Alex followed me as I picked a spot that wasn't packed with people. "Can you hold this?" I asked, handing her the plate while I opened up our chairs. I caught Gunner heading outside. "Gun, grab those last few chairs hanging up by the back door, so you got a place to sit."
"On it," Gun yelled.
Gunner sat down on the other side of Alex, and I realized how much he wanted her attention as well. Between bites, he began a conversation with her. "Did you know much about our mom?"
"No, I was never really told anything."
Gun nodded his head. "She was a good mom for a while growing up, but after my dad died and she started hanging with Hades again, it went downhill. She was messed up on drugs and Hades. When she finally told me about you, she said you had died, but it turned out she knew you were alive. For what it's worth, she was trying to get Enrico to tell her where you were. She wanted to meet you."
I watched as Alex swallowed back a lump in her throat. I didn't know how this made her feel.I wanted to protect her, but maybe she needed this. Maybe she needed her brother.
"Have you met your dad?" Gunner wasn't wasting time with small talk. He was getting right to it.
A look of trepidation passed over her features, and she quickly changed her face again. There was something to this question. Something that bothered her. I could tell, and I had a feeling it was more than the Hades Runners’ visit this morning.
"Yes," she finally said. "I've met him a few times, but I wouldn't consider him a dad."
Gunner thought about that for a minute, taking a swig from his bottle of beer. I ate my food, but scooted my chair a little closer to Alex so that my thigh was bumping her leg. I wanted the nearness. I wanted her to know that I had her back.
"Do you know why he wants to see you?"
"Monsters are monsters. Who knows why they do the things they do."
Her peculiar words made me think. Hades definitely wasn't a dad if she referred to him as a monster. This time I had a question for her. "Alex, did Hades ever hurt you?"
She was methodical in her answer and spoke with little inflection like she was removed from her words. "Pain can be in many forms. He never touched me, if that is what you're asking."
"You want to see him again, that's your call,” I interrupted,“I'll do whatever you need. I won't like it, but if you need to see him, I'll be there." I'd just blown up the fucker’s docks not too long ago, but if she needed to break bread with the fucker for any reason, I'd be there.
"To hell with that," Gunner interrupted, irritation lacing his voice. "Hades doesn't care that she's his daughter. If he thinks he can use her, then he'll try to. There's no fucking way I'd let you in front of that viper."
I couldn't read the look on Alex's face, but her words gave Gunner pause, "You won't let me? I was under the impression that you'd just rescued me from a prison. Don't try to become the new guard."
Wow, her words fucking stung. Gunner and I both were a little shocked by them. Her tongue could lash.
"That's not what I meant." Gunner's voice was soft again. "I..."
Gun joined in on the conversation cutting off his dad. I was so focused on what Gunner was choosing to talk about with Alex, I nearly forgot that he was there.
"Have you ever played football, Auntie Alex?"
Alex looked away from Gunner to Gun, her face beaming with a huge smile. It was natural and perfect. There were no guards; there was no mask.
"I do not know of this football," she answered with a bit of her Colombian accent coming out.
"Well, Dad said I'm not allowed to tackle girls, but if you want, when we're done eating, we can throw around the ball."
The way she looked talking with Gun was an image I'd never get out of my mind. That right there was what it was all about. I'd do anything to have that smile show on her face every single day.
"I'm not sure I'll be very good," she admitted.
"I wasn't either until I met my dad and he showed me how to throw a ball. It's easy. I'll teach you."
"All right, I think you've got yourself a deal.
We finished eating without any more heavy talk.. I was glad for it. I wanted her to have a fun day. I wanted her to see what this life was all about, we were a large family unit. When it looked like she was finished, I grabbed her plate for her. "I'm going to grab a beer. Would you like anything?"
"Surprise me," she said, then stood with Gun, "I've got football to learn."
I loved how Gun made her seem lighthearted, as if everything wasn't so fucking hard. I grabbed my beer and a small plate of cookies for her and Gun, thinking that one day she would make a fine mother.
That thought stopped me in my tracks. I had no idea where that came from. I never in my life looked at a woman and thought about how she would be as a mother.
She threw the ball back and forth with Gun. I noticed Charlie standing off to the side, watching them with a grin. Alex was horrible at it, but Gun was proving to be a good teacher. I moved to stand next to Charlie, silently watching the pair.
"How's she doing?" Charlie asked me after several silent minutes.
"It's hard to say. She doesn't like to talk about a lot of things, and keeps herself guarded."
"My advice?"
"Sure," I said.
"Give her time, but not too much. If you let her keep everything in too long, it might eat at her."
"Her life was different than yours. I can't pretend to know everything you've been through," I paused, for a second as her eyes quickly flashed, remembering that I was there with her when we rescued her from Enrico's dungeon. "What she's been through has been her whole life? How she views things is different. I actually can't believe she's as strong as she is with everything I fear she's been through."
"Wow, Ace. I don't think I've heard this many sentences from you in my whole life," she joked. "But I hear what you're saying about her life."
"What can I say? She makes me want to be a better man."
"Oh, God, that was so corny. No wonder you're quiet. Who knew there was such a softy under there?"
"Don't tell anybody!" I told her and left her to pass out cookies to Gun and Alex.
"Oh, my goodness! What is this?" Alex said, taking a bite.
"It's a cookie. Haven't you ever had a cookie before?" Gun asked, chomping into his cookie.
She took another bite and nearly moaned as she chewed.
"Gun," I called. "I think we're going to have a lot of fun showing your Auntie Alex all kinds of things she's never seen before."
"Awesome!" Gun yelled with a mouth full of cookies. "I can't wait to show you candy!"
I laughed. As I did, I saw Luke, a hang-around of the club, walk out of the back of my house with his son, Brady. "Gun," the boy shouted as soon as he spotted him. "Football?"
Gun quickly forgot about Alex. I noticed her face had a tinge of pink to it. It appeared that she was a little embarrassed about eating a cookie. I couldn't help but grin.
I was about to grab her to come and sit with me again, when Charlie swooped in, looped her arm in Alex's and pulled her in the opposite direction of me.
I decided to search out Shane. Once I finally spotted him, I noticed Gunner looked like he was in deep conversation with him.
"Having a party without me?" I asked, walking up.
Shane took a swig of beer. “I don't like that there's been no retaliation since you blew up their docks."
"Maybe they don't know it was us, and they don't want to act until they know?" Gunner surmised.
"I doubt that. If I had to guess, I'd say they knew it was us," I speculated, rubbing my temple. This shit gave me a headache.
"Hades has something else going on, I know it." Shane looked determined to figure it out. He and Gunner had visited this stripper who worked at the club Charlie used to work at. It's a long story, but this chick was strung out, so I'm not sure how much merit should be given to a stripper whose eyes were rolling in the back of her head from doing lord knows what kind of drugs. She
made a comment before passing out. Something along the lines of Enrico taking Charlie was a distraction for something Hades was doing. Who knows what the fuck she was talking about? Shane dropped her off at a hospital because she looked like she was ODing, and no one has seen her since. Anyways, it's had Shane in a paranoid state. Not that he would admit he's paranoid, but whenever we start predicting what we think Hades might do next, I can always see the wheels turning in Shane's head.
Gunner asked a question next that I think we had all thought. "How do you think my sister plays into all of this?"
"Honestly, I'm not sure, but I think there is something to that. No other idea comes to mind why he would send someone to my house to get in touch with her. She was shaken up too. You were right, Gunner, for getting pissed at me. I shouldn't have left her alone to get food. If I can't be with her, I think we need to create a system where we got eyes on her, regardless."
Gunner nodded, accepting my half-assed apology. "I agree with you. Who knows what he is up to, but better to keep eyes on her."
We watched the kids throw a football for a few minutes, then Charlie and Alex approached.
"We got your kitchen cleaned up. We won't stay super late," Charlie said.
"Hey, Auntie Alex! heads up!" Gunner shouted, throwing the ball at Alex. She wasn't paying attention, so I reached out and snagged the ball from the air tossing it back.
"Watch it, boys," Gunner called out.
"Sorry, Dad."
The rest of the evening was pretty uneventful. Alex didn't say much, but was always engaged when someone would ask her a direct question. I still watched her body language as it seemed to say more than her words ever did. I stayed close to her. There was this part of me that wanted to protect her. Maybe it was all that we'd been through in a short period of time, but I felt like I needed to protect her from everything and everyone. I needed to get a fucking grip.
Chapter Seventeen
Alex
Everyone had gone for the night. Ace was lying on his bed, jeans on, ankles crossed, barefoot, watching me. I felt his eyes on me nearly all day. No matter where I went, it seemed like he was tracking me. It bothered me because the more he looked after me, the more I hated the position Hades was putting me in. I had started to feel things for Ace. It wasn't just that he was making me have experiences with my body that were solely about me; it wasn't that he was patient; it wasn't that he'd saved me. It was all of those things together, but mostly it was that he wanted to be with me, because of who I was, not how I looked or what I could do for him. I could see his internal struggle. I knew he wasn't sure if I was ready, or if it was the right thing to do, but seeing those questions plague him made him all the more endearing.
I was fucked.
I had no doubt that Hades would do terrible things to everyone if I didn't help him. I tore my eyes from Ace, "I'm going to shower." I grabbed my bag and got out of there as quickly as I could. My feelings were so mixed and overwhelming. Once the shower was running, I dug through my bag, pulled out the dreaded cellphone, and sent a text as steam slowly began filling the bathroom.
I met Gunner tonight. I'll update you soon.
I hated sending the text. I hated how it made me feel. But I knew that Hades was dangerous and that he could potentially hurt them. I had to figure out a way to keep everyone safe and earn my freedom at the same time.
The small light on the phone illuminated, alerting me to a text.
I want to hear from you tomorrow. You need to work them for information.
My hands shook as I powered off the phone and got in the shower. My heart beat wildly. As I washed with the feminine shampoo we picked up at the store, I played the events from the day in my mind. All I kept thinking about was that, no matter where I was, Ace was watching me. This was going to be harder than I thought.
I was surprised to see Ace in the same spot on the bed, only now he had a laptop open, and was clicking on the keys on the keyboard. I had a towel wrapped around me and nothing else. Ace set the laptop aside and motioned for me to come to him,, saying, "Come here."
I went. My treacherous feet taking me right to him.
He scooted a little more towards the center of the bed and patted where he wanted me to be. I sat and tightened the cinch of the black towel. My wet hair was brushed to the side over my shoulder.
"Today was a long day. How are you?" Of course, the ever-thoughtful Ace would be concerned about my headspace.
"I'm okay. It was nice meeting Gunner. Gun was incredibly sweet. I've never been around children."
"Never?" Ace's eyebrows rose slightly at the question.
"I mean, I've seen children in the streets playing, or being a little too rowdy for their parents in restaurants. But luckily, the people I've spent my time with didn't bring around children."
Ace nodded then ran fingertips down the back of my neck, trailing down my arm causing small goosebumps to break out along my skin.
"I like you like this. You're so much more beautiful without make-up. Don't get me wrong, you're pretty with the make-up too, but when I can see all of you, you leave me breathless."
My eyes caught his, and I had the sudden urge to cry. I swallowed back my tears and straightened out my features.
"Don't do that, Alex. I watched you change your face all fuckin' day long. Don't hide your emotions from me."
"I wasn't..." I began to argue, but Ace cut me off.
"You need a shirt to sleep in?"
"Please."
Ace lifted his shirt over his head, and before I knew it, he was pulling it down over my head. My heart raced wildly as I stared at Ace's chest. I don't think he could ever not affect me. That scar, how I ached to run my fingers over it again. His abs, oh how I wanted to lick each one. I'd never been able to do what I wanted, and seeing him with no shirt on, made me want my freedom. I wanted to touch him.
I put my arms through the sleeve holes and stood, letting the towel fall away, feeling the slight dampness between my legs. Being aroused was new to me, and I liked the power it made me feel. I didn't feel dirty. I felt in control.
His computer dinged, and Ace looked away from me and picked back up his laptop. I sat down next to him and watched as he quickly typed. I knew I needed to see what he was looking at. I hated it, but I knew I needed to do it. With his eyes intent on the computer, Ace wasn't noticing what I was looking at, so as I sat down beside him while he worked, I tried to catalog what I was seeing. It looked like some type of report, and there was a brief note at the top. The findings suggest that the warehouses were empty was the last line I read before Ace quickly closed the computer. There was a slight tick to his jaw.
"Everything okay?" I asked.
"It's club shit," he said, shaking his head.
"Come on. Let's get some sleep, yeah?" Ace leaned over me and turned off the light. I could smell him everywhere. I was cloaked in his scent, and as he bent over me, I couldn't help but breathe him in. What were his words? When I can see all of you, you leave me breathless. I clung to those words. I repeated them like a mantra. Maybe I could find my way out of this, and somehow, have Ace in the end. I would've thought that with the desire that simmered just below the surface for Ace, that something would've happened between us. Instead, his warm arms wrapped around me, and I fell asleep quicker than I'd have dreamed possible.
I awoke with a start. The room was cloaked in darkness. Ace moved jerkily in his sleep. I could faintly see from the moonlight a fine sheen of sweat covering his forehead. "Ace, wake up." I gently shook his arm. "Ace, Ace," I called his name several times; finally, he began to stir.
"What, what is it?" He was dazed from sleep, but his senses seemed to be on high alert as he looked around the room frantically.
"Ace, honey. I think you were having a bad dream."
He shook his head, and it looked as if he was in disbelief. "I don't remember."
"Can I get you anything? Water?"
He sat up and flung his legs off the side of the bed. Ther
e was a soft thud as his feet landed on the floor. He ran his hand over his head. The expanse of his back was to me. He didn't answer my question. The room was eerily quiet except for the soft inhale and exhale of our breath. He stood without a word and left the bedroom. I saw the flicker of the bathroom light as he closed the door behind him,
I waited, not wanting to fall back to sleep. I was worried about him. It was such a confusing feeling. I supposed all sorts of normal human emotions had escaped me with the way life has been for me. Worrying and genuinely caring for another human being was just another emotion that left me feeling guilty. I hadn't even given Hades any information yet, but I knew that I would. I knew if I didn't, I wouldn't be free of him.
Ace returned with a glass of water in his hand. I was lying on my side facing the door, watching Ace as he entered and set the water down, and sat back down on the bed.
"Sorry about that. I didn't mean to wake you."
"Hush, it's okay. Lay back down."
"Dawn is only about an hour away. I'm going to work out. You go back to sleep, though, okay?"
"Ace." I rubbed my hand down the length of his back, sat up, and placed a soft kiss on the back of his shoulder.
"I'm too worked up, Alex."
"Lay down, Ace," I ordered, leaving little room for argument.
Reluctantly, Ace laid down beside me. His body was stiff, and I knew he was wound tightly. I ran my hand over his chest, down his arm, and linked our fingers. He squeezed back, barely relaxing his hold. I began to softly kiss Ace's chest with a gentleness I'd never experienced, let alone given to someone else. I kissed his shoulders and his scars. My lips barely brushed his skin, but it was all that I could do. I wanted to show him the kind of gentleness he'd shown me. I wanted to be there for him. Kiss after kiss, he slowly began to relax.
"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked once his body was no longer rigid.
"I don't really remember what I was dreaming about. I was just on edge."
Explosive (A Bleeding Scars MC) Page 11