Page 5 of Ace

Emma

This was so not me.I didn’t whimper and hide and beg for help.I was not a high-maintenance princess.I was smart.Tough.Independent.Asking for help just wasn’t my thing.Whimpering solved nothing.I was more of a ‘suck-it-up and get on with it’ type of gal.Witnessing a murder and getting shot, though, was a little too much even for me.

It had been years since I’d had anything to do with anyone from the old neighborhood, but Ace was the first one I thought of when I realized how deep I was in over my head.Telling Ace what happened had helped.A bit.At least now I didn’t feel quite so panicked.Truthfully, I felt more embarrassed than anything.I liked to think I wasn’t good at playing the helpless princess, but here I was with my head buried against the chest of one very macho biker.The scariest part about it is how good it felt.

I peeked up at him from beneath my eyelashes.His face was set in stone with no emotion showing at all.I couldn’t tell if he was annoyed at me for bringing trouble to his doorstep or if he actually cared about my predicament.

As if he could read my thoughts, he looked down, and a crooked smile brightened up his features.“Feeling any better?”

I bobbed my head without letting go of my death grip on his massive chest.“Yeah.My side hurts like hell, though.”

“Getting shot will do that.Joker will be here soon.He can clean it up and give you something for the pain.”

The sound of a motorcycle’s engine echoed through the air, the volume increasing as it drew closer.I swear I could feel the vibrations of the motor, it was that loud.“Don’t those things come with mufflers?Or are you trying to warn people you’re coming and give them time to hide?”

“Something like that.It’s always handy to have the target too scared to think straight before you get to them.”This time the humor went all the way to his eyes.“Or have the barista get started on your coffee.Depends on the circumstances.”

I didn’t have a snappy comeback for that one.I just blinked up at him.

The sound ceased, and moments later someone knocked on the front door in a strangely staccato rhythm.Maybe it was some kind of secret code the bikers cooked up.

Or maybe it was just a knock, and I was being paranoid.

“Gotta go for a minute, and let him in.”

I reluctantly loosened my grip, and Ace slid out from under me and crossed to the door.I noticed him checking an app on his phone before he unlocked the deadbolts to let his buddy enter.So, probably not a secret code unless Ace was more paranoid than me.

The man called Joker swaggered in, looking every part the bad-assed biker.Six feet tall and muscular, he had shaggy dark hair and a five o’clock shadow.His leather cut had a badge on the front -- the name read Joker and below that was the wordMedic.

Medic… was that a rank, or just a description?I assumed the leather bag dangling from his left hand had first aid supplies in it -- hopefully some high-powered painkillers.

“What’s the story here?”The newcomer’s gaze shifted from Ace to me and back again.“Last I heard, you were single.Suddenly you have a woman with a gunshot wound bleeding on your sofa at two in the morning?”

Ace pointed to me with his chin.“Emma.Used to date my little brother.Saw some guy get popped in the park, and the shooter took a few potshots at her.Just a flesh wound, I think.It needs to be cleaned up, and probably some stitches.”

Joker’s eyebrows shot up.Ignoring me, he asked, “As in Merrymen Park?”

“That’s the one,” I confirmed.

Joker frowned.“Inside Riptide territory.”

Ace nodded.“I’m getting Rattler to check it out, make sure there’s no dead bodies hanging around.We don’t need to have the cops all riled up before we know what’s going on.Could be a one-off thing or could be another club trying to move into our territory.From Emma’s description, sounds more like an execution than a random shooting.”

“I’d better get this gal patched up ASAP, then.”Joker moved toward me.“Does the shooter know she’s here with you?”

Both bikers turned their attention to me, and I shrugged, immediately regretting it when pain lanced through my side.“I don’t know.I just ran.I could hear them behind me, but I’m not sure if they saw where I went or just heard noise in the bushes and followed the general direction.They know where I work, though.I heard the one guy tell the shooter he recognized me from one of the bars.It wouldn’t take long to check out all the bars within walking distance of the park.”

Joker eyed up my side.“The bullet pushed material into the wound.I’m going to need you to take off your shirt so I can clean that properly.”

“Ummm…” I gaped up at Ace wildly.I did not want to strip half-naked in front of a couple of bikers.

“My mistake.Didn’t realize that would be an issue.”A mischievous smile lit up Joker’s face.“I take it you two are not in a see-each-other-naked kind of relationship?”

“Shut it,” said Ace.

“You have a towel or something she can use to cover up with, Prez?I really do need her to take that shirt off.”

Ace stalked off down the hallway.He came back with a towel and motioned Joker to move away from me.Ignoring the medic, he held the towel up like a big screen.“Get your top off.Bra too.Let me know when you’re ready and I’ll drape this over you.”

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