Ace of Spades by Elle Bright Read Free Book Online

spoke of a hard life, but something about him made Mel think
he’d done hard time. She didn’t know anyone of his sort. Except …
             
She arched an incredulous brow at him. “I highly doubt that.” She kept walking.
             
“Jack said you were a sassy little thing, but he never mentioned you being an
uppity bitch,” the man called after her retreating back.
             
Melody wasn’t sure what bothered her more- the man calling her names or Jackson
talking about her with his loser friends. Either way, she was incensed. With a
huff, she whirled around to face him.
             
“You don’t know me and neither does he,” Melody snarled at the offensive
stranger, whirling away and stalking off. “This conversation is over.”
             
The man chuckled and called after her again. “Jack also said you were
hot-tempered and stubborn, so I guess he knows you better than you think,
Little Red.”
              That made Melody see red. If there’s one thing
she hated, it was being called ‘Red.’ She whipped around to snarl at the
infuriating man. “Don’t call me ‘Red.’”
             
He held his hands out in front of him, as though he thought she might smack him
with her purse. Hey, the idea of channeling her own inner Porn Star Barbie had merit.
             
“Easy, I call it like I see it,” he soothed. A wicked grin spread across his
face. “In this case, it doesn’t even take one to know one. You, Little Red, are
a redhead in every sense of the word. I’ll bet the carpet even matches the
drapes. That is, if there’s even carpet…”
             
Melody’s hand twitched at her side as she repressed the urge to slap him.
Forget the purse. She wanted to hit him with her bare hands. “My ‘ carpet,’ or possible lack thereof, is none of your business.
We’re done here.”
             
Without another word, she turned on her heel and stomped off.
             
“He wants to see you.”
             
Frustrated with herself for taking the bait, Melody turned to slap him with a biting
retort. “I’ve seen enough of Jackson Blackner to last
me a lifetime. I don’t care if he wants to see me. I don’t want to see him .”
             
He ignored her rant. “Noon. Morrison’s in the Gas
Lamp. Be there.”
             
“Yeah, so not going to happen,” Melody tossed over her shoulder as she tried to
walk off again. This time she wouldn’t stop, no matter what he said.
             
“I’m Lenny, by the way, Jackson’s head of security,” he called after her,
laughter in his deep voice.
             
“I don’t really care,” she tossed back, sticking to her guns as she made her
way to her car.
             
“I’ll let Jackson know you’ll be there.”
             
“Tell him whatever you want,” Melody muttered under her breath. “I won’t be
there.”
             
So she said. Yet there Melody was at eleven fifty-five, parking down the street
from Morrison’s. Maybe she wanted to give Jackson a piece of her mind. Maybe
she wanted to see him again. But whatever the reason, she was there.
             
Lenny lounged outside the café entrance, his big arms crossed over his massive
chest like a bouncer at a club. A smirk cracked his craggy face when he saw
her. He looked ready to make some smart ass remark, but she cut him off before
he could.
             
“Not a word,” Melody growled at him.
             
Lenny’s smile widened. “Whatever you say, Little Red.”
             
Melody rolled her eyes and stepped into the crowded restaurant. She immediately
spotted Jackson, seated at a quiet corner table. His colorful tattoos, shaggy
hair, and tattered jeans were incongruous with the upscale milieu of the
tastefully appointed café, but he didn’t seem to mind. His tired face lit up
like the Fourth of July