Moving In

The Cliche Kidnapping

Chapter 27

John (Axel's father)

Smash

Another lamp meets the wall, shattering to piece. My men wince at the sound and one of them ducks down as shards of glass fly around the room.

Crash

Another table is flipped and all the contents spill onto the floor. Cups, textbooks and electronics slide across our feet.

"Sir."

I glance up at Mike, or robot number 1 as she called him. Mike's buzzed hair has begun to turn grey and his dark eyes have sunken in further. A few aging features of his are the still bloody and swollen including a busted lip, but he doesn't seem to care.

"Shouldn't you calm him down?" He asks in a hushed and hurried tone.

I glance back at my son who is going on a rampage. My level headed, always calm and collected, always in control son... is out of control.

"And get punched in the face like you?" I ask leaning back into the chair as I wait for him to calm. Anger runs in our family and I do not want to take on a young man who is lost his senses.

"This and that are two different things," he reminds me and I harden my glare at him.

"You're right. You let her stay out there alone and she's gone. Leading to Axel throwing a tantrum and destroying his own home," I pause and Mike gulps, "you deserved worse."

He stays silent and I watch him. The man that will never forgive himself for letting one girl get away. Honestly, I could careless about that pain in my ass.

Crash

Axel, however, seems to care more than I had originally thought. They are too young to know love, to know what it takes to devote yourself. But that doesn't mean they didn't stumble upon the beginning of it. The tip of the iceberg, a single petal amongst a rose garden. Despite how small it truly is, it was there and it was felt. Even I could admit that.

I recall what it was like to fight the odds and believe it was all worth it, that she was worth it.

"Axel," I finally call catching his attention.

He turns to me out of breath with his hair sticking up in waves and parts falling into his eyes. His chest heaves with panicked breaths as his hand clutches to another object that was supposed to meet its demise. But his eyes, the bright blue ones- were clouded and angry. It held so much hatred for anything and everyone, he hated the world right now.

I knew that look. Wild. Feral.

"I've made a call," I begin slowly, "one that I hated every second of, but I think she will be able to help."

"Who?" Axel hisses through heavy breathing.

I know he won't like who I've called and he will resist every second of it. But he also does not recall that she was once a wife of a mafia boss. She knows the tricks of the trade.

"Your mother."

Silence follows my announcement, including from my men. Their stone faces' slipping to reveal shock and some annoyance. Most remember Tracy and those who were not with me were lucky, to say the least. She was never nice to the guys and they always remembered that, so after I announced the split they couldn't be happier.

They started pushing more product and even bringing more profit with less product. It was the best business season I have ever had, and it gave me a good distraction while I became accustomed to an empty bed and two quiet bedrooms.

"What?" the calmness in his voice sets off alarms.

Axel wears a mask of confusion to hide his anger. Although he will never admit it, I know he resents his mother just as much as me. He was stuck with two worthless parents and had to practically raise his brother.

"I had to call her Axel," I explain, "You know there is only so much I can do. I could have kept her safe, but now that they have her," I watch him tense, "well we need to do this her way. I didn't pay for her law degree so it could hang pretty on the wall."

"Would she actually come?" he asks bewildered that I could even stand a phone call with her.

Truth be told, the floor seemed to quake when she answered. I haven't seen her in years much less heard her voice. It threw me back to a time when I needed to call to hear that voice when I traveled or else I couldn't sleep.

"She's on her way now. Be here in 6 hours tops, giving us enough time to located Blaze and then Tracy can... well she can do it her sleazy lawyer shit way."

He still stares at me confused and conflicted. He called me, he wanted me to handle this but then things got out of hand. now a better plan has presented itself, and he doesn't know why I am not trying to save the day by myself.

"How? How did you get her to come back here? To talk to you?" He asks

A smile spreads on my lips feeling foreign for my muscles, "I told her you stood up to me. Told her you are in love."

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