Page 69

Ace

“You’re thinking awful hard over there,” Hadley says as the triage nurse cleans and bandages the road burn that’s scraped up her torso.

She said she hit the concrete hard when her car exploded.

If I believed in it, I would think it was divine intervention and coincidence mingling like old friends trying to keep one of the best people on this planet alive and okay.

Whatever it was, I’ll never stop feeling grateful.

Sitting on the gurney across from me, she stares at the ceiling, and I give her some quiet moments to process what we’ve just survived.

Her chin wobbles, trying to hold in what she can.

I can tell she doesn’t want to shed any tears for a man who had hurt her in so many inconceivable ways.

And that pain is only amplified by the fact that she watched her father do monstrous things tonight, threaten her life, and then be shot dead.

“I’d like to hold you.” I look down at the stitches being sewn into my wrist. “As soon as this is done...”

She nods and wipes away the tears, batting them away, like she’s mad they’re even falling.

“I’m not crying over him dying. It’s for everything we’ve just survived.

” She pinches the bridge of her nose, eyes closing as she speaks softly.

“Wheeler and I had the same taste for spicy foods. We’re both left-handed and thought horses should have ridiculous names.

” A breath whooshes from her mouth as she shakes her head, working through it.

“But that’s it. That’s where our similarities ended.

The things that made me feel close to him when I was younger didn’t outweigh all the lies.

He showed me how much he didn’t love me for much longer than showing me he did.

I don’t want to be sad about him being gone now. ”

“You mourn however you need to, but don’t for one second feel bad about it.

You can be sad and angry or forget about him tomorrow.

Doesn’t matter to me. That’s for you to handle and for me to make sure you’re okay.

I’m here when you need me. And I’m not going anywhere.

” Inhaling deeply, I try to ease the tension in my body.

I’m still wound so fucking tight from everything that’s happened. “I didn’t expect all this...”

She tilts her head to the side, listening as her eyes search mine.

“This wasn’t how this was supposed to go down.

In the end, Wheeler still ended up dead, and I should be content, but I almost lost—” I close my eyes, trying to wipe away the thought.

I can’t even think about the reality of losing her; it makes me sick to my stomach.

“Your father and Hawk...” Meeting her gaze again, I shake my head.

“I had a gut feeling that something wasn’t right, but I didn’t?—”

“Save the day?” she finishes for me and stands to move closer.

With her bottom lip pouting, she settles into my lap, ignoring the nurse still suturing my wrist. “Sometimes, it’s the unexpected hero.

And baby, I saved the fucking day on a white horse and all,” she says with a beaming smile. “Well, me and Seraphine.”

“You called her?” I ask, a bit surprised.

Her arms slide around my neck. “She decided to try one of my cocktails, have a chat, and leave me her number in case I ever needed it.”

I sniff out a laugh. “‘Course she did.”

She leans in to kiss me, and it feels so good to have her in my arms and safe.

Smiling against her lips, I say, “You saved my ass and, I’ll be honest, I feel like you’ve been saving me without trying for a long time.”

“Just following your lead, baby,” she responds. “Saving each other kind of feels like our thing.”

Fiasco General isn’t all that large, but between an explosion during the Fourth of July festivities and the showdown that took place along the riverside at The Holey Donut, the entire place is buzzing.

We both didn’t want to leave until we knew what was happening with Griz.

It had been six hours since he arrived by ambulance and was wheeled into the ICU.

Soon after we were cleared from the ER, I passed out in a chair in the waiting room with a sleeping Hadley in my arms.

Buzz buzz buzz.

My phone buzzing incessantly wakes me from the most uncomfortable sleep of my life. With a stiff neck, I swipe on my phone to find a wall of texts from my brothers.

LINCOLN

Going to need an update about what’s going on, Ace.

GRANT

I’m on my way down to the hospital now. Laney is going to head over to your house, Linc.

LINCOLN

Sounds good. Faye had to tap in and help Del with something. Any word on Griz?

ACE

Nothing yet.

LINCOLN

Alright I’ll be down there soon. How’s Hadley?

“Tell him I’m good but could use a little best friend time,” she says, reading over my shoulder.

I pocket my phone after firing off one last text and hold her hand as we make our way toward the nurses’ station. “I’d like to see Griswald Foxx,” I say as the nurse types away on her computer.

She gives me a tight-lipped smile. “Sure thing, I’ll be right back.”

Never underestimate the power of a well-placed pawn, Griz said once when I was young.

It seemed like there were millions of ways to play the game, but the smartest moves happened when you were thinking at an average of six steps ahead.

He’s always been the best at that part—seeing what might happen and a dozen different alternatives.

He’d never do anything that would sacrifice his queen. On the board and in life.

Hadley tilts her neck as we wait, working out the kinks from being knocked around last night and sleeping in waiting room chairs. “Can I ask you something?”

I kiss her fingers that are clasped with mine. “Anything.”

“Before we got separated, you wanted to talk to me. Was it about finding a way to”—she clears her throat, lowering her voice—“make sure my father was out of the picture for good?”

Just then, the nurse returns to the station desk with Del on her heels. I know exactly what’s transpiring behind the double doors. It has my chest tightening all over again. “Del.” I nod, holding my hand out to shake his.

Hadley tenses up, brow furrowing. “Del, is everything okay?”

He glances at me, and then tilts his head to follow him back. “I swear, you and your brothers are really going to force me to retire. C’mon, Faye’s already here. She said you two were out cold in those chairs when she arrived.”

I clasp his shoulder. “You’re a good man, Del. Thank you.”

As we reach a room at the end of the hall, I lean closer to Hadley to answer her question. “Making sure your father was out of the picture was to protect you...and to help him.” I nod at Griz as we walk into his hospital room.

I cross my arms over my chest as Hadley rushes to his side.

“Griz,” she says on a clipped cry, wrapping her arms around his neck. “You scared the shit out of me.”

I can tell by his widened eyes and the quick glance at Del that he wasn’t expecting to see us. He was planning to use this unfortunate situation to his advantage if he could. It would make a planned exit a little easier on him.

He’s bandaged up, arm in a sling, but he’s dressed, no oxygen or wires anywhere. He looks fine, minus the bandage and splint covering up the stitches from a bullet hole in his knee.

“A bit surprised to see us?” I ask him, and then mumble, “Pain in my ass, Griz. If you’d just waited or talked to me.” I glance at Del. “Is she here yet?”

He shakes his head, then checks his phone.

Griz tilts his head at me, probably assuming I’m referring to Agent Bea Harper.

A U.S. Marshall, who’s shown up countless times at our front door for some reason or another.

The last time led to Laney finding a life here after she was deposited on our doorstep.

I know Bea’s found her way back to Fiasco a couple of times since, but I was still looking to cash in a favor the U.S.

Marshall owed me. I’m done losing people.

I smile at Del. “Del, mind taking a walk for me?” I ask, just as Grant comes in.

“What’s going on?” he asks, looking around the small hospital room.

Faye nods, knowing what I need to share. A plan that she’s been helping to make happen, long before my focus had shifted to marrying and keeping Hadley safe.

Del gives me a pointed look as he laughs to himself. “You know, some might get the impression that I take orders from you, Ace.” He glances at Hadley and then again at Faye, who’s sitting with her arms crossed. “I don’t, for the record,” Del says as he clasps my shoulder. “I’ll keep an eye out.”

We all watch the detective exit, silence taking over the room before Griz speaks. “Atticus?—”

“There were nine,” I cut him off as I take a seat. “It was a nightmare trying to figure out who was an actual threat and who just needed to be paid back what Wheeler had taken from them. But in total, we figured out nine, including Wheeler, who would rather see the dead stay buried.

Griz locks eyes with me, but I keep talking because he needs to hear all of this.

“Two were already dead—the King brothers.” I shift my attention to Faye, who has a past with the King brothers, then look to Hadley when I continue.

“A list of men from a Fourth of July dinner party about a decade ago helped narrow down the rest. A coming together of Wheeler’s closest business dealings that were guaranteed to go south, eventually.

” It was a lucky assumption to keep that list of people after all this time.

“Two criminals who defected from the Russian Bratva, a bloodstock agent, Governor Hawkins and his brother, the fire chief, and a cattle rancher who liked wearing rodeo buckles that weren’t his.

“And then Wheeler, of course. He was the largest threat if he still remained alive.” I keep my eyes on my wife’s. “Then you started getting threats.” Shaking my head, I sniff out a laugh. “You refused to say anything and made all of them sweat.”