“I feel pretty confident. You know I will be a wreck come Saturday. How are feeling? You look a world better.”
“I just found out Lucy’s awake and she is doing ok, so I’m definitely better.”
“Good.”
“I wish they’d let me out of this cracker box.”
“You almost died a few days ago, give it some time.”
“Come Thursday, I’m out of here. There’s no way I’m missing your fight.”
“Ace, man I don’t expect you to come to this one, there will be others. You need to be here for Lucy.”
“Her parents haven’t changed their minds about me. The only thing me staying here will do is just make me feel like an even bigger loser and I’ll be upset that I missed your fight.”
“Ok, but if anything changes, I understand.”
“Are you bringing Luke?”
“Yes, he’s so excited.”
“I’m really happy for you.”
“Thanks.”
“I have a few hours and I brought my iPad, let’s watch a movie.”
“Cool.”
Ace moved over in his bed and Shane climbed in with his iPad.
ACE WAS DRESSED AND more than ready to leave the hospital. When he texted Declan to tell him he got sprung Declan replied that Kaylee was getting released too and they could all go home together. Ace decided he would take the chance and check in on Lucy before he left. He stood outside her door for a few minutes before he got up the courage to finally open it. When he did he smiled because he saw Lucy sitting up in bed.
“Ace.” Lucy immediately smiled.
“I was afraid I’d never hear your voice again.”
“You wouldn’t have if you didn’t save me.”
Lucy’s mother came barging in.
“Lucy, your father and I, oh I didn’t know you had a visitor.”
“I just stopped in for a minute to say goodbye.”
When Lucy heard Ace say those two words her stomach sunk.
“Please don’t leave me.”
“Lucy…”
“Ace, no.”
“Take care of yourself.”
Ace leaned over and kissed Lucy on the cheek. Lucy grabbed him.
“Please, please don’t leave me. I don’t want to live without you, Ace. I love you.”
Ace grabbed Lucy’s hands and looked at her. She was crying. His heart was already broken. He had thought for a moment that Lucy’s mother was going to say something but she didn’t.
“Goodbye, Lucy.” Ace stopped in front of Lucy’s mother. “Take care of her for me.”
Lucy’s mother nodded. Ace walked out leaving Lucy behind yet again with another piece of his broken heart.
Declan opened the door to Kaylee’s suite and her eyes grew wider and wider as he wheeled her in further.
“My God, this is like a palace. All I need is a bed and a bathroom.”
“Nonsense, I want you to feel at home, not like you’re stuffed in a cramped hotel room. Besides, until you heal a bit more and can use crutches you need to be able to get around in this wheelchair.”
“Thank you.”
“Please, stop thanking me. All the thanks I need is for you to get better. Speaking of, I should get you into bed.”
Kaylee knew what Declan meant but her cheeks heated up in embarrassment anyway.
“I meant to say, you should rest.”
“I know what you meant to say.”
Declan helped her into the bed and brought her the cordless phone.
“Every restaurant and store we have at the Underground is programmed in here, security included. Order whatever you want and just tell them you are my guest.”
Kaylee felt like she hit lotto. The only thing better would be if Declan was in bed holding her…naked.
“I know you said to stop saying it but thank you.”
Declan laughed. “Get some rest. I will check in on you later.”
Chace had spent the last day talking to tattoo artists about the killer’s tattoo. So far nothing and he only had three left on his list.
“I’m Detective McQueen, can I speak to the manager?”
“I’m Dana, the manager.”
“I’m trying to find out if anyone here has seen this tattoo before.”
Chace pulled out the paper and handed it to the manager.
“Zeke, come here.”
“What’s up, Dana?”
“Is this one of yours?”
“Looks like it.”
“This is Detective McQueen, you do your best to answer all his questions, understand?”
“Yes. How can I help, Detective?”
“Do you remember anything about the woman you tattooed?”
“Sure, she’s blonde, blue eyes, five foot eight, she comes in here a lot.”
“Do you have a name or any contact information?”
“Charlene is her name and I might have a cell number. She always pays in cash so I don’t have any credit card receipts.”
“What other tattoos does she have?”
“Well, she has a dragonfly on the back of her neck, a snake up her leg and she has paw prints on her side. Let me go in the back and look for a number.”
Chace called Kyle who was at the gym for his kickboxing class.
“Hey.”
“I found the tattoo shop and the guy remembers the woman.”
“Did he give you a name or an address?”
“Charlene is her name and he is looking for a cell number. He did tell me that she has a dragonfly tattoo on the back of her neck, a snake on her leg and paw prints on her side.”
“I think I may have seen that dragonfly in class on Monday.”
“I’m going to call the station and have them start going through the gym membership list for a Charlene.”
“Ok, I’m going to head into class. I will call you after and see what you’ve found out.”
“Kyle, watch your back.”
“You too.”
“I found this number.”
“Thank you. Here’s my card, call me if she happens to show up here.”
“Will do.”
Chace took the number and was already dialing the station when he left the tattoo shop.
Ace was happy Shane showed up at the hospital and took him home instead of Declan. After seeing Lucy he didn’t want to do anything but go home and avoid everyone and everything. Shane, however, had other plans. He insisted that he stay and take care of Ace.
“Shane, I appreciate you wanting to be here for me but…”
“But you’d rather be alone?”
“I just need some rest and I’ll be good to leave for Vegas.”
“Hey, I know it isn’t about rest, it’s about Lucy. Maybe if you talk about it…”
“Nothing to talk about, it’s over.”
“Ace…”
“I said, it’s over.”
“Fine.”
“Thank you for caring.”
“You rest up. I’m here if you want to talk.”
Shane left. Ace walked into his bedroom and crawled into bed. He just wanted to go to sleep so that he didn’t have to think about Lucy.
Chace headed over to the gym to meet up with Kyle and let him know that they got an address for Charlene and the Chief was sending over two patrol cars to check it out. When he arrived he looked in the room where the kickboxing class was usually held and didn’t see anyone, so he walked around while he texted Kyle. After three texts and twice around the gym, Chace called Kyle as he walked through the locker room. He knew he saw Kyle’s car in the parking lot when he arrived, so now he was starting to become concerned. He called Chief Manning.
“Manning.”
“Chief, I’m at the gym, Kyle’s car is here and he is nowhere to be found. I’ve been calling and no answer.”
“Not good, I’m going to send Detectives Travis and Sawyer over. Keep me posted.”
“Will do.”
Chace put his phone back in his pock
et and then walked over to the front desk. He waited for the few people at the counter to walk away before he spoke to the manager.
“Excuse me, is there somewhere that we can talk privately?”
“Is there a problem?”
Chace looked around and then pulled out his badge.
“My partner was here taking a class and now he is missing…”
“Maybe he already left?”
“His car is in the lot. Look, I don’t want to cause a panic but he was investigating a certain individual and…”
“Oh my God, do you think he was murdered!”
“SShhh! Calm down or you’re going to have mass hysteria if people find out a murderer could be running around.”
“Well wasn’t that what you were implying?”
“I’d like to keep this quiet. Two more detectives will be arriving any minute and then I need you to let us search the whole gym, employee lounge, storage area and offices.”
“Sure, just find this person and get them out of here.”
Chace pulled out his cell phone and showed the manager Kyle’s picture and then a picture of the tattoo.
“I saw your partner earlier and he was with a blonde. I didn’t see that tattoo but I did see a dragonfly tattoo on her neck.”
“That’s her.”
“Fuck, there’s a killer on the loose here, in my gym?” The manager whispered this time for fear Chace would choke him if he didn’t.
“Do you have surveillance cameras?”
“Yes.”
“Can you take me to them?”
“I will have Thea take you. I want to stay here and be on the lookout.”
“Thank you.”
The manager walked over to the front desk, got one of the girls and brought her over to Chace.
“This is Thea, she will help you with whatever you need.”
“Thank you.”
She smiled and then led Chace down a hallway to a small office where the cameras were.
Kyle woke up on the cold, hard ground. It was dark and he couldn’t move. At first he wasn’t sure what happened and then it all came rushing back to him. He had found Charlene.
“Looks like someone is awake?”
“You’re not going to get away this time, even if you kill me, my partner knows who you are.”
“Good, maybe if he gets here fast enough he can watch me kill you.”
Kyle couldn’t move, his hands and feet were bound. His head was throbbing with pain, which he assumed was from the drugs that were in the needle Charlene jabbed in his neck.
“If you’re going to kill me then why don’t you already?”
“In time, I’m trying to decide if I should stab you like my other victims or try something new since you’re not one of THEM!”
“Them?”
“One of those sluts who took advantage of my dear, departed husband.”
“You killed all those women because they had sex with your husband?”
“Yes, and Officer Cadence because my husband told me she looked sexy in a uniform.”
“Did you kill your husband?”
“He kept telling me that those women wouldn’t leave him alone, that they would throw themselves at him and then he would become too weak to walk away, so he would have sex with them. He loved me though, ME, he loved ME.”
“Did you kill your husband?”
“I came home early from work one day and I found him tied to our bed with two sluts having their way with him. I got so angry. I stabbed one of them while she was sucking his cock. The other one I chased through the house but finally caught her. Then I went back upstairs. My husband was still tied to the bed. As he saw me approaching the bed he begged for me not to hurt him but I was angry, very angry, so I did what I should have done, I cut off his cock. He screamed and cried like a baby, I got pleasure out of hearing him cry for once. Finally when I couldn’t stand listening to him anymore I slit his throat. But don’t worry, I won’t cut yours off, I can’t promise not to slit your throat though.”
“I can arrange to get you help.”
“Help, you think I need help? Do you think I’m deranged or something? Well I’m not, I’m just a wife who punished bad, little sluts for luring MY husband into their beds.”
“Your husband was a fool. You’re a gorgeous woman and if you were my wife I would never stray.”
“Really, you think I’m gorgeous?”
“I do. Your body is perfectly sculpted, your hair is like silk and those eyes are beautiful. I know I shouldn’t be but I’m getting so aroused just looking at you. I’m sorry, that is very unprofessional of me.”
“It’s ok, I don’t mind.”
“I’d do anything to fuck that perfect body of yours before you kill me?”
“You just want me to untie you so that you can try and escape.”
“No, that’s not it.”
“The hell it’s not, do you think I’m stupid?”
“I don’t care if my hands stay tied. I just want to be able to stand up, spread your legs with my feet and bend you over and fuck you like that body deserves to be fucked.”
Kyle could see Charlene was thinking about his offer. She started to fidget and then knelt down on the floor beside Kyle and kissed him. He hadn’t kissed another woman since the day he met his wife but he knew this was his only chance at surviving. He just hoped Chace showed up before he had to do the deed.
“Ok, I will untie your feet and help you up but if you as much as move for the door I will make you regret it, I will kill you slowly and then I will go to your house and kill your family.”
Kyle was horrified but he remained calm. He stood up with Charlene’s help, he was a bit dizzy.
“Take off your clothes, show me that body. I want to see every inch of it.”
Stalling, Kyle planned to go as slow as possible to buy himself more time.
“Maybe I want to check out your goods before I show you mine?”
Kyle kept trying to focus on survival but all he was thinking about was breaking his vows to his wife.
“Go for it.”
Charlene unbuckled Kyle’s pants and pulled out his cock and stroked it a few times.
“Impressive, Detective.”
“Your turn.”
Charlene pulled off her t-shirt and then her pants, revealing her other tattoos. Then she removed her bra and panties. Kyle’s heart was racing. He needed to overpower her and fast before he was forced to do something he would regret.
“I’m ready for you.”
Kyle walked closer. The closer he got the more his heart broke. His wife would forgive him if she knew it was his only chance to survive. Charlene grabbed Kyle by the rope she had tied on his hands and pulled him into the corner of the room.
“You want fast or slow?”
“Fast, I’m running short on time, I should have killed you already and been off to number two’s house.”
“Number two?”
“Yes, I refer to my victims as numbers.”
“How do choose a number?”
“Easy, by the number of times they fucked MY HUSBAND!”
“Calm down, I want you to enjoy yourself. Think of it as me helping you to cheat on him.”
“Yes, that idea makes me happy. Oh, I almost forgot.”
Charlene walked around Kyle and squatted down on the floor and picked up her knife. Then she walked back over and grazed the knife down Kyle’s chest, stopping at his cock.
“If you don’t want me to chop it off then you had better do a good job fucking me.”
Kyle’s brother, Detective Travis and his partner Sawyer had arrived and caught up to Chace who was now doing a search of the basement. Chace came to a halt and tapped Sawyer on the shoulder, “Look, under that door.”
Sawyer and Travis both looked and saw light coming out from under one of the doors down the hallway.
“Shit, do you think that’s where she has my brother?”
“There’s only one way to f
ind out.”
Chace headed towards the door. When all three of them had their guns drawn Chace turned the knob. The door was locked.
Inside Charlene and Kyle heard the rattle of the door knob. Kyle knew this was his chance. He lifted his arms as high up as possible and placed them over Charlene’s head pulling her against him and then slamming her into the wall.
Chace kicked in the door and all three men yelled, “Police…drop the knife!”
Charlene stabbed the knife into Kyle’s leg and then his side while he wrestled her. Kyle spun them around and he went down and hit the floor, taking Charlene with him.
Chace put a gun to her head, “Drop the knife, NOW!”
Instead of dropping the knife Charlene jabbed it into her chest before he could stop her. She died almost instantly.
“Bro, you ok?”
Travis knelt on the floor next to his brother while Chace and Sawyer freed Kyle’s hands and pulled Charlene’s bloody body off of him.
Kyle was trying to remain conscious but his eyes kept blinking.
“Tell, tell my wife, I’m sorry and I, I love her.”
“Kyle, don’t close your eyes, stay with me. You can tell her yourself.”
Travis was pressing his jacket against Kyle’s side, trying to stop the bleeding. His leg wound wasn’t as bad as his side. Chace had run upstairs to meet the rest of the police and the ambulance. Sawyer stayed with Travis, he was too upset to leave him alone.
“I wish we had more time.”
“We will, I promise. Now that I found you, I’m not letting you get away.”
“Love ya, Bro.”
Kyle closed his eyes before Travis had time to reply.
“Love you too.”
IT HAD BEEN A long day and night but Kyle made it through and the doctors were hopeful that he would make a full recovery. Chace and Travis had spent the night with him. His wife and children had been at her cousin’s house visiting and were still traveling home.
“Chace, he’s out of the woods, why don’t you go. I know you’re supposed to leave for Vegas today.”
“I don’t feel right leaving him.”
“If Kyle knew you missed Shane’s fight because you were standing around staring at his ugly mug, he’d be pissed.”
“My brother’s right.”
Ace of Spades (Underground Affair Series Book 1) Page 21