Page 39 of Ace

I stepped back to let the firemen work, waiting to answer the inevitable questions once they had the blaze under control and felt the area was safe.

I watched as the fire crew worked to minimize the damage.By the time an hour had passed, they had contained the fire to my property and were mopping it up.Not much left to mop up though.The building had collapsed completely in on itself.A smoldering pile of ashes surrounded the brick chimney which was all that was left standing.

These guys played for keeps, and it was sheer dumb luck that Emma and I were safe.

“Mr.Maclean?“

I turned to see the same fireman I’d talked to earlier.“Yeah?”

“I’m Chief Placket.Sorry about your home.”The chief rubbed an ash covered hand across his forehead, leaving a black streak.“There was nothing we could do to save it.The structure was already fully engulfed when we arrived.”

I nodded curtly.“I know.But thanks.At least you managed to keep the neighbors’ places from going up too.”

“Any idea what started the blaze?”He squinted.Probably already had a good idea.

“Someone threw a bomb through the front window.”I shrugged.“We heard the glass break, but the place exploded before I had time to see what the fuck was going on.The house went up like a torch within minutes.”

The chief nodded slowly.“Sounds consistent with how fast things went.That makes it arson.The police are going to want to talk to you.Any idea who is responsible?”

“Could be several people.Comes with the territory some days.”I turned so my cut was visible.“Some people just don’t like bikers.”

“True.”He glanced at his watch.“It’s late, and the arson experts are probably all home with their families.I’m going to make sure all the hot spots are out, and as long as you promise not to take off, you can go down to the police station in the morning and fill out a report.I’ll send in a summary later tonight, so they know what to expect.That work for you?”

“Sounds like a plan.Thanks.”

The chief shook my hand before heading back to his crew, directing them to water down the few hot spots still smoldering.

I pulled my cell phone out and called the clubhouse to have one of the prospects come pick me up.No way in hell was I going to ride bitch on Tiny’s bike.

As if he could read my mind, Tiny pulled up beside me.He eyed up the pile of rubble, shaking his head.“Fuck.”

“Yeah.”

“Same guys that did the murder in the park?”

“Yeah.”

“We voting on war?”

I regarded him soberly.“Yeah.Soon as I get back to the clubhouse, church.Time to clean this shit out of our town.”

Tiny nodded and kicked his bike into gear.“See you back at the clubhouse, Prez.”

Chapter Ten

Emma

What kind of hell had I landed us in?By us, I meant me and Ace and the whole damn Riptide club.I’d gone from witnessing a murder and having someone take potshots at me, to someone tossing a bomb into the house I was supposed to be safe at, and damn near killing me and Ace both.A bomb!

Talk about the shit hitting the fan.It took all my willpower not to break down into a blubbering mess.Thank God I still had some clothes up in Ace’s room here.I’d been literally buck naked, wrapped in nothing but a damn blanket when Thor drove me here.It was the middle of the night, so Jake and Mom weren’t anywhere to be found.I pulled on an old pair of jeans, and one of Ace’s sweatshirts.I had a few shirts of my own, but I wanted the comfort of something that had touched him wrapped around me.

I sat down on the edge of Ace’s bed, with my arms crossed, and took a deep ragged breath.What was I supposed to do now?I had nowhere left to run.Nothing to fall back on.I wanted Ace so bad I ached, but what if he’d changed his mind?What if he didn’t want the issues that came with me?

I practically oozed problems, and he’d sent me away with Thor when I needed him most.I wasn’t good at this relationship thing.What if that meant he was done with me?I couldn’t blame him.Hell, I hadn’t seen him in years, and when I finally did, I was nothing but trouble.What did they call that?High maintenance.Yeah.I was about as high maintenance as you could get.

I lay on the bed, huddled in a pathetic pile with my knees pulled up to my chest.I couldn’t stop shivering.I pulled the blanket I’d been wearing over myself, inhaling deeply.It smelled like a mixture of Ace and me, and that just made me feel worse.Was there any chance for Ace and me?

We came from the same place, but our paths had taken such different routes.Could I be part of his world, his club?It felt like family, and that was one thing I’d never had.A family.These guys counted on each other, covered each other’s backs.They trusted each other.I wasn’t even sure I knew what trust was.

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