REAPER'S KISS(15)

“Fuck,” I said. “Bad?”

“Guy that was run off the road broke a leg. The other…” Gunner placed his pointer finger to his temple. Then he shook his head.

“Christ,” I said. “Who did it?”

“Black car,” Gage said.

“That’s all we’ve got,” Sid finally said. “So every time I hear about this Ava bitch there’s something bad happening.”

I then felt like I had been punched in the gut. I pulled out my chair and collapsed down. “Holy shit.”

“What?” Sid asked.

“Prez, that black car was on my street,” I said. “Maybe looking for me.”

“What?” Gunner asked.

“When Ava showed up… she was pounding at my f*cking door. I opened it and she fell inside. She was scared to death, saying some car was following her.”

“I call horse shit,” Sid growled. “She was probably dropped off by that same f*cking car. Goddammit.”

“Easy,” Gage said.

I felt rage build up inside me. “Ava? What the f*ck would she have to do with this?”

Sid pointed at me. The President’s finger twitched. “You’re blinded by some sweet fresh *, Jace. That’s what’s happening. Can’t you f*cking see that?”

It was like Sid was beating me up with words.

Goddammit, maybe Prez was right.

“Fine,” I said and stood up. “What do you want me to do? Kill her? Huh? Want me to go after her father?”

“No,” Sid said. “We need to solve this problem the right way.”

“And what’s that?” Gage asked.

“There’s something going on around here. Taking out prospects.” Sid looked at me. “Does that sound familiar?”

I felt ice in my veins. I didn’t need to go back down memory lane. I had the scars on my body and a bullet hole scar on my back to speak for me. Shit, that night I was supposed to die but instead of meeting the reaper I ended up getting a full patched in leather cut.

“That was…”

Sid held up two fingers. “There were two. We got one.”

“And, what, you think Ava did this?” I asked. “She would have been… I don’t know, Prez, a f*cking teenager.”

“Maybe someone with a fat wallet and a fat cock is pushing her onto you. Something isn’t making sense with this.”

“So what do I do, Prez?” I asked. “She’s in my f*cking bedroom right now.”

“Let’s talk what we know,” Gunner said.

“We busted up some gambling rings,” Gage said.

“And then Prez sent me to the store,” I said.

“It was a hot spot for the PD,” Sid said. “I did it as a favor to check it out. The PD doesn’t want the shit press about shutting down an old store. The damn thing is like a relic. The owner, Jake, said his wife was murdered there. Same night you were attacked, Jace.”

“Hurry up. We’ve got about two minutes. Then we’ve got to get to the store. I have to take care of that bitch.”

Those lines hit me hard. I crashed down to my chair.

“What is it?” Gage asked me.

“Whoever attacked me… they killed her. But there’s no connection.”

“Right now our only connection is Ava,” Gage said.

“Which is why you can’t kill her,” Sid said. “No f*cking chance in hell.”

Ava hadn’t lied to me about her mother then. Maybe she was telling the truth. But the black car… she claims she saw it. Then she’s in my house. But she was shaking… she couldn’t sell it that good, could she?

“We have a prospect in the hospital,” Sid said. “Another one is dead. We bumped up against something pretty bad. Now we need to pull away and clear our names. And stay out of the firing line.”

“How?” I asked.

Sid put his fists to the table and leaned forward. He grinned at me. “This part you’re going to like, Jace.”

“Why’s that?”

“I need you to go f*ck her,” Prez said. “Fuck her, keep her happy… and most important… keep her f*cking talking…”





chapter fourteen


(ava)



NOW



I had to get out of the room. I was too afraid to go outside, fearing the black car would return and I’d end up getting killed. Somehow I knew all of this had to be tied to my mother’s death. Yes, it had been over ten years since she was killed but something about it just stuck inside my heart. Truthfully, I blamed my father for it. If his gambling issues were part of what happened… but why her? Why then?

Nobody took anything from the store. They just shot her. They just…

I caught myself at the kitchen sink, losing my breath. Thinking about that night made my throat tighten up. I felt like I was going to pass out, but it always passed as a mild anxiety attack. I never told anyone that it happened to me. I didn’t want to be forced to a doctor to talk about it.

I walked through Jace’s house. I couldn’t get a feel for him. On the outside, he was a rough and tough biker. He fit the profile for a wild outlaw. Being patched in to the Bitter Aces told me he had to have a police record. Yet he had a great aunt that left him a house?