by A. J. Macey
“I am,” I giggled, kissing him back. Chase came up behind me as Brooks pulled away. Nudging my chin, Chase angled my head back, capturing my lips with a searing kiss and playful nip.
“You get me all hot and bothered when you talk about killin’, Kittycat,” Chase whispered, his demeanor changing almost immediately to Ciar’s stern gaze. “Though you better believe I’m going to put you through extra training sessions after you took your comm out. We told you that you weren’t alone.”
“I know, but this was something I needed to do for myself.” Ciar was silent, staring at me for a moment before nodding then kissing my forehead. As soon as he stepped away, I focused on Stone, the only one of my men who hadn’t spoken. When he reached out for me, his touch was soft, gentle as he held the back of my head to his chest. The stubble covering his chin scraping against my scalp as he held me.
“I love you, Kiera,” was all that Stone said, the words whispered so quickly that I wasn’t sure I had heard them at all until he maneuvered me to look at him and his eyes echoed his feelings. “You need to get patched up before you pass out from blood loss.”
“Always the one to kill the mood,” I teased. Stone’s smirk appeared, his hands leaving my jaw. “Before we get to dealing with everything, how’s everyone downstairs?”
“Three casualties and a couple wounded, but none you had really interacted with. Elliot, Rider, Nate, and Kevin are all good, though the last of them probably has a concussion,” Brooks explained, glancing at his phone. “They’re getting the wounded patched up and ready to roll out. Maintenance Man is already here based on Chase’s suggestion, and you were right, the fire alarm wasn’t attached to the emergency 911 system.”
“And the casino and resort people?” I questioned.
“Rider is out front, posing as a health and safety worker and saying it was a test that malfunctioned due to some wiring issues. We’ll figure out how to handle the casino later; we should get out of here and let the cleanup crew work,” Brooks directed.
“Hold on, there’s one last thing I want to do.” Stepping up my father’s computer I pulled out the USB drive I had brought with me and stuck it into the computer. The one time the bastard’s cockiness comes in handy. Thanks, Frank, for leaving that unlocked. “Anything and everything he’s done, I want evidence of. I don’t know, might even send a little present to Agent Venry so she realizes she can stop bothering me.”
“You are such a troublemaker,” Chase teased, his voice starting to sound distant and further away the longer I stood there. “I think I’m starting to rub off on you.”
“Yeah, I’m totally sure that’s… what it… is,” I trailed off, growing increasingly dizzy until finally I couldn’t fight the darkness any further.
“We got you, Kiera. We got you, now and forever,” I heard one of my men say. Strong hands lifted me into the air as I ultimately succumbed to the weight of unconsciousness.
“Meh,” I groaned, grumbling as I stirred. “Where am I?”
Peeling my eyes open, I found the sun shining brightly overhead, a few flurries swirling through the sky. When I shifted, a tug on my torso caught my attention. A thick pad of gauze and a wrap met my fingers when my hand brushed my ribs.
“Hey, Brat.” Stone’s deep voice reached me, the sound coming from behind. Looking over my shoulder, I saw him seated in the back. As my brain finally woke up, I realized that I was slumped in the passenger seat of the crash vehicle.
“What happened?” I asked, stretching as gently as I could with my sore rib cage.
“How much do you remember?” Chase asked from the back where he was smashed between Brooks and Stone.
“The Solace, beating the hell of out Jace, you guys proposing… killing my father,” I rattled off until my memory grew hazy. “Uh, I don’t remember leaving his office or getting patched up.”
“Yeah, you fainted from blood loss and not having eaten basically anything for over twenty-four hours. We finished copying your information from Frankie’s computer, and the clean up crew is finishing up,” Brooks outlined. “We’ve faked that the casino and resort are closed pending a safety inspection. Figured we’d maybe renovate it or sell it to the highest bidder when it’s been scrubbed clean.”
“Good, good. So, uh, why are we in the car and not at home being lazy in bed?”
“There’s one thing left for you to do, Kitten,” Garrett murmured, looking over to me from where he sat behind the wheel. “Come with me.”
“What about the guys?”
“We’ll be here, Kittycat. Don’t worry, I’ll keep them in line.” Chase nudged Brooks and Stone enigmatically. I rolled my eyes, knowing if anyone would cause trouble, it would be him, but I didn’t argue as I got out. It was when I closed the door and turned to where Garret had walked around the back of the SUV that I realized where we were.
Frankie’s house of horrors.
“When I took you out of this place, the one thing you were always so adamant about was coming to burn this place to the ground. So, I figured we could light this place up,” Garrett told me softly, entwining our fingers. “Had Rider rig up the house with some explosives and all of that fun stuff to kick start the fire. Anything you wanted to do inside beforehand?” I thought for a moment, wondering if I wanted to walk the halls one last time before finally destroying it. I considered going in to search for my mother’s earrings she always wore, but after years of sneaking around, I realized Frankie had gotten rid of them long ago.
“Nah,” I decided with a head shake. “I don’t need a reminder of what kind of nightmares this house holds.”
“All right, Kitten. Then here you go.” Garrett held out a small cylindrical tube, a red button on the end under a hinged glass casing. Taking it, I noted its cool metal and the weight of the detonator.
One little button and the last of my past would go back to hell. Exactly where it belonged.
“To the future,” I whispered as I pressed the button.
I’m The Cat, and this is the beginning of my new life.
Epilogue
December 31st
Tuesday Midday
Kiera
It had been six days since the war with the Solace mob came to a head, and we had been taking those days to relax, drink way too much alcohol, and have sex.
A lot of sex, that honeymoon phase shit or whatever nonsense explanation as to why we were humping each other like rabbits. Hey, don’t judge, you’d be doing the same if you had five sexy men all vying for your attention.
But it was good; my bastard father was dead, Jace was being taken care of by Val, I was deliciously sore from my men, and my ring was just as shiny as ever. I might have also gone back to pretending that I didn’t have to deal with the demons whose whispers had steadily been growing louder since Frankie had died.
The first day had been used to grieve and mourn Dwight properly, getting a small plaque and adding it to the wall of my basement workroom, so I would always know that Silas was looking out for me. Once my mind had settled that night, I locked the memory of his death away, tucking it behind that barrier right next to every other terrible event in my life.
We were at our house so we didn’t attract any attention from the other club members. Shaking my head, I cut off the random thoughts that shifted and flared in my mind, choosing to focus on getting more to drink. I had just refilled my glass when there was a knock at the door. Pulling up the video feed, I sighed. Should have seen that coming, I thought, placing my glass on the table.
“Agent Venry,” I greeted with a fake as hell smile. “What a surprise.”
“Hm, yes,” she hummed before continuing. “I just wanted to come by and inform you that your father has passed away.”
“Oh.” I felt my brow raise, the surprise littering my voice not faked in the slightest. I had expected her at some point, though I had thought she would have taken me to the FBI building instead of coming to my door to tell me. “I can’t say I’m surprised.”
“Yeah,” she said, looking at me with a knowing glint in her gaze. “An anonymous tip led us to a USB with a lot of incriminating evidence on his business dealings. But seeing as though he and his associates, including my partner, are no longer a threat to society, and I have other, bigger, fish to fry, I came to tell you the investigation against your father is completed.”
“Never know who you can trust these days. Some people may surprise you with their reliability,” I told her with a small smile. The fact that her partner had been working with Frankie was news to me, but it didn’t truly shock me because my father had had a lot of people in his pocket. Though that didn’t mean I would tell her that. At that thought, the fact that I had yet to go through my father’s information came to the forefront of my mind. I knew I would eventually.
Today was not that day though, not with alcohol to ingest and men to fuck.
Oh, and a wedding to plan.
“Yes, I guess that’s true.” Her statement pulled me from my zoning out. Glancing down, her brow rose when she saw the ring on my finger. “Beautiful ring, I suppose this means congrats are in order then.”
“Thank you, Garrett and I are certainly excited,” I said with a dreamy smile. Good God, who thought I would turn into Abby with that dreamy nonsense, I thought.
“I’m glad,” she murmured, her tone suggesting otherwise. “You have a good New Year’s Eve, and I suggest staying out of trouble, Miss Casterelli.” She paused, seeming to make some kind of decision before finishing with, “Though something tells me I’ll probably be seeing you in the new year.” Neither her threatening tone nor her keen gaze were lost on me as I waved goodbye and closed the door with a smirk.
But being bad is so much more fun.
The End… or is it?
This is the last book for now, so have you been taking notes, people?
Troublemakers (The Aces book 3.5/The Cat’s Crew prequel) coming summer 2020
The Cat’s Crew series coming late 2020-early 2021
Acknowledgments
My husband Jake, my best friend Jare, and my amazing mom who support me and cheer me on even when I doubted myself!
My PA Elizabeth for keeping me motivated and on task!
My alphabets: Jessica, Cassie, Michelle, Aly, & Tay—you guys are amazin!
Ash for dealing with my crazy and reading all of my stuff!
Finally, for all of my readers, this wouldn’t be possible without you.
About the Author
A.J. Macey has a B.S. in Criminology and Criminal Justice, and previous coursework in Forensic Science, Behavioral Psychology, and Cybersecurity. Before becoming an author, A.J. worked as a Correctional Officer in a jail where she met her husband. She has a daughter and two cats named Thor and Loki, an addiction to coffee and swearing. Sucks at adulting and talking to people, so she’ll frequently be lost in a book or running away with her imagination.
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Also by A.J. Macey
Best Wishes Series:
Book 1: Smoke and Wishes
Book 2: Smoke and Survival
Book 3: Smoke and Mistletoe
Book 4: Smoke and Betrayal (Coming Spring/Summer 2020)
FSID Agents Series (Spin-Off to Best Wishes):
Book 1: Whisper of Spirits
Book 2: Whisper of Pasts (Coming Spring/Summer 2020)
High School Clowns & Coffee Grounds:
Book 1: Lads & Lattes
Book 2: Misters & Mochas
Book 3: Chaps & Cappuccinos (Coming Spring, 2020)
The Aces Series:
Book 1: Rival
Book 2: Adversary
Book 3: Enemy
Vega City Vigilantes:
Book 1: Masked by Vengeance
Book 2: Cloaked by Conspiracy (Coming Spring 2020)
Arcadia Reformatory Academy Series:
Book 1: Arcadia Reformatory Academy for the Sick and Sinister (Coming Spring 2020)
Not Your Basic Witch co-write series with Jarica James:
Book 1: Witch, Please
Book 2: Resting Witch Face
Book 3: Witches be Crazy (Coming Spring 2020)
Standalone co-writes with Lucy Smoke:
Sweet Possession
