CHAPTER 24 – A GOD-DAMNED REBEL
For a long moment into the drive, Mackenzie was still in a daze over what just happened a couple of moments ago. It was all so fast, that her shocked mind had not had enough time to register it all.
The intense and shocking meeting with Chase Axford. Him kissing her. Her nearly running into a busy highway. Him saving her. His fierce, possessive words.
And now she was sitting in the passenger seat of his Lamborghini. It was difficult to make sense of it all.
But now, she was snapping out of her breathless daze, and suddenly realized she couldn’t let Chase drive her home. She thought about her kids, and panic struck her.
No way. He definitely should not ever know of their existence.
Sitting upright in her seat, she brushed her hair back a she looked out the tinted windows. Her heart jumped in anxiety. They were already entering the suburban parts of Greensville where she lived.
Triggering what-ifs bombarded her thoughts. What if her kids were on their way back from school, only to meet Chase face to face outside the apartment? If Chase saw them, that was the end. He’ll put two and two together immediately, especially if he sees Cameron.
The entire Axford family would definitely find out. Then Jeffery and his greedy mother, Eleanor, would not wait to lay their filthy hands on her innocent kids.
“Stop the car.” She said.
Chase only glanced sideways at her, but silently continued to drive. She slammed her hand on the expensive dashboard and screamed at him with wide eyes and desperation, “Please, stop the car, I want to get down!”
“Why?” Chase countered in a deep, warning voice. “You can’t hide again. Especially not from me.”
Her panic was becoming full-blown at this point. She was practically screaming, doing everything she could to make sure he did not get to her house. “I can find my way around Greensville, Chase. Stop holding me in your car against my will and let me out! Pull over!”
He glanced at her, wondering why she was so desperate to get away from him. That stark defensiveness in her voice. The fear in her beautiful hazel eyes. It felt like she had something to hide.
After regarding her for a moment, he said quietly, “I’ll drop you where you can get a cab.”
Mackenzie subtly relaxes when she heard that from him, but she could not settle back into her seat until he finally pulled up by the side of the road and unlocked the door. With a big feeling of relief washing over her tense shoulders, she hurried out of the car.
She crossed the road, more carefully this time, and got into another cab to take her home.
In the safety of the modest cab, sheltered from Chase’s overwhelming presence, Mackenzie clutched her chest in a bid to stabilize her erratically racing heart. And the tight pull of desire raging deep in her feminine core.
Her eyes fluttered close as she remembered the feeling of his lips on hers. Being trapped against his bigger body, overpowered and made to surrender to his male need. She had felt so lost in his arms, under his defiant blue gaze… against his body.
It reminded her of the times they had actually had sex.
An explosive sensation throbbed between Mackenzie’s legs and she shivered. All these years, she thought she had tamed these feelings, because what they did was just so wrong, that it deserved to be kept under wraps forever.
But it all came rushing back the moment she caught sight of him. She realized all of a sudden, that she would be hopelessly thinking of that kiss even in her dreams.
************
Chase watched Mackenzie hurry away from his car, with her beautiful curls bouncing with each steps she took. The sway of her hips hypnotized him, that he actually found that he didn’t mind that she was walking away from him.
But then, when she stepped into the cab and it drive off, a pissed off feeling filled him. She was running away again. Let her run all she wanted, he thought, she’d be running towards me soon.
His phone burst out ringing. It was a call from his assistant.
He answered, “Yes.”
“Sir, you are not in the office.” It sounded more like a statement than a question from Nora.
“Yeah. Went out for a bit.” He answered coolly. “I’ll be coming back soon.”Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.
“I’d suggest you use the back entrance, Mr. Axford. The paparazzi are back, and there are a lot of them crowding the front of the building.” She added, her voice a polite monotone.
“I can’t avoid them forever. Might as well just face them head on and tell them what they want to hear from me.” Chase said nonchalantly. He really did not give a fuck what the media thinks about his “relationship” with Selene.
Speaking of the devil, Nora spoke up again, “And sir? You have a guest waiting here to see you. It’s Selene Hamilton, sir.”
At the mention of that name, Chase placed a hand against his forehead in raw exasperation. What the fuck was Selene doing in his office? He had not seen her since the divorce situation began, but she had been calling repeatedly.
And leaving texts that Chase never bothered to read, much less reply. She obviously had no sense of shame if she could still show up after he basically ignored her.
Who was he kidding? This was Selene. Someone who slept her way through the entire city of Greensville, of course, she had no shame.
“I’ll be there.” Chase said, and ended the call.
As soon as he placed his phone down, another call came through almost immediately. He glanced at the caller ID and saw that it was West, his cousin, calling. He sucked in a deep breath, arching an eyebrow at his phone.
And whenever West calls, there’s nothing good about it.
“Yes?” Chase answered.
“Thank fuck you picked, bro.” West’s incorrigible tone came from the other end of the phone. “Don’t know what I would have down if you hadn’t, shit.”
Chase’s voice was flat. “Why are you calling? It’s the middle of a fucking Monday. Shouldn’t you be busy with work?”
“I’m in jail, bro.”
Chase closed his eyes briefly at the news, not even surprised at this point. West was notorious for always getting into trouble, whether he was the cause of it or not. Most times, he was the cause, anyway.
A goddamn rebel.
Chase asked in a lower tone, “Are you serious right now?” He couldn’t be sure if West was just joking around. The bastard’s sense of humor could be broken sometimes.
“Does it sound like I’m fucking around, man?” West asked back, flatly.
“Well, yeah.” Chase deadpanned.
“Fuck you, cousin.” West scoffed. “Look, I was just put here based on the circumstances. I didn’t do anything fucking wrong. Now, I just need someone to bail me out of this shit hole.”
Chase let out a breath. “What did you do?”
“You’re not even pretending to care, man, what’s with all these fucking questions? I thought you’d be rushing to bail me out, and then ask questions later?” West groaned.
“Anyway, I hit on this girl, and the girl was actually falling for my charm… but then her boyfriend showed up and tried to attack me. I beat him the fuck up, because I had to, even though I didn’t want to fight. Then I was arrested for assault.”
Chase was quiet for a moment, before a chuckle escaped him. He tried to hold it in before West heard it, but it was too late.
“Hey, Chase, are you laughing at me?” West gasped.
Chase’s eyes were shining with amusement when he responded. “I knew a girl got you in jail. Don’t worry, West, Nora would come bail you out right now.
West protested immediately. “Why can’t you be supportive for once, Chase? You’re sending your assistant to come get me out of jail? Come bail me out, yourself. The cops would be kissing my ass once they see you here on my behalf.”
Chase found that idea incredulous. He said calmly. “With the media currently in uproar because of me, you want me to go, in all of the places in Greensville, to a police station? I haven’t given the press an official statement yet, and them spotting me there would be terrible.”
“But-”
“Sit tight. Nora would be there.” Chase said with finality and ended the call.
Chase could not afford to be seen in a police station, while things were still simmering hot in the media. They would automatically link it to have something to do with Selene, and start to cook up some shit stories just for money.
He sent a text to Nora and placed his phone down on the dashboard. He turned on the ignition, easing the car back onto the road. His mood slowly darkened with each mile his car covered, which led him closer and closer to Selene waiting in his office.