by Jen Talty
“That would be one hell of a dangerous dare,” Jefferson said.
“And not what happened.” Ace rested his forearms on the kitchen counter. “I have a buddy looking into a possible connection—”
She kicked his shin.
His body jerked as he reached down, rubbing his leg. “Jesus Lexi, that was uncalled for.”
“I would say so,” her mother said with a stern voice. “I apologize for my daughter’s behavior.”
“I’m not a small child, so don’t go saying sorry for me.” Lexi poked Ace in the biceps. “And there is no need for you to go spewing your theories, making my mother worry even more.”
“Ignorance is not bliss in this case, and it certainly won’t keep either of you safe.” He jabbed her shoulder with his index finger.
“Are you two done acting like adolescents? Because I really want to hear what Ace as to say about the events of this evening,” Jefferson said with an exasperated sigh.
“As I was saying.” Ace glowered at her, almost daring her to try to shut him up again. “I’m concerned that Lexi’s accident is related to tonight’s fire.”
Her mother gasped, covering her mouth. “Oh, my, God. Someone hit her car on purpose?”
Lexi wanted to point out this was exactly why she didn’t want to tell her mother, but she bit her tongue.
“The police have some evidence that points them in that direction and earlier tonight, when Nally left, I thought I recognized his associate as a man who was involved in an arson case in another state.”
“What exactly are you saying, son?” Jefferson rested his hand on her mother’s shoulder.
“I believe the men who want to invest in this place would be using it to launder money as well as run drugs out of the marina.”
“Holy shit,” her mother whispered.
“It’s a theory and Ace here is jumping to a lot of conclusions.” Lexi knew the facts and they told her that Ace could be right, but he made it sound like it was the only possibility and that just pissed her off.
A phone vibrating on the counter made everyone in the room jump.
“That’s me.” Ace took the phone and held it up. “I’ve got a text from my Tex, my buddy… shit.” He turned the phone so everyone could see. “Theory, huh?” His stare narrowed. “Nally’s associate, what was his name, Santoro? Is actually Richie Hernandez, a known criminal, working for the drug cartel run by a guy by the name of Ferro.” Ace pointed to his phone. “That is fact. Not theory and you two ladies aren’t going anywhere alone until that asshole is behind bars.”
“Oh, God.” Her mother leaned into Jefferson. “Someone tried to kill my baby?”
Lexi swallowed, staring at the images on Ace’s phone. She couldn’t deny the reality staring at her in the face.
“Why would he do that?” Jefferson asked, both hands on her mother’s shoulders, massaging gently.
“I suspect right now it’s a scare tactic, to push you to let them invest, or sell to them outright, but I don’t put murder past these people.” Ace turned, holding the phone to his ear.
“Who are you calling?” Lexi resented the tremble vibrating in her throat and the shaking of her hands. She’d been afraid a time or two walking in New York City alone at night, but seeing those images, and knowing…no, accepting that Ace was right, disturbed her to the core.
“Rusty, to give him all this information and then a few of my buddies who are off so they can help with security. I’m not letting anything happen to you, or your mom, on my watch.”
“This is just horrible,” her mother said, moving to the stool next to Lexi. “I’m sorry I ever gave those men the time of day.”
“It’s not your fault.” Lexi pulled her mother in for a hug, holding her a little tighter, wondering if she hadn’t come back to town, how this all would have played out. She shivered.
“I’m sorry, I hate that I have to leave,” Jefferson said, standing behind her mother. “I’ll see what I can do about getting more help with my mom.”
“Thanks, Jefferson. I really appreciate it.”
“I’ll call you in the morning.” Jefferson leaned over and kissed her mother’s temple. “Ace, walk me to my car?”
“Sure thing. I’ve got to get my go bag anyway.”
Lexi eyed Ace as the front door clicked closed.
“Not to change the subject or anything,” her mother said, leaning forward, clutching Lexi’s hands.
“Please, if it’s a more pleasant topic than money laundering and drug cartels, do tell.”
Her mother titled her head. “Why is your bra on the floor? And why did Ace just try to kick it under the chair?” She pointed toward the small wingback chair between the kitchen and great room.
Heat rose to her cheeks.
Her mother smiled. “I knew you two would like each other.”
Chapter 6
ACE SAT ON THE front steps, sipping his coffee and rubbing the back of Shasta’s ears. If he’d gotten three hours of sleep, it would have been a miracle. But a hot shower and a little caffeine would be all that he needed to stay alert. Besides, having most of the crew on the marina grounds would give him a chance to power nap if he needed.
Nally had called first thing and Mrs. Aberdean had given him the bad news, which he didn’t really accept, constantly pushing her to reconsider. The conversation ended with Nally saying he’d stop by at some point today to discuss the matter.
Something Ace didn’t want to happen at all, but Rusty thought it might help them get something on him, or get a positive ID on Santoro being Hernandez, because as Rusty put it, “Just because they look like they could be the same person, doesn’t mean they are.” Not to mention, Santoro had a valid driver’s license and social security number.
Didn’t mean he was who he pretended to be, but it made it more difficult to call him out.
The door behind him rattled. Shasta yelped and her tail thumped back and forth.
“Good morning,” Lexi said, sitting down, and keeping Shasta between them. Last night, she’d gone up to bed before he’d even come back inside from getting his bag. He texted her, asking if they could talk. She responded with ‘in the morning’. “How was the sofa?”
“Much better than a cargo hold of a C-130, thank you.”
Shasta rested her snout on Lexi’s leg and Ace refused to stop scratching the dogs head. This was about as close to Lexi as he figured she’d allow.
“I’m afraid,” she said, staring off toward the intercoastal. “And there isn’t much that scares me.”
“I’m honestly fearful of these people myself. Over the years I’ve seen the devastation they’ve left behind as they destroy lives and tear apart families.”
“Besides fishing, is chasing after your late girlfriend’s killers how you pass the time?”
He swallowed. So, she thought he was still holding onto the memory of Sarah in such a way that it hadn’t let him move forward. Sometimes he could be such an asshole. “When she first died, we had no idea they’d been murdered or that her family had been in business with Ferro. It took about a year before all that unraveled and made the news.”
“And you’ve made it your life’s journey to bring her killers to justice. I get it.”
He shook his head. “No, you don’t.” He pulled out his phone and brought up the dreaded Facebook app. The only pictures of him on the internet were on his ex-wife’s page, which he’d often ask her not to post his picture, which was probably another of the many reasons their marriage only lasted a little over two years.
“I don’t need to see pictures of your late girlfriend and her family. Really, Ace, I understand. I can’t imagine—”
“Would you just be quiet for one minute?”
“When you stop being an asshole, maybe.”
He found the picture from his wedding day and practically shoved his phone in her face.
“You’re married?” She grabbed the phone, gawking between the screen and him. “Wow. Before I just thought
you were kind of sad with your heart wrapped up in your late girlfriend, but now all I see is a two-timing jerk and a—”
“Seriously, stop talking and let me finish.” He snagged the phone and returned to his ex’s profile page, holding a new image up. “I’m divorced and she’s already re-married. You really need to stop jumping to conclusions about me, which is funny because that’s what you accused me of doing with the scumbags that are hell bent on causing you bodily harm.”
She snapped her mouth closed, staring at him. He took the opportunity to continue talking while the cat still held her tongue.
“I loved Sarah as much as any pimply-faced seventeen-year-old boy could. I probably cried every day over her death for a good year and her death did push me into my profession, though I had always wanted to be a fireman since I was a little kid.” He took a quick breath. “When it came out what had happened, I turned to an ex-Navy SEAL I knew from my hometown in Texas and we’ve been trying to find whatever we can to give to the authorities to bring down Ferro. I want to help bring a sense of peace to her grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and other families affected by the shitty-ass things Ferro has done, but it’s not something that has completely taken over my life until they showed up here, messing with people I care about.”
Her gaze never wavered from his as she sat quietly. He blinked.
“Are you done?”
“Yeah, I’m done.”
“Can I ask a question without you getting mad at me.”
“I can’t promise that.”
“Fair enough.” She nodded. “Why’d you get divorced? Was it because of your pursuit for justice?”
“That’s one of a million reasons my ex-wife gave for finally putting us both out of our misery. Mostly, it’s hard being in the military and being married and she wanted me to retire and I’m not ready for that. She thought she could change me and I thought she’d accept that I’m not the kind of guy that wants to go to parties every weekend. And she really wanted me to give up fishing.”
“Well, that right there is way too much to ask.” Lexi smiled.
He let out a small laugh.
“I’m sorry I was such a whack-a-doodle. I’m not the kind of woman who gets in a heated argument with a man I barely know and then ends up sleeping with him. I’m not sure what came over me last night.”
He arched a brow. “Do you regret it?”
“I regret getting caught by my mother.”
“Almost getting caught,” he corrected.
“No. We got caught. My mother saw you kick my bra under the chair. Real smooth, Ace.”
He closed his eyes for a moment. “And here, your mother thought I was such a gentleman.”
Lexi rested her hand on Ace’s forearm. “I’m really scared about what is happening, but I’m also a little terrified of you.”
“Me? Why?” That wasn’t what he expected to hear.
“I tossed and turned half the night, thinking about texting you to come upstairs.”
“That wouldn’t have been a good idea.”
“Especially with my mother in the next room, but I wouldn’t have kicked you out and that bothers me.”
“Not something a man wants to hear from the woman he just had sex with.”
“I don’t know how to reconcille what I’m feeling with what is now honest-to goodness-fear for mine and my mother’s life. I find myself relying on you, but you can be so controlling and I just got out of a relationship with a control freak who cheated on me, so I just don’t want a repeat of history.”
Ouch. That hurt.
He nodded. “I’ve been gun shy for the last year when it comes to women, so to be totally up front, I’m a little freaked out myself by how quickly we ended up in bed.” He reached his hand out, pushing her hair off her shoulder and gliding his hand across the back of her neck. “But I don’t for one second regret it and I plan on it happening again.”
She opened her mouth, but he kept her from saying anything by slipping his tongue between her lips and swirling it with hers in a promissory dance of pleasure.
Shasta barked, sitting up, forcing the kiss to end long before Ace wanted it to.
“What is it girl?” He patted the dog’s head as the sound of loose gravel being crunched by tires stole his attention.
A limo rolled to a stop in the middle of the parking lot.
“Know any boaters that would show up in a ride like that?” he asked.
“We’ve had a few.”
He kept his hand on the back of Lexi’s neck, rubbing his thumb in a circle at the base of her head.
She stretched her leg out as if to stand.
He squeezed her shoulder. “You’re staying right here.”
“You’ve got to stop being so controlling if you ever want to get back in my bed.”
He chuckled. “It’s going to happen regardless.”
“You’re impossible.”
“Yep.”
The driver stepped from the vehicle and opened the rear door.
Ace found himself holding his breath, waiting to see who would appear from the backseat.
He didn’t have to wait long as a tall, broad man with dark features appeared. Ace’s lungs deflated in a rush as if someone had poked them with a sharp object.
“Fuck,” he muttered.
“What?” Lexi asked.
“That’s him.”
“Him who?”
Ace turned to look Lexi. “That’s Ferro.”
Chapter 7
LEXI STARED AT THE man standing in a designer light-green dress shirt, designer slacks, neatly pressed, and pointed boots that looked like the skin of a reptile.
“Would he recognize you?” she asked in whisper.
“I don’t think so.” Ace took her hand, helping her up. “I met him once when I was a kid visiting Sarah at the restaurant. I was scrawny and two-inches shorter. I was a late bloomer.”
“Well, you’ve certainly bloomed real nice.”
He let out a chuckle, knowing her comment had to do with nerves, considering she squeezed his hand so hard it actually hurt.
“What do you think he wants?”
“Put Shasta in the house and let’s find out.”
“Don’t you think we need a watch dog?”
“Because licking a man to death is always the way to deal with criminals.” He opened the door, letting the dog race inside. “Besides, I don’t want to be distracted or worried about Shasta while talking to Ferro.”
She sucked in a deep breath as she followed Ace down the porch steps trying desperately to calm her racing heart. She’d met her fair share of corrupt businessmen who were willing to sell out their own mother in order to make a buck.
But none of them would have ever killed anyone, at least not intentionally.
“Sorry to disturb you,” Ferro said as he sauntered across the broken parking lot. “Is Mrs. Gretchen Aberdean available?”
“I’m her daughter, Lexi. How can we help you?”
“Lexington Aberdean.” Ferro reached out and took her hand in his. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Excuse me? From who?” Lexi’s heart pumped harder as her stomach rolled. No one ever called her Lexington except for her parents when they’d been mad, or disappointed in her as a child.
“That’s not important.” He raised her hand, pressing his slimy lips against her skin.
She shivered, eyeing the five men stepping from the limo, all carrying weapons.
“Alec, Alec, Alec.” Ferro shook his head. “What am I going to do with you?”
Ace reached out in front of her, pushing her behind him. “I could wager a guess as to what you think you’re going to do to me, but that’s not going to happen because you’re going to leave. Now.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” Ferro puffed out his chest, nodding his head to one of his men. “Let’s go find the old lady.”
“You leave my mother alone.” Lexi tried to charge forward, b
ut Ace grabbed her by the shoulders as one of Ferro’s men shoved a gun in her face.”
“Tell your buddies to stand down, or we will kill you right here.” A tall man with a sinister smile stepped to within two feet of Ace and pressed a gun to his temple.
“I need to signal them.” Ace didn’t flinch.
Lexi swallowed a sob. Her insides rattled like an asteroid crashing into the earth’s surface.
“Go right ahead, then let’s go find the lovely Mrs. Aberdean.”
Lexi watched as Ace raised his arm in the air, making a whirly-bird motion then pursed his lips making three different whistling noises.
Two men emerged from different places, all holding their hands up in the air.
“Everyone to the marina office,” Ferro said.
Lexi leaned into Ace as he wrapped his protective arm around her middle, almost acting as if no one had pointed a gun at her, or him. She wanted to feel safe in his arms, but that was hard to do when almost a half-dozen men, heavily armed, walked next to them.
“Mom,” she whispered as her mother stepped from the office door.
Ace’s body tensed. “Go inside, Mrs. Aberdean.”
“What’s going on? Who are these… oh, my.”
“This isn’t going to end the way you think,” Ace said with a dark tone.
Ferro laughed. “I might have walked away from pushing this deal had I not known you were hanging around. You’ve been a little thorn in my side for years with you and your buddies trying to stir up trouble for me.”
Lexi moved her legs faster, wanting to get to her mother. Her face had grown pale and she gripped the doorknob, frozen in place with her mouth gaping open.
Ace continued to hold onto her until they reached the office, where she bolted to her mom. “Are you okay?”
“No, dear, I’m not. Those men have guns.”
“I know.” Lexi hugged her mother, drawing her back into the office. She glanced over her shoulder. Only Ace, Ferro, and two men entered the building. The other men must be doing something with Ace’s men.
She shuddered. Her skin grew cold.
Those men had nothing to do with this situation and didn’t have to be here.
