Page 40 of Grace of Spades

"I have to do a dump run." I clarify.

"Oh. Okay, I'll send someone to help. What happened?" He asks.

"Some guy decided to try and force himself on a girl I like," I growl trying not to remember those scars on her gorgeous body. Would he have given her more?

"You're a good man. Was it Grace?" He asks.

"Yes."

"She'll come around, son." He assures me but I'm not so sure. I saw her with Chekhov. Hell, he escorted her to me and I saw the way he looked at her. Possessively. It made my blood boil, she's mine. Or...she will be.

"Where are you?" I tell him and hang up. Within half an hour, Ace is dropped off with a duffle bag.

God, is she hot. Small and deadly. Almost like Grace, but Grace is sweet and funny whereas, Ace is cold and... well, crazy.

"Clean up?" She asks.

"Yeah."

"Cool. Your dad says you need to know disposal tips so I need your keys." She commands, her voice as hard as ice. I throwher my keys and she slides into the front seat beside me. She smells like apple and cinnamon and oil. It's familiar and I can't place it but it niggles at the back of my mind just out of reach.

"You're going to have to find a less conspicuous ride if this is going to happen again. In the future, just drive normally. No speeding. The last thing you need is to be pulled over for a speeding ticket while you have a body in the trunk." She lectures. They are all good points, though. "I assume you put down a tarp in the back?" She asks.

"I'm not an idiot." I gripe. I see a little smirk tug at her lips.

"I know that. But people can make mistakes." She placates.

"Sorry," I mumble.

"I'm taking you to one of my dump sites. After this is all taken care of I'll give you the number of some cleaners for the car. They're good." She says. I nod as she pulls up to an abandoned construction site.

Well, it looked abandoned until a man who looks like he's seen better days walks up to us. Ace gets out of the car and waves me out.

"Ace." The man greets us looking a bit green. "We have it all set up for you."

"Thanks. Go with him." She nods at me and gets back into the car. I follow the man to a giant metal tube. I see Ace backing in beside us before getting out again.

"See you in a few, man." She says dismissing the man who looks positively relieved.

"How do you know he won't talk?" I ask.

"First? He works for your father. Second, I have my own insurance in place. That's another thing. Always make sure your contacts are loyal to you personally." She smirks.

"But he works for..." I begin.

"He does. But he also knows that bad things will happen if he talks about me. I'm not technically with you guys, so he would sell me out in a heartbeat. Now, he won't." She's smart. I do notdoubt that my dad would put her under his protection, but it's smart practice anyway.

She hands me a rain poncho and I raise an eyebrow at her.

"Oh, shut up. You want blood on your fancy-ass suit? Put it on." She snipes. Yeah, this is a nice suit. I wanted to look nice for lunch with Grace. I put on the poncho and now I look ridiculous, but at least I won't ruin my fancy-ass suit.

She opens the back, and I see her tense. She doesn't say anything though before getting to work. What was that about?

15

Grace

Ray drops me off at school after I finish disposing of Callum's body. I'm just in time to meet Kennedy at my locker. This has been a fucking day! Hell, the last week has been just ridiculous.