Axel: A Bad Boy Romance Read Online Free PDF

closed the door behind them. Axel’s heart was pounding and it wasn’t from the run. He didn’t let it show, though. He kept his face blank doing his best to ignore the emotions roiling inside of him. Hayden pulled up the website for the fight and they scanned until they reached Axel’s name.
     
    “It’s on the twelfth, which we knew. And you’ll be fighting Danny Castellano.”
     
    Axel saw the image of his opponent on the screen. He saw Danny’s blocky face, his nose that bore the marks of being broken more than once, his short dark hair.  He knew the guy. He had fought Danny before. He was good. Small, but wiry and fast. The guy could take a punch and he could give one.
     
    “We’re gonna have to improve your footwork,” Hayden said, shaking his head. “You can beat this kid, but we’ll need to train hard. For the next two months this fight is the only thing you think about. Your head needs to be in the game. Is your head right?” Hayden demanded.
     
    “Yeah, I got this,” Axel said. He nodded at the screen. He could do this. He could beat Castellano. He would focus and train and, in two months, he was going to take home the belt and his entire life was going to change. Hayden was right. He needed to keep his mental game in tact; he needed to keep his head clear. But that wouldn’t be too hard. He was back in his hometown with only the historical society fundraiser to distract him. There were no late night parties with models, no hundred-dollar-a-plate sushi dinners, just the diner and the arcade. There was nothing else he wanted to do other than train.
     
    “I’m gonna put together a training regiment and a meal plan for you. For the next two months we are hardcore training. No coffee, no booze, no junk food, no late nights, no women, there is only the gym for you.” Axel nodded. He wasn’t going to argue. “We train eight hours a day. Two hours cardio, two hours weightlifting, three in the ring, and then an hour for recovery.”
     
    Hayden kept rambling away at his list while Axel nodded, but he wasn’t listening. He could hear the roar of the crowd; he could see that belt sitting on his mantle. He could taste the five hundred thousand dollars he was going to win. He had been out of the ring for almost three months, but he had been on a winning streak. He had knocked out his last three opponents. He was ready for the fight; he was ready to get back to it.
     
    Axel cracked his knuckles in anticipation. “We’re gonna hit the big time, Hayden,” he said with a shake of his head. “No more cheap flights for us. This is how we get to the big times. This is the next step in my career.”
     
    “But, first, we have to win,” Hayden reminded him.
     
     

 
    Chapter Six
     
    “Are you nervous?” Marie asked as she squeezed Cate’s hand.
     
    “Nope,” Cate answered cheerfully as she took a little skip. That made one of them. Marie was nervous as hell. Cate had never been to daycare before. Back in Arizona, Austin had refused the very idea. Marie had been a stay at home mom, what would be the point of daycare? He had scoffed and then threatened her that she should never bring it up again.
     
    Cate was “desperate for school,” as she called it. She loved playing with other kids and had been excited about it ever since Marie had told her she would finally get to go. It was also out of necessity, Marie did need to actually work at the museum, so Cate would need to be at daycare at least part time. But this was harder than she had thought. She couldn’t remember the last time she had gone a full day without her daughter. What if Austin had been following them and was just waiting for the perfect opportunity to grab Cate and take her away?
     
    Marie looked around her, searching for anyone suspicious or familiar. But there were only a few people in the street and one car driving past. She was acting paranoid. Austin had no idea where she was. He couldn’t get her. He wasn’t going to