Axel and Donald stared down at the men and the lady they held in their arms."Did I ask any of you to put a finger on her?" Axel asked quietly.They shifted from foot to foot, each of them nudging the other to respond. Donald reached out and took Claire from them, then used his feet to propel her suitcase inside."I'll call Paul." He said as he walked in.Axel nodded, but kept his eyes on the men. "Chose your poison."The men immediately fell to the ground and started begging for mercy."Oh, you all can talk now, can't you?" He roared. "I asked you who gave you the permission to lay a finger on my woman!"His voice echoed in the penthouse, and Donald came out."She's alive, and safe now." He pulled Axel away from the men. "You can deal with them later. Right now, you need to figure out what you are going to say to Danielle. She's been calling."Axel gritted his teeth. "Count yourselves fortunate that Donald was present today. I'd put you all in a torture chamber and leave you there to
Claire's fever returned less than a few minutes later. Axel did not want to call Paul, since his client was very important. But Claire was shivering and burning, and he didn't know what to do. He dabbed her forehead with a wet towel, but she was not responding to his efforts.Finally, he panicked and called Paul. "She's burning," he said as soon as Paul picked up. "And trembling. Her teeth are chattering. She's lost all color."Paul sighed. "Did you let her rest after I left?" When Axel said nothing, Paul sighed again. "I thought so. Well, I can't come right now. Just do whatever you can for her. I'll see if I can finish up here tonight so I can come tomorrow.""Paul." Axel knew he sounded like an injured puppy, but the pain he felt was more than physical. "I'm terrified. What if something happens to her? I don't know what to even do.""You should have left her alone." Paul said tersely."How could I? She asked."Claire started making sounds on the bed. He turned to her, and noticed sh
When Claire melted weakly into his arms, Axel felt deep, immeasurable pain in his heart. He had said to himself, that he would work on not being affected by Claire any more. Now, he knew he lied. She already meant so much to him, that he even shared in her pain. That part scared him the most.Claire's breathing was shallow, and her arms went slack. She was trembling like she was very cold, but her temperature was climbing too quickly. Axel laid her down on the bed and took his place beside her. He hugged her to his side and prayed that Paul should hurry.Donald checked in a few times, but he was just as helpless. Finally, after it had gone dark, Paul returned. By then, Axel was feeling sleepy and Claire's skin was burning. Angry rashes had erupted from her skin and they glowed in fury."You certainly do not fear getting ill, son."Axel looked up, and seeing Paul, sat up groggily. "How did it go?"Paul stretched his hand out. His sleeves were rolled up and Axel could see marks on them.
Axel glared at Donald, but Donald was not looking at him. Sighing, he rose from the bed."I need to go to work, Claire. I'll see you later." He picked up the vial from the bedside table. "I'll let Paul have this. You should rest now."He walked up to Donald and took the laptop from him. "This better be very serious."It was. An employee had accidentally set their gas store on fire at a branch in China. He was needed on site immediately. He looked back at Claire. She had already fallen asleep, and he didn't have the heart to go wake her and tell her goodbye. He walked to her and kissed her forehead."I have to go to China, Tigress." He whispered. "Hold down the forte here for me, will you?"He went to get his briefcase. "Have you informed the directors?"Donald nodded. "And Paul. He will stay with Claire here at the penthouse until you get back.""I hate to leave her now.""I know." Donald murmured. "Me too. But duty calls, and Axel, this time, you really need to focus."The flight to
Axel slowly rose from his position to let Donald take a look."It's a bomb alright.""Is it timed?" Axel asked tersely.Donald nodded. "We have less than twenty minutes. Check the doors."Axel walked to the door and tried opening it. "It's locked from outside.""Let me call Jubril. Check the windows."Axel climbed the bed and opened the window. "It's been sealed off. Why didn't we notice that the house was a trap?""We were too tired."Donald lifted a finger when Jubril picked up and informed him of their situation."Half an hour? That's too long. We have to find another way." Jubril said something and he crouched by the trapdoor. "Yes, I think we can lift it out in time… What? No… It looks like it was designed to take out just the house… You think that would work? Yes, yes... Alright. Get the men ready for us."Donald hung up and sighed. "Let's hope any movement at all doesn't detonate it."Axel went down on his knees. "On three?"Donald took a deep breath and nodded. "If it goes off
Axel's heart began hammering in his chest. "What about Claire?"Jubril frowned. "According to Paul, he thinks she might not live for long time. She don't want to eat or take any medication. Her friend is coming to New York to see if anybody can help. She don't want to live anymore."Axel narrowed his eyes. "Why did he call you?""He said he sure you were alive and I should find you. He need you to heal Claire."Axel turned away and walked to the window. He looked down at the streets of China, the traffic rushing by and the pedestrians crowding on the sidewalk. His heart leaped at every blonde haired woman he sighted, until he remembered he was not in New York. And there was no Claire.He needed to find a way to go home, but he was not sure of how much danger he was in. Doubtless, he trusted Paul. But he didn't want to put him in any danger, especially if his enemies found out they had been in touch. That would put Claire in danger too, and he certainly didn't want that either.Jubril
Axel had stayed upstairs when the men had brought in the Manager. He dreaded what Donald had to do, but he realized it was necessary. Donald had prepared well. The instruments he saw inside the closed chamber gave Axel shivers. Just seeing everything so carefully laid out should have made the Manager start talking immediately he was dragged into the room. Axel heard his screams from inside because the walls were not soundproof. Donald was really not pulling his punches. Axel knew the moment the Manager cracked. He clucked his tongue and looked at his watch. The Manager had not even lasted an hour. The house went quiet again, and a few minutes later, the men dragged the manager with them.Jubril asked the men to lock him up until everything blew over. Then, the others would have no clue what was about to happen. Axel stood by the door, trying to listen to everything that was going on in the house. He heard the footsteps of someone approaching and he slinked away to the table.When Dona
"Slow down." Donald admonished as soon as they stepped out of the car into the darkness of the area surrounding the penthouse building. "We still have about five minutes before the lights are restored." Axel ignored Donald and kept up his brisk pace. He was not worried that Jubril's men could keep the light off for the amount of time it took to get up to the penthouse, neither was he worried that any camera would pick up their trail in the dark. The only thing that made him hurry up was Claire.She was the only thing on his mind throughout the flight, and the drive from the hanger to his lodge. He missed everything about her. Her touch, the feel of her hair and skin on his, and the way her mouth drove him crazy. He needed to see her.Axel entered the elevator and Donald caught up with him right before the door closed."You know," Donald huffed, "this obsession you have is very unhealthy. Granted, I like Claire. She's perfect for you. But loving her is turning you into someone I canno