“Good luck with that. Besides, I thinkyou’rethe one whoshould be worried. They’ll arrest you for being a disgusting hillbilly.” Eli barked out a laugh.
Axel grabbed him by the front of his shirt and banged Eli’s head against the wall again, another hard thud. “You need to get the fuck out of here before a hillbilly ruins your perfect face.”
Eli cackled. “Say it again, but in that deep Kentucky voice this time.”
Axel drew his fist back and unleashed another punch. His fist cracked against Eli’s nose, and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t secretly cheering. Eli groaned and crumpled slightly. Blood formed a dark rivulet down to his lip. I hoped it turned his entire face, from his chin all the way to his microbladed eyebrows, a delightful blend of blues and purples.
“Say another fucking word and you’ll need to call a plastic surgeon,” Axel growled. He threw open the door and tossed Eli into the hallway like trash. Eli stumbled, touching his nose gingerly.
“Man, you’re really fucking dedicated to that pussy, aren’t you?” Eli staggered down the hallway and out of sight, his goading voice still audible. “Probably need to get checked, if you know what I mean. There’s no telling what you could pick up.”
“Get the fuck out,” Axel shouted, starting after him.
“Just bros looking out for each other, you know what I mean?” Eli’s voice grew fainter. I crumpled against the wall in the foyer, prickles of relief beginning a tentative path through my body.
Axel stormed back into the hotel room, shutting the door behind him and turning the deadbolt. His arms were around me a moment later, gathering me against him.
“Cora,” he said, and that was all it took to unleash the tears I’d been holding back. All the fear and anxiety spilled onto the front of his dress shirt. I clutched at his sides and sobbed.
It took me a few minutes to be able to speak. When I could finally form words, I asked, “Why did you come?”
Axel reached into his pocket and held up my phone. “You left this in the car. I came to return it.”
This prompted another wave of tears. What would have happened if I hadn’t forgotten my phone? The thought terrified me. Axel had been my savior purely by chance.
“He’s so vile,” I said through tears. “I’m so sorry.”
“Cora, you can’t stay here.” He gripped my arms, searching out my gaze. “If this is supposed to be your safe house, we’ve got to get you somewhere safer.”
“I don’t know where to go,” I whispered, rubbing the heel of my hand across my tear-stained cheek. “I never told him I was here. He must have tracked my credit card. Or-or—”
“Shhh.” He pulled me back into his arms, wrapping me in a hug that dissolved the hard edges of my grief. “We’ll figure something out.”
He drew a deep breath, the sound of the air rumbling through him practically a balm for me. It reminded me of evenings in his apartment, when we’d lie on the couch, me curled into his arms, paying more attention to the rise and fall of his chest than whatever was on TV.
“Thank you,” I said weakly. “I can’t express how grateful I am.”
Axel squeezed tighter around me. “You don’t have to. I can feel it.”
His simple words prompted more tears, but not the kind born from grief. This was something pure and light. His nod to the incredible bond we shared was a relief. Because for however complicated things had grown—however messy and unrecognizable—there was still this tether between us that had never frayed.
Axel’s hand made a lazy circle over my back. His lips found the top of my head again. “Why don’t you come stay with me?”
I pulled back to look him in the eye. “What?”
“I have more than enough room,” he said. “And if there’s one place Eli won’t show up, it’s Fairchild territory.”
I searched his face, relief warring with guilt. I didn’t deserve such kindness from him. I didn’t deserve this helping hand that had the potential to not just help but heal.
“A-Are you sure?” My voice came out a hoarse whisper. “I can’t…I mean, I don’t deserve that. From you, of all people.”
“I’m offering it to you,” Axel said softly, running his thumb along the edge of my jaw. “You don’t have to accept. But if you don’t, then I’m going to personally find you somewhere acceptable to stay.”
I swallowed hard, allowing myself to get lost in his stormy eyes. But there was clarity there, too, amid the storms.
In fact, Axel was the only clear, bright thing I’d ever encountered in my life.
“I’ll go to your place,” I whispered.