Page 26

Jason

“I don’t know what happened.”

I clutch my drink, the memories of the night before blanketing my mind in a sea of red.

Ace turns from behind the bar, facing me as he absentmindedly dries a glass before setting it in front of me.

“It seems like your mind has been elsewhere for a while…” His words fade into the heavy drum and bass thrumming through the club: not bothering to look at me, he pours two fingers of whisky into the glass and slides it my way.

“I’ve just never met anybody like her, man,” I sip my whiskey, the bitter liquid doing precious little to soothe and slow my racing thoughts. “She is my equal in every way, and I can see myself having a life with her. I can be completely open with her and she sees me for who I am…because she’s the same. We were meant to find and save each other.”

“Jace, you know that none of us can ever have anything CLOSE to a “normal life,” Ace leans onto the bar, his face a foot from mine and completely emotionless. “You knew what you signed up for when HE brought you here, and that meant no families, no distractions.”

My jaw sets as his gaze holds mine, a silent battle for authority. His brow rises as he straightens himself up, my chin lifting as I keep my eyes on his.

“I know, Derek. I know.” Using his real name was a gamble in my search for his understanding, and one that I’m hoping pays off. The rest of my whisky disappears down my throat and I slam my glass back onto the bar. “Another.”

Ace’s lips disappear as he grabs the bottle and pours, his face searching mine–for what, I don’t know.

And then he speaks.

“I know what happened at your house.”

My blood freezes in my veins as my heart stops.

“What do you mean?” My eyes dart down as I reach for my glass, my fingers curling around the etched surface when suddenly Ace’s hand snaps forward and grabs me by the wrist.

“I saw what happened with Eve.”

Slowly. My head lifts SO slowly to Ace’s face. I’m not sure if it’s the lights from the club, or the double vision that’s fighting to glaze the edges of my vision, but I swear I see a red flush wash across his face.

“You know I have cameras in all of our venues. All of our houses,” he growls. “And yet you thought it wise to attack the one woman who’s trust we have nourished, who’s life we’ve stolen, who’s secrets we share. And you expect her to, what? Keep quiet? Pretend like nothing happened? After all she’s sacrificed for you?”

His grip tightens, my own pulse quickening…but not with worry.

“You think I don’t know what she’s given? How she’s changed for us, for ME?” My voice rises as I stiffen in my seat. “She’s MINE! MY partner, MY girlfriend. I made one bad decision and suddenly you’re her knight in shining armor, coming to her rescue?! I’M the one that’s supposed to rescue her! I’m going to take her away from all this, going to save us both from this…this HELL!”

Ace’s eyes narrow, his teeth bared as he all but crushes my hand in his grip.

“Our club has been my only priority. Since day one. I don’t care how good of a fuck she is, or how well she performs downstairs: I care about the CLUB. And if you’re not able to control yourself, if your emotions are going to affect your judgment and actions…well, then that’s a more serious talk we need to have with the group.”

He all but throws my hand out of his grip and straightens his back, smoothing the front of his suit and adjusting his rings. The glass still in my hand, I throw my head back and clear its contents in seconds, slamming the glass down on the bar. The sound of it shattering is lost amidst the cheers and music, and for a second, time seems to stop as Ace and I stare each other down. Seconds seem like an eternity before I feel a hand clap me on the shoulder. I throw my elbow behind me and spin around, ready to break someone's nose…only to feel two giant hands block my arm followed by a deep chuckle.

“Hey guys, is everything ok here?”

I look back at Ace, who is already picking up pieces of the broken glass.

“We’re fine, Jack,” Ace says, giving Jack a knowing look.

What the fuck was that?

I glance back at Jack, who looks at me with concern before freeing my arm and pulling up a chair beside me.

“So…how are you and Eve doing, man?”

The rumble in my throat isn’t meant to be heard by anyone, but Jack’s eyes darting to my throat and back to my face betrays me. The noises of this club, working overseas amidst bombs and gunfire…Jack can pick out the slightest sound from a cacophony of madness.

“Let me guess, Ace told you,” I swear under my breath as I violently crack my knuckles. “For the record, it was an ACCIDENT, and she and I have worked past it. She said she’d consider moving in with me after all.”

Lie. It’s a bold-faced lie but I don’t care.

I know Eve will come to her senses, it’s only a matter of time.

After all, she and I are made for each other.

“Besides,” I add, looking back and forth between the two. “How did you guys find out? Did she tell you?”

Ace brings a can of beer over to Jack, placing it before him before crossing his arms with a sigh.

“I saw the footage. The marks on her neck…J, you know as well as I do that we’re all familiar with bruising patterns, and after she refused to say who it was,” he looks directly at me, “I put two and two together. If it was anybody else, any other attacker, she would’ve had no problem getting them on our tables. But you…she refused to call you out. She was protecting you.”

A drunk couple at the end of the bar starts hollering for his attention, and Ace plasters a smile on his face before walking off in their direction. I turn to face Jack, who sips his beer and shrugs his shoulders.

“That woman does care, bro. She cares about us all. She wants to get stronger for you, to be able to handle you. I have mad respect for her, and I can see why it’s hard not to love her.”

A slight tinge of red begins to border my vision as I feel heat and adrenaline flood my body. My eyes roam over Jack like a hawk: the large, muscular arms, blanketed in tattoos. The dark, tanned skin, his rugged demeanor and carefree nature: right now it’s taking everything in me to not imagine them sweating and sparring together. His big rough hands roaming her body as he teaches her how to escape a variety of attacks, her breathing heavily in his ear as he pins her to the floor…

I spin in my chair to face Jack directly, who seems to be able to read my mind and hasn’t taken his eyes off of me.

I’m not intimidated by him in the slightest.

I lean back in my seat, letting my arm rest on the bar and look jack up and down.

“So you guys train, yeah? And that’s it?”

Genuine confusion fills his eyes as he cocks his head at me, like a puppy when you pretend to throw a ball.

“Yeah man, that’s it. She’s feisty, I wouldn’t think that a woman her size would be able to do some of the things she can, that’s for sure. She has the ability and the strength, she just needed someone to help her hone her skills.”

My teeth nearly crack under the stress of my clenched jaw as I grab Jack’s beer from in front of him and down the contents. Staring at Jack, I finish my drink and feel the thin aluminum crumple beneath my fist as I squeeze, imagining Jack’s throat and not feeling the least bit guilty about it.

Jack’s eyes darken for a split second before something behind me catches his attention: pivoting in my chair, I see Ace approaching us with a fresh, unopened can in his hand.

“Here Jack, take this and go check on the DJ, ok?”

Jack takes the can from Ace with a nod, and gives me one more look before rising from his seat and disappearing into the crowd. I watch him walk away, my eyes boring into his back as if daring him to approach me again. I am seething. Furious.

How DARE he talk about Eve as if he knows her at all? As if he knows her better than I do?!

Shaking my head does very little to erase the thoughts of Eve and Jack from my mind as I swivel around in my chair to face the bar against. Ace’s attention is on his phone, his thumb swiping furiously as he finishes a text and slips his phone into his pocket.

He glances up at me and our eyes meet; for a moment I swear I see a sort of sadness on his face. Regret. It’s barely there, an expression that the average person would never discern. But I’ve known Ace for a long while. This look isn’t one I see often.

He pulls out a fresh glass, places it in front of me and I silently watch the amber liquid swirl around as he pours me two fingers before retiring to the other side of the bar. I stare into my glass, entranced by the club lights reflecting off of the prismatic patterns on my glass, and I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket.

I pull my phone and check the notifications: it’s a text from Eve.

WE NEED TO TALK.