Redeeming Ace's Heart

by M. T. Ossler

  “You will let them go, Spooky, now! This is our territory, and you’re trespassing. Leave before we declare war and destroy your little Club.

  “You are no longer permitted here, let them go and leave before I put a bullet between your fuckin’ eyes,” I say venomously, glare straight into Devil’s eyes. My last statement was meant for him and he knows it. I have a clear shot of his head and I want to take it. All I have to do is pull the fuckin’ trigger like I want to.

  When I finish the room is quiet, the music has stopped playing, and the citizens are now watching our little show.

  Then Beast tries to reason with Spooky again with no luck. I’m frozen and it’s taking everything in me not to kill Devil.

  Devils’ hands are roaming all over my girls’ voluptuous breast. I’m going to cut them off his body when I get ahold of him and make him suffer, slowly for this shit. His day will come, very soon.

  We need to end this and now, there are too many witnesses here. Spooky has his gun to Bella’s head and the guys have theirs on him. I keep mine trained on Devil.

  Spooky goes off half-cocked on Beast, and Ghost takes that as his cue to get Jules from Devil. His hands are off her finally, and I see her take a deep breath.

  Ghost pushes her behind him, leaving one hand on her wrist, and keeping her out of sight. She’s holding onto the back his kutte like her life depends on it.

  Hold on, babe, I’ll have you in my arms in a couple of minutes. I’m never letting you go once I have you. It’s time for me to step up and do right by you. It’s time for me to fight for us and the love I feel in my heart for you. No more denying I care about you or pushing each other away, that ended the second Devil had his clutches on you, babe.

  I want to breathe, but I still can’t while Spooky still has Bella. She may not be mine, but she’s become a sister to me and I want to protect her just as much as my brother does.

  Finally, Beast plays the last card he has, going for broke, doing whatever he has to do to get his wife back in his arms where she belongs.

  I hear Beast yelling something about not letting his wife leave here without him. If he intended to let her go, she would be back in New York with the new head of her Mafia family. The one that he stole her away from. I can hear the beast approaching the surface. He’s in beast mode, his inner killer is emerging in full force and he will do whatever it takes to get his girl back in his hands, safe and protected.

  Bella is one of the strongest women I have ever met, but this just may cause her to break again. Then she’s going to need all of us to help put her back together.

  Beast may be in killer mode, but I can hear from his tone, he’s in full control and thinking straight.

  Until, I hear him declare war, and not just with our club. No, he involves the whole Italian Mafia too, being that she is still their Princess.

  Spooky’s face goes pale from that news for a split second, and then he recovers fast. He wonders how in the fuck the Mafia just got dragged into this shit show.

  “Yes, fuckface, my wife and I are part of the La Famiglia Mafiosa as well as the Dragons. Now, get your fuckin’ hands off her before I light your ass up,” Beast growls loudly, staring directly at him.

  He stays frozen for a few seconds, dumbfounded, then finally recovers.

  “This isn’t over, Beast, this means war. I’ll fuckin’ have your balls for this,” Spooky yells, releasing Bella from his grasp, slowly and backs away. He and Devil take off and we let them go. I nod to the guys to let them leave. They both run out of the Club at lightning speed, for their size.

  We need to get the hell out of here, now!

  Beast takes Bella in his arms and I dart to my girl, needing her in mine. She’s now in Blaze’s arms shaking. Taking her from him, gathering her up in mine, cradling her to my chest, and take off.

  I get her settled on the back of my bike, we take off back to the resort and Beast handles things with Gator.

  On the ride back, I can feel her body vibrating against mine. She’s sobbing and squeezing the shit out of my stomach. She’s staying close to my back with her face buried on the nape of my neck. I want to pull over and hold her, but I won’t, though, I continue to ride, faster than is safe. The quicker I get us back, the faster I can relax her.

  I take the time to think, we now know those assholes are into sex trafficking and, most likely involved in all the missing girls from here in Orlando. If that’s the case, those girls are gone, and will never be found again. Two things stick out to me. One: who the hell was the buyer for the girls and two: who the hell are the Macks working for?

  We make it back and I gather her in my arms again. I need her close, for her and me. Beast has Bella in his arms as we head up to our rooms in the elevator.

  Beast tells me about his conversation with Gator and Romeo. Gator ordered to be back at the Clubhouse early in the mornin’ for lockdown. Then we will have Church with all the brothers from the other Clubs.

  “Blaze, you stay in Beast’s room tonight. He needs to tend to Bella, so he won’t be able to stay alert. We need to be ready to leave here by seven.”

  The elevator doors open and Blaze rushes to our room door to open it for me. I head straight to the master bedroom in the back. I place Jules on the bed, so I can go talk to the guys. She tightens her hold on me and I lay down with her, holding her. I left the bedroom door opened when I entered so I could go back out. I need to talk to the guys.

  “Guy’s come back here,” I shout for them to come in the room.

  “Figure out shifts guarding the rooms and the surrounding area throughout the night,” I order them, and they agree to work it out and shut the door behind them.

  Jules gets up from the bed, heads to the bathroom, leaving the door open behind her. She doesn’t say a word to me. She seems to be in a trance, her movements are robotic.

  She takes a long shower. I change out of my clothes and stay on the bed waiting for her. I place a few texts to the guys.

  She gets into bed with me, again not saying a word, as she crawls up to me. I hold her in my arms with her head on my chest for the rest of the night. I don’t sleep, I only watch her and think.

  She’s traumatized by what happened tonight. I can’t imagine what she is feeling, having a man’s hands on your body, unwanted, and God only knows what he said to her. She doesn’t want talk to me. She just desires to be held. So, that’s what I do, give her whatever she needs.

  When we get back, I may need to have Sam give her a sedative. With the screams coming from next door from Bella, it appears Beast is going to have to do the same thing.

  Her nightmares had stopped, and now she’s right back where it all began. Poor girl, she’ll get through this, though. We will all help the girls through this, they are strong, they just need to reboot and work through things.

  We make it back to the Clubhouse and I take Jules to my room. On my way, I see Gator ask him to have Sam come to my room and sedate Jules for me.

  I tell Gator I won’t be making it to Church. I’m not leaving my girl so he’s going to have to call me, so I can join in the meeting that way.

  And as I suspected, Beast had Sam give Bella one to, but not cause of last night. Apparently, Antonio’s goons found Cindy and freaked Shorty out. When Bella found out she went off half-cocked. He took her to their new apartment and Sam sedated her. So, he’s on the phone to for the meeting, not to leave her.

  My first order of business, when Church starts is taking control of this situation with Jules and making it official. She’s mine, now and forever.

  “First, I need to do somethin’ I should have done a while ago. I’m claiming Julietta Maria Cavalli as my ol’ lady. Jules is off limits! She’s mine now!” I growl loudly at the guys through the phone. I’m met with silence from the shock of my declaration.

  I looked down at Jules in my arms and know I finally did it. I fought for her, us, and I will continue to do so if I have to.

  “Fuck, brother, another one bites t
he dust. I’m glad to see that girl finally made an honest man out of you. She’s a good one like Beast’s girl. Treat her well brother. You deserve some happiness and love in your life,” Maddox says and the whole room erupts in cheer and congratulations.

  Then Gator shuts them down and I get into VP mode, telling them what happened last night with the Macks.

  Jules stays asleep the whole time in my arms while we go back and forth for hours on how to proceed. I hate it, but the Club and my brothers come first. We have to take out the vermin, and then Jules and I can have some peace and start fresh.

  I hate that I have to leave her for Club business now, but that’s how life goes.

  Chapter 7

  Julietta

  Iwake up in Ace’s arms, and the room is dark. Looking towards the window on the other side of the room, I see why, it’s night time. I feel a little better after sleeping all day. Last night had me feeling... Things were going so well, and then out of nowhere, shit hit the fan. I’ve never felt so scared, alone, and helpless in my life. I couldn’t do a damn thing about it, which just about killed me. When Bella grabbed my hand, I didn’t feel so alone. Sometimes I feel like she stronger than me these days, even after everything she’s had to endure in the last few months. Then I saw Ace and Gio and relief washed over me. I’ve never needed a man to save me, but when that appalling man’s hands were all over my... I needed Ace to save me and protect me, more than I’ve ever needed anyone. I needed him, to breathe. The desire to feel safe in his arms was overwhelming. Once I was, I finally took a deep breath, that I had been holding on to from the second that man got too close.

  That despicable man knew things about me that only Bella and Ces know. He knew my deepest, darkest secrets and he wanted to use them against me. I am the weakest link after all and they know it.

  The things he said and the way he touched me... I now know how Bella felt to be violated by that bastard, Antonio. The helpless feeling of not being able to defend yourself is the worst and I never want to feel that way again.

  “How are you feeling, gorgeous?” Ace asks me, and I lift up my head. He tucks a piece of loose hair behind my ear and runs the back of his hand slowly down my cheek. How did he know I was awake?

  “Like I don’t want to remember or talk about it. Please just hold me and tell me how your Church went? And how Bella and Gigi are doing?” I practically beg. I don’t want to think about last night ever again. I need a distraction.

  “Fine,” he grunts, not happy I won’t talk to him about my feelings. He won’t push me, though. He’ll wait until I’m ready.

  “Bella and Shorty are okay, now. I need to tell you a few things and I need you to stay calm for me, babe. Can you do that?” His eyes are scrutinizing me, waiting for my reaction to his words about my girls.

  Now, what the hell happened? I’ll see her after he tells me. I gape into his eyes for a few heartbeats. “I’ll stay calm, as long as I can stay like this,” I whisper, calming my racing heart for the bad news that I know is coming.

  He combs his fingers through my hair, relaxing us both while he talks.

  “Shit, I don’t even know where to start. I know you don’t want to talk about last night, but I need to say some things about it.” He pauses, and I nod and rest my chin on his chest. He’s watching me cautiously.

  “The Macks declared war last night with our Club. After trying and thankfully failing to take you and Bella. Which means I have to leave in a couple of days to deal with them. Beast and Blaze will be going with me, so Bella and Shorty are going to need you, at least it will help keep your mind distracted.”

  I hate that he has to leave me, but I get it. I’m no stranger to the men leaving us women to fight a war. If his Club feels this is something they have to do, who am I to stop them. I’ll miss him, but I’ll survive a couple of days without him. I’ve been on my own for a long time, so I know I’ll be fine. Plus, I’ll have my girls with me.

  I wait patiently for him to finish and tell me why my girls are going to need me.

  “When Cindy was on her way here, Antonio’s goons found them and tried to knock Cotton and Romeo off the road. His goons ended up separating Cindy from the guys and forced her to the side of the road. They gave them a message to deliver to Beast, Bella, and the Club. Anyway, the goons scared the shit out of Shorty. Beast was the only one she would allow to take her from the car. She’s scared for Bella. Bella freaked the fuck out when she saw her sister and heard he was close.

  “Sam had to sedate her after that to calm her down. You can talk to her tomorrow about it and see them. It’s late and you haven’t eaten. I had Red bring up some food. Do you feel like eating?” There’s more he needs to tell me, I can see it in his eyes, but he’s afraid to tell me just yet. Or, he’s hiding something from me and I don’t like that. I don’t like being kept in the dark.

  “You have more to tell me, don’t you?” He waits for a minute to answer me, feeling out my mood.

  “You need to eat, then we can talk more.” I don’t want to wait. I’m not hungry anyway. I’m still tired, even though I’ve slept all day. I don’t want to leave this bed or his arms for the rest of the night.

  “I’m not hungry, so spill it. I don’t like being kept in the dark, you know that. So, just tell me, now.”

  He’s worried about how I’m going to react, I can see it. He doesn’t want to set me off. This is bad. I can feel it in my bones. What did he do that I’m not going to like?

  “Before Church started this mornin’, I made a decision to make a claim of sorts.” He’s being vague about this. What kind of decision did he make that I might not like?

  He stays quiet, observing me as I put the pieces together. He didn’t, he wouldn’t without speaking to me first, right. No, he knows I can’t be with him. That can’t be it, can it? Then I see his expression change. This shithead did do it. He fucking did it without speaking to me, asking me what I wanted. He has to fix this and now.

  I jump off the bed and out of his arms, glaring daggers down at him, pissed. How fucking dare he.

  “You claimed me without my fucking permission! What the fuck, Ace? Who the hell do you think you fucking are, asshole? Take it back! Take it all back! I am not going to submit to you or your club! Take it back now, asshole, and let me go!” I scream at him in his own damn room, pissed the fuck off, and not giving a shit. I’m furious that he had the nerve to do this behind my back. How dare he do this without asking me? Especially, after he had me sedated, by Sam, without my permission, after what happened last night with those men...

  Most of all, I don’t want to be owned, not by him or any man. I will not let a man dominate me. I know what he’s into – control, mostly in a sexual manner - and I’m not going to let him own me or take my free will. He needs that kind of control, and I can’t give it to him. I won’t give my freedom over to any man. Ever! I own myself, damn it! I can take care of myself.

  I don’t need a man. I don’t need a man to control me. I don’t need a man to... love me. I just need my family. What’s left of it, anyway? Bella, Gigi, Ces, Lorenzo, Val, Romeo, and Bash. They are all I need in my life to survive. Those five men are enough to handle and take care of.

  Ace gets up from the bed and stands a few feet in front of me. Now, he’s glaring down at me.

  “Jules, that’s enough. It’s a done deal. You’re mine, now and forever. Deal with it. We can figure all this shit out. I’m not asking you to change or submit to me. Maybe in the bedroom with your pleasure, but not anywhere else. I love your sassy mouth, your stubbornness, the way you challenge me and tell it as it is. I love the way you take care of Shorty, Bella, and everyone you care about. I love the way you’re so protective of your girls. I love the way you are so passionate about designing. I love...”

  I cut him off from saying any other words. I’m not ready to hear it. I can’t listen to him any longer. My heart can’t take this whatsoever. I need to see Bella. I need to talk to my bestie and clear my head. I need t
o be away from him.

  “Ace, stop it now! This, us, we’re never going to happen. I’m leaving here soon, and you have to accept that. So please, just shut the fuck up!” I scream at the top of my lungs at him to get it all out of my system.

  I think I do love Ace in some way, but I will never tell him that. We can never work. We come from two different worlds. Not that that’s a bad thing, it’s just a fact, and he needs control because of it. Honestly, so do I, but in a different way.

  He doesn’t need me, not when he has Maggie, that bitch will do anything for him. If he cared so much about me this whole time, he wouldn’t have been fucking her. He would have taken care of himself like Gio did for Bella. That’s love, Gio waited for Bella to be ready and he made it all about her. My bestie got to have a due over because he loves her so damn much.

  Ace will just end up breaking my heart in the end. I know it. I can’t have my heart broken any more than it already has been. After losing my parents, then Aunt Amelia and Uncle Dominic and what happened to Bella... I shake my head of those thoughts.

  I can’t have him leave me too. When my brothers are found and do what they need to, to that monster. I’m going home with them. As much as that’s going to hurt my heart leaving Bella and Gigi, I know it has to be done. I don’t want to, but I have to.

  Tears fill my eyes and start streaming down my face uncontrollably. The pain in my heart is unbearable. I never thought I would feel pain like this about leaving all the new people I care about in my life and my girls.

  I turn around immediately, away from his view. I can’t let him see me this... Vulnerable, broken. Mai mostrare debolezza, (Never show weakness), that’s what us girls were taught our whole lives.

  “Jules, stop it. Now!” Ace yells at me as I turn away from him. “First, from now on, you will call me Hunter. Second, Jules... I know you don’t want to hear this. I love you and that scares the shit out of me too, babe. I didn’t grow up like you. You know, with the happy family and all. I had to fight my whole life to survive, and take care of not just myself, but also my baby sister after she came into this world. I never knew what this kinda love was or could be. Not a love like the one I feel for you. Not the kinda love that I see in Beast and Bella’s eyes when they look at one another.” He pauses, and I feel him coming closer to me. Placing his hands on my hips from behind me.