Enemy (The Aces Book 3)

by A. J. Macey

  Wanted him.

  "Isn’t that what I said?” I challenged, holding tight to the base of his length.

  He didn’t bother with a response, choosing to pick me up. Wrapping my legs around his hips, I scrambled to hold tight to his shoulders as he pushed into me. There was no leniency in his fucking. It was raw, hard, and everything I wanted as he held me suspended in the air.

  “Fuck, I’m going to come,” I forced out, my words filled with my moan as I coiled tight. Ciar didn’t stop, and stars burst in front of my eyes when I finally orgasmed. My body spasmed in his arms, burning from the inside out as I rode out my release.

  Ciar dropped me on the bed before I realized I was moving, the rough material of the rope rebinding my wrists as I finally rode out my aftershocks. Grabbing hold of the restraints, Ciar kept me in place and plunged back in deeply. I cried out at the sudden invasion, my eyes rolling back at the pain-fueled pleasure of him not giving me time to adjust once more.

  I ached in the most delicious way, my body worn yet tensed all at the same time as another wave grew. This time though, there was no tingling, no slow build, and before I could even open my mouth, I clamped around him.

  “Is that good enough for you, Dove? Would you like your precious Chase back?” Ciar whispered, yanking on my binding until his chest brushed against my back, our hands trapped between us.

  “If that’s all you can handle,” I taunted, but my ploy didn’t work as he chuckled, the gravelly sound fading to Chase’s warm, melodic laugh.

  “I quite like seeing you two go at it,” Chase told me. “It’s very entertaining.”

  “Oh yeah?” I murmured, pulling away after my question and working my tied wrists to the front of me. As soon as I had freed my legs, I got up on my knees and hooked Chase’s neck in between my arms. “You know what I like?”

  “What’s that, Kittycat?” Chase’s smile warmed me, soft fuzzy emotions and butterflies erupting at his happy tone.

  “When you fuck me,” I whispered with a sinful smirk, “and we can’t very well do that if we’re chit chatting.”

  He didn’t need any other nudging, lowering me onto the bed. Wrapping my legs around his trim waist, I directed him deeper.

  This was slower, more forceful than what Ciar and I had, and I couldn’t stop the moans that left my lips as Chase pistoned in and out. His hands roamed, leisurely trailing over my body. The calloused rough skin brushing across my sensitive nipples had me arching against the comforter. A sharp pinch followed by rolling the peak between his fingers sent a wave of shivers down my spine, and my breath hitched as he nipped my collarbone.

  “Chase,” I breathed, his name barely audible between us as I barreled toward the edge once more. When I slammed into that blissful pool, Chase’s lips captured mine, silencing my cry. Brushing his tongue against my lower lip, he begged for entrance, and as soon as I opened, he swept in. In that moment, every fiber of my being was owned by Chase, and I craved more of it. His loving attention warmed me from the inside out, reminding me of the difference between being handled by him and Ciar. While I reveled in Ciar’s cold and hard behavior, I couldn’t stop my body buzzing at Chase’s sweetness. Our tongues battled, tangling together before I nipped his luscious lower lip. As I held him to me, my bound wrists trapping him in place, his thrusting slowed before he finally pulled out.

  “Now that’s what I call a productive training,” he murmured.

  I couldn’t agree more.

  Chapter 8

  December 15th

  Sunday Afternoon

  Kiera

  “Ugh,” I grumbled, my body aching in the most delicious way as Chase leisurely traced circles over my stomach. The rope that had been untied only moments earlier lay discarded next to us on the bed. “I don’t know if I can move, my little assassin.”

  “Then don’t,” he murmured, the scruff covering his jaw scraping my skin as he kissed my collarbone. Right when I decided I might do just that, the doorbell’s ring filled the space, and my good mood came crashing down with the high-pitched dinging. Snatching my phone off the nightstand, I pulled up the security footage of the front door.

  “Really? You were just here!” I huffed. Rising from the bed, I tossed a fresh outfit on and darted down the stairs. Chase followed quickly behind me before he ran into the security room. When the door was secured behind him, I answered.

  “Agent Venry, what a surprise. What can I do for you today?” I greeted cheerfully, my voice sickeningly sweet to help cover up the fact I would much rather spend the rest of the day wrapped up with Chase and Ciar for another round of fucktastic sex.

  “I need you to come with me, Miss Casterelli,” Agent Venry stated simply. There was a tightness to the skin around her eyes, and her gaze was guarded as she watched me put on my boots and grab my jacket.

  “Any particular reason?” I asked, buttoning my coat at a molasses pace. She’s a damned fool if she thinks I’ll just go with her all willy-nilly.

  “I have some questions I would like to ask you about some of your father’s business associates.” Her words were tense, her jaw pulsing rhythmically with how slow I was moving.

  “I thought you understood I don’t work with or near my father,” I countered, struggling to keep my irritation at bay. “Besides, I’ve been out of the country for the last six months.”

  “It’s just protocol, Miss Casterelli.” I was sure my agitation was etched on my face as I stepped out of the house and locked the door behind me, but I pasted on a fake smile, doing my best to hold back what I really wanted to do.

  It’s frowned upon to punch an FBI agent… right?

  “After you,” I cooed, climbing into my truck. As soon as we were turned out of the driveway, I received a text from Chase.

  Dipshit: Put the microphone necklace on before you get there. They shouldn’t require you to put it in the metal detector. I’ll be monitoring through the entire conversation, Kittycat.

  With that reassurance, the tension that I hadn’t even realized had built within my body melted away. As Venry turned through an intersection, I took the opportunity to quickly yank the dainty necklace from its compartment in the center console. Slipping it on discreetly, I secured the clasp and did a few test statements.

  Dipshit: Hear you loud and clear. Texted the others about what’s happening, on their way home now.

  I took a deep breath, steadying myself as I pulled into the parking lot of the FBI building. Special Agent Venry and I walked in silence as we went inside. As we weaved through the boring halls, I kept my attention vigilant. When other agents and employees glanced at us, I schooled my expression flat. It wasn’t exactly normal to be going to the FBI building for… whatever it was Venry wanted.

  Chase was right. My necklace wasn’t something I was required to take off for the metal detector or put through the x-ray machine. I didn’t have anything else on me that required inspection, so once Venry was also through the inspection, she directed me toward one of the interrogation rooms. Sinking into the seat opposite of the one-way mirror, I waited not so patiently for Venry to get to the point of this little charade.

  “I’m going to ask you a few questions, and I need you to be honest with me,” she stated, cutting to the chase as soon as she sat down. Nodding, I waited to see what she had for me. Hopefully it was that damned information she knew that we didn’t because no one had found anything yet, and I was getting itchy from the suspense.

  “All right,” I responded simply. With pursed lips, she opened the folder she had taken from her briefcase and pulled out a colored photo.

  “Do you know who this is?” The familiar scarred skin, sharp dark brown gaze, and eyepatch were seared into my brain. Blood pooling against the white marble tile while his screams echoed around the room flared in my mind. The memory of Garrett marring his too perfect face seared into my memory.

  “Yes, that’s Jace Corden.” Try as I might, I couldn’t stop the bite from my voice, too focused on forcing the me
mories away.

  “You sound like you’ve met before...?” Venry’s statement went up at the end, sounding more like a question than a statement. She tried and failed to cover the slight widening of her eyes that gave away her surprise.

  “He’s an associate of my father and Garrett’s ex-best friend,” I told her honestly, knowing that was information that I didn’t mind sharing.

  “You sound like you don’t like him. Does that have to do with him being Garrett’s ex-best friend?” Her insinuation that I had tried to play the two men, pitted them against each other, rubbed me the wrong way. As if that was the reason they were no longer friends and Jace being a vicious psychopath had nothing to do with it.

  “No,” I bit out, leaning forward onto the cold metal table so I could stare her down. “It has to do with him trying to rape me when I was seventeen which subsequently has to do with why Garrett’s no longer friends with him.”

  Venry’s mouth opened a few times, but nothing came out. There was a little piece of me that took pride in the fact that I had stunned her. Well… more than a little, but we’re not going to get into that. Don’t turn those judgy eyes, you should know me by now, people!

  “Do you know her?” Venry decided to switch topics, pulling out a new photo.

  Ugh, unfortunately.

  “I know of her, yes,” I said diplomatically, staring at Bambi’s blonde curls and bubblegum pink lip gloss as she eyed the camera. “Is this going somewhere?”

  “She was murdered, just a little less than six months ago. We believe it was by Jace Corden,” Venry revealed. “We weren’t aware that he was working with your father until this occurred, and yet, you did. So, do you have any idea where Corden could be currently?”

  My blood ran cold. Bambi was dead, no longer a threat to me or my men, but knowing it had been almost six months and I had been unaware… I shoved that trail of thought away. Focus.

  “I have no idea. As I’m sure you can imagine I’ve tried to avoid him as much as possible over the years.”

  “I’m aware of that now,” Venry stated, stuffing the photographs back into her folder. Glancing over her shoulder, she tipped her chin up discreetly before looking at me. The suspicious movement put me on edge, but I schooled my body to stay still, not giving away that I picked up on her signal. “The stuff I want to know, though, doesn’t necessarily have to do with just Corden. You can play me all you want, but I know you know more about your father’s business than you let on.”

  “Oh, do I now?” I challenged, my tone sharp as I chuckled, slouching back into the cold metal chair and crossing my arms defiantly across my chest. “Not really sure where you came to that conclusion, but all right. Is this the part where you say you want me to cough up whatever it is I’m supposed to be hiding?”

  “No, because I know you won’t, Miss Casterelli,” she sneered, smirking as she pulled out another handful of photos. “Rider Frost, Brooks Abbott, Garrett Newlyn, Stone Ronin, Nate and Abby Talor,” she listed each person as she set down their photo in front of me, lining their faces across the metal table. “Go on, take a good look.”

  “Where is this going, Venry?” I ground out, a sinking feeling settling in the pit of my stomach. Ice flowed through my veins as I looked at the photographs.

  “You need to make a choice. Either you give me information I want to know about your father and his operation, or The Aces will suffer. Don’t think I don’t know who they are, Kiera.”

  Her threat hung in the tense air around us. My eyes were glued to the people who had accidentally been dragged into the war with my father. They hadn’t been part of the plan; they had lives and futures. Me? I had my one goal in my life: take and ruin the man who had stolen my mother from me, ripped my whole life from me and countless others’ at any cost. I had never expected to live past the moment I went after my father. Chase, Abby, the Aces… they weren’t supposed to be there. I wasn’t supposed to care, and yet here I was.

  You would think I would have taken my own advice and stayed away from everyone.

  Turns out I’m not a very good listener, who would have thought?

  “Are we done?” I bit out, prying my eyes away from the photos and returning my stare to Venry.

  “For now. I plan on calling you back after the new year. I hope you have some more to offer next time.” Her mask was firmly in place as she dismissed me, but I could see the wavering confidence in her dark brown gaze. Leaning forward, I braced myself against the tabletop as I stood, towering over the agent on the other side.

  “Next time you threaten me,” I whispered, my voice barely audible. The words grew unsteady as the rage in my chest stirred to life. “Keep the recording equipment on and let the rest of the world know exactly how you’ve earned the nickname Bloodhound.”

  With that, I strode out of the room confidently, but not before I saw the grinding of her teeth out of the corner of my eye. Good. I always loved being the one to get the last word in. Now though, to figure out what the hell we were going to do.

  Fuck, things were so much simpler before I let feelings in, I mentally grumbled.

  Stupid emotions.

  December 15th

  Sunday Evening

  Brooks

  “Fuck,” I groaned, rubbing my hand down my face as we finished listening to the recording from Kiera’s run-in with the FBI. “Now what?”

  I glanced around the security room, noting that each guy looked as worried as I felt. The sense of responsibility grew, the weight of making sure my men were safe heavy on my shoulders. Heavier than it always had been but I shoved the sigh away. I would do whatever necessary to ensure they and Kiera were safe and out of the hands of the FBI. No one threatens my family, especially not some bitch from the FBI.

  “Well, for starters, she didn’t just throw the three of you under the bus,” Chase pointed out cheerfully, his statement cutting off my thoughts. “That’s a good sign that Kiera’s forgiving you guys.”

  “I meant about Venry,” I deadpanned. While I was all for knowing Kiera didn’t sell us out or bad-mouth us, my main concern was that we now had the FBI breathing down our necks. More so than before. “Kind of difficult to move drugs to dealers and take down the biggest mobster in the region with that kind of attention.”

  “Keep our heads down the best we can as we move against Frankie,” Stone explained, his hand running over his scalp as he always did when he was thinking. “Probably need to thin out our drops for the next couple weeks just to be safe. As for the information portion, we need to see what Kiera wants to do since she’s the one in the hot seat.”

  “What I want to know is where her partner is,” Garrett muttered, looking at the photo we had of the two agents. “He’s been around randomly, but not all the time, and he wasn’t set to retire until the end of the year.”

  “Yeah, but that’s only a few weeks from now,” I explained. “Probably taking leave until he’s officially cleared. I wouldn’t stick around unless I had to.” But Garrett’s statement left a bad taste in my mouth. If we weren’t sure, an assumption could get us killed. Making a note to bring the issue up with Kiera when she got home, I pushed the worry away.

  “God damned fucking FBI!” I heard over the slam of the door in the mudroom as Kiera stormed into the house and through the kitchen. Her mossy gaze was burning, the fire that had dimmed since she left the country finally returned in full force. “No one gets to use who I care about against me. I am not this bitch’s pawn.” I couldn’t stop the grin that curled my lips at her statement.

  Kiera still cared about us, even after everything.

  At least we had that positive thing going for us right now.

  “No, you’re not, so what are we going to do?” I told her. My voice seemed to bring her back to the here and now, her head whipping toward us where we sat behind the open security room door as if she forgot we were there. My Baby’s lip curled, her demeanor changing from pissed off to dangerous.

  “We’re going to do exa
ctly what she wants us to do,” she stated, confusing me.

  “Uh, what?” Garrett stuttered, clearly confused too. Kiera chuckled, making her way through the living room to the open door. She didn’t stop at the security room, choosing to head down the attached stairs and to the basement. “What do you mean we’re going to do what she wants?” he shouted after her as we quickly followed.

  “She wants information on Frankie, well, we need information to go after him, so what better way to hit two birds with one stone?”

  “How do you suggest we do that?” I asked skeptically. “Not exactly going to be a job where we waltz into the Solace and ask some questions. Hell, we can’t even get something from watching the building.”

  “We’re going to need help,” she admitted, swinging her gaze to Chase. Neither one of them spoke, choosing to do some weird kind of silent staring communication.

  “Can someone clue the rest of us in on what’s going on?” Garrett huffed at the end of his question, growing more and more irritated with being on the outskirts of the conversation.

  “We’re going to call in the cavalry. Need a couple extra sets of hands,” Kiera explained. “I’ll call Elliot, and Chase is going to get in touch with Valerian.”

  “And why do we need more people?” My words were hesitant, knowing whatever she had up her sleeve was going to be something big. And probably bloody.

  “We’re going to kidnap Frankie ‘Smokes’s’ right-hand man, Lorenzo Bianchi.”

  Bloody indeed.

  Chapter 9

  December 17th

  Tuesday Morning

  Kiera

  “Kiera!” The vibrant twang of Elliot Cavanaugh rang out in the early morning light as he jumped out of his car. His bright red curls were messy against his pale, freckled forehead, and his long lanky arms clutched two worn duffle bags.