Hearts and Aces (Kelsey's Burden Series Book 7)

by Kaylie Hunter

  “Who’s Sebrina?” Tech asked.

  “His ex-girlfriend,” Tyler answered for me. “The DEA agent they rescued in Mexico.”

  “And you want to bring her here?” Bridget asked.

  I threw my hands into the air. “Maybe this whole fucking mess will make more sense that way. Because I sure as hell don’t get it! I have no idea what’s going on! He says he needs time to think shit out—well, I’ll give him time! He can sleep in the fucking apartments for all I care! I’ll be damned, though, if he’ll be running around unprotected while we figure this shit out.”

  “You sound a little crazy,” Tech said, smirking.

  “I feel a little crazy. I’m hearing myself talk about hiring people to kidnap my boyfriend and hold him hostage! I sound insane!”

  “That’s not the insane part,” Bridget said, giggling.

  “It’s insane that we’re all antsy to help,” Tyler said, throwing his arm over my shoulders.

  I looked at each of them as a slow grin formed to match theirs. I nodded to Tech to call Katie. Bridget was bouncing on her toes in excitement as she called Haley.

  Chapter Fourteen

  I walked across the field to where Wild Card sat in the grass, his arm wrapped around my son who sat beside him. Wild Card looked up, and I could see the confusion in his eyes. I sat in the grass in front of Nicholas, taking one of his fisted hands within both of mine.

  “I know you’re angry and confused. I am, too. I don’t understand why Grady is saying the things he’s saying.”

  “You talked to him?” Nicholas asked, lifting his tear-soaked face to look at me.

  “I did. He told me he wasn’t coming home. But do you know what?”

  Nicholas shook his head. “What?”

  “If he’s going to leave us, I say he has to man up and do it face-to-face. What do you think?”

  Nicholas nodded, wiping his nose on his sleeve. “But how?”

  “Well,” I said, exhaling a deep breath. “I hired some people to drug him, kidnap him, and deliver him to our doorstop. How does that sound?”

  Nicholas and Wild Card stared at me. I smirked.

  “Holy shit, you’re serious?” Wild Card said.

  Nicholas launched off the lawn and into my arms. “You rock, Mom.”

  “I’m glad you approve of your mother committing multiple felonies, but I can’t promise he’ll stay, Nick. We can’t keep him prisoner forever. I’ll do what I can, though.”

  Nicholas nodded into my shoulder. “If he decides to leave, will you stay home with me all the time?”

  “How about most of the time?” I asked, shifting him to my lap so I could look at him.

  “How much is that?”

  Wild Card leaned forward to tousle Nicholas’ hair. “I’ll come hang out with you when your mom goes on longer trips. How’s that sound?”

  Nicholas sighed, but nodded.

  “Now that that’s settled,” I paused to pepper kisses on Nicholas’ forehead, “I have a job for the two of you.”

  “What?” Nicholas asked, wiping his nose on his sleeve again.

  “Gross,” I said, shaking my head.

  Nicholas giggled. “What’s my job?”

  “Find Jerry and get the keys to one of the empty apartments. Then you and Wild Card have to move Grady’s stuff and make sure the apartment is ready for him.”

  “He’s not going to sleep in your room?” Nicholas asked as he climbed off my lap.

  “Nope.” I climbed off the ground and offered a hand to help Wild Card. “Grady dumped me over the phone from halfway across the country. He’s in the dog house.”

  Nicholas laughed before running toward the back door of Headquarters.

  Wild Card stepped closer and kissed my cheek. “You amaze me.” He held my hand and led us back to the gym.

  “I’m doing the right thing, aren’t I?”

  “Yes,” he said, glancing over at me. “No matter how it ends, you and Nicholas deserve a face-to-face explanation from Grady. I also know from experience that Grady will regret today for the rest of his life.”

  “It’s not the same as what happened to us,” I said, quietly.

  “You sure about that?”

  I thought about it a moment, but the truth was I wasn’t sure if it was the same or not, because I had no idea what was happening. “No. I’m not sure. That’s why I need to get his ass back here to explain.”

  “Then fight for him, darlin’. Give it all you’ve got.”

  ~*~*~

  While Nicholas and Wild Card handled moving Grady’s belongings, I made my way to the basement to find Carl. Trigger had texted me that he had left Carl in Benji’s care. I knew who Benji was, one of the guards at Aces, but I didn’t know him well enough to trust he’d keep a close enough eye on Carl.

  I shouldn’t have worried. Carl stood near the safety mats, jumping up and down while he clapped and watched the men practice in the Circle of Hell. Carl was damn proud of his newest invention, and the guards loved it just as much. Willy kicked out, and the room filled with sympathetic groans as their mate fell to his knees cupping himself. Benji hit the stop button on the controls and two other guards ran over to help the younger guard out of the circle. He’d need an ice pack.

  “Kelsey, Kelsey, Kelsey!” Carl yelled as he ran over and hugged me. “Is it time for lunch?”

  “You ate seven pancakes and three eggs for breakfast. You’re hungry already?”

  Carl smiled brightly, shifting his weight from one foot to another.

  “Okay. Let’s see if there’s any food in the breakroom.”

  As we started to make our way back to the stairs, Benji hollered at us and jogged over. “Trigger assigned Carl to me. Made me swear I’d watch him or reassign him formally to the next person.”

  “Do I need to make a blood oath to take over protection duty?”

  “Nah. Plain words will do just fine. Are you officially taking over or should I follow you guys?”

  “I’ve got him. Thanks for being diligent, though.”

  Benji nodded and offered a fist bump to Carl. “Later, bro.”

  I started for the stairs again. “You made new friends today.”

  “Benji’s fun. He’s going to teach me to skateboard.”

  “You don’t own a skateboard.”

  “I have enough money to buy one.”

  “What about knee and elbow pads and a safety helmet?”

  “I don’t have enough money for those. Maybe I can make them.”

  “As long as you're safe,” I said, looping my arm through his at the top of the stairs and walking across the gym.

  “Oh, good,” Hattie said, walking out of the breakroom. “You brought Carl. I was looking for him. Sandwiches and soup are ready.”

  Carl turned into the breakroom without another word, his mind completely focused on the food.

  Hattie grasped my elbow, steering me a few feet away from the doorway. “Pops said he’s flying back to Texas for the night to help you with a project. Now Wild Card and Nicholas are moving Grady’s belongings to the apartments.” Her forehead was pinched with worry as she watched me. “Is everything okay?”

  “I honestly don’t know, but I have a plan.”

  “You always do, dear, but I’m still worried about you.”

  “I’m holding it together. I think it helps that Nicholas has to be my priority right now. My feelings are secondary to his.”

  “Anything I can do to help?”

  “Spread the word to the family that I’m okay, but I’m not ready to be bombarded with questions.”

  “Understandable,” she said, nodding. “You’d best get something to eat. Do you know where Sara is?”

  “She’s with Beth. Likely they’re in the classroom. If you can watch Carl, I’ll go get them.”

  Carl walked out of the breakroom with a plate piled six sandwiches high.

  “Mr. Carl…” Hattie started to say as I laughed and walked toward the stairs.

 
In the classroom I found Beth and Sara sweeping up the mess that Nicholas had made.

  “I called the glass contractor to fix the window,” Beth said. “I’m sorry I didn’t stop him before he caused so much damage.”

  “You did the right thing by getting yourself and Sara away.”

  “Is Nicholas okay?” Sara asked.

  “Yup,” I answered, sitting in her desk chair and pulling her in for a hug. “I’m sure he’ll talk to you when he’s ready. Everyone will need to be patient with him for a little while, though.”

  “What happened?”

  “Grady told him he wasn’t coming home.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t know, little bug. We’re going to find out, though, okay?”

  She leaned into me, wrapping her arms around me.

  I rubbed her back for a few minutes before kissing her forehead. “Enough sad stuff. I like it better when you’re all smiles,” I said, tickling her.

  Sara giggled and squirmed out of my arms.

  “Hattie brought lunch. You’d better get a plate before Carl eats it all.”

  Sara giggled again. “He says he’s a growing boy.”

  “If Carl is going through a growth spurt, we have a problem. He’s taller than most of us already.”

  “He’s so skinny,” Beth said, leaning the broom in the corner. “Where does all that food go?”

  “Have you ever seen Carl sit still for more than five minutes? I would love to have that kind of energy.”

  Beth nodded before turning to Sara. “Go get lunch. I’ll be down in a minute.”

  Sara raced from the room. I stood to pick up the larger broken pieces of the chair that was smashed.

  Beth glanced at the door before turning to face me. “I don’t want to sound uncaring, but I’m worried about Sara’s safety around Nicholas.”

  “Understandable. Wild Card and I will watch him. He won’t be returning to class until we know he’s handling things better.”

  “That’s for the best, I think. Nicholas trusts him. Trusts Wild Card, I mean.”

  “Wild Card and Pops helped Nicholas get through the worst of his anger after he was rescued. I wasn’t around. I was out hunting the monster who threatened his future. Grady was laid up in bed from a gunshot wound.” I walked over and picked up more broken chair parts. “Wild Card saw Nicholas needed an outlet and taught him how to box. Maybe boxing isn’t the best approach from a parenting standpoint, but it helps Nick. As a person with a few of my own anger issues, I completely understand the need to hit something.”

  Beth smirked and looked at the windows. “You can smash the rest of the window. It has to be replaced, anyway.”

  “Sounds appealing, but then there’d be more glass to sweep. Let’s get some lunch instead. Maybe I’ll spar with one of the guys this afternoon.”

  “Any chance you’d be willing to teach me? I took a self-defense class, but I only learned a few moves.”

  “Those few moves usually are the only ones you need. Most of the time, the best defense is hurt your enemy quickly and run like hell. But, yes, if you have an interest in learning, Katie and I can both work with you. You’re in luck, too, because we work out Wednesday nights in the basement gym at the house. I recommend you eat a light dinner tonight so you have less to puke up later.”

  “That’s a unique advertising slogan.” Beth held the door for me to carry the chair parts through as she followed with the trash bag.

  “Don’t worry. It’s Katie’s night to cook. We usually have to fight over the least burnt scraps of food.”

  When we reached the bottom of the stairs, two men met us and took the trash bag and the broken chair from us. Without speaking, they walked away toward the exit. My phone vibrated, and I pulled it out to read the text message. Wild Card was letting me know that Carl had a package. As I texted him back, Wayne walked over, eating a sandwich.

  “Quietly warn the guys that something is about to happen in the next ten minutes. Make sure Carl doesn’t hear.”

  Wayne nodded and meandered back in the direction he’d just left.

  “Beth, can you stay close to Sara? Let her know I’m teaching Carl a lesson?”

  Beth raised an eyebrow but walked toward the breakroom. I texted Dave.

  ~*~*~

  Finding Carl, I nibbled on a ham and cheese sandwich as I waited. Ten minutes later, Wild Card entered the gym carrying a silver nitrogen tank. He spotted me and started walking our way. Carl saw him and set his plate on the floor before running over to Wild Card. Carl took the tank and started for the gym doors. Wild Card shook his head and continued to walk toward me.

  Carl was almost to the door when ten cops entered, yelling “Freeze!”

  Carl planted his feet to the floor, holding the silver tank to his chest with both arms crossed over it tightly. He glanced over his shoulder at me before dashing our way. I expected him to stop when he reached me, but instead he shoved the tank into Wild Card’s arms and continued running toward the back exit, yelling “Ahhhhhhhhh” the entire way.

  The cops, still standing near the gym entrance, chuckled for a minute before chasing after Carl. They were halfway across the gym when Carl exited the doors.

  “Better hurry!” I called out. “He’s a fast runner.”

  Several of the younger cops sped up, closing the distance. I walked toward the doors, still eating my sandwich. When I stepped outside the sight was comical. Four cops stood just outside the doors, panting heavily. The other six continued their pursuit. Carl was in the field zigging and zagging to stay out of their reach. He was almost to the trees by the time one of the cops dove and caught a leg in a firm enough grip to take Carl down. Another cop ran over and placed enough weight on Carl’s shoulders to keep him safely in place while a third cop carefully handcuffed him.

  Carl was crying and mumbling words I couldn’t hear.

  “He seems really upset,” Wild Card said from beside me. “Think you should call this off, whatever this is?”

  I turned to see he was still holding the nitrogen tank. “I was told the chemicals in that tank could be used to make a bomb. How upset do you think he’d be if he accidentally killed everyone?”

  Wild Card looked down at the tank before walking over and setting it next to the building. “What’s the plan?”

  “Dave and Steve are going to walk Carl through the booking process, then lock him in a cell. I can pick him up in a few hours.”

  “You won’t be able to keep a straight face. You should take someone with you.”

  “I’ll go,” Beth said from my other side. “This was brilliant.”

  Carl wailed like a three-year-old as they escorted him across the field to the front parking lot. I took another bite of my sandwich, not feeling an inkling of guilt.

  “Hey, Kel,” Dave said, walking up with Steve to join us. “Are Grady and Bones still coming to poker tonight?”

  “No. They won’t be back until tomorrow.”

  “Damn. We won’t have enough guys.”

  “I’m down for some poker,” Wild Card said, shrugging. “But we’ll need to play either here or at Kelsey’s house.”

  “Set it up,” Steve said, shaking Wild Card’s hand. “We’ll bring the beer and the snacks.”

  “We need to get going,” Dave said. “We have a whole good-cop, bad-cop skit to play out in the interrogation room.”

  “Just don’t record anything he confesses,” I said.

  “Understood,” Steve said. “Do we even want to know what’s in that tank?”

  “No.” Wild Card, Beth, and I said at the same time.

  Dave and Steve looked over at the tank and took a step back.

  “All right then,” Steve said.

  ~*~*~

  Beth went back inside to find Sara. Wild Card went to find Nicholas to finish moving Grady’s things. I stood outside staring at the chemical tank, trying to figure out what to do with it.

  Ryan walked out the back door and approached me, follow
ed by a man I’d never seen before. “Wild Card sent me out. Said you might need me to get rid of something for you.”

  I pulled the list from my back pocket and handed it to him as I nodded to the tank. He read the list and the corner of his mouth ticked up slightly. It was the only change in his facial expression.

  “I’ll handle it,” he said, slipping the paper into his front pocket. “You going to explain the new bruises on Tweedle?”

  “It’s up to her to tell you. You could’ve warned me that she’s a walking disaster.”

  “What fun would that be?” he said, the corner of his mouth sliding up a millimeter higher. “This is Shipwreck. Jerry said you had the keys to one of the apartments for him until we figure out his new housing.”

  Shipwreck was wearing Hawaiian-style swimming trunks, flip flops, and a flamingo-plastered short-sleeved shirt which was left unbuttoned until mid-chest.

  “Hello, Senorita,” Shipwreck purred, grasping my hand and kissing it.

  “Uh, Shipster,” Ryan said, scratching the back of his neck, “you might want to lay off the flirting. Most of the women around here will kick your ass for that shit. Kelsey included. Not to mention, she’s Grady’s old lady.”

  “Damn,” Shipwreck said, dropping my hand like it was contaminated. “What the hell am I going to do around here then? No bar. No babes. No weed.”

  “Who says we don’t have weed?” I asked.

  The men’s heads swiveled back to me.

  I shrugged. “I took the liberty of having an apartment arranged for you. There are clothes in the closet, personal products in the bathroom, and I left a present for you in the nightstand drawer. Thanks for getting my boys out of Mexico. Room twelve is all yours.” I handed him the keys and walked back into the gym.

  Chapter Fifteen

  I returned a few phone calls and emails while I waited for Dave and Steve to scare the bejeebers out of Carl. When I received the text that I could pick him up, I woke Beth from her mini nap. Sara was with Bridget, learning Lock Picking 101. I let them both know to call Tyler when they were ready to leave.

  When Beth and I arrived at the police station Steve, wearing his serious cop face, escorted Carl to the main lobby. Dave and a few other cops were behind glass doors in the next room, laughing.