by A. J. Macey
I didn’t think as I stormed from my house on the compound toward the clubhouse. Brooks, Garrett, and Nate talking within the darkened bar didn’t faze me as I came to a stop, my anger holding me hostage.
“Grave?” Brooks questioned, realizing something was wrong. “Stone?” I couldn’t respond, my eyes glued to the smirk that curled Kiera’s lips as she exchanged information with our enemy. “What are those?” he continued, a hint of impatience slipping through at my lack of response. The other officers gathered around me, their eyes widening as they realized what they were seeing.
“There has to be some kind of explanation,” Garrett tried to justify what was happening, but I was too far gone, my mind circling back to one word over and over again.
Threat.
“No,” I murmured, my single word guttural and low.
“You can’t seriously think she would do this after everything her father did to her,” Garrett tried again, but when I looked at him, his eyes were strained.
He didn’t believe his own bullshit that he was spewing. And if Garrett, the one who was arguably the most far gone for her, had doubts... well, that made things pretty clear in my mind.
Traitor.
Kiera
I just need to get to the guys, and then I’ll be fine. My chest finally loosened as the compound clubhouse came into view, but the panic continued to flow through my veins as I parked right in front of the door, not even stopping to turn off my bike. Relief filled me when I saw my men collected in the room.
“Oh, thank fuck you guys are all here…” I huffed out, readying to fill them in on everything that had just happened, when Stone whipped around, his gun centered on my forehead. “What the fuck!” I screamed, terror filling me at the rage in his eyes.
“Traitor,” he bit out.
What the hell? I thought, confused as he held up a handful of something, but they were too crumpled in his fist for me to see.
“I’m not a fucking traitor,” I tried to say, but his response cut me off.
“Then what the fuck are these?!” Jumping back, I couldn’t stop my body’s response to his anger, not after coming face to face with my past. The terror in my chest grew at his shouting, and all I could think of was the last time I had a run-in with Lorenzo.
“Kiera,” Lorenzo snapped, his hand gripping my shoulder tightly. “Where do you think you’re going?” I held back the urge to scream in both rage and pain as he dug into the still healing lashes on my back.
“I’m going to the mall,” I murmured. “I have a couple things I got last week that I’m going to return.”
“Let’s just see then,” he nearly shouted, yanking open the zipper on my bag. Digging around in the pack, he only came up with clothes. Did he really think I would be stupid enough to try and walk out with something valuable in my bag?
Such a moron. I couldn’t bite back the strangled yelp that ripped from me as he shoved me against the wall, his stranglehold on my shoulder shifting to my face.
“Just remember, you little bitch, what happens when you piss off your father… or me,” he sneered. His cruel smile made him look like he had stepped directly out of my nightmares.
I kept a straight face, having learned long ago that Lorenzo thrived on my reactions. Not that it would stop him from trying to get a reaction from me, I raged.
“Got it,” I mumbled through my immobile jaw. Fury, fear, haunted memories of my sessions, of Lorenzo’s harsh reign as my bodyguard swirled in my mind. I just need to get out the front door…
“Good.” He finally released me, but not after one more painful squeeze of my jaw. A wave of watery shapes filled my eyes as he stepped back. I ignored the glee within his eyes as I strode out of Frankie’s house of horrors for the final time.
One day… I’d be back to burn it back to hell where it belonged, but for now?
Now, it’s time to live my life.
I mentally shook myself. You’re not that broken little girl anymore, I commanded. You’re stronger than that. With that, I calmed slightly, a bit more in control than before.
“Tell us what those are about,” Brooks commanded forcefully, pulling me from my internal pep talk. With Stone’s outburst I had completely forgotten that Brooks, Garrett, and Nate were even in the room. All of whom were standing with crossed arms and harsh frowns.
What the shit are they going on about? I shifted my attention toward whatever Stone held, ever so slowly inching toward them so I could see them.
“How did you get these?” I murmured, feeling my blood run cold as I stared down at my meeting with Brian Chan.
Jace Corden had been in my house.
Someone was watching me.
Lorenzo knows what I look like.
My father knows I’m coming for him.
“Answer the question,” Stone’s demand pulled me from my spiraling thoughts. I glared at him, my own fury growing at the insinuation that I would be in bed with my father’s mob.
“You fucking think I would do this?” I screamed, ripping the photos from his hand and shaking them furiously. “You think I would fucking betray you for them? Yeah, I fucking had a meeting with Brian Chan, but it’s not what you…”
“Traitor.” Stone pulled the hammer back when I tried to explain.
“Will you let me tell you what the fuck I was doing?” I bit out, the anger in my voice starting to mix with anxiety at their disbelief, but I refused to cower in the face of Stone’s loaded weapon.
“So you were in talks with the enemy?” Stone bit out.
“It’s not what you think…” I tried again, desperation lacing my words. I just need them to listen to me for two solid minutes. That’s all I need. Two minutes of trust for all I’ve done to try and keep them and their club safe.
“Why should we fucking believe you?” The enforcer dropped his weapon to his side as the row of officers looked on with narrowed eyes.
Looking around the room, I felt my heart shatter at what stared back at me even in Garrett’s expression, the one who knew better than anyone what my father had put me through all for his own amusement and gain. Suspicion. Anger. Hurt. Betrayal.
They wouldn’t believe anything I said.
Aces MC officers versus me.
Studying the row of men and their judgmental eyes and closed off expressions, I felt my fury start to dim. How could I find the drive to fight with, to fight for, these men who obviously didn’t see me as worth the same? A bitter chuckle crept through my clenched jaw, the end almost edging into a sob.
Fuck this.
I don’t need this.
I don’t need them.
“Believe whatever the fuck you want,” I muttered, throwing the photos on the ground at their feet. Numbness coated me, blanketing the raging inferno in my chest and the broken heart I felt pulse as I looked to each of them. I felt dead inside as I stared at the men I had once cared about.
Once loved.
Or thought I did.
But this wasn’t love.
Chase’s abrupt entrance momentarily broke the tension and offered enough of a distraction for me to leave. My stride didn’t break even when Chase tried to grab my arm as I passed. My head was held high as I hopped onto my waiting bike.
I didn’t bow to anyone.
Certainly not to them.
Chase
Twenty Minutes Earlier
“Hey, Kittycat,” I cheerfully greeted when my phone rang, wedging the device between my ear and shoulder so I could continue whisking the batter for the cake I was baking. At her trembling voice though, I immediately straightened.
“We’ve got a big fucking problem,” she murmured. My chest squeezed painfully at the fear in her voice. I felt Ciar stirring impatiently in the background, both of us knowing that my kittycat rarely feared anything.
“What happened?” I questioned, tossing the whisk into the bowl and grabbing my jacket and guns. Strapping up, I listened to her rundown, fighting Ciar for control when we heard that she’d been
made by Lorenzo.
“Are you all right, Kittycat?” Hitting the button on the wall, I slid into my car as the garage opened. I sighed in relief at her assent. “What do you want to do now?”
“Meet me at the compound, I’m almost there. I just stopped to call you... I just needed to hear your voice.” The sound of her Harley starting in the background rumbled loudly at the end of her statement, almost hiding the hint of vulnerability that she rarely liked to show.
“You got it, Kittycat.” I hung up and headed straight there, my mind wandering with thoughts of all the fun things Ciar and I had planned for Lorenzo and Frankie.
I can’t wait to get my hands on them.
Fifteen minutes later, I pulled into the parking lot, absently noting Kiera’s bike right outside the door. Pushing the door open, I was immediately drowning in tension. Photos fluttered to the ground as Kiera turned and left, brushing past me without a glance.
“Kittycat?” I tried to get her attention, but she didn’t respond. Her eyes were cold, distant, and I watched in horror as she got on her motorcycle and rode away. Something is definitely wrong. “What the fuck did you guys do?” I demanded harshly as I let my control slip, blackened emotions coating me as I glared around the room.
“Get out,” Stone tried to command, but he clearly fucking forgot we don’t take orders from them.
“Fuck you,” I hissed, finally giving up control to Ciar.
They were about to learn exactly what we were capable of.
Ciar
“You’re going to tell me exactly what you did to her,” I whispered harshly, yanking both weapons from their holsters. The comforting weight of the metal was the only grounding point in the urge to maim every one of them. They might be my dove’s friend and other lovers, but I wouldn’t hesitate to return every ounce of pain they’d dealt her, with interest.
"Did to her? You mean, what the fuck did she do to us?” Stone hissed in anger. “Don't tell me you had no idea that the traitorous bitch was playing us this entire time."
Dove?
A traitorous bitch?
I don’t fucking think so. Pointing my gun, I intended to shoot him, but Brooks jumped in in between us.
“Did you know she was talking with Brian Chan?” Brooks questioned. Straightening from his sudden lunge, his arms crossed pompously over his chest as if he was truly in charge in this room.
Fucking moron.
“Is that what this is about?” I started toward them, my steps predatory as I closed the distance between them and me. Only Nate had the common sense to grimace.
“What the fuck do you mean ‘is that what this is about’?” Garrett barked at me. Glaring over at him, I snarled and centered my gun on his forehead. He attempted to hold his hardass persona, but I could see the fear in his green eyes.
Good.
They should be afraid.
“Can you explain these?” Nate asked as he scooped up the photographs that littered the floor. He approached me slowly, warily, as if he knew that one abrupt move could change this... pleasant... interaction into a bloody one. I glanced at the photos and felt the urge to burn their compound down flooding through me.
“This was why you hurt my Kiera?” I breathed, turning my attention to the men, no, the little boys before me. Real men couldn’t be capable of fucking up in such a stupid way. “Because she was trying to spare your ungrateful asses by making a trade. Handing over Corden for money?”
“W-what?” Garrett stuttered, his arms dropping as he processed what I said.
“Kiera was trying to buy out Brian Chan for all the information on Jace Corden,” I ground out. “But let me guess, none of you listened to her? Who do you think would benefit the most from us being at each other's throats? Why do you think it looks like she’s alone when I was there the whole time? But you fuckers were too busy seeing what you wanted to see instead of what’s right in front of your damn faces,” I sneered the last portion toward the enforcer.
Lowering my weapons, I stalked around them slowly, the barrel of my guns brushing against their stomachs and backs as I circled them before finally coming to a stop in front of the one who more than likely caused this entire shitshow. Stone. He’s always been the one to trust my Kiera the least. Always been the one who was most willing to hurt her and least willing to admit that she’s more than any of them deserve.
“She…” He opened his mouth, and that was enough to make me snap. I bashed the handle of my gun into his face, and he dropped to the ground in a heap, his hands coming to hold the bleeding gash my hit had made. I stared down at him as my finger traced the trigger, aiming with the faultless precision that had earned us the moniker Skill Shot.
“Don’t,” Chase urged, his voice echoing through my head. “Let them listen to Kiera about what happened.” I growled internally while my face was blank. “Ciar. We owe it to Kiera to let her make the decision on how she wants to handle them.” With that, I holstered my guns, only willing to do this for her sake.
“You better know what you’re doing,” I ground out before giving him control.
Because if they hurt my dove again, there won’t be any hesitation.
Garrett
Acid burned my stomach as we rode to the house. The dead look on Kiera’s face before she’d walked away burned in my mind as I parked. Her bike was still in the garage, still warm to the touch. Walking inside, the heavy silence made my heart beat faster.
“She’s probably just downstairs,” I tried to convince them as well as myself despite the worry that continued to build as we made our way through the house. The basement was empty, the main floor showing no sign of her.
“Kiera?” Brooks called out up the stairs.
Nothing.
“Let’s go check,” I suggested, glancing to Chase to see if he had any idea of where she could be. He stood stoically next to us, his hand waving toward the stairs with an irritated expression as he glared at us. As odd―and quite terrifying―as it was to have someone like Chase angry with us, my worry was focused solely on my kitten.
“Kitten?” I called out the same time Brooks called out ‘Baby.’ No response came as we reached the top of the stairs, and when we turned into the master suite, my breath left me.
The closet had been emptied.
No Kiera.
“In case you’re wondering where she went,” Chase bit out. A small piece of paper was clutched in his hand with a single word scrawled across it in Kiera’s girly script.
Goodbye.
Epilogue
June 7th
Friday Night
Frankie
“Sir,” my secretary buzzed through the intercom on my desk, “Mr. Bianchi is here to see you.”
“Send him in,” I responded, leaning back against my leather chair, my arm resting on the solid wood desk. The glass of Macallan that was lightly gripped in my hand winked in the light from the roaring fireplace. The comforting presence of my own office, my own space, filled me after over a week away. The solid oak door opened silently as one of my oldest lieutenants stepped through the threshold.
“Sir,” he greeted promptly with a bowed head. “How was your trip?”
“Productive,” I answered. “What do you have to report from when I was gone?”
“Everything went smoothly,” he started, but his slight grimace caught my attention. I continued to stare him down, taking a small sip from my glass as I waited for him to explain. “The casino had an unexpected visitor.”
“Oh?” I challenged, growing increasingly tired of him dancing around the topic. “And who might this unexpected visitor be?”
“Your daughter, sir.” He coughed into his hand at the end of his statement as if it would cover up what he’d said. My fingers curled into tight fists at the mention of Kiera.
“Sir, Mr. Corden is here.” My secretary’s flowing voice filled the tense air, forcing me to focus on something other of my most trusted men telling me that my daughter, of all people, was here at t
he Solace in my absence.
“Send him in,” I ground out before leaning back into my chair once more. My useless stepson’s old friend made his way into the room, his eye narrowing on Lorenzo in irritation. The two of them had been at each other's throats for the last six years, usually because of the one thorn still in my side.
Kiera.
“As you were saying,” I directed Lorenzo to continue. He paled, glancing briefly toward Jace, but continued nonetheless, fearing my wrath more than the assassin next to him.
“She was in disguise, and after watching through the security footage, we found she had just been playing Blackjack for two hours before cashing out. I stopped her as she was leaving.”
“And?”
“She got away, sir,” he murmured quietly. I sat as still as stone, debating what I wanted to do, when Jace rounded on Lorenzo.
“She? Kiera was here?” he bit out, his question fueled with rage. He had been obsessed with my daughter since before she’d even officially met him when he was eighteen and the ungrateful brat still lived under my roof.
“Yes,” I answered for Lorenzo, taking control of the conversation before the two could rough each other up and potentially damage any of my possessions within my office. “Where is she now?”
“Several reports have her and Chase Yarwood in Europe. According to our contacts at the airfield, she left last week, Yarwood following immediately after. They were last detected in France, having gone dark as soon as they met up.” I looked over to Jace, his gaze silently questioning if he could attempt to find her. Nodding, I granted him permission to leave. Lorenzo hurried from the room as I did the same to him. My daughter was not someone I had expected to turn up ever again, and knowing her...
She is going to be a problem.
Enemy
Book 3 of The Aces Series