Marie wiped her eyes and headed for the door. They left the apartment behind and walked down into mansion. Leslie, the part time grad student, was at the foot of the stairs wringing her hands. "Marie," she said as they came down the stairs. Leslie saw their bags and she looked confused as Marie pushed right past her. "Is everything okay? Ingrid said she doesn't want you to leave before she can talk to you. Are you leaving?"
"Yes, I'm sorry," Marie said struggling with her bags. "But I do have to leave right away."
From downstairs the bell rang. There were people here for the tour. "Go and get that," Marie said. "That's your job." She turned away and headed down the back stairs and she was pleased to hear Leslie head in the other direction. She slipped into the office. There were a few things in here she still needed to grab before they could go.
"Hey, babe," she heard a familiar voice say.
Her stomach dropped and she squeezed Cate's hand. Slowly Marie turned around until she was facing Austin. He was leaning against the doorway to the office smirking at her.
Marie glanced behind her, hoping Leslie wouldn't come back. "What do you want, Austin?" she asked as she stepped in front of Cate.
"What do I want? Is that a serious question? You took my kid, Marie. You just left in the middle of the night. You made me look like a man who can't control his woman. You made me look like a fool and I had to spend a lot of money to find you this time. But now I'm here and it is time for all of us to go home."
"No," Marie spit. "I'm not coming back with you. Not ever."
"Oh yes you are. Let's go. Time to get in the car." He said reaching towards her.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Axel looked around the mansion. Even in the bright afternoon the interior was dark. The wood paneling was absorbing the light, casting everything in a dark shadow. He walked to his left and looked in the ballroom, but she wasn't there. He heard voices upstairs, and one he recognized as Marie's. He couldn't hear what they were saying. But he heard hurried footsteps heading to the back. It was more than one person. There was a strong steady gate, and then one that was lighter and faster. It was Marie and Cate; it had to be.
Axel moved through mansion travelling through the formal living room, the kitchen, the gift shop and then finally the office door. He felt alert and ready. His every sense was on high alert. He heard everything. His eyes were wide and nothing was missed. He moved smoothly towards the door, his footfalls silent on the floor.
He heard voices, a man's and a woman's.
"No, I'm not coming back with you. Not ever."
"Oh yes you are. Let's go. Time to get in the car." Axel swung the door open moved into the room. His arms and limbs were loose; he was ready for whatever might come. MMA fighting wasn't boxing; it was real fighting, street fighting. He didn't need to be a ring to win a fight. He looked at his opponent. Austin St. Clare was tall and thin. He had a sparse head of short dark hair and a clean-shaven face. He was wearing a black suit and a skinny tie and Axel could see the bulge of a gun under each arm.
"Holy shit," the man said, he was reaching towards Marie, but his hand had stopped in mid air. "You're Axel Connelly," he stood up and ran his hands through his hair nodded at Axel before coming towards him with his hand outstretched. "You won me five hundred bucks in the last match."
His hand hung in the air between them as Axel looked down at it and then over at Marie. She looked shaken. Her face was pale. Cate was hiding behind her knees and there were two suitcases next to her. "This is my girl, Marie," Austin said he put his hand down awkwardly as Axel clearly had no intention to shake it. "But you can ignore her, she doesn't know anything about MMA fighting. She probably doesn't even know who you are."
"Who are you?" Axel said, although he knew all too well.
"I'm Austin St. Clare of St. Clare Security," he reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a card that he tried to hand to Axel. Axel looked at the card then back up at the man. Austin smoothly moved the card back into his pocket and continued, "We're just in town for a few days."
He wanted to hit him. He wanted to punch him right in his smarmy face. But Axel held himself back. He would get arrested for that. His getting arrested would upset Marie and that was what he was trying to avoid. Besides, he knew guys like this. They talked the talked, but the second someone hit them they're running to their lawyers and you're getting sued for assault. He wasn't worth it.
"Marie, you ready to go? Car's out front," Axel said. He stared into her eyes. He willed her to understand what he was thinking. He understood everything, he knew Austin was here to take her back and he was offering her a safe refuge. He just needed her to take it.
"What's this now?" Austin said turning from Axel to Marie. His smile turned into a grimace as he looked between the two. "You been seeing someone else, Marie? Did you really cheat on me?"
"We're not together anymore, Austin. You know that." Marie said and Axel was proud to see her look him in the eye.
"Look, babe, I know we had a couple of fights, but just come home and we'll talk about it. We'll work it out. We always do."
"No," Marie said. "I'm leaving."
Axel tensed as she grabbed her bags and moved to walk past Austin. Axel watched and waited and he was ready when Austin's arm shot out at Marie's. Axel darted forward easily grabbing the other man's arm before he could touch Marie. "Don't do that," Axel said and then he squeezed Austin's arm with his strong hand. He could feel Austin's arm start to twitch. The other man grimaced in pain and Axel held on for a moment longer before finally letting go.
Marie and Cate were on the other side of him. Axel and Austin stood and faced each other. Austin massaged his wrist and glared at Axel. "Don't be an idiot," he said. "I'm a powerful man. You don't want to anger me."
"I'm not that worried about it," Axel scoffed.
"Really?" Austin demanded. "You think everything is a fight in a ring with a ref. Not where I'm from. In my business attacks can happen anywhere at anytime. You could be asleep and alone in your bed when BAM! the hit comes. You have to always be on your guard. Sometimes it's snipers; sometimes it's poison. Rarely does a man ring a bell before the fight begins."
"Stay away from her. Marie doesn't want anything to do with you," Axel said ignoring the other man's threats. He turned around and with Marie and Cate in tow they made their way to the front door, passing a terrified looking Leslie and into Axel's car.
"Get back here!" Austin screamed. He came running around the sidewalk. He was in good shape and his lithe body moved quickly and easily. "I am not done with you."
"Get in," Axel said taking Marie by the elbow and ushering her inside. He buckled Cate in the backseat and headed for the driver's side. From behind him he saw the flash of a gun as Austin drew his jacket aside. But Axel was already at his door and he slid between the wheel and peeled out before Austin did something he would regret.
"Mommy..." Cate cried from the back seat.
Axel looked over at Marie and she was staring at him. She was breathing heavily and almost in shock. He reached out and took her hand, feeling her pulse racing on her wrist. "It's okay." He didn't know why he was saying that. Things were far from over. But it was all he could think of and it seemed to work. "It's okay now," he repeated as Marie managed a weak smile.
She closed her eyes for a moment before turning back to look at her daughter. "It's okay, Cate," she repeated. It was like a mantra they were sharing between themselves.
Cate held out her arms and cried out again and Marie sighed and undid her seatbelt. The car was moving but she slid between the seats and made her way to the back where she gathered Cate in her arms and rocked her back and forth.
He could see her eyes in the rearview mirror and she could see him. She mouthed the words thank you and he nodded. For a while he drove around in circles. He was looking for a tail, trying to see if he was being followed. He also wasn't sure where to go and the movement of the car was soothing to Cate who was dozing in Marie's arms. After twenty minutes of aimless driving he parked his car in the parking lot of a local grocery store and waited.
Finally, confident he hadn't been followed, Axel headed for the forest. He left the small downtown behind and headed for the long dark stretches of road that led out of town. The streets got thinner and the trees closed overhead. Everything was quiet, sounds muffled by tree limbs thick with summer leaves. He drove instinctively towards the only place he could think to go.