Page 56

ACE

I stared into my whiskey.

I’d thought it would make me feel better. That’s why I was here at the clubhouse in the early evening, staring into two fingers of liquor and unable to lift the glass. I didn’t want it. Hell, I didn’t even want to smell it. I shoved the glass aside so roughly it rocked and nearly tipped over.

“Not feeling it?” Striker asked from behind the bar.

“None of this would’ve happened if I hadn’t gotten so drunk,” I said. “It was irresponsible.”

Hawk slid into the booth next to me, grabbed the glass, and took a sip. “Hey, even though you’re the alpha, you’re allowed to cut loose a little.”

“That was more than cutting loose.” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “I wish I knew what the fuck happened.”

“Something’s not adding up,” Striker said. “There’s got to be a way to fix this.”

“Harley will come back,” Hawk said.

“You didn’t see her today. She’s done with Lakeview, Hawk. She’s done with me.” Her face flashed in my mind. I could still see the steely determination in her blue eyes when she’d said goodbye.

The clubhouse door creaked open. Tori stepped inside, dressed in a big hoodie and jeans, looking like she’d spent the day nursing a hangover.

“Hey, Tori,” Striker said slowly. He tilted his head at her. They hooked up occasionally, but they weren’t exactly together. It was odd to see Tori around the clubhouse before the party really started. “Everything all right?”

“Yeah, um. Well, no.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “Ace, can I talk to you? In private?”

I glanced at Striker and Hawk, then nodded at them both.

Striker went to the other end of the bar, and Hawk followed.

They busied themselves putting together some new dishware Night Shift had provided.

I nodded toward the stool next to me, but Tori didn’t sit down.

She stuffed her hands into the kangaroo pocket of her hoodie.

It made her look younger than she was. My dragon roused into alertness, curious, and a little suspicious. “What is it?”

“It’s about Blakely.”

I straightened. Just hearing her name sent a flash of anger through me. “What about her?”

“Last night… I know what happened. Or what sort-of happened.”

“What do you mean?”

Tori swallowed hard. “You didn’t sleep with her.”

There was no lie that my dragon could sense. But how could she know that? Tori had been with Striker last night.

I gripped the edge of the bar and tried to contain my anger, even as smoke burned in my throat. “Explain.”

“Me and Blakely set it up.” She stared down at her feet, and the words came out in a rush.

“She’s been staying with me, and she’s been really cut up and hurt about everything that happened.

I felt bad for her. So when she asked me to come to the party last night to see how you were doing, I agreed.

I told here you were kind of drunk and sad, and she had this idea.

She decided she’d come to the clubhouse, and when you were asleep, she’d sneak into your bed, and then I’d text Harley and tell her to come over. ”

The smoke burned hotter. I gripped the bar’s edge so hard it cracked under my fingers.

“Blakely wanted it to look like you’d called her,” Tori said. “She said you needed to be, um, reminded… of what you two had. And that this whole thing with Harley wasn’t real.”

“Tori.”

She looked up. Something on my face made her gasp, and she took a shaky step back.

Rage burned through me. My dragon was right below the surface, to the point where my fangs were threatening to extend, and my eyes were pure gold.

“Why are you telling me this now?” I asked, coolly and carefully. I wasn’t going to lash out at Tori—not until she had told me everything she knew. “You did this for Blakely. Why confess to me?”

“You know Blakely and I have been friends for ages,” Tori said.

She toed at the hardwood. “I believed her when she said you and here were supposed to be together. I wanted her to be happy, Ace. But I didn’t know…

I didn’t know what she’d done to Harley.

And when I heard how you reacted, I knew she’d lied.

And that it had hurt you. A lot. And since then it’s been eating at me.

” She sighed. “I know it doesn’t fix it, but I’m trying to do the right thing, Ace. ”

“Fucking hell. Striker!” I called out.

He looked up, eyes wide, and nearly dropped the glass he was holding. “Jesus, Ace, what happened?”

“Tori is henceforth banned from clubhouse grounds,” I said with a snarl.

Striker stared at her. “Damn, girl. What’d you do?”

“Led Blakely into my bed,” I said.

Tori had enough sense to look cowed.

“I see,” Striker said. His friendly tone had gone cold. “Banned it is. I’ll escort you out.” He took Tori by the upper arm and walked her to the front door.

“It was a setup?” Hawk asked. “Seriously? Blakely is delusional!”

I exhaled hard, and smoke poured from my nostrils. “She wanted Harley gone. And it fucking worked.”

There had to be something I could do. Harley hadn’t been gone long—she couldn’t have been more than an hour or so outside of town.

If I shifted, I could follow the highway until I saw her car.

Meet her at the hotel. If I was lucky, she’d listen to me, and I could explain everything.

If I couldn’t fix everything with Sean yet, I could at least prove to her I wasn’t a rotten, drunk cheater.

It was a step.

Striker stepped back inside. “She’s gone,” he said. “No pushback on the ban. She said if she can find Blakely, she’ll let us know where she is. God knows she won’t be staying with Tori anymore.”

“I’ve got to go,” I said. “I’ve need to find Harley. I need to explain this.”

I stood up and headed toward the back door. My dragon was right below the surface of my skin, ready to burst forth and take to the skies.

A high-pitched roar cut through the early evening quiet.

Dylan .

I knew it instinctively. I knew it in my bones. Fear surged through me. He was afraid—he was desperate.

Something had happened. Something bad.

I rushed outside. Dylan flew shakily through the air, his small green dragon swooping and flapping like he was exhausted.

Exhausted… Or hurt.

“Dylan!” I called out.

Dylan swooped down and tumbled onto the grass in the clearing behind the clubhouse. I raced forward and fell to my knees, cupping his dragon’s head in my hands. He was less than half the size of my dragon, but still nearly as big as a horse. “Can you shift, Dylan?” I asked. “Come on. Try for me.”

He chuffed into my hand, then slowly shifted back into his human form. It was slow, and his face was pinched in pain, but soon my little boy was in my arms and shaking.

“What happened?” I tried to keep my voice calm even as icy fear coursed through me. “Where’s your mom, Dylan?”

“She… she told me to find you,” he said through gasping sobs.

“You found me,” I said. “I’m here. You’re safe. Tell me what happened, Dylan.”

“Dad, I’m scared.”

I pulled back and took Dylan’s face in my hands.

His skin was pallid, but his cheeks were flushed from the flight.

There was bruising on his forearms, and smear of blood across his chin.

What the hell happened? “Breathe with me.” I inhaled deeply through my nose and exhaled out my mouth.

Dylan followed the rhythm of my breaths until he stopped hyperventilating.

“There was a truck,” Dylan said. “A big truck, and it ran me and Mom’s car off the road.

We hit a tree, and we were okay, but then…

then—” He started crying again and roughly wiped the tears from his eyes like he was angry they were falling.

“There were these men, and they got out of the truck and they dragged me and Mom out, and then Uncle Sean was there.”

My heart froze in my chest.

“Uncle Sean wanted to take me with him. He said—he said it was because I’m s’posed to be the next alpha. Or something. I don’t know. It was scary. Mom beat up one of the guys, and I bit the other one, and she tackled Sean, and then she told me to fly here and find you.”

“Your mom beat up Sean’s guys?”

“Uh-huh,” Dylan said. “She wanted to make sure I got away. That I could come find you.”

Jesus. I’d known Harley was tough, but that was something else. I pulled Dylan into my arms and hugged him hard. “Your mom’s gonna be okay, Dylan.”

“We’ve gotta save her,” Dylan said in a small, desperate voice. “We’ve got to find her. Uncle Sean was scary. I’m scared, Dad!”

I pulled back and squeezed his shoulders. Anger and fear burned inside of me, making my dragon shiver with energy. My heart was trying to tear out of my chest. I wanted to take the skies immediately and roar loud enough to make the mountains shake.

That’s what Sean would expect.

I had to keep my head on. Stay calm. Move with precision. Find her.

Find her, before Sean did something reckless.

“Did anyone follow you?” I asked Dylan.

He shook his head. “One of the guys was a dragon. He tried to follow me. But he was really big and slow, so I kind of went down into the trees”—he swooped his hand down and zig-zagged it in demonstration—“and I was able to lose him.”

I pulled him into my arms again, overwhelmed with pride. “Good boy,” I said. “Smart as hell. You take after your mom.”

“Now what? What do we do?”

I stood up. Hawk and Striker were standing a few paces away, faces cold with anger that mirrored my own.

“We find Sean,” I said. “And we find Harley.” I squeezed Dylan’s shoulder, then pushed him toward Hawk. “Take him to your place. Feed him. Striker and I will go to the accident site.”

Hawk nodded. “Ace, do you think…?”

He couldn’t say it. I couldn’t say it, either.

How far would Sean go?

What would he do to Harley?

What would he do to hurt me?

I couldn’t wait any longer. I couldn’t continue hoping or praying that he’d come to his senses and become the brother I knew as a child.

This time, he’d gone too far.

This time, I’d have to kill him myself.

“I don’t know,” I answered. “But I’m going to fix this. No matter what it takes.” I met Dylan’s eyes. “We’re going to find your mom. Everything’s going to be okay.”

Dylan nodded. His eyes were flicked with gold, and he was exhausted, but he trusted me.

I walked toward the edge of the lake with Striker at my side. My dragon was ready to take over, to take to the skies, when my phone suddenly began to ring.

I ripped the device from my pocket. Harley’s name was on the lock screen. “Harley!” I said as I answered. “Harley, are you all right?”

“Hello, Ace,” Sean said coldly.

I tasted smoke. “Where’s Harley? Where is she?”

“I’m with her now,” Sean said. “She’s a little out of it. You’ll have to chat later.”

My stomach turned. “What the fuck did you do to her?!”

“I’m in charge here, Ace,” Sean said. “I’ll offer you a deal. Just this once.”

“What kind of fucking deal? You think you can negotiate this? You think you’ll ever be a real alpha after stooping this low?”

“It’s a trade,” Sean said, as if I hadn’t spoken. Venom dripped from his voice. “Simple. I think you’ll be amenable to it. I’ll give you your woman back. Won’t touch a hair on her head.”

“For what?” I hissed. I gripped my phone so hard it nearly cracked.

“For Dylan.”