Building Faith (Long Beach Series Book 2)

by Dani Matthews

  I bite my lip. If my dad calls Caleb back, there's every chance that Caleb might throw Ace under the bus, so to speak.

  “Caleb didn't say anything because he doesn't know I am moving in. Faith and I just discussed it shortly before you called.” Ace turns and looks at me, his expression conflicted now. I watch as his expression suddenly shifts to eerie determination. “I respect everything you say, but the reason for this conversation is for me to assure you that your daughter is not alone. Everyone is pulling together to keep her safe, that includes making sure someone is at her place nightly. I mean you no disrespect sir, but I won't be taking any chances with Faith's life. If you're uncertain as to who I am or worried that I'm hiding something, feel free to do a background check. Once again, my name is Ace Wellington, and I'm originally from Hartford, Connecticut. My parents’ names are Bill and Yvette.” He listens for another brief moment. “I would expect nothing less,” he agrees. Another pause. “Yes, sir. You too, ma'am.” He holds the phone out to me. “Your parents want to talk with you,” he tells me.

  Feeling wary now, I accept the phone and put it to my ear. “Hi..” I wait to hear their reaction.

  “Do you trust this man?” my father asks bluntly.

  I glance at Ace and smile. “Very much so. I've gotten to know him very well, and he's helped me move on from what happened with Justin.”

  My father sighs. “I really don't like the idea of some man living with you, but at least I know you're not alone.”

  “If anyone is going to protect me, it'll be Ace.”

  “He has a nice voice. Is he handsome?” my mom asks curiously while my dad mutters something under his breath.

  I can't help but chuckle. “Yes, Mom.”

  “When this is all over with, I'd like to meet this young man,” she says in a tone that I pick up on immediately. She knows Ace is more than a friend to me.

  “You will, I promise.”

  My father grunts his displeasure. “You be careful, Faith. With Oliver and with this Ace character.”

  “I will, Dad.”

  “All right, we'll let you stay there for a little while longer. But if your friends can't protect you, we're coming to get you,” he warns.

  “Dad, please don't take this the wrong way, but I am not the same girl I was when I left Harrison. I'm nineteen and fully capable of being in control of my own life. You aren't letting me stay here, I am here because I want to be. If you come to get me, I can promise you'll be going back home without me. This is where I want to be,” I tell them firmly as I feel Ace put a warm hand on my back to show his support.

  There's a heavy silence on the other line.

  “You've grown up, haven't you?” my father asks softly.

  I can't help but smile. “Yes, I have.”

  “Will you call us nightly to check in?” my mom asks as she sniffles slightly.

  “I promise.”

  After we say our goodbyes, I end the call and turn to face Ace. “Well, that went better than I thought it would.”

  Ace stares at me. “I just told your dad I'm moving in with you. He hates me. I just thought they might find a bit of comfort knowing that you're not alone, but it seemed to backfire.”

  “No, it worked just fine,” I assure as I slip my arms around him and smile. “Nothing I was saying was getting through to them. Now they're accepting I'm staying, and I just have to check in with them. I think you did give them some assurance with the fact that I'm not alone.”

  He sighs. “Your dad still hates me.”

  “Nah, you just took him by surprise, that's all. He'll get over it.” I turn my head and peer at the clock on the microwave. “By the way, you lose,” I say sweetly as I peer up at him for his reaction.

  Ace shrugs. “I don't really consider it losing.” His eyes skim over me from head to toe and he chuckles. “Did you really think this would deter me?”

  “Wait until you see what's beneath it.”

  “I'm about to find out,” he says as he lifts me up into his arms to carry me to my room.

  Chapter Thirty-seven

  Faith

  On Friday, Ace takes me to a movie to help keep my mind off Oliver. He picks an action movie, and it keeps us interested enough that we don't end up making out in the back row like we had last time. When the movie is finished, Ace slings an arm over my shoulders as we exit the movie theater and walk with the crowd headed for the parking lot.

  “What do you want to do now? Should we hit Shoreline for some pizza?” Ace asks as he gazes down at me affectionately.

  “That sounds really good,” I agree as we walk through the huge parking lot towards his Hummer. When we approach his vehicle, Ace curses and lets go of me to inspect the front left tire.

  I walk over and see that it's flat. “Did you run over something?”

  “No,” Ace says shortly as he rises to his feet and walks to the back tire. It's then that I realize that the other one is flat, too. He disappears behind the Hummer, and I follow him. All four tires are flat. “Someone slashed all the tires,” Ace realizes grimly as he approaches me. He wraps a protective arm around me while he scans the dimly lit parking lot. People are still walking past to their vehicles, but no one seems to be paying extra attention to us. “Let's go inside and report it.”

  My mouth goes dry. “Oliver followed us.”

  “Looks that way. C'mon, I don't feel comfortable with you being out in the open like this.”

  I allow him to press me tight against his side as we walk back towards the building. Once inside, Ace leads me to one of the long benches along the lobby wall, motioning for me to sit down. I settle on it and watch as Ace walks several feet away as he puts his cell phone to his ear. He keeps his eyes trained on me while he reports the vandalism.

  As he speaks into the phone, I feel frustrated and crestfallen. I would give anything to have a normal life right now. All I want is to enjoy our relationship without anything bad hanging over our heads. It's bad enough that Caleb isn't speaking to Ace, but now to have Oliver destroying Ace's personal property… It's aggravating that right around the time I finally get my life in order, Oliver shows up.

  Ace sits down next to me and sighs. “Someone will be here shortly,” he tells me as he reaches for my hand.

  “I'm sorry about the Hummer,” I say quietly as I twine my fingers through his.

  He looks at me sharply. “I don't give a flying fuck about the car. I'd rather my tires take the brunt of his anger than you. I'll have new tires on it by tomorrow afternoon; those are easily replaceable. You are not.”

  “Do you think there's video surveillance in the parking lot? If we have proof that Oliver vandalized your car, wouldn't that be enough to bring him in and connect him to the incidents in Harrison?”

  “I'm sure the police will check if there's surveillance cameras, but I wouldn't get your hopes up. It's dark out, and I highly doubt they'd have a clear shot of his face. He'll likely be nothing more than a shadow,” he says with a shake of his head.

  I sigh with disappointment and move closer so I can rest my head on his shoulder. “I wish my past would stay in the past.”

  “So do I, Angel. I hate that I have no control over the situation. All I can do is try to keep you safe,” he says as he squeezes me slightly.

  I lift my head and look at him hesitantly. “What if we try to set a trap for him?”

  Ace blinks and his expression abruptly turns fierce. “Absolutely not. We'll nail him some other way.”

  “But it's clear he's hiding from us, because he doesn't want to be caught. He won't try anything out in the open, and I'm never alone. What if we work with the police to set a trap? I'll be safe—”

  “You think you'd be safe,” he interjects. “There are no guarantees when it comes to shit like that. Let's just deal with this tonight and give it a couple of days. Now that my car has been vandalized, it might give the police more of an incentive to track Oliver down. It's pretty clear he followed you for a reason. It's time
they follow up on that.”

  I look up and see that two officers have entered the lobby. Ace notices them as well, and we stand up to meet them.

  * * *

  “So they're going to bring Oliver in for questioning?” Zoey asks as we sit on the couch and eat ice cream.

  She'd dropped over while Ace is at the gym. I'd had to practically force him out the door, but I want him to continue his usual routine, especially since it's the weekend and he has more free time than he does on the weekdays. It helped that I’d promised not to go anywhere.

  I nod and set my spoon in my now empty bowl. “If they can track him down that is.” I grimace and give her a look. “I haven't seen Oliver face to face. They’ll look into it, but my case will probably be on the bottom of the pile for a while. Until I can confirm it's Oliver stalking me, they can't do much of anything.”

  “That's ridiculous! He tried to kill you twice in Harrison,” Zoey says, pointing her spoon at me with agitation.

  “But that was in Harrison. Here in Long Beach, he's done nothing to threaten my safety. People slash tires all the time out of fits of anger.” The police had made it clear to us last night that they'd look into my situation, but they weren't promising anything. I haven't physically been threatened. The look on Ace's face when they pointed this out to us had the officers tensing. Ace is tall and all muscle. When he's pissed, he looks lethal. He'd regained his composure, but if looks could kill, those officers would be dead three times over.

  Zoey looks disgusted. “I bet that didn't go over real well with Ace,” she says with a knowing look.

  “It didn't.”

  “You should really tell Caleb what went down last night. He'd want to know.”

  I give her a look. “So that he can tell my parents? No way.”

  “Hey, he tried to dodge the topic of Oliver when your dad called, but your dad is like a frickin' bulldog where you're concerned. He did try to warn you right away by sending you that text message.”

  “It was two seconds too late,” I say dryly as I watch Daisy scamper across the living room to attack a new toy mouse that Zoey had bought for her.

  “I'm not going to lie to him if he asks about you,” Zoey warns me.

  “I understand.” I look at her curiously. “Is he still mad at you?”

  She smirks. “No. He put up a good fight until I decided to walk around the apartment naked yesterday evening. He couldn't ignore that.”

  “I bet,” I say with a snicker. I'll have to remember that the next time Ace and I get in a fight. If he holds a grudge for longer than a day, I'm going to do exactly what Zoey did. I know for a fact Ace wouldn't be able to resist me for longer than five minutes.

  “How are things with you and Ace? You guys seem a lot closer now. I can't believe he's moved in! Caleb nearly shit a brick when he heard the news!”

  I shake my head at her last comment. “Tell me about it. He tried to tell me how he felt about it—which is pretty obvious—but then he shook his head and dropped the topic. I think he's realizing that nothing he says can sway me where Ace is concerned.”

  “Those two need to talk,” Zoey says as she scoops up some ice cream with her spoon and lifts it to her mouth.

  “I think Ace is going to track him down tomorrow while I'm at work.”

  “Good. I think if Ace would just tell Caleb what he told me, Caleb might be able to accept it a little easier.”

  “What exactly did Ace tell you when you confronted him?” I ask with sudden interest.

  Zoey smiles. “Nothing you don't already know, and I'm going to leave it at that.”

  “I feel really bad that I'm the reason their friendship is currently non-existent,” I say as I rise to my feet and walk to the kitchen to put my bowl in the sink.

  “Caleb's been really moody lately, so I'm guessing this fight between them is weighing heavily on him, too. Truthfully, I think he's ready to confront Ace but doesn't want to make the first move,” Zoey says as she stands up to take care of her empty bowl. “It's going to be a long time before he believes in your relationship with Ace, but I think he's ready to start working towards it.”

  “Why doesn't he just talk to Ace? Who cares who talks to whom first?” I ask as we go back into the living room to sit near Daisy, who's still playing with the mouse.

  Zoey grabs the long string of yarn laying on the carpet near her hip and begins to pull it across the floor for Daisy to pounce on. “For someone who's studying to be a counselor, he's being more stubborn than usual where Ace is concerned. I think it all comes down to the fact that he's scared you're going to get hurt.”

  “I get it, I really do,” I say with a resigned sigh. “He saw me at my worst, and I don't blame him for worrying that I could end up like that again. Not physically. I know Ace would never lay a hand on me—but emotionally. Justin broke me. I just wish Caleb would see that Ace helped put me back together again. Ace has helped me become who I am today.”

  Zoey grins approvingly at me. “You've come a long way in just a few months.”

  “I'm right where I want to be. Now if I can just get Oliver out of my life, maybe things would settle down.”

  We hear the sound of a key in the lock and look up as the apartment door opens. Ace walks in looking all sweaty in a tank and shorts, a duffel bag hanging over his shoulder.

  Zoey's nose wrinkles as she looks him up and down. “You do know they have showers at the gym, don't you?”

  He grins. “I'd rather shower here, where my girl is at.”

  “Yuck,” Zoey says as she stands up. “You guys are disgustingly sappy these days. I'm out. Later, Faith,” she says as she gives Ace a wide berth as she leaves.

  I can't help but chuckle as I stand up after the apartment door shuts. “She thinks we're bad? She and Caleb are terrible in public. What's worse is knowing what they do in public that no one knows about,” I say as I walk towards him.

  Ace looks curious. “What exactly do they do?”

  “Nothing you need to know about.” I pause in front of him and look him up and down. “You're all sweaty and stinky.”

  He grows amused as he drops the duffel bag on the floor. “I'm fully aware of that, which is why I'm hitting the shower. Have you eaten yet?” he asks as he leans in and gives me a light kiss on the lips before striding towards the hallway.

  “Is that your way of asking me to make something?” I call after him.

  “Did it work?” he shoots back as I hear the bathroom door shut.

  “Nope,” I murmur as I get a very naughty idea. He still owes me a favor. I head for the kitchen and pre-heat the oven before walking down the hall to the bathroom.

  I can hear the shower running, and I silently open the door and slip inside. Ace is already in the shower with the curtain pulled shut. As quietly as possible, I open up the bottom drawer of the cabinet to pull out a condom. We have them stored in here until we run out in the bedroom.

  I quickly undress and then pull back the shower curtain. Ace must feel a slight breeze on his naked backside, because he instantly peers behind him. Surprise flickers in his gray eyes before it's replaced by a sinful grin. “Coming to join me?”

  “You owe me a favor,” I remind as I step into the shower. There's not much room, and he's turned to face me, which puts him less than a foot in front of me. I glance down and see that he has a very impressive erection already. “Well, look at that. Someone's perking up at the word 'favor,'” I tease.

  Ace grins and slicks his hair back from his forehead as he gazes at me with hooded eyes. “I think it has more to do with the fact that you're naked.”

  I close the space between us and press my body against his, and we both groan. Ace's hands immediately slide down to cup my rear end. I look up at him. “Now, about that favor...”

  “Whatever you want,” he says instantly.

  “I do believe you wanted to try something out in the shower. Something about my hands on the shower head. I want to try it,” I say as I hand him the cond
om. He's worked the shyness out of my system with all the times we've had sex lately. It's even more intense between us now that there's tension in the air thanks to Oliver.

  “Fuck, yeah,” Ace says in a low voice as he sets the condom down on the shelf and moves to shift me so that my back is to the water spray. My hair is instantly soaked, and as the spray hits my shoulders, it splatters down the front of my body.

  Ace moves forward and runs his hands up and down my body, making sure every single inch of me is soaked in more ways than one. When he's satisfied I'm ready, he shuts the shower off and backs me up against the wall. “Hold on to that,” he orders, nodding at the shower head above me.

  I lift my hands up and wrap them around the base. The position has my breasts jutting out slightly and as Ace's eyes run over them, he licks his lips. “One of these days, we're going to have a little fun with that camera of yours.”

  “Not happening,” I say firmly.

  His eyes lift to mine. “I'm sure there's a few ways I could talk you into it.” He reaches out and cups my small breasts. “A body like this should be photographed so I can savor it when I'm not with you.”

  I bite back a groan as he toys with my hard nipples. “Not. Happening.”

  Ace's hands slide down my breasts and then he reaches for the condom. He has it torn open and rolled on him before I can blink. “Brace yourself,” he orders right before he lifts me up so my legs hook around his hips. He immediately sinks into me, and my breath catches at the feel of the familiar fullness. I love having him inside me.

  “Are you comfortable?” Ace asks through gritted teeth as he glances at my hands pointedly.

  “I'm good,” I assure.

  His eyes meet mine, and they are dark with swirling emotion. “I want you hard and fast. Can you handle that?”

  “What are you waiting for?”

  The question has barely left my lips when he begins to thrust hard into me. I hold tight to the shower head as he presses me against the wall, his hips pumping in a ruthless rhythm as his fingers dig into the tender flesh of my hips. I love every second of it and meet every thrust. We strain against each other, desperate for that release that is so close.