Hearts and Aces (Kelsey's Burden Series Book 7)

by Kaylie Hunter

“I know you do,” Goat said, laughing. “Personally, it’s my favorite season.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Women everywhere with their nipples poking out. Keeps me smiling all day.”

  I checked my cardigan, and sure enough, it was open, displaying my braless undershirt in all its perkiness. I wrapped both sides of the sweater around me as Goat laughed again.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  It was almost ten o’clock by the time I felt steady enough to return home. Wild Card was in the kitchen, wearing one of Hattie’s aprons. Nicholas was sitting at the dining room table reading while Beth worked with Sara at the far end on something having to do with sentence mapping.

  Tyler took my handbag and coat, hanging them on the hook beside the door. I walked into the dining room and grabbed my laptop, starting it up.

  Sitting beside Nicholas, I said to him, “Time to make a book cover.”

  “You’re not too busy?” he asked, looking up at me.

  “Too busy to spend time with my favorite guy?” I said, opening a familiar online program. “Never.”

  “What if it takes me too long to learn?” Nicholas asked, closing his book.

  “No such thing.”

  “But I’m not as smart as Sara.”

  “Your brain is different from Sara’s. Doesn’t make her better or worse than you.”

  He set his book aside and moved over to my lap. I showed him the basic icons and their functions, before pulling in a few graphic files for him to manipulate. When he had the basics down, I opened a new window on the computer and went to a site where graphics could be bought. Giving him a budget, I left him searching for pirate ships as I walked into the kitchen.

  “He’s having fun,” Wild Card said, nodding at Nicholas.

  “I hope so. I hate seeing him worried all the time.”

  “Me too.” Wild Card handed me a chocolate muffin, before whispering to me, “You going to explain what happened to you this morning?”

  “Do I have to?” I tore off a chunk of chocolate muffin and ate it.

  “Yes.”

  “What’s the difference between a chocolate muffin and a cupcake?”

  “One’s breakfast and the other’s dessert.” Wild Card took the muffin and set it on the counter. “Talk.”

  I eyed the chocolate muffin, surprised my stomach had settled enough to tolerate it. “I was caught off guard outside the pharmacy. I handled it, but not before I inhaled some chloroform. Bad guy got away.”

  “You puke yet?”

  “I take it you’re familiar with the side effects?”

  “Self-inflicted test,” he said, shrugging and handing my muffin back. “I felt better after I puked, but I was still shaky for a day or two.”

  “Why would you intentionally drug yourself with chloroform?”

  Wild Card grinned as he picked up a pan from the dish rack and started drying it. “I was teaching a self-defense class, and a woman asked me if they’d have time to react if they were drugged. I decided to test a few drugs to determine the reaction time.”

  “You’re crazy.”

  “That’s why they call me Wild Card.”

  “They call you Wild Card because of a poker reference. The best card a person could hope to draw is a wild card.”

  A noise erupted in the dining room, drawing our attention. Nicholas threw the laptop to the floor before running down the hallway toward his bedroom. Wild Card shot after him. I checked on Sara and Beth, before picking the laptop up. On the screen was Nicholas’ email account showing an email from Grady.

  “Damn him!” I said to myself as I read the email.

  Grady apologized to Nicholas for how he handled the situation, explaining that his relationship with me was complicated, but how he never meant to hurt Nick. Grady added that he thought it was best if he moved away for a while.

  I set the laptop on the table and walked down the hall. I found Nicholas and Wild Card sitting on the floor, leaning against the bed. Both of them were quiet.

  “I’m sorry Grady emailed you,” I said, sitting beside Nicholas. “He had no right to do that.”

  Nicholas shrugged, staring at the floor.

  “I wish I knew how to make this better for you,” I said, wrapping an arm around him.

  He tucked his head into my shoulder but remained quiet.

  “I’ll give you guys some privacy,” Wild Card said, getting up and walking out.

  “Mom?” Nicholas asked.

  “Yeah, buddy?” I caressed his hair from his face.

  “Grady’s not going to stay, is he?”

  “I don’t have any answers yet.”

  “You have to talk to him. You have to make him listen.”

  “That’s a tough ask, buddy. You can’t force someone to listen.”

  “You can. I know you can.”

  “And if he still doesn’t want to be in our lives?”

  Nicholas sighed. “Then he doesn’t get to be my dad anymore.”

  “Aww, Nick. My heart’s breaking for you right now.” I wrapped my arms around him and held him.

  ~*~*~

  It took a while, but I eventually convinced Nicholas to leave his room and return to his book cover project. Farmer stood leaning against the wall at the end of the hall in the dining room. I looked around, not seeing Wild Card. “Did Wild Card ask you to watch Nicholas?”

  Farmer nodded.

  “Did he say where he was going?”

  Farmer shrugged.

  “Said he was going for a run,” Beth answered.

  “In jeans?” I asked, gathering my coat and handbag.

  Haley appeared beside me, taking my keys as she grabbed her coat and followed me out of the house.

  “Where are we going?” she asked as she slid behind the wheel.

  “Headquarters. Wild Card went to confront Grady.”

  “Oh, shit,” Haley said, throwing the SUV in reverse and hitting the gas.

  Haley wasn’t on the guest list at Headquarters, and the guards refused to let her inside. When I rounded the corner, turning into the gym, I stumbled, surprised by the sight in front of me. Grady and Wild Card were on the far mat. Both were panting hard, covered in sweat, and bleeding from facial wounds. They must’ve been at it for a few rounds, because they both sagged from exhaustion. I placed a hand on the wall to steady myself before making my way across the gym.

  Donovan stepped in front of me, blocking my path, but Bones grabbed him by the shoulder and shook his head. “It needs to end.”

  Donovan nodded and stepped aside.

  Walking onto the mat, I lightly kicked the back of Grady’s legs, throwing him forward to his knees. If he wasn’t so physically spent, he could’ve easily avoided the amateur move. I shook my head and moved in front of Wild Card. I pushed him by his chest, forcing him to stumble backward until he was off the mat and standing on the hardwood floor.

  “This isn’t about you,” Wild Card said, exhaling a deep breath as he wiped a streak of blood away from his eye with his forearm.

  “I know, Cooper.”

  “Cooper, huh?” Grady said, chuckling as he sat back on his ankles. He wheezed, trying to catch his breath. “How cozy. Knew it was only a matter of time.”

  I walked back to Grady. Crouching in front of him, I inspected his wounds. The bandage around his shoulder was bleeding through. “Say anything you want about me, Grady,” I tilted my head to the side, watching him, “but if you contact my son again, it will be me, not Wild Card, coming after you. And I’ll do more than hurt you. I’ll end you.” I stood and stepped back. “Promise.”

  I walked off the mat, only to come face to face with Sebrina.

  “You make a lot of threats for such a little thing.” Being a good six inches taller than me, she looked down her nose at me.

  “Look around, honey,” I said, stepping closer. “Do you think everyone would be so quiet if they thought it was an empty threat?”

  Sebrina glanced around, seeing everyone was indee
d quiet. “You wouldn’t actually kill Grady.”

  “I’ve killed many times to protect my family. What makes you think Grady would be exempt? Because I’ve slept with him? Honey,” I said, shaking my head, “unlike you, my pussy doesn’t run my life.”

  Wild Card laughed before groaning and leaning over to hold his gut.

  “Come on, slugger,” I called to Wild Card over my shoulder. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”

  I started for the exit, but stopped halfway there. A large white board displayed the randomly drawn teams for the weekend tournament. I grabbed the eraser and cleared the board. No way in hell was I teaming up with Grady.

  At the top of the board I wrote Team Kelsey and added my name, Bridget, Trigger, Tech, Katie, Anne, and Wild Card, completing our seven-person team. Donovan took the marker, adding Team Alpha with his name underneath. Bones wrote his name under Donovan’s. Wayne started another team name for Team Bravo. I left as everyone silently lined up.

  In the parking lot, Donovan jogged over to me as Haley helped Wild Card into the SUV. “We were supposed to kick off the team competition with the relay race in the woodlands tonight.”

  “And?”

  “My guys aren’t allowed to cross the highway.”

  I glanced toward the road, considering the security risks. “We’ll open the border a half hour before the event and close it a half an hour after. No one is to be within fifty feet of the houses or store. They also have to walk across so my security team doesn’t need to worry about searching vehicles. Clear?”

  “I’ll make it work,” Donovan said. “I heard about the pharmacy incident. You okay?”

  “I’m good, but the guy was a pro. Stay alert.”

  “You got it. Take care of Wild Card.”

  “You betcha,” I said, grinning as I mimicked Tweedle. “It’s all about teamwork.”

  “Yeah, sure. Then why aren’t you staying to help clean the blood off the mats?” Donovan said as he jogged backwards toward the building.

  ~*~*~

  Once again, we ended up at the store. Alex offered to help clean Wild Card’s wounds and find him a change of clothes. I decided to track Katie down, finding her in the office we used to share.

  “Looks different in here,” I said as I walked in.

  “I only changed a few pictures and painted the walls,” Katie said, leaning back in her chair behind the desk. “You like?”

  “It’s nice. Not as fun as my war room, but it works.”

  “I’m not sure axes and crossbows mounted to the walls is the best impression for a retail store office. Otherwise, I’d be cool with it.”

  I laughed, sitting in the guest chair. “I signed you and Anne up to be on Team Kelsey for the tournament.”

  “Yes!” Katie said, making a fist in the air. “Anne and I were hoping we could compete. Are you sure it’s okay since we don’t work for Silver Aces?”

  “It’s a done deal, whether people like it or not.”

  “This is going to be epic,” Katie said, laughing. “Oh! Bridget and I ordered t-shirts.” Katie jumped out of her chair and grabbed a box from the floor. Opening it, she tossed me a grey t-shirt with silver glitter lettering: Kelsey’s Crew.

  “Did you get a variety of sizes?”

  “I got one for everyone in the family, including Grady, and one for Tyler, Bridget, Tech, and Trigger.”

  “Wild Card can have Grady’s shirt, though I’m not sure how much help he’ll be after going six rounds on the matt with Grady. They both look like hell.”

  Katie’s eyes narrowed as she leaned against the desk. “They’ve been keeping their distance from each other. Did something else happen?”

  “Grady emailed Nicholas.”

  Katie threw the shirt she was holding at the empty guest chair. “That bastard. Maybe it’s time for you to send Grady packing.”

  “I might have to, when it’s safe. I’m not willing to risk Grady’s life until then. Despite the threat I just made, Grady’s funeral would be a lot harder for Nicholas to handle than an apology email.”

  My phone beeped, alerting me to a text. I dug it out of my purse and checked the screen. It was from Mickey McNabe. Opening the message, I saw a picture of the dental clinic with flames shooting out the window. The message under the picture said the fire was bigger than anticipated and ETA on repairs would be two to three weeks.

  I texted back a thumbs up before calling Uncle Hank.

  “You still coming to Florida next week?” Uncle Hank asked when he answered.

  “My schedule has changed, but my girls figured out how the prostitutes were disappearing and I had the operation shut down for a few weeks. It wasn’t exactly by legal methods, so don’t ask questions. I have a few problems at home to take care of before I make the trip south.”

  “That sounds ominous.”

  “I’ve got it handled at the moment.”

  Uncle Hank chuckled. “I keep hoping you and Grady will settle down into a nice quiet life, get married and pop out a few brothers and sisters for Nicholas. I’m dreaming, aren’t I?”

  “Grady’s sleeping with his ex-wife these days. Nicholas is having King Kong-sized anger issues. And a Mexican cartel keeps trying to kidnap me. So, no, I don’t think the quiet family life is on the agenda in my immediate future.”

  Uncle Hank was silent for a beat. “Do I need to come beat the shit out of Grady?”

  I couldn’t help but laugh. “Wild Card got to him first.”

  “Always liked that boy. I wouldn’t be opposed if the two of you got back together. Your Aunt Suzanne likes him, too. Says he’s a good eater.”

  I threw my free hand into the air as I rolled my eyes. “Because that’s the quality every girl looks for in a man.” I started moving toward the inventory room. “I have to go, but I should be in Miami in two weeks. I might need to bring Nicholas with me.”

  “Your aunt and I will take him to the beach while you work the case. It will be fun.”

  “Oh, sure. I see how it is. Sand and sunshine for you guys—prostitutes and human traffickers for me?”

  “Sounds about right. See you in a few weeks. And… I’d tell you to be safe, but I know better. So instead—stay alive.”

  “I can do that… I think.”

  Uncle Hank hung up as he laughed.

  “You ready?” I asked Wild Card, finding him at the loading dock talking to Goat. Wild Card had butterfly strips holding the cut above his eyebrow together, and his right hand was wrapped in gauze.

  “Ready enough, but we’ve got a security problem. Goat says some employees were planning on watching the relay tonight.”

  “Shit.” I ran a hand through my hair. “They’ll be safe enough from the cartel, but it could get messy keeping the border rules intact.”

  “I’ll talk to Tyler,” Wild Card said. “If we keep friends and family close to the house, we can have Tyler’s security team protect them. Donovan can keep his guys off the front lawn.”

  I nodded. “Tyler finally crashed. He’s barely slept the last few days, so I don’t want to wake him. You, Goat, Whiskey, and Renato arrange whatever you need. Fill Tyler in when he wakes.”

  “You sure he won’t get mad? I don’t want to step on his toes.”

  I grinned at Wild Card. “Are you afraid of Tyler?”

  “No, but he does a hell of a job protecting your family, so I don’t want to do something that pisses him off and has him quitting.”

  “Tyler’s not like that,” Goat said, standing to pull out his phone. “His first priority is what’s best for the family. His second priority is fucking with Donovan and James because their egos can’t handle it.” Goat looked up a number on his phone. “I’ll call Whiskey. You can talk to Renato.”

  Haley drove me back to the house so I could help Nicholas finish his book cover while the boys worked out the security details. Upon entering through the garage, I saw that the kitchen and dining room were empty. Hearing laughter, I followed Hattie’s private staircase and
found Nicholas, Sara, Beth, Tweedle, Hattie, Pops, and Tech upstairs watching something on her television. Farmer stood in the corner of the room with his eyes on Nicholas and his hands clasped in front of him. He nodded once to me before turning toward the stairs.

  “Tech, rewind the video so Kelsey and Haley can see that,” Hattie said.

  “Yeah. I want to watch it again too,” Nicholas said, giggling. “Maggie’s crazy.”

  “What did Maggie do?” I asked as I walked over and lifted Sara, setting her on my lap after I sat on the bed.

  “She’s pretending to be GI Joe’s girlfriend,” Tweedle said.

  “GI Joe?”

  “Billy Hobbs,” Tech said. “He’s a little…”

  “Stuffy,” Hattie said, giggling.

  Tech restarted the video, and it all made sense. Maggie walked across the gym and practically shoved her tongue down Billy Hobbs’ throat. He stood rigid with surprised eyes as he patted her back awkwardly. When she broke the kiss, she ran her fingers into his short-cropped hair as she shoved his face into her ample chest. His hands moved to her waist in an effort not to lose his balance, but it was enough bodily contact to cause Daphne Davenport to storm across the gym and exit toward the apartments in a jealous rage. Maggie released Billy as soon as the door closed. She turned, winked at the camera, and walked off in the other direction. Billy stood there, dumbstruck.

  “How does a man that handsome not know how to make out with a woman?” Hattie asked.

  “I have no idea, but we’ll need to catch Daphne before Maggie gets bored. She didn’t sign up to school a grown man on...” I turned to see the kids listening intently. “Um…”

  “Kissing is the word you’re looking for,” Beth said with a smirk.

  “Yes. Kissing. Sorry, drew a blank.”

  Hattie and Tweedle giggled again.

  “Are you ready to finish your book cover?” I asked Nicholas.

  “It’s already done,” he said, scrambling off the bed and running over to the table. He ran back, handing me the book.

  “Nick, this is great!” I said, turning the book over. He had found an old pirate ship picture which he had turned on an angle and had it floating from the back cover to the front. A boy stood at the front of the ship; his sword pointed out into an oncoming storm. “How did you do this?”