Page 45 of Ace

“Best defense is a good offense.”He stroked my hair.“They’re going to keep coming at you and at us unless we do something.You witnessed a murder, and they want you out of the way.To them, that means dead.They know you’re with me.They know you’re mine.They knew I was the Prez of Riptide when they bombed my house.Can’t let that fucking shit go.We have to respond.”

“They’ll expect you to do something.They’ll know you’re coming at them.”I pointed out the obvious.

“Maybe.Probably.”Ace shrugged.“But they won’t know when or how we plan to attack.”

Attack.I didn’t like that word.“When are you going?”

“Waiting for a couple of the guys to get back here.”He ran his hand down my thigh, and I shivered.“Deuce and Preacher went up to Atlanta for some downtime, but that’s over now.I messaged them to get their asses home.Should be back tomorrow.Soon as they are here, we go at dawn.Hopefully we’ll catch them when they’re just getting up.Not awake and or organized yet.”

Made sense.I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face in his shoulder.His scent surrounded me.Warm.Male.Comforting.

“I just found you.I don’t want to lose you.”The words were muffled against his shirt.

“Don’t plan on getting killed.”He gently pulled me away from him.Cupping my chin in his hand he stared into my eyes.“This is me.This is the life.I know you got thrown in the deep end, but if we’re going to make this work you have to understand club culture.There are some things I’ve just got to do, the club just has to do.”

I nodded soberly.“I get it.I really do.Death before dishonor.Duty and all that crap.I just don’t want you to die.”

“I’m not that easy to kill.”He ran his hand down my back.“You’re going to stay here with Mom, Jake and the twins while this goes down.”

“I am?”

“Yeah.This whole place is on lockdown until this is over.No runs to town.The outside help can keep the bar going for now.The manager isn’t part of Riptide, and he doesn’t ask questions.He just takes orders.It’s too risky for anyone attached to us to show their face in town until this is over.We don’t know who all’s with the other club and we can’t risk having anyone taken and tortured for information.”

“They would torture someone?Like really torture?”My head was spinning.You would think witnessing a murder would have clued me in, but this was so far outside of my tidy little world.I’d somehow thought murder was the exception, not the rule.

“Without hesitating.That means you’re here for the duration as well.No running into town, and no contacting anyone.You down with that?”

It didn’t sound like I had much choice, but since I’d been shot, I didn’t have a lot of places to be either.Work was out, and my home was definitely compromised.I’d been too busy trying to get a degree the past few years to have any close friends.Lockdown or no lockdown, I basically had nowhere to go.A little depressing when you thought about it.

“A couple of the prospects will stay behind and man the gates.You know how to shoot, and I want you to keep a gun with you at all times.Just in case.”

I nodded slowly.I’d never considered whether I could pull the trigger to kill another human.Not even sure I could kill an animal if it came to that, but Ace had enough to worry about without me getting into that with him.Chances were, it would never come up.

“Thanks, babe.”He wrapped an arm around me and pulled me in for a quick hard kiss.“Knowing you’re safe means a lot to me.Makes things easier.”

He leaned back on the bed, taking me with him.

I lay on top of him, resting my chin on a propped-up hand.I took in those gorgeous eyes of his, that unruly mop of hair that never quite stayed in place, that mouth that could make me melt into a puddle of pure need.

When had he become so important to me?“This is insane, you know.”

“Us, or the situation?”

“Us.You’re a biker.”

“You knew that when you came to me for help.”

“True.”

His mouth twisted into a wry smile.“Rethinking your choices?”

“Maybe.”

“Don’t.I may be a biker, but I’m dynamite in the sack.”

I burst out laughing.“You don’t have an ego problem.”

“Not an ego.Just the truth.”

---