up getting a full patched in leather cut.
“That was…”
Sid held up two fingers. “There
were two. We got one.”
“And, what, you think Ava did this?”
I asked. “She would have been… I don’t know, Prez, a fucking teenager.”
“Maybe someone with a fat wallet
and a fat cock is pushing her onto you. Something isn’t making sense with this.”
“So what do I do, Prez?” I asked. “She’s
in my fucking bedroom right now.”
“Let’s talk what we know,” Gunner
said.
“We busted up some gambling rings,”
Gage said.
“And then Prez sent me to the
store,” I said.
“It was a hot spot for the PD,” Sid
said. “I did it as a favor to check it out. The PD doesn’t want the shit press
about shutting down an old store. The damn thing is like a relic. The owner,
Jake, said his wife was murdered there. Same night you were attacked, Jace.”
“Hurry up. We ’ve got
about two minutes. Then we ’ve got to get to the store. I have to take
care of that bitch. ”
Those lines hit me hard. I crashed
down to my chair.
“What is it?” Gage asked me.
“Whoever attacked me… they killed
her. But there’s no connection.”
“Right now our only connection is
Ava,” Gage said.
“Which is why you can’t kill her,” Sid
said. “No fucking chance in hell.”
Ava hadn’t lied to me about her
mother then. Maybe she was telling the truth. B ut the black car … she
claims she saw it. Then she ’s in my house. But she was shaking … she
couldn ’t sell it that good, could she?
“We have a prospect in the
hospital,” Sid said. “Another one is dead. We bumped up against something
pretty bad. Now we need to pull away and clear our names. And stay out of the
firing line.”
“How?” I asked.
Sid put his fists to the table and
leaned forward. He grinned at me. “This part you’re going to like, Jace.”
“Why’s that?”
“I need you to go fuck her,” Prez
said. “Fuck her, keep her happy… and most important… keep her fucking
talking …”
chapter fourteen
(ava)
*NOW*
I had to get out of the room. I was
too afraid to go outside, fearing the black car would return and I’d end up
getting killed. Somehow I knew all of this had to be tied to my mother’s death.
Yes, it had been over ten years since she was killed but something about it
just stuck inside my heart. Truthfully, I blamed my father for it. If his
gambling issues were part of what happened… but why her? Why then?
Nobody took anything from the
store. They just shot her. They just…
I caught myself at the kitchen
sink, losing my breath. Thinking about that night made my throat tighten up. I
felt like I was going to pass out, but it always passed as a mild anxiety attack.
I never told anyone that it happened to me. I didn’t want to be forced to a
doctor to talk about it.
I walked through Jace’s house. I
couldn’t get a feel for him. On the outside, he was a rough and tough biker. He
fit the profile for a wild outlaw. Being patched in to the Bitter Aces told me
he had to have a police record. Yet he had a great aunt that left him a house?
I had no business being there or
trying to pick apart his life. I honestly had no idea what my business was at
all. Just to stay away from Dad and the store until all of this stuff blew
over.
When I saw the bathroom, I paused.
Call it stupid but I definitely needed a shower. A nice hot shower could calm
my nerves. Plus, I hated the way I looked. Waking up and going on the run wasn’t
part of my plan in life.
I had no choice but to go outside
to my car and get my bag. I didn’t have much clothing but enough to last me a
night or two. I managed to get back inside without any black cars and bullets
flying at me. That alone was a victory to me.
I went to the bathroom and stripped
myself naked. My skin tingled as I stood there in the outlaw’s bathroom. It was
kind of silly the way it made my stomach flutter but I couldn’t stop picturing
him in the