Page 17 of Steal My Breath Away

“Tony said he’s never lost a client,” Mom said, misunderstanding when she caught me looking over my shoulder.

“Death is a pretty low bar.”

“You just seem very worried, but this is one of the best private security companies in the country. I had my people check them out. You’re in good hands, and Maverick seems like a nice young man. Very enthusiastic about his job.”

My chest ached and my eyes began to water as we climbed into the car. It made no sense. I couldn’t forgive Ace for what he’d done, so why was I so desperate to see him again?

“I almost forgot.” Maverick leaned into the car and handed me a smooth black stone. “Ace asked me to give this to you. He said it might come in useful.”

I rubbed my thumb over the cool, shiny surface and the cord in my chest tightened so hard it made my heart ache. I couldn’t believe he’d kept it all these years.

That’s a lucky stone. You never know when you might need it.

“Mom…?”

“Yes, darling.”

“I’ve changed my mind.”

CHAPTER 9Ace

I don’t know what I expected when I arrived at Haley’s house on Sunday morning, but it wasn’t her coming down the stairs in a cropped tank top and barely there shorts and screaming “Fuck!” before running back up.

“I’m not sure what you were thinking showing up so early. Haley doesn’t do mornings, especially on the weekend,” Paige said, watching her race away. “I knew we were in for trouble when I woke her. You’re lucky I was up early to call my mom.”

I took a step back, keeping a safe distance between us. I didn’t know where I stood with Paige yet, and I didn’t want to take any chances. “I wanted to go through the house and assess the security system before we had to leave for her class. Your front door isn’t secure. Someone could easily kick it in.”

“Someone already kicked it in.” Paige gestured to the cracked doorframe. “End-of-the-year party. Haley invited everyone she knew, and over one hundred people showed up. You can check out all our police citations on the fridge. We’ve been making a collection.”

“No more parties,” I said firmly. “At least not until this threat is resolved.”

“Then you can be the bearer of bad news.” She lifted her chin in the direction of the stairs. “Our old roommate Molly cleared out the last of her stuff yesterday. Your room is the third door on the right. Haley is the second door, and the bathroom is at the top of the stairs. Aditi and I are on the left. You’ll meet her at the time normal people get up.”

“I’ll take my bag upstairs and get started checking out the house.”

Paige folded her arms and leaned against the banister. “By the way, just in case you got the wrong impression from our conversation, I’ll never forgive you for hurting Haley. I don’t know why she decided to let you back into her life, but I’m telling you right now that if you hurt her again, not even an army of Stellar Security bodyguards will be able to stop me from hunting you down and beating your ass.”

“Noted.” I’d learned early on not to underestimate Paige. She looked sweet and innocent with her long, braided hair and gentle smile, but her sharp eyes missed nothing, and when it came to Haley, she was fiercely protective. Matt never teased Haley when Paige was around. Either he’d get a vicious tongue-lashing, or he’d be plagued by mysterious misfortunes—his bike would get a flat tire, his shoes would go missing, and once he found ants in his bed.

I dropped my bag in the spare room and took a moment to check out my surroundings. Bed, dresser, desk, worn corkboard, a few odds and ends left behind by the previous roommate. I’d gone straight into the air force after high school, so I’d never had the college experience. With all the catching up I had to do, school had always been a struggle, but the air force offered exactly what I was looking for—structure, discipline and purpose. After spending my childhood alone, I wanted to be part of something. I wanted to feel needed. The air force had given that to me and more. If not for Matt’s accident, and the PTSD that came with standing on the tarmac helplessly watching his plane crash, I would have continued on active duty until I couldn’t fly anymore.

I checked the window, noting the rotting wood around the frame and the broken lock. A quick walk around the house revealed more of the same, including doors without dead bolts and a sub-roof that could give an intruder easy access to the upstairs floor—to Haley.

Every muscle in my body tensed, rage surging inside me.When I thought about what had happened to her, how close the kidnappers had come to taking her away, about what could have happened if Paige hadn’t been there… High school boys who wanted to show her the stars were no longer her biggest danger.

After completing my sweep of the house, I found Haley and a dude in a leather jacket at the kitchen table. His long hair was tied up in a ponytail and he had a collection of beaded bracelets around his wrist.

“This is my friend Sam,” Haley said as if we’d had a proper greeting at the door instead of a shrieked swear word followed by her racing up the stairs. “He’s in the music program and he sometimes helps me find songs for my show.”

“Friend with benefits.” Sam put his arm around Haley’s shoulders while he stared at me. I recognized the gesture for what it was—not a show of affection but staking his claim. “I take it you’re the bodyguard.”

I didn’t like Sam. I didn’t like the fact that he shared an interest in music with Haley. I didn’t like his leather jacket or his long hair or his bracelets or the fact that he was touching Haley in a way that made her smile. I particularly didn’t like the fact that he’d slept with her, but several of those problems were easily addressed.

“Ace.” I held out a hand at an angle that meant he had to release Haley to shake. I squeezed maybe a little too hard and made his face pale. “Unfortunately, until Haley’s safety is assured, we can’t have any guests in the house.”

“He’s here so often, we’ve been thinking of charging him rent,” Haley said. “We can make an exception for him.”

I folded my arms across my chest. “No exceptions.”

---