Axel:A Bad Boy Romance(42)

"Axel are you really going to do this?" Hayden demanded. "There are ten men in there."



Axel said nothing. He stepped out of the car and closed the door. He  took the keys leaving a cuffed Hayden sitting in the car. There were  three large, empty, black SUVs in the parking lot. Axel searched the  roof trying to see if anyone was watching him from above as he made his  way to the back door. They must have set a lookout and a watch. But Axel  didn't see one.



At the back door Axel pulled out his keys and as quietly as possible he  turned his key in the lock and pushed the large, heavy door open. Inside  the gym was dark. It was wrong. They were supposed to be open. Normally  this would be there rush hour and the gym would have been filled with  people pumping iron and running on treadmills. But now it was dark and  silent. Axel took a step inside and closed the door quietly behind him.  The emergency lights were the only ones on and the gym was covered in  shadows that hid stray weights and machines. A different man would have  tripped over a dozen different things, but Axel knew his way around his  own gym. He slipped silently over the floor and made his way towards the  stairs. He was halfway there when the lights suddenly came on.



Axel shielded his eyes from the blinding light. He saw sparks and he  blinked until his eyes finally adjusted. Once everything became clear  Axel saw he wasn't alone. He looked around the gym. There were ten men  around him. Three were in the ring and the others were lounging on the  machines. Austin stood at the top of stairs with his arms crossed.



"Where's Marie?" he demanded.



"Obviously she's not here," Axel said throwing up his hands. "What's it  going to take to get rid of you? We both know you don't actually want  Cate, so why don't you just leave her and Marie alone."



"Why?" Austin demanded. "Can't you see I'm winning? Why would I stop  now?" He nodded his head and three men who were standing next to a  weight bench stood and made their way towards Axel. Axel slipped easily  into a fighting stance. He could see that the first man was big, but he  was all fat and no muscle. The second man was strong, but he was  hesitating. He wasn't used to this kind of fighting. The third was a  real fighter, but Axel would deal with him last.



Axel ducked under the first punch and landed a solid hit to the solar  plexus of the bigger man. He toppled back, hitting the ground hard and  staying down. The second man took a hit straight to the face and fell to  his knees. The third lunged with a kick Axel easily blocked. He struck  out with a jab, but Axel blocked that, as well, and landed a hard hit to  man's face. But the man recovered quickly and kicked Axel right in his  left side. Axel took the hit with a grimace and grabbed the man's leg.  The other man hopped, trying to regain his balance, but Axel spun hard  and twisted his leg painfully. He punched him three times in the side  and then let him fall to the ground.



Axel took a few deep breaths. His heart was pounding. Adrenaline was  pumping through his veins. His left side ached from the kick, but he  ignored the pain. He noticed everything, every move his enemy made. Two  other men came at Axel, one landed a hard hit to Axel's left eye, before  Axel broke his arm and then turned and broke the nose of the other  attacker.



Blood trickled down his face and there was a sharp pain in his side. He  had definitely bruised a rib. His knuckles were bloody and raw, but he  wasn't done yet. There were two more men down in the gym, but they both  backed away from Axel, glancing up at their boss as they did.         

     



 



So Axel ignored them. He took a step toward Austin only to see that  Austin had a gun pointed right at him. Axel stopped moving. He glared up  at the other man and wiped the blood from his eyes.



"Did you really think you were going to fight your way out of this?"  Austin demanded as he walked slowly down the stairs. The gym was silent  and his footfalls echoed all around. He opened his mouth to speak again  when suddenly all of the doors were pushed open and the shouts of  several different men shattered the silence.



"ATF, nobody move!"



Axel automatically raised his arms above his head as agents in black  vests swarmed his gym and surrounded the group, their guns drawn and  pointed. Above Axel, Austin looked around fearfully and he hurried down  the stairs, his gun already raised in the air in act of surrender. Once  on the floor he dropped his gun and fell to his knees, stammering an  explanation that the federal agents were not interested in.



"Who are you?" one of the agents demanded shoving the nose of a gun in Axel's face.



"I'm Axel Connelly. I own this gym. These guys broke in and I was trying to get rid of them."



"On your own?" the man asked.



"Yes," Axel answered. The officer permitted Axel to stand up. He patted  him down and once. From the office Axel produced paperwork showing he  was the owner and everyone managed to relax around him little. "What's  going on?" Axel asked. Austin was currently tied up the ground, his  hands trapped behind his back, held there with zip ties. The rest of his  men were with him. Axel hadn't done too much damage. They all needed  some medical attention, but none of them were in any real danger.



"We've been investigating St. Clare Security for months now to build a  case. They've been acting as a paramilitary force. The owner's have been  using their employees as personal enforcers. We have half a dozen  assault counts on them. But the real issue is the guns. We got a search  warrant and found an armory filled with illegal weapons back in Arizona.  We also have reason to believe they snuck several high-powered rifles  and machine guns onto domestic flights. They certainly didn't have the  right paperwork for the guns they have on them now."



"That's bullshit! You're making a big mistake," Austin sneered from his  knees. "Do you know who my father is? Do you know who he knows? He has  dinner with the governor all the time. He has connections and you're  going to lose your job."



"I would remind you, Mr. St. Clare, that your rights have been read to  you and anything you say will be used against you. And please, stop  trying to impress me with the fact that your daddy knows the governor.  I'm ATF. That's a federal bureau. The governor's got nothing to do with  it."



"What's going to happen to them?" Axel asked as Austin sulked on the floor.



"They are being processed and soon we'll put them on a plane and take them back to Arizona for them to stand trial."



"His ex is here," Axel said quietly to the officer. "She doesn't want  anything to do with him. That's why he's here. To take her back." He was  worried about mentioning Marie, but he knew this could be her chance to  break free from Austin. He would have a hard time harassing her from  jail.



"Look," the agent said, glancing around to make sure no one could hear  them, "you didn't get this from me, but these are solid charges we have  against these guys. They've committed felonies and they will be serving  lengthy jail times. He might get out on parole during the trial, but he  won't be permitted to leave the state. You tell your girl to stay out of  Arizona and she should have an easy time keeping free of him."



"Good to hear." He shook the officer's hand and gave him his  information. Austin had broken into Axel's gym and attacked him. It was  another charge to add to the pile and Axel was only too happy to help  the feds make their case. "Whatever puts him away for the longest time."



"Well thank you, Mr. Connelly. And, I hope this isn't too improper, but  some of the boys over there are big fans. Do you think you could maybe  sign some autographs and pose for some pictures?"



"I'd be happy to," Axel said.



When the agents were finally done with him Axel walked back out to his  car and was surprised to see Hayden still sitting in the passenger seat.  He had managed to find his way out of his duct tape restraints, but he  hadn't gone anywhere.



"Axel, I'm sorry," he said as Axel slid into the driver's seat.         

     



 



"I don't want to hear it." Axel said as he started the car. "You and me  are done. For good. You're fired as my coach and as the manager of my  gym. If you know what's good for you, you'll go and start another life  somewhere else. I don't want to see you in this town ever again. I know  you took a bribe from him, Hayden. Consider it your pension. Take it and  go start a new life somewhere very far from me."



"Don't do this. We're best friends. Don't throw all that away."



"We were friends. We're nothing now. Get out."



Axel pulled his car in front of a ramshackle-looking house. It was the  same one Hayden had grown up it. Hayden looked forlornly from Axel to  his house hoping for a last minute reprieve. But Axel held firm.  Finally, Hayden stepped out of the car and walked towards his house.  Without another look, Axel stepped on the gas and drove away.