But looking at Axel, a light bulb went off inside my head. I needed all the information I could gather to get myself an edge around here, and he definitely knew a few things I’d be interested to hear more about.
People tended to say more if they figured you already knew what they were talking about. I forced a smile way sweeter than he deserved. “Hey, no hard feelings about the other day. I get how concerned you’d be about strangers after what happened to the Titan.”
Axel’s expression stayed wary, but he didn’t bite my head off for bringing up the subject, which was a start. “What’s it to you?” he growled.
“I just mean it’s kind of hard for me not to worry when people are going around killing each other around here. Why the heck would Kaige go off on one of Ezra’s own men?” I shook my head disapprovingly.
Axel didn’t correct me, which meant my guess that he’d been talking about Kaige being the culprit was right. “Good question. Maybe you should ask the kid who’s covering for him.”
I tipped my head like the ditzy girl he no doubt saw me as. “As if Wylder’s going to tellmewhat really went on. He obviously cares more about protecting his friends.”
That remark seemed to hit the right spot. Axel let out a disgruntled sound. “It’s clear as day who must have done it. Who else could have tossed Titus over the goddamn fire escape?”
So the Titan—or Titus—whatever his name was—had been thrown off the fire escape to his death? What a way to go. “Yeah,” I said carefully, leaving space for him to fill in the blanks. “I mean, after all, Kaige is just so…”
“No one else could have overpowered him,” Axel burst out. “The young guys and their stupid tempers—all riled up because Titus laid it to him straight about what the rest of us think of his ‘boss.’ Kaige practically killed him right then. Threatened to put him in a grave for daring to speak up, and guess what? He did.”