hole that you can’t just climb out of.
Staring up at the building, I take a deep breath and my jaw twitches with agitation and anticipation as my body knows what’s coming next.
Yeah, Rush, I am tired of this shit, but this shit is who I am.
I need an outlet for my aggression, and this is where I belong.
♦♦♦
Stepping out into the ring, my senses are heightened and I’m hyper-aware of everything around me. My fight instincts are in full effect and the adrenaline coursing through my veins only fuels it more.
The lights above me shine brightly, blocking out the darkened crowd surrounding the ring. The sounds and their voices, it all blends together as my mind is focused on one thing and one thing only.
Blood.
It’s what I need, it’s what I crave. My aggression drives my need for physical pain. My opponent just happens to be the source of that pain and nothing more. Someone else’s blood isn’t what I crave… it’s my own.
The fight is over almost as quickly as it began. I let him get a few hits in, tasting the blood on my lip before I drove my fists into his face until he was lying on the ground.
The crowd doesn’t enjoy a quick fight, but when it’s bloody and brutal, they don’t care about how quickly you drop someone.
My breathing is heavy and shallow as I straighten myself out and wipe the blood from my mouth. The adrenaline is still pumping, but I’m increasingly aware of everyone’s eyes on me as they cheer. Lazily scanning the crowd, my body stills as I’m met by a familiar pair of brown eyes.
Her eyes are wide as she stares me down from across the room. She’s standing with everyone else, but she isn’t cheering. She’s watching me with pure fear on her pale face.
Why is she here? Jasper never brought her here before.
I struggle to catch my breath as I quickly cast my eyes away and jog out of the ring. Jaslyn was never supposed to see this side of me. It’s a side of me that I’m not proud of and one that I never wanted her to know about.
She knows now.
Jaslyn just saw who I really am.
♦♦♦
My mind runs faster than my feet as I slip into the locker room and slam the door shut behind me. I can’t be here; I just need to go. Leaving the tape on my bloody hands, I opt out of taking a shower and I grab my duffle bag as I zip it shut.
Without a second thought, I stride across the room toward the door and stop short as it’s shoved open and take a step back to avoid getting hit in the face.
“There’s the man of the hour.” Jasper smirks as he pushes his way into the room. “You are just who I was coming to see.” He glances down at my bag and looks back at me suspiciously. “Are you in a rush to get somewhere?”
“What do you want?” I let out an exasperated sigh as I shift my weight.
He narrows his sinister eyes as he bores holes into mine. “An answer.”
Closing my eyes, I run my hand over my face and try to swallow the agitation growing inside. I need to get the fuck out of here and he’s blocking my only way out.
“Two million for the first year, five after that and we’ll adjust the contract accordingly as we go.”
My body falls still, and my eyes widen slightly as I stare at him, taken aback. He catches me off guard with his new offer when I never accepted or declined his original one. Why the hell would he turn around and double it?
Because he’s blind to any color that isn’t green.
“Don’t try me with the ‘I need time to think’ bullshit. Either you take it, or the offer is gone for good.”
I looked over the contract after I first met Jaslyn and it’s a solid deal. It’s guaranteed money and whatever benefits he throws in, so that means no more living with Rush and living off his money. I’ll have my own to build my own life and my own future.
“I won’t be your bitch,” I tell him harshly. “I don’t take orders from anyone. I want to see the contract and make my own revisions and then you have a deal.”
A contract comes with conditions and being under Jasper’s thumb isn’t what I’m signing up for.
Jasper gives me a wicked smile as his sinister eyes shine. Reaching inside the jacket of his suit, he pulls out an envelope and hands it to me.
“Look it over, make whatever changes you need to and bring it by my office tomorrow morning.”
Pulling the door open in a rush, I turn blindly down the hall, running directly into a small warm body. Inky black hair flies in the air as she lands on the floor with a thud.
“Shit,” I hiss as I crouch down in front of the small woman. Brushing her hair from her face, familiar brown eyes flash to mine. “I didn’t see you there,” I explain in a rush. “Are you okay?”
Jaslyn’s expression contorts as if she’s in pain, but her eyes are filled with disappointment. A frown forms on her lips and a mixture of emotions wash over her.