Page 14 of Ace

I watched Ace leave the room.Damn, the man looked good from the back side.Or the front.Or any side really.The soft click of the door closing behind him sent a pang of regret streaming through me.I’d blown my chance, at least for now.If it weren’t for the damn bullet wound in my side, I could be writhing beneath that gorgeous hunk of man muscle.

I traced the outline of the wound with my finger.The pain was mostly masked by whatever pills Joker had given me, but only if there was no pressure on it.At least it hadn’t started bleeding again, so it must be healing.How long did it take for a bullet wound to heal?Ace had said at minimum a couple of weeks, but he didn’t sound too sure about that.Joker would know, and he’d be here to check it out sometime today.I’d ask him then.

A soft knock at the door jerked my attention.“Hello?”

“Can I come in?”A woman’s voice.

“Umm.Sure.”

The woman Ace had addressed as Mom closed the door behind her.I knew she wasn’t Ace’s real mom.I’d never seen this woman in the old ‘hood.She must have read my mind, because she explained that right up front.

“I’m Alessandra, but most of the boys call me Mom.Easier to pronounce, plus I’m old enough to be their mother.I do the cooking and cleaning, and generally help Jake out with things.We’re kind of a couple, without all the legal tags that go with it.Was married once.Not a fun time.I’d rather not repeat it.”

“Hi.”I took in her appearance.Plump, with soft blue eyes, and a cloud of gray hair, she looked like everyone’s idea of the perfect grandmother.It was hard to tell how old she might be.Fifty?Sixty?She had one of those ageless countenances that made it hard to guess.“What should I call you?”

She tilted her head.“Might as well call me Mom.By the way Ace looks at you, I imagine you’re going to be a permanent fixture around here.”

“No.”I shook my head.“We barely know each other.Hadn’t seen each other for years, until last night.”

“Oh, honey, time has nothing to do with it.”Mom smiled softly.“These boys, they find their one and they know.”

“I used to date his little brother back in high school.”Now why had I blurted that out?

“But you didn’t love him.I’m betting you never even slept with him, did you?”

Damn, she was good.And right.“No.We were really more good friends than anything.”

“And back then you had a crush on Ace, but he didn’t even know you existed.Or he pretended he didn’t.”

I raised one brow.“You some kind of mind reader?”

Mom laughed.“No.I just have a bit of traveler blood in me, and I know the boys real good.And the way Ace looks at you, that ain’t no two-day crush.”She eyed me up shrewdly.“I bet he thinks he’s too old for you.”

I dipped my head.“He does.Keeps saying I deserve better too.”

“Hang in there.He’ll come around.But you better be serious because once he claims you, there ain’t no going back.”

“Claims me?”This wasn’t the eighteenth century.Men didn’t claim women.It’s not like I was a stray dog or something.

“Yup.Once you and he do the horizontal naked dance, you’re as good as hitched.He ain’t never going to let you go.Of course, he’s going to announce it to all the brothers, and get you a cut with ‘Property of Ace’ on it but that’s just a formality.”

“What’s a cut?”I wanted to protest the property of Ace thing, but I’d take that up with him.

“A jacket with the sleeves cut off, hence the name cut.Although it’s usually just a vest.But it will have the club logo on it, and all.It tells the world they’d better be nice, or they’ll have to deal with Ace and the entire club.”

“Oh.”My side was starting to throb, and I realized it was time for more painkillers.Reaching for my purse, I pulled out the bottle of pills.

“Need some water?”Mom bustled into the ensuite and came back with a glass of ice water.“Hope it’s not too bad.Ace said someone grazed you with a bullet.Joker will get you fixed up though.He could have been top doctor at that trauma clinic up North, but he’s not so good at the bedside politics thing.Speaks his mind and all.Tends to piss off the suits.”

I just about choked on a mouthful of water as I pictured Joker telling a bunch of snotty doctors what he thought of their politics.I managed to swallow.“He fixed it up last night, but he said he’d come check me out today.Something about bullet wounds being prone to infections.”

“Well, he’d know.He’s seen enough of them.”

That didn’t sound comforting.“The bikers get shot a lot?”

“No, in the SEALs.”She shook her head.“He was a medic, active duty.Didn’t Ace tell you that?”

I shook my head.“No.I knew Ace went into the Navy, but he never talked about it.That’s actually why I ran to him when I got shot.I figured anyone who’d been deployed a few times would be able to protect me.But like I said, it’s been a long time since we’d seen each other.”

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