Chapter 82 To know you
Verena
I paced in the hallway. The random cuffs sitting in his drawer. The basement where he kept Kian in torture for days. His admission to framing Cassandra. It all came back to me and I couldn't help but feel scared.
Not of him. But of things he could be. Daxton wasn't the perfect businessman he posed as, he was involved in something far more dangerous than the image he had always shown me.
And to add to the top of the list, the fact that a gang worked for him. It was either that he was that influential or straight-up engaged in criminal activity.
I needed answers because I didn't know Daxton. Not at all.
Daisy barked and I figured out that Daxton was back home. I rushed down the stairs, his face coming into view as he brushed his hand through Daisy’s fur, his eyes coasting over to mine. “Hey, Princess,” His lips twitched into a smile
I moved closer to him, only for him to grab me by the waist, nose brushing through my cheeks. He kissed my cheeks, a low grunt leaving his throat as my traitorous body wanted to lean into him…
But not now. Not until I got my answers.
I flattened my palm on his chest, pushing him back as he stared at me in frustration. “What is the problem, Verena? You don't want me right now?”
I wanted him. I mean, I was already aching to feel him inside of me. But, we had pressing issues at hand.
His hand left my waist as he ran a hand through his hair. “Did Zita contact you again?”
I shook my head. “No. We have to talk Daxton”
“Kian?”
“No,”
He stared at me, like he was trying to read through me. “You are scaring me, Verena,”
“Please sit, Daxton,”
The stare lingered until he finally heaved a sigh of defeat, sat on the couch and I took my seat across from him. I could see the expression in his eyes—he probably expected that I would sit beside him but I had to show him how important this conversation was.
If I didn't, his scent would cloud my nostrils, sparks would fly and we would end up having sex on the couch.
“You are not even going to sit next to me, Verena?”
“Not until this is over,”
“I think this is serious,”
“Very,” I said, avoiding his gaze as I thought my words over. “Daxton, I see and appreciate everything that you do for me. But I met Mandy at the dog park. She was a mess and she confessed to everything. How she and Zita worked together—”
My breath caught in my throat, seeing the way his eyes narrowed on me.
Daxton cut in. “—and now she has manipulated you and made you believe that I want her and Zita dead. And now you are scared of me. Isn't that what this is about?”
My heart slammed against my ribcage—almost bruising my ribs. He had read me so perfectly that it terrified me.
“Daxton…”
“Everything that I do is for you, Verena”
“I know. I see it. But your measures are starting to scare me. Mandy is terrified that you would harm her children. She told me Zita was almost run over by a car. Daxton—that woman is pregnant. Her baby is innocent,”
Daxton’s jaw tightened and I could feel the way his muscles did the same as he closed his eyes for a brief moment. “Mandy has to be sick to think that I will harm the two boys I am financially responsible for. And as for Zita, she isn't even pregnant for fuck sake,”
My jaw dropped. Zita wasn't pregnant? That woman was something else entirely.
I tried to take my mind off, Zita. “But you had plans of killing them—”
“Still deliberating. Depends on my mood and how they move
“Deliberating, Daxton. Deliberating. This is the issue,”
“What did you expect me to do? Get them arrested only for them to be released in less than 24 hours. You didn't have a problem with what I did with Cassandra,”
“I didn't think much of Cassandra then, only now. And I would have preferred that you get them arrested,”
Daxton laughed—a humorless one. “Nope. I will protect you in my own way. Take out any threats when necessary,”
I exhaled sharply. “Daxton, you do understand that if something bad happens to them, you will be arrested, tried, and left to rot in jail. I don't want any of that for you and I don't want to lose you—” I almost raised my voice.
His eyes softened for a second before darkness took control again. “That is cute, Verena but you don't have to worry about things like getting caught,”
“You don't want any of them dead. Fine. It won't happen,”
I was having none of it. “And what about the fact that a gang works for you? I want to know you aside from the image that you show me. If this has to work, I have to know you,”
His jaw clenched harder. “You know me already Verena,”
My blood boiled and I was treading on the edge of snapping. “I don't know you. You hide a lot of things from me. This isn't fair Daxton,”
“You know everything about me. My likes. Dislikes. Things I have never shared with you. You know my deepest thoughts and nothing I do gets past you but when it comes to you, nothing!”
“I know nothing about your past relationships. Your friends,”
Something crossed his face before his head sank low. “Verena, you hardly share anything with me. Everything I know about you is my hard work…”
I opened my mouth to speak but the words refused to pour out because he was right and I hated it.
“You will see me differently and I dread that,”
“I won't. I know you are a good person,”
His eyes held mine. “I’m not,”
“You are. I don't care what lies you feed yourself but you are a good person. If telling me about that other side of you is too hard, you can tell me about your past. Your mum for a start”
His face darkened on me as if I had just hit a spot I shouldn't have.
Daxton had always avoided questions about his past. Most of the time, he would kiss or fuck me into forgetting the fact that I did.
“You don't trust me…”
His gaze remained on me—steady and heart-wrenching. “I trust you, Verena”
“Then give me something. Please” I sounded too desperate.
Daxton remained tight-lipped, darting his eyes away from me as a suffocating silence stretched between us. I waited for minutes—for him to bare his heart to me but he wouldn't even look at me.
It broke my heart so much that I didn't know when a tear dropped from my eyes.
He didn't notice.
Daxton stood up. “Noodles?”
I stared at him incredulously, rose to my feet, and walked past him.
“Verena,” he called softly behind me.
I didn't stop.
He didn't follow.
I got into my room, grabbed a few things into my bag, and went downstairs. I stood outside the kitchen door, heart coiling from how he would always shut down or distract me whenever I wanted to reach him.
I inhaled deeply. “You can take care of Daisy right?”
He leaned over the counter, eyes shooting up to mine. “I can. Going somewhere? Want me to tag along,”
I didn't respond to the latter. Only his first answer.
“Perfect. I will be needing space from you for a few days so I’m leaving…”
His face fell—hard—the knife he held dropped to the floor.
“Don't come find me until you are ready to treat me like your partner and not just a sex partner. Matilda will take care of the bunnies, I am leaving the Dog in your care. Good-bye.”