Redeeming Ace's Heart

by M. T. Ossler

  I sit up and lean against the headboard, pulling her up in my arms. I look deep into her gorgeous, Hershey kiss eyes and taper down my laughing to be serious.

  “Julietta Maria McNally, I will love you when you are old, grey and wrinkly. Baby, you will always be beautiful in my eyes. You could lose your tight body after our kids and gain two hundred pounds and I will always see your beauty, your worth. I love you for your beautiful, loyal, and loving heart. The rest is just a bonus. I will tell you how gorgeous you are every day until we’re a hundred. Nothin’ will ever change the way I feel or see you. I’m sure though, with each passing year your beauty will only be enhanced. Don’t you ever forget that or challenge me again, got it, babe?” I tell her in a firm tone, so she knows I mean business, never taking my eyes off her’s.

  “Aww, Hunter. Thank you for saying that, Blue, I needed to hear it more than you know. Being pregnant and gaining weight, even for the baby, makes me feel fat and ugly. I know I haven’t gained that much weight and it’s all in my belly, but I still feel out of sorts. Bella said she felt the same way and she was huge, but beautiful huge with the twins,” she says, and I claim her lips in a passionate kiss.

  Ahh, now I get where this is comin’ from and then the song played, and her insecurities came forth. The many emotions of pregnancy. My poor girl has too much goin’ on in that head of hers. Her wheels seem to always be turning lately and not all in a good way. She should be relishing her new status as a married woman, enjoying her pregnancy and lookin’ forward to having our baby.

  Well, maybe havin’ dinner with family and friends tonight will do her some good. I’ll get with Beast, Gator, and Blaze about givin’ the girls a night in. Maybe I’ll ask Shadow’s friend Xavier if his girlfriend, I think her name is Jennifer or Jennie, would like to join them for the night.

  “Kitten, Shadow texted me earlier, his friend Xavier invited us all to dinner at one of the restaurants downstairs. How does a nice family dinner sound?” I see her perk up immediately from my words.

  “I think that sounds perfect. What time do we have to meet them?”

  “Seven.”

  “I’m famished now, it must be close to lunch time. Can we order-in again?”

  I order us pizza for lunch, we eat in bed while watching TV. After lunch, we burn off some calories with more sex and then a nap. I wake my girl up early, eat her delicious pussy, take her in the shower again before meeting everyone at the restaurant.

  We’re the last to meet everyone on the veranda outside the restaurant and 6:50. The smile on my girl’s face is incredible. She is glowing brighter than the sun in the sky, she’s so elated to be spending time with everyone. And when I say, everyone, I mean it. There are about twenty of us.

  I head over to my sister first. She’s in the center of the crowd with Blaze and Shadow on her sides. Shadow’s friend Xavier and his woman are next to him. Throttle is next. After him is Gator. We make our way over and I take my sister in my arms and place a kiss on her head. I keep her tucked into my side as I stretch out my hand to Xavier.

  “Thank you, man, for havin’ us. My wife and I really appreciate everything you’ve done for us,” I say shaking his hand. He smiles at us.

  “The pleasure is all mine. Congratulations on the wedding and the baby. I’m just glad I could help out and be here this weekend with y’all. Tanner, I mean Shadow, mentioned you weren’t taking a honeymoon and Jennie wouldn’t hear of it. She said you have to celebrate alone, especially before the baby comes,” he says, then he turns to the beautiful brunette on his arm. I’ve never met her before, only Xavier at a few parties at the Clubhouse. I know they both live in the same town as us and his business is there too. That’s how they met, she works in real estate with him. Xavier is a good guy and a friend of the Club.

  Before I can respond to thank him again, he makes the introductions. “This is my fiancée. Jennie.”

  “Pleasure, this is my wife, Jules and I’m sure you met my sister, Brook already.” I look down at my sister and see the biggest smile on her face. She’s in a good place and happy, that makes me overjoyed for her. We make small talk and the girls separate from us while we wait for the waiter to call us in.

  I take the opportunity to talk to the guys, so the girls can’t hear me.

  “Hey, brothers,” I say gathering them all in closer. “I want to give Jules some time with the girls tomorrow night. Since she never had a real bachelorette party, I figure this was the next best thing.” I turn to Xavier.

  “Would it be possible to have a few women from the salon come to my room for them? I figure since they like to have their nails and shit done they could make a night of it. And of course, Jennie should join them, my girl would love to get to know her better.”

  The guys are all for giving the girls some girl time as long as we get some guy time. Beast will leave the boys with his mom in their room on the fifth floor. Shadow and Blaze’s room are on the sixth floor by ours, so the guys will stay in their room to be close to the girls.

  Tomorrow night is gonna be fun, cards, drinkin’, and we can watch the boxing lightweight fight. I may have had a little bit of an ulterior motive when I suggest they do their girls night tomorrow night.

  Don’t get me wrong, I love being with my girl, especially inside her, but a man needs his space and time with the guys. And honestly, she needs her time with her girls. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, right?

  The waiter calls us in and we have a wonderful dinner with our family and friends. I have my girls next to me and I couldn’t be more elated.

  Chapter 30

  Julietta

  I’m so overjoyed, the girls will all be here soon for our girl’s night. Hunter set it up for me, saying I deserve it since I didn’t have an official bachelorette party. The girls and I stayed the night at Ces and Ryder’s house for a fun night of food, games, and movies.

  Tonight, he ordered pizza, cheese fries, and salad to have while getting our nails done, manicures and pedicures. I wish I could drink with the girls to make it more entertaining, but that will have to wait a few more months. It’s the only thing that sucks about being prego, I can’t have a glass of wine with my girls. Well, and the weight gain. I know it’s all for the baby, but it’s new to me. I have always been thin, with a flat belly, so this just kinda throws me off a little.

  Anyway, the girls are on their way here to our room, and Hunter is meeting the guys down the hall in Brook’s room. The guys wanted to stay close while hanging out, and that includes my Ces. He will be with the guys tonight. I don’t blame him for wanting guy time. Having manicures and pedicures is not his thing. So, it will just be Bella, Gigi, Sam, Brook, and our new friend, our host Xavier’s fiancée, Jennie. I’m excited to get to know her better, she seems like such a lovely woman. And she gets the family thing. She has a little sister around my age, she’s been responsible for, for the last eight years. Their parents were killed in a car accident and Jennie, being eighteen-years-old at the time, took responsibility for her thirteen-year-old sister. They’re all each other has and Bella and I get that more than anyone does.

  I wish her sister could have been here with us, but from the gist I got on her last night, she’s kept her distance the last year. Something happened to her and she needs her space. She probably needs her sister more, but is too stubborn to admit it.

  The doorbell rings, dragging me out of my thoughts. I’m sitting on the bed watching Hunter finish getting dressed.

  “Come on, kitten,” he says taking my hand to help me up off the bed. “Do you have your phone, so you can call me if you need anything?”

  “I do,” I say patting my back pants pocket. “I’ll try not to bother you too much since I know you want to actually watch the fight,” I say and see the shaken look on his face as we walk to the door. He stops and turns to look at me. He thought I didn’t know about one of his favorite things.

  “You know that’s not the reason I set tonight up, right?” he asks.

&nbs
p; Yeah, I know it’s not the only reason he did this, he did this for me, he just got something out of it too. Hunter will forever put me and my needs first and he knows having a night with the girls would make me happy.

  “I know you did this for me, Blue, and I’m grateful. I’m glad it worked out for you and the guys, though. This way I get my girls and you get the fight with the guys. It’s all good.” I lean up kissing him as the doorbell ring excessively now.

  Hunter grunts and breaks the kiss to answer the door. Brook, Bella, Gigi, Beast, Shadow, and Blaze are there. They all come in and before Hunter shuts the door Sam, Jennie, Gator, and Xavier push their way in.

  The food arrives a few minutes later and then Xavier’s manicurist joins us a few minutes after that. Once the guys see we’re all set they kiss us goodbye and head down the hall.

  The girl's order Brook, Gigi, and I virgin strawberry daiquiris from the bar downstairs while they drink the same with alcohol. We each have a personal manicurist for the evening. Bella, Jennie, and I opt to have our hands done first. Gigi, Sam, Brook partake in their pedicures first.

  The evening is going great. We have sent the guys a ton of pictures of us having a blast together and being silly. They sent us some of them together too. Aunt Cindy has sent us cute photos of the boys being all cute and adorable.

  All and all the night is going great, until I receive a text from an unknown number. I excuse myself and head to my room and into the bathroom to read the text in private.

  UNKNOWN: We have the resort rigged with explosives just like we did to your man’s Clubhouse. If you don’t want your family or your baby harmed, you and the girls will come down to the parking garage level P1. There are 2 black sedans waiting. You have 20 minutes to get away from the older women or BOOM goes the building. If you’re 1 minute late, your son will pay with his life. Don’t tell the men or none of you will make it out of there alive. We have eyes on you so don’t do anything stupid, woman.

  I stare at the text rereading it over and over a few times, trembling the whole time. I want Hunter to hold me and tell me he has this, but I can’t. I don’t want anyone to get hurt because of me, especially innocent bystanders. And I can’t drag the girls into this, the guys will know immediately if we all leave.

  I have to try something, so I send off a quick text back.

  ME: We can’t all leave, the men will know and stop us. I can come alone and then maybe the others can follow.

  I wait a couple of minutes for a reply while I bite my bottom lip raw and think. Then my phone finally buzzes freaking me out.

  UNKNOWN: You come alone. Now!

  I don’t want to do this at all, but they are giving me no other choice here. I have to do what they say and hope and pray they don’t hurt my baby boy. They won’t hurt me if I do what they say, right?

  I have to get out of here and fast. I need help to do that and there is only one person I can think to ask.

  I make my way over to the door and open it a sliver. Catching Brook’s eye, and wave her into the room with me, locking the door behind us.

  “What’s wrong, Jules?” she asks, seeing me all out of sorts. I’m still shaking and trying to figure out how the hell I’m going to get out of here.

  “I need your help,” I spit out fast and hand her my phone. “I need to leave. Please, help me and don’t tell anyone I’m leaving. I need to cause a distraction. They’re here for us and I have to go.” She shakes her head no to me. “I have to, I already bought time for the rest of you. Innocent people along with all the people I care about are going to be killed if I don’t. I can’t let anything happen to my nephews, my sisters, or brothers. Please, Brook. Hunter will find us and save us. I’ll be fine. I don’t think they will hurt me.” I try to justify my actions, not just to her, but me too. “I don’t have long, please,” I plead again.

  “Dad is gonna kill me when he finds out I helped you. But...” She sighs really loud. “I would do the same thing for the people I love. Give me a minute and slip out the door.” She gives me a hug, squeezing me tight to her. “Thank you. Tell Hunter I’m sorry and I love him to the moon and back,” I whisper in her ear keeping the tears at bay.

  She slips out the room and I lean against the door listening for my cue. The girls are in between their next service and having another drink.

  I hear Brook call them all to the balcony to look at the striking night view of the moon and stars. She closes the sliding glass door almost all the way and I book it out of my room and the front door. As I enter the hallway I check my surroundings, it’s empty. I run to the elevator and jab the button for P1.

  The whole time I can’t breathe, my heart rate is erratic, my head is spinning and I’m wondering what the hell I’m doing. Tears threaten my eyes again, but I will not cry. I straighten my spine and stand with my head held high. Hunter and our brothers will come for us and end those horrible men once and for all. Then this nightmare will all be over, and we can finally have some peace in our lives.

  I have my phone in my hand and I think quick. Throttle can trace it if they don’t know I have it. So I quickly silence it and place it in the back band of my bra, under the clasp. They shouldn’t be able to notice it there. When they ask what I did with it, I’ll tell them I threw it in the garbage by the elevator upstairs. Yeah, that should work, I hope.

  Oh, dear God, please protect us and keep us safe until Hunter and his brothers come for us. Please, let them get to us before we leave the country and enter Mexico. If they get us to Mexico, we’re doomed

  I place my hand on my belly and rub circles to calm my baby. He can sense his mommy is about to do something stupid and I’m panicky. So, I talk to him, to soothe him and me. “Baby blue, daddy will come for us, I promise you. He won’t let those bad men harm us. Daddy will always save us. I trust him and believe in him and our brothers. You should too. Be a good little bug for mommy until we’re in daddy’s arms again.”

  As I finish talking to baby blue, the elevator doors open and just like the text message said two black sedans are waiting for me. A man gets out the back of the car, grabs me by the upper arm and drags me into the back seat. Another man is there waiting for me by the door across from me. He’s Spanish, dark hair, dark evil eyes, and mean muscular body. His black eyes are scary, and I have to control my breathing and face not to show any emotion or fear.

  “Hola, Hermosa dama,” the man in the back says, Hello, beautiful lady, in Spanish. The other man shuts the door behind me and goes to sit up front in the passenger seat.

  “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Hermosa. I’m Santiago, your new owner, for now. We will see if I keep you or sell you and your bastard off,” Santiago says, laughing an evil menacing laugh that sends shivers up my spine.

  I don’t like the way he calls me beautiful, it’s not endearing at all. It’s more condescending than anything. I hate this man and I don’t even know much about him, except that he thinks he owns me because of Antonio. Antonio had no rights over me and neither does this bastard. Hunter is the only man that will ever own me.

  “Get comfortable, we have a long drive home. We will stop in a few hours, once we get some distance from this shithole of a town.” I lean into the door far away from him, but he comes closer and runs his hand on the side of my face. I flinch, not meaning to, but his touch is cold and slimy, making my skin crawl. He hisses and removes his hand, moving back to his space. He gets comfortable as the car moves and I tuck myself into the door. As long as he keeps his distance and doesn’t touch me until Hunter comes for us, we’ll be good.

  I keep my eyes wide open and watch the men in the car and the road. The clock on the radio says 10:57. Hopefully, I can stay awake till Hunter gets to us.

  Chapter 31

  Brook

  Jules left us to use her bathroom, and I know something is up. Her face went pale and she looked sick all of a sudden when she looked down at her phone. All night when dad texted her she had this goofy smile on her face, showing how muc
h in love she is with him. The other girls didn’t notice her face when she got up, luckily. I watch the door for her, so when she opens it and waves me in, I nonchalantly get up and go to her not to make a scene. Whatever is going on with her, I’m about to find out. I hope her baby is ok. I know what happened to the last one and I don't want them to lose another one.

  “What’s wrong, Jules?” I ask, not able to wait for her to speak. When she does, it’s not what I expected at all. Seeing that text makes it all too real, though. Then she goes ahead and asks me to help her get away. My gut is telling me not too, but my heart is telling me she’s gonna do this with or without my help. So, I reluctantly agree to help her. I give her a hug, hoping the guys get to her in time. Once the Mexicans get her to Mexico, it’s over. Jules and baby blue will be gone forever, and dad will never forgive me for this.

  I’ll let her get a head start then I’m calling Blaze. He will be the best one to break the news to my dad.

  I leave her and head back in the living room, not quite sure how to distract the girls. I look out at the night sky and an idea hits me.

  “Growing up in the city,” I say heading over to the window and they all move their eyes to me. “I never saw a star in the sky until I came to Florida. Jaxson takes me out every night to see them and we wish on the brightest star in the sky.” I turn to the girls. “Let’s do it. The balcony has the perfect view for us to see the moon and the stars.” The girls get up and head out to the doors. My heart is pounding in my chest as they all go outside. I close the door halfway behind us and see Jules leaving the bedroom.

  We all wish upon a star, then Sam turns to me. She’s a nice woman, but she sees too much. I know she knows what I did and she’s gonna kick my ass for this.