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He shut off his car, looking at the front display window. Liv had said it was very creative and he’d felt good about her compliment. It was such a simple thing and something that was sorely lacking in his life. Kiki tended to nitpick, not compliment.
    He rubbed his jaw wondering how he was going to face Kiki. It was easy to tell Liv for them to go back and live with their cheating spouses, but now faced with doing it ... he’d rather eat dirt. He’d never get the picture of Darwin groping Kiki out of his mind or the worst betrayal of doing it right outside the rental shop. Like he was an idiot. That hurt badly, and he couldn’t quite wrap his mind around all of it.
    He searched his pocket for his cell phone, and he called Jax inside the shop. Once he heard Jax answer, he said, “Hey, I need a week, can you cover the shop for me?”
    Jax’s immediate answer was, “Yes.” Followed by a question, if he was alright.
    “I don’t know, man,” Axel answered. “I’ll let you know.” Then he cut the call on whatever else Jax would try to say.
    Okay, now he was free-wheeling, did he feel any better?
    Not. Really.
    His chest ached and it felt tight. He wished to God he could go to Kiki and wrap his arms around her and make everything good again. Then he cussed and started his car. He wasn’t certain where he was going, until he turned down the street and realized it was the street his aunt had lived on.
    Her house was still there. He had kept it up as if she were coming back any day. Kiki had bitched at him a lot about not selling it. But as long as his aunt was still alive, he just couldn’t. He pulled in the driveway, remembering when he was young running up the front steps and slamming open the front door. He’d be calling his aunt’s name before he’d hit the kitchen looking for something to eat. Always looking to eat. She’d always been there too. And she’d made him believe she always would be there so he could relax and be a kid again — not worried about being abandoned.
    Axel turned his car off and got out looking at the old place. His aunt had lived there a long time by herself, without much help, and the old place needed some work. He’d always thought he’d enjoy fixing it up before he sold it. Only the selling it idea wasn’t his idea, it was Kiki’s.
    He wanted to keep it, maybe rent it out. The house he and Kiki lived in was a mansion compared to it, but when he walked up to the front door, pulling out his keys, he felt more at home than he had in a long time. Quietly, he went inside and looked around. All of his aunt’s stuff was there, furniture, clothes, and knickknacks. It was pretty dusty, but he could clean it up in no time.
    Without even making a conscious decision, he went to sit on the couch. He pulled out his cell and first he called his old military buddy, Ronan to ask him to put Kiki and Darwin under surveillance. Axel appreciated the fact Ronan didn’t delve into the whys after his first pause.
    He’d just asked, “Do you want in-depth surveillance?”
    “Yes, buddy,” Axel answered. “As far as you can legally go and not get caught. I’ll try to keep you up on some of their whereabouts if I can. I think it’ll be easier to follow, Kiki.”
    “You got it,” Ronan replied with his slight Irish accent.
    “You can report to me on this cell,” Axel said, before he said goodbye.
    Then he punched another number, feeling so much relief when he heard her voice. The next split-second he realized he could have caught her with her husband.
    “Liv, I wasn’t thinking, can you talk?” he asked hurriedly.
    Her returning sigh sounded calm, and he relaxed a bit. “Yes, I can talk. I was just going to call you.”
    “Good,” he said, relieved. Then he thought; she wasn’t with Darwin yet. He glanced out the living room window and saw it was almost dark, making him frown and reach over to switch on a lamp.
    “It’s getting later,” he prompted, hoping to nudge her into talking