THE DON'S CAPTIVE MISTRESS

That Line

AXEL

Axel sat at the head of the long dining table and watched Hazel walk out of the room without sparing him a single glance. He wasn’t sure what exactly about her managed to get under his skin, her defiance, her anger, or the way she moved around him like he was poison but he knew one thing:

He was mad.

The dessert suddenly lost all appeal. He pushed his plate away, stood up, and made his way to his office, each footstep echoing sharper than his patience. He had barely settled behind his desk when there was a knock, and the door opened without waiting for permission.

Remo stepped inside, smug smile already in place.

“So,” Remo said casually, “how was dinner with the missus?”

Axel’s jaw tightened. “Not funny.”

Remo only chuckled, unbothered. He moved further into the room, switching to business. “I’ve gone over the numbers for the deal with the Irish. We should finalise it before the end of the...”

“Where’s Nico?” Axel cut in.

Remo blinked, then sighed. “I told him to go see the doctor. Last thing we need is an infection.”

Axel leaned back, expression ice. “An infection is the least of his problems. He does know he’s supposed to be at work, right? He’s supposed to be protecting Hazel. Twenty-four hours. Nonstop.”

Remo hesitated. Then, carefully he said:

“He’s hurt, Axel. Give him forty-eight hours. Let the wounds at least close.”

Axel’s eyes narrowed, sharp and warning. “And while he’s resting, who’s protecting Hazel?”

A faint, betraying smile tugged at Remo’s mouth. He tried to hide it, but failed. Axel caught it. His irritation climbed higher.

Remo cleared his throat and said, more seriously this time, “I think you’ve been too rough on Nico. What happened wasn’t his fault.”

Axel raised one eyebrow. Slowly.

Remo lifted both hands in surrender. “I’m not saying he was perfect. I should’ve kept an eye on her too. But Hazel herself said he told her to go back inside. She didn’t listen. That’s not Nico’s fault.”

“It is Nico’s fault,” Axel said flatly. “My men know what I expect. One hundred per cent. No excuses. He was assigned to her. He failed. He deserves more than a damn whiplash, he deserved to lose something for that mistake. Maybe even a part of his body. Maybe death....”

Remo studied him for a moment, really looked at him.

Then he sighed. “I still think you’re being too hard on him. Nico can’t watch Hazel every second of every day. She was inside the property. It’s reasonable that he assumed she wasn’t in danger. No one expected she’d go wandering into the forest.”

Axel didn’t answer.

He clenched his jaw instead, grinding his teeth so hard he felt the pressure in his temples, but he said nothing.

"Hazel is fine. Everything is okay. I wonder why you're still pissed like that. Didn't everything happen just the way you wanted? I mean, Luca....." Remo said, "I was kind of worried there for a second."

“I need to know that I can trust my man,” Axel snapped back. “Because if I can't trust my men, my most trusted men....then what the hell are we doing? The famiglia is about trust. It's about loyalty.”

Remo leaned back a little, watching him. “I feel like this is more than just Nico. What is this really about?”

Axel was quiet for a moment, jaw ticking before he finally said, “Hazel thinks she can start a game with me and win.”

Remo blinked. “What game?”

Axel exhaled sharply, almost in disbelief. “After all the lessons I’ve been giving her, for some reason I can’t explain, she keeps trying to push my buttons.”

“What is she doing now?” Remo asked, clearly tired of the constant push and pull between the two.

“Can you believe that she didn’t talk to me?” Axel said, voice rising. “She sat there, pretending the whole time during dinner that I wasn’t even there. She sat where she wasn’t supposed to sit, didn’t follow the rules, and she had the audacity to let me talk to myself and not reply. Not even once.”

He shook his head slowly, eyes distant, voice edged with frustration. “This was the girl who couldn’t stop talking. She would talk and talk and talk all the time. And now she’s trying to play a new game....the silent treatment game.” His laugh was coldhumourlessss. “She won’t win whatever she thinks she’s beginning.”

Remo just stared. He shook his head. “I have nothing to say when it comes to you and Hazel. But I will say this: take it easy on Nico.”

Axel raised an eyebrow.

“We both know he’s a good soldier,” Remo continued. “He’s loyal. He’s damn good at his work. It’s the reason why you let him guard Hazel. So take a chill pill with him. If he’s watching her during the day, find someone else to watch her at night. He can’t watch her twenty-four-seven. The man has a life.”

“What kind of life?” Axel muttered. “f*****g women up and down, all over the city?”

“Still,” Remo said, unbothered, “he’s a good man. He’s never messed with anyone in the famiglia. Anyone he wasn’t supposed to get close to.”

A slow, dangerous smile tugged at Axel’s mouth.

“Really?” he challenged softly. “Are you really going to say that to my face?”

Remo exhaled slowly, the kind of slow that said he already regretted opening his mouth. He leaned back in the chair opposite Axel’s desk, elbows on the armrests, fingers tapping once, twice.

“I’m saying,” Remo replied carefully, “Nico knows better than to cross a line that would get him killed.”

Axel’s jaw clenched so tightly a muscle jumped along the side of his face.

“Hazel is that line, Remo.”

Remo tilted his head. “So what, you think Nico has feelings for her? That’s what this is really about? That’s why you whipped him bloody in front of her?”

Axel’s eyes flashed. “I didn’t whip him. You did.”

“And you ordered it,” Remo said without hesitation. “Don’t pretend it wasn’t personal. You could have had him punished privately. But no, Hazel had to watch. You wanted her to watch.”

Axel’s silence was so sharp the room felt smaller.

Remo sighed and rubbed his forehead.

“I’m just saying… you want absolute control over her. But she’s not built like that.”

Axel leaned forward, palms flat on the desk, voice lowering into something darker.

“She will be.”

Remo narrowed his eyes. “You sure about that?”

Axel didn’t blink. “I always finish what I start.”