Kingston

Thirty-seven.

Around 12 my phone rang. My papa's name flashed across the screen. "papa? Are you okay?" I asked, forgetting to breathe in between words. "I'm fine, I'm fine bella. Listen, if Kingston comes by, tell him I have his car and he should wait by the house till I get back." he said, hastily. I closed my eyes and gave a silent prayer. "you're okay? No wounds at all?" I asked. "not a scratch. Relax mija, I'm alright. I love you." he said. I sighed. "I love you too." I said, and ended the call. He was okay. Axle was okay too.

The night went on and I wasn't nearly as drunk as I wanted to be. I hadn't heard from Axle yet. I took a walk in our very secure backyard and almost died of hypothermia, so I made a hasty return to the warm house.

I rested my head on the kitchen counter and somehow, with a million thoughts running through my head, fell asleep.

It was 01.37 am when I woke up, and I made my way to the steps. I was going to walk up to my room, but ended up just plopping down there and leaning against the wall.

I shut my eyes, and the next thing I heard was a car pulling up at the gate.

When I saw the blood on him, I panicked. I have a feeling this would happen way more often if we were married, but it would never be his blood, his blood would only be on his knuckles.

We faded back into the way we did whenever I treated his hand. But this time, I saw the glint of the ring I gave him shine in the harsh lighting of the kitchen.

He spoke, softly, making sure he was being as calm as possible. It was a rare sight, Axle speaking like a normal human being. I appreciated it so much that he spoke to calmly around me. He was always gentle with me. Even though there were numerous complaints of his men wanting to become informants because of how mean he was.

I fought back tears, today had been an excruciatingly emotional one for me.

"papa said you should wait until he gets back with your car." I said.

He nodded. "honestly, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."

I smiled and he smiled back.

"is anything else hurt? Do I need to stitch anything else?" I asked, and scanned over his body for any signs of fresh wounds.

"I'm fine. Kat, your eyes look so heavy. Go to sleep, I'll be fine waiting ." he said, and stroked my cheek with his thumb.

"not a chance. You scared me half to death, I want to look at you for as long as I can." I said and the corner of his mouth tipped up.

"are you alright?" he asked. Looking intently into my eyes.

"you're sitting here with busted knuckles and you're asking me if I'm okay?" I asked.

"I didn't mean to scare you, my angel, you know what finding James meant to me." he said.

"I know. I don't get it, but I know you did what you had to. Thank you Axe, for sort of avenging me I guess."

He looked at me longingly. I could feel it. He wanted to be in this moment as long as I did.

"anything, and I mean fucking anything for you, principessa." he spoke, intimidatingly soft.

We stared into each other's eyes until the door opened and papa walked in.

I leapt off the chair and threw my arms around him.

"I'm fine bella, I promise. I'm fine." he said, and kissed my head.

"any wounds?"

He shook his head. "nothing compared to Kingston's one." he said and gestured to Axle's hands.