Her cheeks flushed and her hands clenched into fists. “They made that choice. Not me.”
“Would you want a corrupt cop working the system?” His eyes hardened, and he leaned forward, into her space. “I’ve been through it. Dirty cop at the highest level was the final straw for me, and I turned in my badge. Now they’ve got procedures in place to root them out so they don’t lose good cops who get disillusioned with the system. If you’ve got nothing to hide, they’ll reinstate you. But then what are you gonna do?”
Good question. Where would that leave her? She couldn’t participate in the investigation, and anything she did on her own might be considered a conflict of interest. Now that she thought about it, the suspension was a blessing in disguise, leaving her free to do what it took to find Jason, regardless of the law. Maybe she had a little biker in her after all.
Ice stared at her. She stared at him. His cold eyes and harsh expression made her want to confess all manner of sins, not that she’d committed a lot of sins, but Ice made her want to make some up just for the sake of confessing.
Sophie shifted her weight, leaning ever so slightly against Ace’s firm shoulder. “What’s your point?”
“I don’t have a point,” he said. “I have a question. What do you want? Do you want to be a cop, or do you want to be an outlaw?”
He might as well have just asked who are you? After Ryan’s attack, she’d lost her way, and right now the outlaw option was looking pretty good.
The door opened and a curvy redhead walked in. Her gaze flicked from Ice to Sophie and then back to Ice. She groaned.
“James. You’re scaring Ace’s cop friend. Drop the badass attitude and play nice.”
Ice stiffened and his face became even fiercer, if that was possible. “Babe. Business. Need you to leave.”
With a snort, the redhead came up behind him and wound her arms around his neck. “My business, too. Jackie’s tied up on another case, so Ryder hired me to help find Sophie’s brother.” She looked up at Sophie and winked. “I’m Lana. Jackie and I run a PI business together. Occasionally we get drafted in to help out this motley crew. Strictly legal stuff, though, so don’t let your cop heart get all aflutter.”
“Don’t want my old lady gettin’ involved in Jason’s shit,” Ice growled. “Too dangerous.”
“Too late. Jackie already filled me in, and I’m ready to work.” Lana nuzzled Ice’s neck. Although she looked soft and kinda sweet, she must be one tough woman to be able to keep a man like Ice in line. Already, Ice’s scowl had faded, and their heat burned up the room. What she wouldn’t give for a relationship like that—a relationship where love tempered even the fiercest storm.
“You done lecturing?” she murmured to Ice. “Are you going to help Sophie out?”
He gave a contented rumble. “I’ll call up the chief constable. Get the scoop. Might be some politics involved in her suspension.”
“Good boy.”
“Lana…” His warning growl sent a shiver down Sophie’s spine, but Lana just laughed.
“So, for now we’ll keep your activities above board,” Ice said. “Just in case you decide our evil biker ways aren’t for you.” He handed her a piece of paper and a pen. “First thing to do is write a list of everyone you talked to at the party. See if you can remember any conversations that might be useful.”
Sophie stared at the blank paper. She wasn’t about to turn down their help, but she’d have to think long and hard about how far she went down this road and whether she really wanted to step off the law enforcement path. “I didn’t really talk to many people. But I remember the bartender, Andre. He said he was Jason’s bodyguard, which I didn’t really think about at the time, but why would a middle manager at a paper company need a bodyguard? He said he works at a speciality beer store under the Granville Street Bridge. He must know where Jason is or he wouldn’t be much of a bodyguard. I’ll go talk to him.”
Ace grabbed Sophie’s arm before she had even taken a step forward.
“We’ll handle it.”
“No. I want to go.” Sophie shook him off. “I’m off duty, and it will kill me to just sit around. Plus, he knows me. It’ll be easier for me to get information from him.”
“Club business now,” Ace said, his voice firm. “Women don’t get involved in club business. And before you say anything, Lana and Jackie work independent of the club.”
Sophie folded her arms. “Well, so do I.”
“No. You came to us. We agreed to help. Women don’t get involved. Final.”
“Seriously?” Sophie glared. “I’m supposed to sit here while you scour the city and follow up leads to find my brother? Because I’m a woman?”
“Yes.” Ace nodded.
“Definitely,” Ice added.
Lana caught Sophie’s gaze and lifted an eyebrow. “Welcome to Chauvinism 101.”
Sophie curled her hand into a fist by her side and plastered a fake smile on her face. Might as well play the game and then go do what she had to do. “Okay, then. I guess I’ll just go home. Sit around and twiddle my thumbs.”
“You could bake something,” Ace offered. “I like pie.”
Chapter Nine
Ace parked his motorcycle outside Ben’s Speciality Brew, a small shop tucked away in a crumbling brick building under the Granville Street Bridge. Finding a place to prop up his kickstand wasn’t easy on the cobblestone street, and when he caught a glimpse of Sophie through the window, his anxiety peaked. Damn woman had probably come straight to the brewery from the clubhouse. Ice had put fifty bucks on it after they’d finished their meeting and Kickstand called in to report that Sophie hadn’t shown up at her apartment.
Of course, Ice was right. He had an irritating habit of always being right. So now Ace was out fifty bucks, and his girl was running around the city unprotected while the Red Dragons were looking for someone to pay off Jason’s debt.
Ace’s stomach tightened as he pushed open the glass door. Why the hell couldn’t she have waited? She was sweetly submissive in the bedroom, but outside it was another game entirely, and it threw him off-kilter.
Beer bottles and cans lined the exposed brick walls of the dimly lit shop. A small filament of sunlight filtered through the grimy window, and a tabby cat wound its way around his legs as he stepped in the door. Sophie and Andre were deep in conversation and hadn’t noticed him, so he leaned against the doorjamb and waited. No point charging in with all guns blazing. She had Andre talking, and they needed him on their side.
Hmmmm. He didn’t like the way Andre’s gaze roved over Sophie’s body. Nor did he like to see Andre brush her hair behind her shoulder, his fingers lingering on her bare skin. Sophie stiffened and stepped back, but Andre caged her against the wall and said something that made her frown and put a hand on his chest, pushing him away.
Ace had never considered himself to be a jealous or overly protective man, but the rage burning its way through his blood made him think otherwise.
Mine.
He took a step forward and stopped. She’d asked him to respect her police training. Should he hold back? Give her a chance to handle it on her own?
Fuck no. The bastard was touching his woman.
Andre grabbed Sophie and pushed her against the wall. Ace’s blood pounded through his veins so loudly he couldn’t make out Andre’s words as he closed in on his prey. Sophie struggled and managed to break free. Then, as if she had been unleashed, Sophie attacked. Small but fast, she caught Andre off-guard with fists and feet, sweeps and kicks, making up for her size disadvantage with speed and tactical strikes. Intelligent fighting. Not really Ace’s strong suit. He was almost disappointed when Andre finally dropped to the floor, clutching his stomach and groaning.
His girl was badass bad.
Sophie bent down and grabbed Andre’s hair, tugging his head up. He mumbled a few words, and she let him go. As she turned to Ace, Andre grabbed her leg and yanked her back. Sophie fell to her knees. Vulnerable.
Eno
ugh. Ace ripped Andre’s hand off his girl, then thudded his boot into Andre’s ribs over and over until he heard a crack. “You touch her again, and I’ll slice off your fucking balls.”
Sophie pushed herself to her feet and looked down at Andre, now curled in a protective ball on the floor. “Well…that was extreme and highly unnecessary.”
“He touched you.”
“I’m a police officer. I can handle myself.”
Maybe she could, but she didn’t have to. Not now. “You’re mine.”
A curious expression crossed her face—part longing, part fear—and then she turned away. “He betrayed Jason. Sold him out to the Red Dragons. Apparently Jason misappropriated a shipment of weapons and tried to make the Red Dragons think it had been confiscated by customs in port. That’s who shot up his house. But now I have the information we need to find him. Let’s get going.”
“Babe—”
“Hurry up, Ace. Ever since I met you I’ve been racking up the illegal activities: riding without a helmet, sex in a public place. But I have to say, use of excessive force, although purely in self-defence, sure gets the adrenaline going, if you know what I mean.”
One look at her flushed cheeks and he knew exactly what she meant. He also wondered if her sudden attempt to redirect his attention was prompted by his unexpected outburst. “We have to take him back to the clubhouse. Introduce him to Ice. Make sure we have all the information we need. The Red Dragons are one of the most brutal gangs on the West Coast. We can’t go looking for them unprepared.”
Lust was his undoing. Distracted, he didn’t pay attention to the man on the ground. Only when the skin on the back of his neck prickled in warning did he turn. Too late. He sucked in a sharp breath as pain exploded through his shoulder. Knife. And a long one at that.
“Ace!”
“Down, babe.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her to the ground just as Andre drew a weapon. A bullet thudded into the pillar beside them, and Ace shoved Sophie toward the protection of the counter. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he removed his gun from its holster.
“Head for the door. I’ll cover you.”
Sophie snorted. “You’re injured. Give me your weapon and I’ll cover you.”
“This isn’t the time for posturing. Get the fuck out now.”
A flash of silver. Followed by a whistle through the air. A knife thudded into the cabinet only inches from Sophie’s temple.
With a roar, Ace leaped to his feet and peppered the wall with bullets, only to realize Andre had already fled.
Sophie ran over to him and stared at the knife protruding from his shoulder. “Oh my God. Stay still. I’ll call 911.”
“No 911.” He held his arm against him and braced himself against the counter. “We got a doctor on call who knows how to deal with this kind of injury. Just got to get back to the clubhouse.”
“You need proper medical attention.” She found two clean cloths under the counter and twisted one into a donut shape. Taking deep breaths to keep her hands steady, she slid it over the knife and secured it with strips she tore from the second cloth.
“Where’d you learn that?”
“Police school. Basic first aid is mandatory.” She checked the wrap and dug his phone from his pocket. “Who should I call?”
“Ryder. He should be nearby. Mop and Kickstand are outside, too. Keep an eye on the door in case your friend returns. I’ll watch the back. I don’t want to go outside in case anyone sees the damned knife sticking out of my shoulder and calls the police.”
She gave him a wry grin. “Too late. The police already know, and if you pass out, she’s going to call 911 because you won’t be able to stop her.”
Ace eased himself into a chair, bracing himself against the pain. “That dude was fucking desperate to get away. Weasel like him probably ratted Jason out for a bagful of cash. I wouldn’t be surprised if he has the guns, too. Not that it matters. With the boys outside, he isn’t going anywhere.”
“You do seem to bring out extreme reactions in people,” she said softly. “You’re an excessive kind of guy.”
“Your guy.”
Sophie bristled. “I thought we were taking it one day at a time.”
He cupped her jaw with his free hand and brushed his thumb over her cheek. “Since I got a fucking knife through my shoulder, I’m not gonna beat around the bush. I’ve humoured you with the one-day-at-a-time bullshit. I tried to be understanding. Hell, I tried to be happy that’s all you wanted because that’s all I thought I wanted—casual, one night, maybe two. But that first night we were together, you became mine. I didn’t want it. You didn’t want it. But it happened anyway. Tried to stay away and found myself with the Tuscan twins in my hands knocking at your door. Tried to forget you with the sweet butts at the club and found myself on my bike heading to your apartment. Tried to leave you to handle this on your own and broke every speed limit on my way here. It feels right. You feel right. Never had the feeling before, so I’m gonna run with it.”
Pain flickered across her face. “This isn’t the time.”
“There is never going to be a good time,” he said, tracing her soft lips with the pad of his thumb. “But this fucking knife was a wake-up call. What if it had hit a couple inches lower? What if it had sliced through my heart? I would have died and never got a chance to find out what music you listen to and what you like eat and what you do for fun. I wouldn’t get to take you through the mountains on my bike, or do all the normal shit people do when they meet the one person they’ve been waiting for all their fucking life.”
A tear trickled down her cheek. “Please, Ace. Don’t do this. Not now.”
Ace swallowed past the lump in his throat. “I know your ex hurt you. He betrayed you in the worst possible way. He’s a lowlife piece of scum who doesn’t deserve to live. But I’m not him. I’m not perfect. I’m not educated. I never had a stable family or people around who really cared. And I hang around with the roughest bunch of guys you’ll ever meet. But they’re my brothers, and the loyalty I have to them is the kind of loyalty I can give to you. I won’t betray you. I’ll never hurt you. I’m not asking for forever, but I am asking for a chance.”
Her eyes glistened and she pulled away. “For a hard-ass outlaw biker, you say some romantic things.”
His tension eased. “Nothing romantic about what I’m expecting from you after you told me beating on that bastard turned you on.”
Sophie nibbled on her bottom lip, considering. “It didn’t turn me on. It was just…you know…kind of liberating not to have to worry about regulations or paperwork or getting sued for crossing the line. Plus…” A smile tugged at her lips. “I knew you were there. I think I’ve developed a special Ace radar.”
“If you knew I was there, why didn’t you—?”
She placed a finger over his lips. “Because I also knew why you hesitated before you stormed in to take over. Thank you for that ten seconds.”
“Pleasure.” Ace growled deep in his chest. “After I’m patched up and Ice has a knife-to-heart chat with Andre, we’ll go after Jason.”
“I’ll go after Jason,” she said, dropping her gaze. “I shouldn’t have asked for your help. Look what happened to you. I can’t let you get hurt again because of me. This is my problem. I need to deal with it myself.”
The door slammed open, and Ice walked in with Kickstand and Spook trailing behind him. He took one look at the knife in Ace’s shoulder and let out a growl. “We got the fucking bastard who knifed you. Slider’s taking him to the clubhouse. When he wakes up, he’ll learn what happens when someone fucks with one of our brothers. If he’s working for the Red Dragons, then they’ve just bought themselves a new enemy.”
Ice and Kickstand helped Ace to his feet and half dragged, half carried him to the door. Gritting his teeth against the pain, Ace glanced over his shoulder at Sophie, who had made no move to follow them. “Bring her,” he muttered under his breath.
Ice followed his gaze. “Sh
e’s not gonna come voluntarily and look after her man?”
“No, dammit.” He spat out his words. “She got spooked by the knife. Now she wants to go after Jason alone ’cause she doesn’t want me to get hurt. So fucking stubborn. But I gave my word to protect her, so she’s coming with us whether she wants to or not.”
Ice’s lips quivered with a smile. “She’s looking pretty feisty. How many brothers will I need to get her into the vehicle? One? Two?”
“Three. Maybe four. She’s gonna be pissed and it won’t be pretty.”
Chapter Ten
Duct tape.
Sophie snorted as she inspected her hands, bound together at the wrists with a thick length of duct tape by the soon-to-be-suffering Kickstand.
Amateurs. Did they really think it would hold her? One of the first things she’d learned in police training was how to escape from having her wrists bound with every criminal’s favourite restraint.
She glanced over at Ace asleep on the bed beside her. No doubt he had given the order to bring her to the clubhouse. If he hadn’t been injured and sleeping off a sedative the club doctor had given him while he dressed and stitched the wound, she might have had a few things to say. Maybe even a few things to do. But right now, she had to get out of here. Ace was going to be okay. He didn’t need her watching over him any longer.
Sophie wrinkled her nose as she eased herself to sit on Ace’s bed in his room at the clubhouse. Seriously, had the place ever been cleaned? She had no idea if there was carpet on the floor or hardwood because the debris was layers thick—pizza boxes, clothes, bike gear, magazines about bikes and women, and items she couldn’t identify from their state of deterioration. She itched to find some garbage bags and clean up the mess, but the faster she got out of here the better. Everyone would be asleep, and the night guards would be looking for people trying to get in—not trying to get out.
She stiffened when the bed creaked, and she looked over at Ace lying on top of the covers, still wearing his jeans, his chest bare save for the bandage over his shoulder. He’d been in rough shape when Ice and Ryder brought him upstairs. Apparently he’d lost a lot of blood, and they’d debated a long time with the club doctor whether to take him to the hospital or not.
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