CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT

JAMESON:

Present day…

"And Vegas is off for the entire weekend."

Axel took a long slurp of his drink, twirling the umbrella between his thumb and forefinger in quick bursts. He set his drink down and rubbed his mouth with the back of his hand. The guy on my left scoffed at Axel's lack of manners.

We ignored him.

"How do you know this?" Axel asked, eyeing the guy behind my shoulder.

"Last week I had dinner with a supplier at Piccolo's—that new restaurant in South Loop, and I ran into Tony and Shondra." Axel, his jaw tight, folded his arms across his chest and returned his eyes to mine. "She took me to the side, apologized, and told me Vee had nothing to do—"

"How did she look? Was she happy?" Axel's gaze was like coming from a darkened room into bright sunlight. The intensity was so blinding, I looked away.

"Um. Yeah. She looked great, actually...healthy... and yes, happy." Shondra had lost weight and the fitted clothes she'd worn that night stressed her new figure, making even more eyes follow in her wake.

As Tony hovered a respectful distance away, and my supplier busied himself by chatting up a hostess, I asked Shondra about Vee. She didn't answer, only pulled a card from her purse and wrote something on the back—Vee's schedule for the week and her direct phone number. When Shondra pulled me in for a hug, she whispered I should call her girl without delay.

I did as I was told, speaking to Vegas the next day and... well, her enthusiasm was legendary, giving me hope.

Since she was at work where Shelia could pop up like an unwanted blemish, we stayed on the phone only long enough for her to accept my apology and agree to meet here, on Thursday, after her work finished.

I booked the same hotel room... just in case.

In twenty-four hours my life would begin, and my goal for this evening was to set Axel on the path to his new start.

"She's happy, huh?"

I nodded. Shondra's smile had been brilliant when Tony wrapped an arm around her waist, and she'd melted into him when he led her away. However, there was no hiding the sadness in her eyes.

Telling Axel Shondra still carried a torch for him wouldn't do my boy any good. He had to think she was out of his reach. Only then would he get up off his raggedy ass and work for what was his.

Pride was a terrible thing.

"Happy? Damn... fuck." Axel slammed both fists on the bar top, making the glasses near us rattle.

"Hey, dude. Watch it, will you?" The guy to my left was a good seven years Axel's junior and nearly matched him in body size. His date, a co-ed with a monstrous designer bag weighing down her lap, opened her pink duck-lips into an elongated oval.

I stood as Axel did, stopping him by placing my hands on his tense shoulders. "Don't do this, Axel."

"Yeah, don't do this, Ax hole," mimicked the guy behind me. His girl tittered snidely.

I ignored everyone who had stopped to gape, and began my routine of calming him, which had halted more than one of Axel's infamous beat downs. "Ignore the prick and focus on the future. Your dad would be pissed—"

"Yeah, son. Don't upset, daddy," bleated the man.

"Wrong reason, Jameson. He's the reason I'm in this mess." Axel made as if to move around me. I held him back, but just barely. Axel was a couple of inches shorter, but I hadn't his muscle mass, nor was I as quick. "Axel, listen—"

Determination and a sort of eagerness filled out the hollowness of his face. His eyes took on a fanatical glow. "You really need to move, Jameson 'cause I don't want to take you down as well."

I'd always been able to calm Axel enough to where he'd listen to what I had to say. Not this time. He was way beyond buying what I was selling... and it was then I realized Axel had been itching for a fight all along.

Crappy clothes and a girlie drink are all it took, I suppose.

It took me a second longer to step back. Maybe Axel needed this to snap out of his funk. We all had our crutches and fighting was Axel's.

"Axel, if you're going to do this, let's take it out—"

The loud prick moved from his chair, pushing me aside so hard my back slammed into the bar. "Let him at me, dude. With that foo-foo drink he was slurping down, what harm could he do?" The fool then pushed Axel in his chest, hard.

The idiot should have run the other way when he saw Axel didn't move a millimeter, but only smiled at the assault.

My blood ran cold at the fire behind my boy's chilly grin.

A half a second later, all hell broke loose.