Sinful Pleasure | 18+

Chapter 37 - Axel

"How are we going to get up there?" Kez asked, stopping in front of me.

I looked up at her, taking a drag of the cigarette I had lit not just earlier, and then I put it out into the ashtray beside me before hopping out of the chair I sat on. "I'll show you," I said, grabbing her hand in mine. Dragging her along with me, we rounded to the side of the house, and I pushed her in front, smiling as she turned her head over her shoulder. "You're going to have to climb, Vixen."

"What? You want me to- how?"

Chuckling, I took her forearm and lifted her arm, guiding her hand against the wall where the bump was, and then I placed her other one onto the second bump just slightly up. "Look up and you can see the others."

"What if I fall?"

"You won't, but if you do I'll catch you. Now, give me your foot and I'll boost you up," I smiled, and she nodded before facing the wall, gazing up at the rocks going up. Boosting her up after two counts, I watched her carefully and steadily climb upward, my eye attentive in case she did fall, but she was lucky to make it to the top.

I quickly followed behind, getting up there in a hurry considering I had done this multiple times before. My brothers and I climbed up on the rooftop when we needed a place to escape, and since it was a regular situation we decided to make a rock wall instead of using a latter because we wanted to do it our way. We were always surprised Julio never found out.

As I climbed over the small ledge at the very top, I scoffed, looking at the graffiti on the concrete surface. Santiago. It was spray-painted pink, yellow and orange in big funky letters and Creed's tiny little signature was painted in black at the very bottom. "Creed spray painted that," I said, bringing her over to the middle of the rooftop.

"Creed? So he doesn't just create art with blood?" She chuckled, stepping forward, and I smirked whilst rolling my eyes. Sitting on the ground, she pulled her legs in with her arms and tapped on the floor beside her for me to sit down. "So, tell me, why don't you have Julio's last name?"

"Tsk." I paused as I sat on the floor and hugged my legs like her, shaking my head before laughing inside my head. To forever rid of such a bad name and such a horrible fucking past. But you couldn't erase who you were or your past. No. Not really. "Well, when Roman, Creed and I ran away we couldn't risk Julio finding us so we changed it. And because he always reminded us that we "belonged" to him." I told her, using my fingers as quotation marks. "I gave you the name, you little shits. You're mine and you'll use the name with respect."

"Your dad is an ass."

I hummed in agreement to the statement, rolling my eyes as the image of the fucker popped into my head. "And as is yours," I stated matter of fact, locking my right arm around her neck. I pulled her against me and she fell into my lap; her head now resting over my thighs.

"Why does he want you dead?"

Swallowing, I then sucked in a breath and looked out in the dark opposite me, sucking in the silence of the hills up ahead. "Because he hates how we made a bigger and better name for ourselves. He's probably worried we'll take over his stupid empire." Pressing my lips together, I looked down at her and she quickly turned her head. "And, what about Gabriel?"

A few silent beats passed and I started to worry that the mention of her father was a trigger-and maybe it wasn't a good idea to start this conversation I knew we both wanted to have. "There's nothing to tell except for the fact that he never wanted me...and apparently neither did my mom."