by Melody Anne
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN Standing in the bathroom, Dakota looked into the mirror, barely able to recognize herself. No wonder Chloe had seemed so worried about her. Dakota always smiled and was able to find joy in almost any situation. But she didn’t recognize the image staring back at her as she turned her face to analyze her appearance. She was washed out, with specks of blood on her hollowed-out cheeks. Her eyes were dull and her lips tight. She began shaking as she stood there, the shock of the night overwhelming her as she thought about the situation. Never before had she even come close to experiencing what she’d just gone through. Fear and the need to escape had been with her from the moment those men had pushed their way into her house until Ace had charged in to save her. She’d managed to catch a few minutes of rest in Ace’s car, but he’d spoken on the phone, rousing her. She now knew just how dangerous Ace’s job could be. She couldn’t believe he was trying to blame himself, though.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN Before Dakota turned the corner into the sitting room, Ace felt her presence. She was drawing nearer to him. In his line of work, he had to be observant, but his senses were even more intensified when it came to this particular woman. He hadn’t been able to rest. Part of it was the fact that his adrenaline was still running on high, and part of it was concern for Dakota’s safety. He had almost convinced himself that those men truly had been robbers, but still . . . just in case, he wanted her in his line of sight. Of course, that made him also worry about his family, but he knew his brothers could take care of themselves, and they would die before letting anything happen to their wives or children. Dakota had him to look out for her. He realized he didn’t know much about her, though. Did she have a big family? Would they want his head on a platter because he’d almost been too late to save her? Would she rather be with anyone other than him? Ace wasn’t used to worrying
CHAPTER NINETEEN Stepping into the master bedroom, Ace found Dakota sitting in the corner, her legs crossed, her eyes intently watching him. There was confusion, desire, and so much more in her deep-green depths. He didn’t know what to think. “We shouldn’t do this tonight,” he said, surprised at his own words. “A lot has happened, and you’re exhausted.” She smiled at him as she reached for the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head, not leaving the chair. The pain in his arm was nearly forgotten as he gazed upon her beauty. “And you’ve been shot,” she said as she unclasped her bra, her eyes never leaving his. He was practically shaking as he watched her. She smiled as she finally looked down. His eyes raked over her upper half, devouring her beautiful breasts. He kept his feet firmly planted on the ground, but it was taking all his strength to stay where he was. There was no way he could deny her or himself if this was what she truly wanted, but a part of his brain was resisting.
CHAPTER TWENTY A smile rested on Dakota’s lips as she slowly began waking up. Stretching her arms above her head, a slow ache burned through her body, and that only made her lips turn up more. She opened her eyes to the sunlight streaming through the windows. This was how she should have been able to wake up after her first time making love with Ace. Whether her choice to sleep with him was a stupid or not, it was a choice she’d consciously made. She wouldn’t allow herself or Ace to think of it as a mistake. Not when it was so damn wonderful between the two of them. The bed beside her was cold, telling her Ace had been up for a while. She wasn’t worried about it. The day before she hadn’t wanted him out of her sight, but after the night the two of them had shared, she felt as if she were still in his safe embrace—at least for now. The smells of coffee and bacon drifted into the room, and her stomach rumbled. Food had been the last thought on her mind the night before, but now that they
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE Dakota and Ace were having a standoff, and there was no way she was backing down. He paced the floor in front of her, stopping every once in a while to send a withering gaze in her direction. Dakota leaned back against the counter and shot him a look that was most certainly calling him several names. “This isn’t acceptable,” Ace finally said, a dramatic sigh slipping from his compressed lips. “I agree. You’re being a controlling lout, and I won’t have it. And if you think you’re going to bed me into submission again, you have another think coming. I paid for flight lessons, and I’m going to have them. You either come with me or I am going there on my own. I’m sure Sherman will find me a new trainer.” Dakota didn’t want a new trainer. She wanted to be in that tiny plane with Ace, and only Ace, but she wasn’t going to sit by if he chose not to go with her. She’d let him keep her cooped up at his brother’s place for two days. She was now done. “But what if it isn’t safe
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO Ace smiled as Dakota impatiently followed him around the plane while he took his time doing the preflight check. He made her look at everything after he did, and then check it off a list. He knew what she was feeling. She wanted to get into the air. “I know this part isn’t exciting, but doing it will save your life,” Ace assured her. “But we just did it a few days ago,” she pointed out. Ace laughed. “It has to be done every single time you fly,” he assured her. “Otherwise disaster strikes.” “You think disaster is striking all the time,” she told him. Ace understood why she thought that, but she didn’t have the same knowledge he did. She had never seen what he’d seen, and she just didn’t understand true evil. He was glad she didn’t. If she were truly aware, she wouldn’t be the same woman. He’d seen too many instances of good people having their bubble popped, and then he’d had to watch the light go out of their eyes. He missed the light—he missed being that happy. “If
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE Sirens were blaring when Ace regained consciousness. Dakota felt tears streaming down her face as she saw the beautiful sight of his eyes opening. She ripped off her headset and reached over and tore his off too. “How long was I out?” he asked. He looked a bit dazed, but he was waking up fast. “Only a few seconds, but you scared the hell out of me,” she told him. “We have to get out of here. She could catch on fire,” he said. He ripped off his seat belt, then reached over and undid hers. Dakota’s fingers were trembling. The doors were jammed, so Ace leaned back and kicked with all his strength. It took a few tries, but he finally broke the window out. He pushed her through, and then he quickly followed her. He directed her away from the plane. They were damn lucky it hadn’t gone up. Dakota was trying desperately to be brave as fire engines and an ambulance drove quickly to find them. The whole ordeal had been terrifying. “Still want to be a pilot?” Ace asked. He wa
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR Sunlight streamed in through the guesthouse windows at Cooper’s place. Dakota woke with a smile. She wouldn’t admit aloud how frightened she’d been the day before when she and Ace had dropped from the sky. And though she hadn’t wanted to go to the hospital, she was a little glad his family had insisted. Though it had taken hours, they’d walked out knowing they were fine. She’d been aching when, with Ace’s assistance, she’d gone to bed once again at the cottage, but the pain was endurable with Ace by her side. She was growing a little dependent on the man, and that worried her. Ace was unlike any other man she’d ever known, though, and she was enjoying her time with him even if she was scared of what that meant. Though Dakota had always enjoyed her alone time—especially since she’d never had much of it growing up—these days, she felt this invisible string tying her to Ace. She rarely wanted to be away from him for too long. After the newness and exciting adventures t
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE Ace paced his brother’s living room as he went through every curse word he could think of. He’d just gotten off the phone with Bill again, and his boss assured him no one was coming after him. He’d yelled, he’d threatened, he’d told the man to dig deeper. His brother’s truck getting blown up couldn’t be a coincidence. His brothers were sitting there waiting for him to calm down, and it wasn’t happening yet. He didn’t even want to dull his senses with a glass of bourbon, though he was sure he could use it. What if . . . That was all he was thinking. “You know, things do just happen,” Cooper finally sai
d. Ace turned to him with an incredulous look. “Not to me they don’t,” he said through clenched teeth. He forced himself to calm down enough so his brothers would truly hear him. “I’ve lived in this evil portion of the world for a very long time. When you let down your defenses and relax, that’s when people strike.” “I agree you’ve lived in a world that is full of distr
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX It seemed like any other normal day. Well, it would seem like any normal day for a regular family. But the day was odd for Ace. His family wanted him to go on like nothing was happening around him, but it was impossible for him to relax and enjoy himself with his gut tied in knots. Dakota had insisted on everyone attending a charity event addressing violence against women. The other cheerleaders were all going. His sisters-in-law were thrilled to attend, leaving Ace the only one protesting. He’d been outnumbered. Ace hadn’t been in the loop with his family in a very long time, and he couldn’t say he’d attended any sort of event like this one before, but it would be much better if he wasn’t so damn worried about something bad happening. “Stop being paranoid,” Dakota whispered in his ear. “With strange things continually happening, I can’t relax,” he told her. “Everything will be okay. I’m not allowing a few unfortunate events to alter my life. No way, no how,” Dakota
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN His phone rang, and he looked down to see Bill calling him back. He hit the green button on his wheel and waited to see what the man had to say. If he again told Ace he wasn’t in danger, Ace wouldn’t be responsible for his own actions. “Ace?” Bill said after a moment, obviously irritated Ace wasn’t speaking. “I’m here,” Ace said through clenched teeth. “You better have something for me, because I’m getting really tired of shit happening.” “You were right,” Bill said, tightness in his tone. “Someone is after you.” Ace was silent for a beat as he tried to wrap his mind around his boss’s tone. He knew someone was after him, but to have it confirmed nearly made his throat close. He was responsible for the threat against Dakota . . . and his family. “Tell me,” Ace said through his tight jaw. “We know who it is,” Bill said. Ace’s blood ran cold. “Where did you get the information?” Ace asked. “Isn’t it more important to find out who it is?” Bill asked. “Don’t mess with m
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT Ace was flanked by Cooper and Maverick, while Nick stood in front as they entered the secure building where they were meeting with Bill. Nick had been beyond ticked all morning. It was all fun and games until your truck got blown to smithereens. Now he knew the reason why. Nestor had officially gone too far in his revenge scheme. No one else was going to get hurt. And there wouldn’t be any further property damage, either, if Ace had his way. Ace was in his zone—he was one hundred percent the agent he’d been for nearly the past decade as he moved with ease, knowing exactly who he was. Moving across the room, they came to the reception desk, where an alert woman sat. She remained emotionless as the four hulking men approached her, showing various scowls on their faces. “I’m here for a meeting with Bill Hammond,” Ace said. The woman looked down at her screen before meeting his eyes again. “Name?” she asked. Though Ace was sure she knew exactly who he was. “Ace Armstro
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE Dakota stood in the cottage, not a muscle moving in her entire body as she listened to Ace try to explain how putting himself in danger wasn’t the most idiotic plan she’d ever heard in her entire life. She schooled her expression, not wanting him to see how upset she was, afraid if she showed it he wouldn’t finish telling her what his plans were. There wouldn’t be a way for her to stop him from acting the utter fool if she didn’t know what was going on. She’d learned that much from growing up with brothers who were bred to be idiots. She’d identified their idiocy by the time she was three. When she was sure Ace had finished his entire explanation, Dakota hugged herself, her body tense. It was either that or she feared she was going to come unglued and smack the guy in the head for being such an idiot. “No.” Just the one word slipped from her lips. Ace looked at her, clearly not understanding. “What do you mean?” he asked. He was finally tuning in to her body languag
CHAPTER THIRTY Ace was busy over the next few days, having meetings with Bill and a special team along with his brothers. The more he met with this group, the more nervous Dakota became. He had made a promise to her that he wasn’t going to put himself out there as bait without telling her. Yet she feared he was so confident in his plans, he might go through with the mission quietly and only tell her it was over when all the danger had passed. This made her watch him all the more. Still, they fell into a comfortable routine as the two of them retreated to Coop’s cottage each night. It seemed that the longer this danger went on, the more they clung to each other. Dakota knew it was only because it was a high-stress situation, but that didn’t change her feelings about Ace. She’d resisted falling in love for a very long time. She’d never found a man who stimulated her, made her feel like she was free-falling, and made her want to follow him wherever he chose to lead her. But this thing wit
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE Ace pulled back up to the house, cursing that he’d forgotten his phone. He needed to have it on him in case Dakota wanted to call. He avoided considering what it meant that he had to stay in constant contact with the woman. He walked into the cottage and found her gone. He didn’t like that one little bit. She had to be at the house. He moved quickly up to the main place and found she wasn’t there, either. Where had she gone? “I saw her sneak out through the front driveway,” Stormy admitted when it appeared as if he was going to panic. “And you didn’t stop her?” Ace thundered. “I figured she needed a minute by herself,” Stormy said as she shifted on her feet. Ace didn’t say anything more. Instead he ran back to his car and peeled out of the driveway, his windows down as he frantically searched for her. He was sure there was nothing wrong, but he wouldn’t feel better until he saw her. He was pulling through an area where a trail started when he heard a scream. Without
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO Ace woke up, found himself strapped to a gurney, and felt a renewed sense of panic and fury. What in the hell had happened? He turned, trying to find Dakota. “Dakota?” he called out, his voice barely a squeak. “Sir, we’re almost to the hospital. You’ve been shot and have a head injury,” the paramedic hovering over him said. Ace tried to move again, but he was held down tightly. There was a gunshot wound and a hit-and-run. They weren’t taking any chances with him. “I’m Ace Armstrong, I’m with the CIA,” he said, but by the look in the man’s eyes, the paramedic didn’t believe him. They screeched to a halt in front of the ER, and the back doors flew open. It was only seconds before Ace’s gurney was on the ground and he was being rushed inside the room. “We have an adult male in a hit-and-run accident with an injury to the head and two bullet wounds, one to the side, one in the left shoulder,” the paramedic shouted as a nurse began taking his vitals. “I don’t have time fo
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE Dakota’s head was pounding as consciousness slowly returned to her. She couldn’t open her eyes, the throbbing was so great, and when she tried to lift her arm to massage her head, she was unable to raise it, which sent a jolt of panic through her. Struggling, she finally wrenched her eyes open as she tried to figure out what was going on and where she was. The room was dark. She closed her eyes again and forced herself to calm down. She concentrated on what she remembered last. Forcing her breathing to calm, she remembered rushing Ace to the hospital. Then they’d been hit by another vehicle. He’d flown forward. She would never forget the sound his head had made as it came into contact with the windshield of his SUV. She had to fight back tears as she lay tied to the bed. She didn’t know if Ace was alive or dead. One second she’d been panicking as she’d tried to help him; the next, someone had grabbed her, punched her in the head, and the world had gone black. Now s
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR Ace came around the corner, ignoring the pain throbbing through his body. He found Maverick, Cooper, and the other men who were there to save Dakota. He stood back as they spoke. He wasn’t going to interr
upt them if they could do the job, but he had to be close, had to help if he could. “I can’t tell how many men are in there,” Maverick said. “I don’t like going in against all these odds.” “We don’t have a choice,” Cooper responded. “I know,” Maverick agreed. “I would be a lot happier, though, if we knew exactly where she was,” one of the men said. “We’ll find her,” Mav said, his voice sure. That made Ace feel a hell of a lot better. Ace glanced around the neighborhood at abandoned businesses and crappy homes. These men were either arrogant or they had a lot more traps than what was obvious to the naked eye. Ace didn’t believe in luck. He waited to make sure his family was being cautious. “Okay, we’re wasting time,” Cooper said. “Mav and I will take the front of the
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE Ace didn’t leave Dakota’s side as she lay in a hospital bed, monitors hooked up to her, her heartbeat steady. The bullet had missed her heart, and they’d gotten it out without complication, but it had been way too close for comfort. She was so pale and small lying there. She shouldn’t be in a hospital room, shouldn’t be in this situation at all. It was all on him. If he hadn’t ever gotten involved with her, she’d be living her life, stress-free, happy. He truly was no good for her. But even knowing this, he couldn’t walk away—not now. A shudder racked his body as he thought about how close he’d come to losing her forever. If the bullet had penetrated even an inch to the left, she would be gone. One small inch and he never would have seen her smile again. It was something he couldn’t even begin to imagine. His brothers and sisters-in-law hadn’t left his side in the waiting area those first twelve hours when she’d been in surgery. He’d practically torn off heads as he