Page 81 of Steal My Breath Away

“Not up here, but if I make it to the kitchen, I’m sure I can find a knife.”

He shook his head. “Stay away from knives. It’s too easy to lose them to someone with any sort of training.”

“So what? I get a frying pan?”

“It works in cartoons.”

He left and returned with Paige a few moments later. We turned off my light and crouched by the window, looking for whoever might have triggered the alarm.

“So…” She smirked. “Good night?”

I returned her smirk with one of my own. “The best.”

Five minutes later, I heard the shatter of glass followed by the crash of the door. Ace shouted for Maverick and the house shook with a thud.

“That doesn’t sound like a rabbit,” I whispered, hugging Paige as she hyperventilated beside me.

Shouts echoed up the stairs, followed by the sickening sound of flesh meeting flesh. I heard wood breaking, and the house vibrated and shook with what sounded like fighting downstairs. A gunshot echoed through the house, and then another, followed by silence.

“I have to go,” I whispered after a few minutes. “I can’t just sit here. I need to see if they’re okay.”

“I’ll come with you.”

We crawled down the hallway to the stairs and cautiously made our way to the ground level. After checking the foyer, I motioned to the kitchen, and we ran and huddled behind the counter.

“I didn’t see anyone in the living room,” Paige whispered. “But it’s totally trashed.”

“They must be in the back of the house or maybe the garage.” I grabbed the cast-iron frying pan from the stove, the heavy metal cool and reassuring in my hand. I was about to try the garage door when a floorboard creaked outside the kitchen. Scrambling back behind the counter, I saw Ace in the doorway, his weapon ready in his hand. His eyes widened when he saw us but there was no time for words. A man dressed in black burst into the room. Before he could even turn his head and register Ace’s presence, Ace had grabbed his shirt and yanked him forward, throwing him off-balance. Their struggle became a blur of fists and grunts as they fell to the kitchen floor. I peered around the island and saw a second man entering the kitchen through the garage door.

Fear threatened to paralyze me, but I pushed through it. As he passed the kitchen island, I shot to my feet and swung the frying pan at the back of his head. It connected with a sickening thud, and he stumbled forward to his knees. Reaching behind his back, he pulled his gun from its holster.

“Haley, down!” Ace’s voice cut through the chaos. I dropped to the floor just as a shot rang out. The second intruder collapsed, and Paige slapped a hand over her mouth to cover her scream.

I scrambled to my feet, adrenaline coursing through me. Ace was still grappling with the first man, who had him pinned against the counter. Without thinking, I charged forward, ramming my shoulder into the attacker’s side. The unexpected impact threw him off-balance and Ace seized the opportunity, flipping their positions and subduing the man with a swift strike.

Panting, we locked eyes. “Are you okay?” he asked, his voice rough.

I nodded, surprised to find I was trembling not from fear,but from a surge of empowerment. “Paige and I are both fine. Where’s Mav?”

“He’s dealing with a guy outside who’s built like a tank. Mav thought he’d have a bit of fun before he tied him up for questioning.”

I helped Paige to her feet and realized something had shifted inside me. I’d faced my fear head-on and come out stronger. Ace had been there, not as a shield, but as a partner. For the first time in forever, I didn’t need to tell myself to breathe. Whatever came next, I would have the strength to face it.

I was fine.

CHAPTER 34Ace

I had always loved visiting Haley’s house. Not just because of her family, but because it was always full of people. Neighbors were constantly dropping by, usually to talk to her dad over a new gourmet treat he’d just whipped up in the kitchen, but sometimes to chat with her mom about everything from legal issues to PTA meetings or costumes for the school play. Paige was always there, and Matt often invited friends over to game with him in the basement. I’d grown up mostly in silence and I was drawn by the constant hustle and bustle, the music and chatter, the endless activity, and Haley, at the center of it all.

Over the course of the next day, the house came alive again. The local sheriff came first, followed by Haley’s mom and stepfather, and then the state police and finally the FBI. Her mother’s campaign team showed up in a convoy of black SUVs and organized a press conference in the town square to urge her constituents to vote, and to keep any attention off the drama going on at the house.

Mav and I spent half a day giving statements and filling in paperwork. We put the authorities in touch with Chad and Theo, who shared the information they had uncovered. Theo was given immunity for his illegal hacking activities because his actions had contributed to the arrest of the people who had conspired to interfere with a Senate election. Chad managed to keep his “sources” confidential with a little help from his journalism professor. He was given the green light to publish a heavily redacted version of his story after the election was over, although his professor hintedthat he could expect to lose a few marks on his final project for sleeping with his sources.

By the time the police and FBI were finished with me, the afternoon light was just beginning to fade. I pulled on my jacket and boots and took a walk through the forest behind the house. Snow crunched under my feet silencing the birds and forest creatures as I made my way to the creek. I still hadn’t been able to bring myself to look at Matt’s letter, but I was booked on the red-eye back to my job in LA with Jessica, and I wanted to read it before I left.

Hands shaking, and not from the cold, I studied the familiar writing on the envelope. I’d written a letter to Matt before I deployed and burned it the day I heard he’d died. For a moment, I was tempted to burn his letter, too. But Haley had been brave enough to open his boxes and let him back into her life. How could I not do the same?

Dear Ace

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