Page 67

Ace

All I hear is my heart beating too fast, blood rushing in my ears, and the dizzy vertigo making it feel like I’m on a tilt-a-whirl.

My head’s heavy, and I try to pry my eyes open, but more than anything, I want to sleep.

I’m coming in and out of consciousness as my body slides down and knocks into metal.

Then the sound of muffled voices, a truck engine, and someone saying to “wake the fuck up” has me groaning.

Until I hit the ground with a dense thud, grass pressed along the side of my face, and a musty, earthy smell permeates my nose. I’m near the river.

With my arms bound together, my ankles too, I flip to my other side, trying to gauge where I might be. It’s dark, and I can barely see more than the dim glow of the house up ahead, but I know this spot. I married my wife out on the landing not more than a hundred feet from here. My wife.

“Hadley!” I yell without thinking. I pull and yank at what’s restricting my hands, every nerve ending in my body vibrating to get to her.

“She’s not here,” a man’s voice says from a few feet away. I know that voice— Hawk.

I swallow down every ounce of fear that the worst thing could have happened to the only woman I’ve ever loved.

“Fuck you,” I seethe. I wish I had ripped out his fucking voice box when I had the chance. I knock my shoulder against the ground with a huff, realizing from the pinch of the restraints that they’re zip ties. If I twist them just right and pull with enough force, I could snap them.

As I turn my body again, I freeze, seeing the governor at gunpoint, duct tape around his mouth, handcuffed, with blood all along his left side.

But it's the gravelly groan and my name being mumbled by a voice I’ve heard my entire life that quiets my thoughts.

Griz sits propped up against the side of Presh’s house.

Face pinched tight with pain, his hands behind him, zip-tied like mine, if I had to guess.

“Griz,” I shout, then try to take in the entirety of the situation. My mind is running like a ticker tape on what the hell is happening. What I missed.

“Still here,” he groans again. “Pretty sure my shoulder is out of sorts because of these fucks, but I’m here.” He makes a pained sound as he tries to adjust himself. “Ah, shit.”

“Quiet down,” Hawk says from just a few feet away, holding his hand against the governor’s side. He looks like he’s been shot or stabbed.

Griz yells, “The hell are you doing, Chief? This ain’t you. Tossing an old man in the back of your truck, and then helping that asshole over there.”

“I hope you’re planning to kill me,” I say with an even tone to Hawk. “Because there is no way this night ends with you still breathing.” When he finally glances up at me, I grit out, “Where’s Hadley?”

A fist slams into me in the next second, my mouth flooding with warm copper, and knocking me more awake.

It must be the asshole Griz was referring to.

I spit into the dirt, smiling as I turn to find Wheeler fucking Finch five feet in front of me .

“I don’t think the fire chief plans on killing anyone tonight, but I’m more than happy to take your request. After you transfer the funds that you and my fucking daughter stole from me. ”

I let out a sarcastic laugh. “I didn’t do a damn thing. My wife went ahead and paid out for all the damages you’ve caused. She was really generous about it too,” I sneer as he disregards me and moves toward Hawk and the governor.

Whatever had the Hawkins brothers walking into Wheeler’s estate earlier today turned sideways for them. The governor is bound and bleeding out while Hawk does what Wheeler demands.

Presh’s place is the last stop before the highway out of here—and she has a side hustle that would deliver what Wheeler needs.

A new ID and passport if he’s really looking to flee.

That, and now I know he wants money. Which is why Griz and I are here.

The dark plays in my favor, the same way as the noise from the whistle and flare of fireworks starting to go off from miles away downtown.

If I can rile Hawk up enough and get closer without them noticing, maybe he’ll realize that between the two of us, we can overpower Wheeler.

“Was it the fire chief position?” I taunt him. “They handed over a position like that, one you barely earned, and now you owe them.” An annoyed huff passes my lips. “Some brother you’ve got. He might have gotten you a job, but did you know he was angling for Hadley?”

“Fuck you, Foxx,” Hawk bites out. And I keep going.

“No thanks, heard you weren’t all that great at it.”

That gets no reaction as Hawk runs his hands through his hair and paces back and forth while Wheeler lists off whatever the hell he needs him to do.

Hawk is a piece of shit, but he’s only helping because of his brother—that much is clear.

There’s no other reason for the governor to be here, injured, unless it’s motivation to keep Hawk in line.

Wheeler casually holds a standard-issue Glock, the one he probably lifted off of Jimmy. If Wheeler was going to get the drop on anyone, it would be that kid.

With them distracted, I lift onto the tops of my hands, trying to shift them from low behind me to under me. I need leverage and tension or, at the very least, some fucking miracle so that I can maneuver myself free.

“You’re pissed she chose me? That it, Hawk?” I call out, sitting taller as Hawk finally glances my way again. “You hear me, Hawkins? She told me how often she had to fake it with you. Must really hurt that small dick pride you’re barely holding on to, knowing that you couldn’t keep her.”

He stops walking mid-step and points at me with a snarl. “Shut the fuck up.”

Smirking, Wheeler turns to me. “You know, Atticus, she was never yours to keep. You did the one thing I asked you not to do.” He takes Hawk’s phone, then strides to stand before me. “Now, you can pay me what you took, or I’ll linger in town a bit longer after I’ve killed you and fucking Griz.”

As I release a growl, chest tight from his threat, Wheeler tilts his head.

Looking down, his gaze flicks to Griz before returning to me, holding the phone in front of my face.

“You will authorize a transfer of that money to my offshore account. Otherwise, I’ll happily kill each person in your fucking family until one of you is smart enough to do it. ”

Before I can even grit out a response, Griz yells, “You can eat crow and choke on it, Wheeler. He’s not giving you jackshi?—”

The loud bang of gunfire cuts off his words, followed by a wailing shout from him.

“Griz!” Shuffling in a panic, I try to get up, seeing enough to know he was just shot in the leg. “Griz— Fuck. ” I turn back to Wheeler. “Don’t.”

“There was approximately $200 million in assets,” Wheeler says, completely unaffected. “You’re a smart man, Atticus. I know you can easily make an offshore transfer with a simple call to your bank.”

Griz bellows, “Fuck you, Wheeler!”

“Quiet.” I raise my voice while keeping my eyes locked on Wheeler’s.

My grandfather keeps going, though. “Don’t you fucking give him a goddamn dime, Atticus, or so help me?—”

“Shut up, Griz!” I watch as he tilts his head back, eyes squeezed shut as he deals with the pain of being shot. If we’re lucky, the bullet went right through.

Wheeler turns on his boot heel and taps the barrel of his gun into Hawk’s chest, who’s now standing right behind him.

“You’re already in over your head, Chief.

You plan on coming out of this with yours and your brother’s lives still intact, then you’re going to need to get rid of them once I have what I need. ”

This time, I flinch at the sound of another firework sounding off.

It lights the sky just enough for me to look farther out into the space that was just blanketed with darkness.

I do a double take. Then another one shoots high, and as soon as it claps and explodes, scattering like white rain in the sky, I see her.

Hadley . My fucking wife, racing like the wind on the back of her white horse, like a goddamn knight.

Thank fuck, she’s alive. With her head down along the side of Lady’s neck, and not slowing, she’s headed in a direct path, right for us.

Just as both Hawk and Wheeler hear the hooves of her horse, turning toward her, a series of things happen in succession.

She’s the perfect diversion. Hawk hauls himself and his brother away enough so that Wheeler is shoved and almost trampled by her horse.

She doesn’t slow until she starts to turn.

The horse is barely coming down from a trot before she launches herself off its back and is running straight to me.

“Ace,” Seraphine calls out . “Down!”

Seconds later, the whirring sound of two bullets coming from a silencer hit Wheeler.

One in the hand, forcing away his weapon and the other blowing out his knee, taking him down.

He screams as he hits the ground. Presh comes from the corner of the house, moving straight for Griz, whose eyes are still thankfully open, chest still rising and falling steadily.

“Ace!” Hadley calls out, arms pumping fast with her eyes locked on mine.

“I’m here, baby,” I say as adrenaline courses through my veins, mixing with relief that she’s okay. I rock myself forward once more with enough force and leverage to finally snap these zip ties.

As soon as Hadley reaches me, she sits right on my lap.

Our arms wrap around each other just before our lips collide in a kiss fueled by the fear we’ve just experienced.

A short cry bursts from her lips as she pulls back to catch her breath, my forehead resting against hers when she frames my face in her hands.

“I thought you were—” The words cut off as my voice cracks, and she kisses me again.