ACER: A Stand Alone, New Adult, Friends To Lovers Romance

by A. Hargrove

  Raiden and Cruze were mumbling to each other. Then Raiden said, “We may have the solution. We’ll pay you. Cover your living expenses too. You can stay with one of us as we have plenty of room.”

  “Um, wow. I didn’t expect this.”

  “Listen, Isla, we could use you here. You’ve had hands on the case and know Acer. You know what he’d do and what he wouldn’t do. If you came inside with us, our chances of finding him would increase,” Gemini said.

  “Then it’s a yes. I’ll need to go home and get Ruffles.”

  “Ruffles?” Raiden asked.

  “My dog. I won’t go away for any length of time without her. I guess I should’ve asked if it was okay.”

  “No, it’s fine and we’ll go back today if you want. We have the corporate jet to use.”

  I didn’t know about that but I’d gladly fly with them. We made our plans and that night we landed back in Atlanta. I went home and called Art on the way, asking for the time off.

  “Do you know for how long?”

  “As long as it takes to find Acer. I can’t have him out there, constantly wondering where he is, or if he’s even alive. I need to know one way or another.”

  “Fine. I’ll get the paperwork rolling.”

  “Um, Art, I’m leaving tonight. I’ve already decided. If it’s not approved, I guess that means a resignation.”

  “It’ll get approved. Don’t worry. And Isla, keep me in the loop. I’m worried about you.” He wasn’t nearly as worried as I was. I had someone else to think about too, and no one knew that little secret of mine. Soon, I’d have to share it because everyone would figure it out anyway.

  “Yeah, I will.”

  “Good luck. I hope you find him.”

  “Not as much as I do.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  ISLA

  Raiden and I left Atlanta, wasting no time. I didn’t even stop to tell my family, only calling them on the way back to the airport.

  “Honey, you can’t just leave.”

  “I am, Mama. I’m on the way to catch the plane now.”

  “What about Ruffles?”

  “She’s right here with me.”

  “But you didn’t even say goodbye.”

  “Because I didn’t have time. I’m sorry, Mama. It’s not permanent. It’s only until we find Acer.”

  “What about your job?”

  “I’m taking a leave of absence. Art will check on my place. I don’t want you to do it because it might be dangerous.” That was the wrong thing to say.

  “Dangerous? What do you mean?”

  “Nothing, Mama. Just don’t worry. I’ll be home before you know it, fingers crossed.”

  She let out a long sigh. “Isla, be careful out there.”

  “I will. Love you, Mama.”

  “I love you too.”

  After the call ended, Raiden said, “Sounds like you two are close.”

  “Yeah. The three of us are tight. My mother’s first husband died and then she married my father. He turned out to be a doozy. He ran off when I was really young. I don’t remember him, so it’s been us three forever.”

  “Your brother’s a great guy.”

  “So is yours.”

  “I noticed you sort of thought so.”

  My brows drew together. “Raiden, this is my fault.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I think they were after me and took him instead.”

  “How can you know that? He’s the one who disrupted their little trafficking scheme to begin with.”

  “True, but I’m the one who kept digging in. Maybe I should’ve moved on.”

  “Okay, hindsight and all that. Don’t go there. We’re going to find him. Wolfe is the best. I have a good feeling about this. And it’s the first time I’ve felt this way.”

  “Yeah, the two of them are something. Too bad the FBI doesn’t have them.”

  “I have a feeling Wolfe would scoff at that. He doesn’t seem to be one who bends much to authority.”

  “I got that same feeling.” I chuckled. “The only one he’d bend to is Gemini.”

  Raiden mumbled something I didn’t catch, but I had an inkling it had something to do with Gemini’s looks. She was a striking, dark-haired beauty.

  We pulled up to the airport entrance and we had to show our IDs. I handed the driver mine and so did Raiden. We were waved through and drove to the tarmac where his private jet waited.

  Ruffles ran up the steps as though she’d done it a thousand times before. We settled into our seats and before I knew it, we were taking off. What a cushy way to travel. I could totally get used to this.

  “I’m not sure I’ll ever want to fly commercial again.”

  “It is convenient, but believe it or not, Cruze and I sometimes fly commercial when it suits us. If we have business overseas, it can be easier to do that.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes. It depends on where we’re going and how many stops we’re making. If we go to Europe and have to visit several countries, we always fly commercial.”

  “I suppose that makes sense.”

  “Oftentimes we split up and get twice as much work done that way.”

  “Tell me more about your business.”

  He laughed. “I hope it doesn’t bore you. I was always the computer geek. I began developing programs in high school, and in college I sold a software program to a company that helped with data organization. It just branched out from there. Cruze sort of tagged along. He wasn’t as much of a geek as me, but he was quick to learn. Before we both knew it, the company was growing like crazy. The first area we focused on was setting up security software for corporations to present cyber theft. Then we branched out into just about every avenue that had to do with data encryption. Actually, the FBI uses several of our programs. Anyway, we focused on hiring the best people we could find and it worked out in our favor.”

  “Wow, what an amazing story. I love hearing successes like yours.”

  “We’re pretty happy with what we’ve accomplished. We tried to get Acer onboard, but he wasn’t ready.”

  “Acer had to figure things out for himself. He’s that kind of person. You can read it in him. But he’s a helper. He wants to be there for others. After he found those women, he was all about changing his life.”

  “Mom and Dad were proud of him too.”

  “Hey, they can still be proud of him. We just have to find him.”

  We both fell silent as Ruffles climbed onto my lap. I stroked her soft fur and she quickly went to sleep. I wish my head hadn’t been filled with so many terrible scenarios, but I had seen dozens of bad outcomes, and I was losing hope. I only acted the opposite for Raiden’s benefit.

  The flight wasn’t that long and after we arrived in Denver, we drove to Raiden’s. He wasn’t lying about the extra room. His place was enormous. He lived in an older neighborhood with amazing homes, but this one had been completely redone. It reminded me of Buckhead in Atlanta.

  “Your house is beautiful.”

  He smiled. “Thanks. I did a lot of the design work myself and the architect and I worked together on what I couldn’t do. I love how everything turned out.”

  “Do your parents visit much?”

  He set my suitcases down in the room I was to occupy and leaned against the wall. “Ironically, no. They usually visit me in the place I share with Cruze in the high country.”

  “High country?”

  “Yeah, we love to ski so we bought a home up in Vail.”

  “How cool!”

  “Yeah, we like to spend a lot of the winter up there. We’d be up there now if Acer wasn’t—”

  “Yeah, I get it.”

  “Hey, you hungry?”

  “Starved.”

  “Good. Let’s order in. Tomorrow will be busy.”

  That was an understatement. I was an energetic individual. But Drex and Gemini put me to shame. They worked tirelessly throughout the first day, barely stopping to eat. Ra
iden spent that day with us, and Cruze the next. After that, they left us to do our jobs and we kept them updated as we uncovered anything of importance.

  On the fourth day, things began to unravel. We were in the conference room with all the information laid out before us. Huff came in and slapped some papers on the table.

  “Isla, do you know a Thomas Murphy?”

  “Yep, I work with him.”

  “Check this out. These are all profiles I pulled from the dark web. Terrence Murphy, Terry Murdock, Travis Miller, Tucker Mitchell, Theo McDougal. They all have the initials T.M. and I got a little snoopy so I followed them up because every one was tied to both O’Briens. Wanna take a guess at who they all led back to?”

  “Thomas.”

  “Bingo.”

  “Shit. Shit. Shit. He’s the dirty one. And he was in on the safe house, he was one of the guys assigned to guard duty so he knew everything that was going on.”

  Drex and Gemini looked over the information. Drex added, “Okay, so we know this but we need to know the why.”

  This was weird. “What do you mean? Isn’t him being tied to O’Brien enough?”

  “No. An FBI agent is vetted completely before they’re even considered, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “So, there has to be something that turned him. Usually it’s bribery, a threat of some kind, or maybe he got into trouble somehow and needed the money.”

  That made complete sense. “Oh, my God. Thomas was a good guy, so you’re right. But why didn’t he go to Art?”

  “Either he was afraid, which would spell a threat, or he did it for the money.”

  Shit. I hated to think he did it voluntarily. “What next?”

  Drex stretched his back, then said, “We find the link, then go for Thomas when he least expects it. That’s our only tie right now.”

  “Let’s go now.” I was antsy to solve this.

  “As much as I hate to say it, we can’t. I know you want to race to find Acer, but if we go in, guns blazing, Thomas will run and then we lose any chance of finding our guy,” he answered.

  “How did you get to be so smart?” I asked.

  Gemini laughed. “A good woman will do that for a man, you know.”

  Drex flashed her a sexy smirk and I thought the two of them made the perfect pair. “She’s right.”

  “So, now what?”

  “Huff, get someone on Murphy. I want his home on audio twenty-four-seven.”

  “On it.”

  “Oh, and Huff?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Make sure whoever does the job knows that his place is probably being watched by the Irish.”

  I scratched my head. I was a good agent but what he was asking was beyond difficult. It was bordering on the impossible. “How do you plan to accomplish that?”

  He stuck his tongue between his teeth and grinned. “This is where we excel. Most of my men are former military. They’re better than the best. They thrive on this type of work.”

  “Fine. That’s good enough for me.” And to be honest, I didn’t want to know any more than that.

  Three days later, not only did we have audio from Thomas’s home, we also had video, and his computer had been hacked. He had a personal computer that had tons of encryption. But all the files had been copied on to an external drive and Drex’s guys were currently analyzing it. It wasn’t long before we had everything we needed.

  He was indeed tied to the O’Briens. Not only was he tied to them, he had given them access to the FBI’s database. They knew all the important information about our activities against the mob and what our plans to subvert them were. No wonder nothing worked.

  The only puzzle piece missing was what Thomas’s payout had been. We needed to find this and how he could lead us to Acer.

  “What if he doesn’t know?” This was the question that kept burning inside of me.

  Gemini reached for my hand. “If he doesn’t, he knows someone who does. We’ll find him, Isla.”

  I wanted to scream, cry, do something. But I did nothing. I sat there staring at Thomas’s picture and wondered what I’d do to him when I saw him.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  ACER

  My true name no longer existed. I was known as Slave. Whenever he felt the need, I was called. In my lucid hours, which were few, I recognized I was an addict. In order to receive, I had to give. That’s when he came for me—at my weakest moments. Then, I’d do anything at all just to get what I needed. I endured pain, humiliation, agony, atrocities I can’t relive, even in my own mind.

  Initially, thoughts of Isla and my family raised my spirits. Not anymore. I wasn’t worthy of them in my condition. I was tarnished, ruined, irreparably damaged. Any hopes of being found had bled out of me, along with my humanity. I was treated like an animal and had turned into one. My food was placed on the floor where I was forced to eat it. The only times I was allowed to bathe was when my master wanted me. Then I was scrubbed mercilessly by others and in places no one should’ve been allowed to touch. Privacy ceased to exist. The only relief I experienced were the drugs. I prayed for an overdose because the only escape from this hell would be death. But they were smart. They only gave me enough to get me through my misery. And the need came back like a hurricane, destroying everything in its path.

  Finally, when I believed my mind had been destroyed, the final straw had been reached, things changed. One night, I was scrubbed clean, oiled, and dressed—that is if you can call it that. Then I was led onto a platform where a wooden X stood. Attached to it were shackles. My arms were stretched above my head and locked in. My ankles were bound to the other ends as my legs were spread. It came as no surprise that I was nearly naked, as I was rarely clothed anymore. I shivered as cold air brushed over my sensitive skin. My arms were stretched as far as my body would allow. Thankfully, I felt the blissful sting of the drugs as they were pumped into one arm.

  A spotlight came on, which forced me to close my eyes. The brightness was painful and I abhorred it. I knew what to expect next. There would be other men who would abuse me tonight. It was nothing new. But this time I was wrong.

  The bidding began. Master was selling me. Even through my drugged haze, I heard voices shouting. Then the groping began but it ended faster than usual as I was unhooked from my prison. Someone draped a robe around me and ushered me to a different place as I heard more shouting. My fuzzy brain didn’t give a shit as I was dragged into a car and given water. Until I heard a familiar voice.

  “Acer, you’re going to be okay. Everything’s going to be fine. You’re safe now.”

  Slowly, I turned to see who was speaking. No, it wasn’t possible. This was another cruel dream. I shook my head as she reached for me.

  “Get away from me,” I yelled. It was another ruse of theirs. I knew all their tricks, and I wasn’t falling for this.

  “It’s okay. It’s me, Isla. We’re taking you to a hospital.”

  “No! Don’t touch me.” This time I whimpered. Trust no one was my motto. This world was a vicious place and you couldn’t believe anything at all. Then I faded to gray.

  I jolted awake when I was moved onto a stretcher. “Mr. Kent, I’m Dr. Gordon. I’ll be taking care of you.”

  “Don’t touch me,” I cried out. I tried to shout but couldn’t. I shivered uncontrollably. The doctor said something that I didn’t understand. The lights were so bright and then he flashed another light in my eyes. I cringed.

  “P-Please, leave me alone.”

  “We’re here to help you, Mr. Kent. We won’t hurt you. Can you tell us what drugs you’re on?”

  I rolled my head side to side.

  The doctor said something about a tox screen. And they put things on my chest. Then stuck my arm with something. I began to feel better, less anxious.

  “Mr. Kent, we’re going to take some X-rays now and run some blood tests. Is that okay?”

  “I-uh, okay.” I was confused. Had I lost my mind? I didn’t know anything.


  “Sir, can you tell me your name?” a woman asked.

  “My name?”

  “Yes.”

  “My name is Slave.”

  Chapter Thirty

  ISLA

  When we found the location where Acer was being held, Drex and Gemini had to practically tie me down. He was in Miami. He’d been sold to someone there and they infiltrated the trafficking ring, posing as buyers. Then they discovered there was an auction coming up in Miami. So we prepared and flew down there.

  The plan was for Drex to attend and bid on him, if he were up for sale. If he lost the bid, then our men surrounding the place would come in and we’d take him by force. We planned to shut it down anyway, after we got Thomas. But first things first. Getting Acer out was our main priority. Thomas would come later.

  Our luck won out. Acer was up and Drex won the bid. During the process of finalizing everything, an argument broke out. Things got messy because some man accused him of cheating. He’d been bidding against Drex. Acer was hustled out and as soon as we were cleared, everything went to hell. Thankfully, none of our guys were injured, but the local police arrived after gunshots were reported, so we had to hurry away.

  I phoned Art to let him know we found Acer and told him about the place. He informed the locals and handed everything off to them. We still hadn’t filled Art in about Thomas. That would come later.

  When we got Acer in the car, I nearly died. He wouldn’t let me near him. He was frightened of me. ME. I tried to calm him down but it made him more agitated. At the hospital, they sedated him, and that’s when I saw the track marks on his arms. Fuck. He’d have to go through withdrawal, detox, and rehab on top of everything else. What had those fuckers done to him? Or maybe the question should be what hadn’t they done?

  After waiting in the hospital for several hours, Dr. Gordon made an appearance.

  “Hey, we’re transferring him to a room now. Physically, he’ll be fine. However, he’s been through a very traumatic experience. He’s been on heroin, that we can tell, and I’m sure other things that aren’t in his system anymore. He’ll have to be properly detoxed and then there will be rehab because he’s already told us he’s addicted. He’s been begging for drugs. The physical trauma is also bad, but he’ll heal just fine with no long term effects. Again, that’s physically. I can’t assess the extent of his psychological scars. We have a psychiatric consultation scheduled. After the psychiatrist speaks with him, we’ll know more about that, but I can’t share with you what he’s been through.”