Craving Rose (The Aces' Sons)

by Nicole Jacquelyn

  My phone rang just as I was pulling a frozen pizza out of the oven.

  “Hey,” I answered, tucking the phone between my ear and shoulder.

  “Hey, yourself. Whatcha doin?” Lily asked. She’d been calling me every day, which wasn’t unheard of, but wasn’t super common since she and Leo had hooked up.

  “Just eating before I have to leave for work.”

  “I wish our schedules weren’t completely opposite,” she complained, making me laugh.

  “You make your own schedule,” I pointed out.

  “Yeah, but if I’m working at night, I barely get to spend any time with Leo and Gray.”

  “Can I just point out, again, that it’s hilarious that he’s called Gray?”

  “Yeah, yeah,” she muttered good-naturedly.

  “I mean, Gray White? Really?”

  “His mother named him Gregory,” Lily said in annoyance. “Leo told me he was saving up his vetoes for bigger things later on, even though he thinks it makes his son sound like an accountant.”

  “You’re an accountant,” I pointed out.

  “I’m not a dude,” she shot back.

  “But Gray?” I teased.

  “Well, he wasn’t going to call him Greg,” she replied.

  “How about calling him by his middle name?”

  “Might be confusing with two Dracos running around.”

  “Well, at least she got that part right,” I murmured. Draco was Leo and Trix’s brother that died when he was a baby. Apparently, they’d both named their sons after him.

  “Gray suits him,” she said, a smile in her voice. “He totally looks like a Gray.”

  “Like Gray White.”

  “Shut it, already.”

  “Are you going to name your baby Black when you guys finally decide to start procreating?”

  “You’re getting annoying,” Lily griped. “Knock it off.”

  “Fine.”

  “Maybe I’ll come see you at work tonight,” she said with a hum. “I haven’t done that in a while.”

  “I don’t need a babysitter.”

  “I’m not going to babysit you.”

  “Oh, really?” I asked around the pizza I’d stuffed in my mouth. “Yesterday was Tommy. The day before that was Cam and Trix. The day before that, it was Will and Molly. And the day before that, my parents came in and sat at the bar.”

  “Maybe we just want to see you,” she argued. “You’ve been hanging out with Mack all the time.”

  “Pot, meet kettle,” I muttered.

  “Fair enough.” She sighed. “We just feel better when we know someone has your back.”

  “There’s always at least one regular at the bar,” I pointed out. “It’s not like I’m alone.”

  “Yeah, and they don’t even know what’s going on, or who to look out for,” she said.

  “I’m sure that would be fantastic for tips,” I replied sarcastically.

  “Just enjoy the company, alright?” she said in exasperation. “Because you’re not going to be able to stop us.”

  “Fine.”

  “Fine.”

  “So, I’ll see you in a couple hours?”

  “Yep.”

  “Fantastic. Bye.” I hung up, knowing it would annoy her.

  I packed a bag, just in case I ended up staying at Mack’s again, and headed to work. Leaving my apartment was fine, it was still daylight and there were usually neighbors all over, but when I got off work, I dreaded going home. My shift usually didn’t end until most people had been asleep for hours, and it was dark even with the parking lot lights. There were too many places for someone to hide.

  I hated that I worried about shit like that now.

  I’d always been brave to the point of stupid, at least that’s what my dad said. I’d never really worried that something would happen to me, because I’d been wrestling and fighting with my brothers my entire life. I knew how to defend myself, and I was good at it. But I’d also never been put into the position where I’d need to fight off more than a drunk frat boy before.

  Knowing that Copper was about to hit me, or worse, and planning for that eventuality? It had fucked with my head big time. Even worse had been the look on Mack’s face when he’d said that he was scared. Finally, after years of my dad and brothers telling me over and over again that I needed to be careful, all that it had taken was the look of helplessness in my man’s eyes to put that fear into me.

  Work was slow, even with Lily and Leo there to entertain me. There weren’t enough customers to keep me busy, and I could do restocking and cleanup in my sleep. By the time the last customer left, I was yawning into my hand.

  “You headed to your place or Mack’s?” Leo asked as I waved to my boss across the room. Of course he came in after everything was done, just to lock up and check my receipts. I rolled my eyes.

  “Home, I guess,” I said, checking my phone for the fifth time. Mack hadn’t responded to any of my texts.

  Leo and Lily were playing grab-ass as I pushed the front door open and stepped outside, and for less than a minute, I was alone in the dark.

  I barely held back a scream when I saw Copper leaning against the building. He had a butterfly bandage on his cheekbone, another on the side of his nose, and the rest of his face was bruised a rainbow of colors.

  “Hear me out,” he said, raising his hands in surrender. “You gotta say somethin’ to—”

  “She doesn’t gotta say shit to no one,” Leo barked as he shoved past me.

  “It’s none of your business, man,” Copper replied, full of bravado. I was comforted to see he’d taken a step backward, though.

  “Call your pop,” Leo ordered me.

  He must have told Lily to stay inside, because the door swung closed behind him and she was nowhere to be seen.

  Leo stepped forward and said something to Copper, but I didn’t catch it because I was already putting my phone to my ear.

  “Rose?” my dad answered. “Everything okay?”

  “When I got off work, Copper was waiting outside the bar,” I said shakily, staring at Leo’s back. His shoulders straightened, and everything inside me went on alert.

  “I’ll be right there,” my dad said immediately. “Leo with you?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Be there soon, baby girl,” he said. “Hold tight.”

  As soon as my dad hung up, I called Mack, almost crying when his phone went straight to voicemail.

  “This is bullshit,” Copper spat. “Rose, tell them it was just a misunderstanding.”

  I kept my mouth shut.

  “Oh, come on,” he said, throwing his hands in the air. “You get up in everyone’s shit when they have a fight with their woman?”

  “She ain’t your woman,” Leo replied calmly. “Hasn’t been for a long ass time.”

  “It hasn’t been that long,” Copper scoffed.

  “Rose has a man,” Leo said. “Seems like you’d be reminded of that every time you take a look in the mirror.”

  “Oh,” Copper said nastily. “We gonna compare fucked up faces?”

  My stomach twisted in disgust, but Leo just laughed.

  “Got mine protectin’ my family,” he said. “How’d you get yours again?”

  “Got jumped,” Copper snapped.

  “Yeah, when you were goin’ after a brother’s old lady,” Leo said. “You’re fucked, man.”

  The sounds of Harley pipes filled the night around us, and when I turned to look, I wasn’t surprised to see four bikes pull up. My dad, brother Tommy, cousin Cam and Uncle Cody immediately climbed off their bikes and headed toward us.

  “You good?” Tommy asked, pulling me against his side as they reached us. He held onto me as the others moved forward.

  “Where’s your bike?” my dad barked, his tone so cold that I looked his way in surprise.

  “Stashed it,” Copper said.

  “Good.”

  “Come on,” Copper complained as Cam grabbed him by the neck of his cu
t and yanked him toward Lily’s car.

  “Leo, take Lil on the bike,” Cam ordered.

  “Will do,” Leo replied, tossing Cam Lily’s keys.

  Then the whole thing was over almost as fast as it had started.

  “Probably thought he had a shot since there were no bikes out here,” my dad said, pulling me away from Tommy for a hug.

  “You’re a smart fucker,” Tommy said to Leo. “Wish I woulda thought of that.”

  “Good thing you didn’t,” my uncle said, giving me a soft smile. He looked at Tommy. “We woulda needed a cleanup crew.”

  “That’s fair,” Tommy conceded.

  “You alright?” my dad asked quietly.

  “Yeah.” I shook out my arms and stepped back. “He just startled me. Leo was right behind me, so it was fine.”

  “Jesus,” Lily said as she stomped outside. “That guy is a fucking dumbass.”

  “Tell us how you really feel,” Uncle Cody replied with a chuckle.

  “Your boss tow ya if ya leave your car here for the night?” Dad asked.

  “No, it should be fine.”

  “Alright.” He slung his arm over my shoulders. “You can ride with me to Mack’s.”

  “I’m headed home,” I argued as he led me to his bike.

  “Mack know what happened?”

  “No, I haven’t been able to get ahold of him all night.”

  “Then we should probably let him know, eh?”

  I let out a sigh as Lily hugged me, the Harleys firing up around us.

  “Aren’t you glad you had a babysitter?” she asked, giving me a squeeze.

  “Shut up,” I replied. “And thanks for bringing your boyfriend.”

  “I swear, he follows me around like a puppy,” she joked. “Can’t go anywhere without him.”

  “That must make pooping an event.”

  “You’re so gross,” she said, laughing as she pushed me away. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  “Have fun pooping,” I called as she walked over to Leo. She flipped me off over her shoulder.

  “All set?” my dad asked, handing me my mom’s helmet.

  “Yep.” I climbed onto the back of my dad’s bike like I’d done hundreds of times before, wrapped my arms around his waist, and let myself relax against his back. All the crap with Copper was over. Finally.

  “What happened?” Mack called out several brief moments after we pulled into his driveway, hurrying down the porch steps in nothing but a pair of black boxer briefs. He kept one arm unnaturally still along his side, and I could barely make out the pistol in his hand.

  “Idiot showed up at the bar,” my dad replied as I climbed off the bike.

  “Motherfucker,” Mack said, shaking his head. “You okay, baby?”

  “I’m fine,” I replied, handing my dad mom’s helmet. “Leo and Lily were there.”

  “Why didn’t you call me?” he asked, pulling me against him and kissing my head.

  “I tried,” I mumbled.

  “Cam took him back to the clubhouse,” my dad said.

  “I’ll meet you there,” Mack replied.

  “Alright.” Dad stowed mom’s helmet and looked at me. “Love you, baby girl. Call your mom when you get inside, yeah?”

  “I will. Love you, too.”

  By the time my dad started his bike back up, Mack had already led me to the porch. We were up the stairs and inside the house within moments.

  “I shoulda been there,” Mack said, locking the door behind us. “I knew that fucker was gonna show up sooner or later.”

  “It was fine,” I replied tiredly. The night had felt never ending, and now I just wanted to climb in bed and pass out. “Lily and Leo were there.”

  He strode to the kitchen and picked up his phone, cursing.

  “It’s dead,” he said, shaking his head. Before I could reply, he’d thrown his phone across the room, where it shattered against the wall.

  I stood there gaping for a long moment. “You could have just charged it,” I finally muttered.

  “Can’t believe this shit,” he replied, coming toward me. He barely stopped walking as he hoisted me up so that my legs were wrapped around his waist. I held on tight as he took the stairs two at a time and brought us into the bedroom.

  “You just ran up the stairs,” I said in awe as he set me on my feet. “While you were carrying me.”

  “And?” He pushed his hair back from his face.

  “That was the hottest thing I’ve ever encountered in real life.”

  Mack’s lips twitched as he tried not to smile.

  “Seriously,” I said, widening my eyes. “Hotter than the guys in kilts that throw those big logs.”

  “You have a thing for guys with big logs, huh?” he said, still holding back his smile.

  “You have no idea,” I whispered, fluttering my eyelashes.

  He laughed, the sound coming out rough, before it cut off completely. “Shit.”

  “I was fine,” I said, sliding my hands up his chest and around his neck. “Really.”

  “Can’t believe you couldn’t get ahold of me,” he said, running his hands over my hair until he was cupping the back of my neck.

  “Leo took care of it,” I replied. “It’s all over now.”

  “Not yet,” he said darkly. “But it will be soon.”

  I dropped my arms as he pulled away from me, watching as he started getting dressed.

  “Get in bed, baby,” he ordered gently. “Been a long night.”

  “I don’t want to go to sleep without you,” I argued, staying where I was.

  Mack looked up in surprise. “I gotta run to the club.”

  “Then I’ll wait,” I said stubbornly.

  “I don’t want you stayin’ up all night waitin’ on me,” he said, pulling a hoodie over his head. He came toward me and reached for the bottom of my shirt. Instead of fighting him on it, I let him strip me down to my underwear.

  “I can’t sleep like this,” I said as he ran his fingers down the middle of my chest.

  “I’ll grab ya a shirt,” he replied hoarsely.

  “Is Kara home?” I asked as I pulled his t-shirt over my head.

  “Yeah,” he replied, following me to the bed. When I climbed in, he sat down at my hip. “I’ll leave the pistol in the nightstand.”

  “I won’t need it.”

  “Just wanted you to know it was there,” he said, leaning forward to give me a kiss. His lips lingered on mine. “Wish I didn’t have to leave ya, but this shit needs to be handled.”

  “It’s fine,” I replied. I didn’t want him to leave, but I knew how these things worked. I couldn’t remember the number of times we’d woken up in the morning, only to find that our dad had left sometime in the middle of the night. It sucked, mostly for my mom, but it was the life we’d lived. The life I was choosing for myself now. I chose him.

  “My love,” I murmured, tracing my finger over his bottom lip.

  “All tangled up,” he whispered back, his lips curving up at the edges.

  “Go,” I ordered, giving him one last kiss.

  “I’ll be back soon as I can.”

  “I’ll be here.”

  I listened as he went downstairs and out the front door. As soon as I heard his bike start up outside, I called my mom.

  * * *

  Kara and I were eating cereal the next morning when Mack barreled into the house like a tornado. He slammed the door, tossed his keys against the wall, and cursed as he ripped off his cut and threw it on the couch.

  “I’ll see what’s up,” I told Kara quietly, putting my hand on her arm as she started to rise.

  “Hey,” I said, walking toward him. “Everything okay?”

  “Kara awake?” he asked, looking over my shoulder.

  “Eating breakfast,” I said as he caught sight of his daughter and gave her a head nod.

  “Then we’ll talk later.”

  He gave me a quick kiss on the cheek as he went around me into the kitchen.<
br />
  The rest of breakfast was uneventful as Mack and Kara teased each other and chatted, but I could still feel the tension just under the surface. He was hiding it well, but Mack was more pissed than I’d ever seen him before. He was practically vibrating. As soon as Kara went upstairs to her bedroom, Mack let out a frustrated sigh.

  “What’s going on?” I asked quietly.

  “President from Sacramento is comin’ to get him,” Mack replied in disgust.

  “What?” My jaw dropped open.

  “Decision’s been made,” Mack said, throwing up his hands in defeat.

  “And then what happens?” I asked cautiously.

  “They decide what happens next,” he replied. “Your dad’s pissed, but he’s tight with the president down there, so he didn’t say much.”

  “Yeah,” I murmured. “My mom lived down there when Will was born.”

  “They won’t let him keep his patch, at least,” Mack said, standing up. “Your pop would never stand for that.”

  I nodded as he walked around the table. While a part of me was relieved that I wouldn’t have to see Copper at club events ever again, a small voice inside of me wondered if I’d overreacted and just ruined a man’s life.

  “What’s that look on your face?” Mack asked, coming to a stop next to my chair.

  “Nothing.”

  “It’s something,” he argued. “You still worried?”

  “No, it’s not that,” I said, shaking my head. “I just…I’m wondering if maybe we overreacted?”

  “Say what?” he barked, his head jerking back in surprise. “Overreacted?”

  “His whole life is over,” I replied, getting to my feet. “We just ruined his life.”

  Mack stared at me. “Rose, he ruined his own life. He knew the moment he went after you that he was done.”

  “Brothers have done a lot worse shit—” I tried to argue.

  “No,” he cut me off. “You go after another brother’s old lady and you’re done. You go after a brother’s kid, you’re done. You can’t be trusted.”

  “I’ve seen more than one brother smack his old lady around,” I snapped back.

  “You’re not his old lady,” Mack roared. He immediately snapped his mouth shut and glanced toward the bedrooms, but Kara didn’t come out. When he spoke again, his voice was level. “You’re my old lady,” he said more calmly. “And just so you know, if an old lady came to the club and asked for help—she’d get it. We’d put a stop to that shit, quick.”