Chapter Four
Ace
Ace hated to put doubt in Rayna’s mind, but nothing about her going to Haven added up.
She spread her hands. “Can we ever really trust anyone?”
“Yes. I trust the Hounds with my life. I would apologize for asking about your boss, but it doesn’t make sense. The FBI and the GIA have been after Haven as long as we have. Lucy St. Claire, nee Lazlo, worked for the GIA, and her job was to search for connections between The Ministry and governments. She wasn’t the only analyst assigned to doing so. David Spencer was in the same department, so who better to know the inner workings of the cult?”
“Okay, playing devil’s advocate here. Spencer knew all about The Ministry from a computer perspective, but infiltrating them from within would give him the evidence needed to put Talbert away.”
“Then why didn’t he do so early on? Why supply them with more weapons and boost their bank accounts for ten years? He wasn’t doing that to protect Rhi. I think the man got a taste of power and wanted more. And if a GIA agent could be swayed, why couldn’t someone from the FBI? You and I both know there are corrupt men and women in all factions of the government.”
“Dammit,” Rayna muttered and stood, pacing the living room. “I think you might be right. When Spencer was first brought in, I sat in on the interrogations. I questioned him extensively, blowing holes in his statements. More than once, he would look at my boss questioningly, like he was asking Fred to step in. I thought it was nothing more than he didn’t appreciate a female bearing down on him. But now…”
“Now?”
Rayna stopped pacing and sighed. “Spencer was moved after I went to Haven. Where to, we don’t know. That’s why my partner brought me here instead of taking me home. My boss informed Seth that the GIA and Deputy Director Grissom arranged for Spencer to be turned over to the GIA. When Seth tried to access Spencer’s files, they were locked down.”
“Are you sure you can trust your partner?”
“Absolutely. Seth was the agent who arrested Spencer, but he’s also one of my best friends.”
Unexpected jealousy reared its head. Ace didn’t do jealousy. He had no claim on Rayna. She pushed her jacket back to place her hands on her hips, exposing the weapon at her side. Fuck. Ace was glad she hadn’t pulled the gun on him when he tried to voice her.
“If your partner has you hiding out here, were you planning on going to the office?” Ace gestured at the way she was dressed.
“No. I was on my way to see Rhiannon and let her know her father may be roaming free. I thought it best to dress professionally instead of showing up in shorts and a T-shirt.”
“If Spencer is no longer in the FBI’s custody, Rhi isn’t safe, and I doubt you are either. The male has skills with a computer that are unbelievable. When Spencer was after Rhi and Ryker was taking her somewhere safe, Spencer remotely took over control of their vehicle’s computer system. If he and your boss are working together, they might have someone inside Haven keeping tabs on you.”
“I think I need to get out of here.” Rayna’s fear was tangible.
“Come home with me,” Ace offered. When she opened her mouth to argue, he stood and held up his hands. “Just until you know who to trust. Rayna, I vow on all that’s holy I will keep you safe. I have plenty of room at home, and no one will suspect you are staying with me in New Troy. Leave your phone here. I have a burner you can use to contact Seth if you need to get in touch with him.”
Rayna bit her bottom lip, staring over Ace’s shoulder. Sighing, she acquiesced. “Yeah, okay. Let me change clothes.” Rayna removed her jacket as she strode out of the room. While he waited, Ace walked over to the mantel and surveyed the photos. Joseph and Delia Edwards were a handsome couple with two adorable kids. His heart kicked up a notch thinking about having his own children someday. He would rather have shifter kids so he didn’t have to watch them grow old and die before him. Then again, a long life wasn’t guaranteed for anyone.
When Rayna returned, she was wearing cutoff shorts, which accentuated her toned legs, and a faded band T-shirt with sneakers. Her long hair was no longer in a severe bun. Instead, it hung loose past her shoulders. She was carrying a duffel over her shoulder with a garment bag draped across her arm. “I hate leaving my laptop here, but it’s also traceable.”
“Is there any information on it you need? If so, we can take it by the security firm run by one of the Hounds, and they can clone your hard drive.”
Rayna shook her head. “I’m afraid to turn it on. If it’s powered up, someone at the office could be alerted, then they’ll know I’m not at Haven. That, or they’ll think someone else is tampering with it. Since I’m supposed to be undercover, it’s best it remains off.”
“Then bring it with you but don’t turn it on.” Rayna hesitated but eventually slid the case’s strap over her shoulder. Ace reached out and took her bags from her and headed toward the back door. “I parked a few houses down, but it’s best we don’t go out the front, just in case.”
“I wondered when I didn’t see a bike in the driveway. Do you have an extra helmet?”
Ace waited on the patio while Rayna set the alarm, then pulled the door closed behind them. “I drove my car. It’s less conspicuous.”
Rayna muttered, “Some agents we are, not picking up on a tail.”
Ace grinned. “Being a shifter means I can see well, so I was able to maintain a bit of distance.”
They cut through several yards with Ace searching the area for anyone who shouldn’t be there. When they got to his vehicle, Rayna whistled. “Damn, I think I’m in the wrong line of work.”
“I don’t splurge on much, but I did in this case.” Ace was proud of his car. Where most of the other Hounds drove SUVs or trucks, he’d chosen the high-end sedan for comfort as well as style. He opened the passenger door for Rayna after clicking the locks. Once she was seated with her laptop bag at her feet, he tossed her duffel into the back seat, placed the garment bag carefully on top of it, then angled around to the driver’s side. He started the motor and pointed to the large display screen. “Choose whatever you’d like to listen to.”
“Even if it’s today’s pop music?”
Ace figured she was testing him considering the shirt she wore. “Sure. I’ll listen to most anything except country, but if you like it, I can suffer through it long enough to get home.”
Rayna chuckled and chose a hard rock channel. Ace kept his eyes peeled for anyone following. With her boss possibly lying about Spencer, Ace needed to call Bishop and have him investigate Fred. “What’s your boss’s full name?”
“Frederick Hanson, why?”
“I’m going to call Bishop, our computer expert, and have him dig into the man. See if he can find any dirt.”
Rayna propped her elbow on the doorframe. “Goddess, I hate this.”
“Maybe I’m wrong, and he’s one of the good guys.”
“Maybe,” she mumbled.
Ace called Bishop and explained what he needed. Afterward, he and Rayna made small talk. The getting-to-know-you kind. Ace was amazed when Rayna said she only knew of three King Cheetahs – her, her mother, and grandmother. Others of their kind had either died off or traveled abroad. Her grandfather had been a standard cheetah shifter. “When I said my species is rare, I wasn’t joking. I was raised by my grandmother since my mother wanted to focus on her career.” It turned out that her mother, Colette, was known to the world as Francesca Ormond, a famous Hollywood actress. Rayna had only seen the female a handful of times since being left with her grandmother, Fern. “I have no idea who my father is. All my mother would say is he was a human she had a fling with while filming in Italy.”
“And your grandmother doesn’t know his identity?”
“Nope. Colette Bellamy is the most stubborn creature I’ve ever met. Every time she bothered to visit, I would ask. She said it didn’t matter. That as a human, he couldn’t be part of my life. I think it’s one reason she stopped coming around.”
“Well, that’s bullshit. Most of the Hounds’ mates are human.”
“Do you have a mate?” The question was innocent, but Ace felt it to his soul.
“No. I keep hoping I’ll find someone who’s patient enough to deal with my issues.” Did he trust the female with his secret? Not that she’d given any indication she found him attractive or felt a spark. Fuck it. “I’m demisexual. I’ve been in relationships in the past where I thought the person could be my mate, but by the time I got around to romantic feelings, they had grown tired of waiting.”
“Oh, Asher. That’s…” Rayna turned toward him, as much as her seatbelt would allow. “Then they weren’t the right one for you. I have no doubt you’ll find your perfect someone.”
Wanting to get the focus off him, he asked, “Where’s your grandfather? I hope that’s not a sensitive topic.”
“It’s not. He passed when my mother was young, so I never knew him. Gran keeps him alive with stories and photos, but it’s hard to miss someone you never met.”
“Both my parents are gone and have been for a while, and I never knew my grandparents.”
Rayna squeezed his arm. “I’m sorry about your parents.”
“Thank you. I miss them, but Ripley’s parents sort of adopted me.”
Rayna sighed, and Ace glanced over at her. “You should have seen the look on Glory’s mother’s face when Conrad said he was Glory’s father-in-law, then pointed at Ripley, saying he was Glory’s husband. Did they really get married?”
“No. Not yet anyway. But it’s easier to say they’re married than mated.”
“Oh, that makes sense. I really like Glory, and I’m happy her life turned around. Her father is a piece of shit.”
“Was. He’s no longer of this earth.” When Asher realized what he said, he whispered, “Fuck.”
“Hey, right now, I am Rayna Bellamy, civilian. Anything you tell me stays between us.”
“Why is that? You took some type of oath, didn’t you?”
“We promise to uphold the Constitution.” Rayna reached over and squeezed Ace’s arm. “I promise you can trust me, Asher.”
You can.
Ace trusted his Gryphon, so he told her, “Amos Yearwood and William, the male Glory had been promised to, burned down Ripley’s house trying to flush Glory out, not knowing if they were inside. Thank Zeus they weren’t. The Hounds captured both men, and let’s just say Ripley’s mom was not happy with Amos for how he treated Glory. She was one angry momma Lion.”
“Then he got what he deserved. Like I said, a piece of shit. There are more men at Haven that probably deserve the same fate. How exactly did Glory get away from the market?”
Ace chuckled, then told Rayna about Ripley’s antics while Natalia snuck Glory out of the restroom. He then told her how Rhiannon escaped.
“Spencer gave my boss a ton of information on your MC. None of it’s good.”
“And I have no doubt it was all fabricated. After Ryker rescued Rhi from the dumpster, we found out a young man named Elijah was being held in solitary. He’d been at Sanctuary, Gideon Talbert’s compound, along with Ryker’s daughter, McKenzie. That’s another convoluted mess in itself, but long story short, Elijah and Mac fell in love, but Mac had been promised to one of Gideon’s guards. The guard raped Mac, and when Elijah caused a scene, he was sent to Haven. During the time we were hiding Rhi, Josiah sent some of his men to look for her. Since Haven was heavily guarded, we couldn’t chance storming the compound to find Elijah, so we convinced those men to bring not only Elijah but also a case of weapons and ammo. Ryker videotaped the men’s ‘confession’ and sent it to the FBI along with where to find them. Spencer somehow recorded the Hounds walking into the warehouse. He also intercepted the video of the confession, so when your fellow agents arrived and found the Haven men dead, Spencer made it appear as though Hounds had killed them. Luckily, we have someone good with computers, and he was able to provide the original video and show the one Spencer handed over had been manipulated. The man can’t be trusted.”
“Goddess, that’s awful. No wonder the Hounds want to take down The Ministry.” Rayna took a deep breath. When she blew it out, she said, “Asher, Spencer claims the Hounds are mercenaries.”
Ace flipped on the blinker to take the exit to New Troy. As he merged right, he contemplated trusting Rayna with the truth. While he did, she shocked him. “If you are… If you can look me in the eye and promise you only take out those who are evil, I’ll drop the subject.”
Ace rolled to a stop at the bottom of the ramp and turned to her. “I promise.”
Rayna nodded as she admitted, “I’ve thought more than once about putting a bullet in someone who walked on a technicality. Those rapists and drug lords and pedophiles and human traffickers who find their way back onto the streets, continuing as though they’re untouchable.”
Ace relaxed at her admission. He pressed the accelerator and told her, “I can assure you those are the very ones the Hounds take out. They have a handler who vets every contract, and if it’s someone wanting their wife killed for insurance money, those are passed over. I can’t say someone less ethical doesn’t take the hit, but the Hounds do not.”
“You said they . Are you not a merc?”
“I’m not. I prefer to help Sutton where The Ministry is concerned. He’s tasked me with patrolling Haven to see if Abraham shows up or sends in someone else to run the place.”
“How will you do that without being seen?”
“In my Eagle. I will park well away from the compound, then fly in. But now that I’m protecting you, I’m going to ask him to have someone else patrol.”
“Protecting me? You do realize I’m a trained agent, right?”
Ace turned down the street he lived on. “I do, but until we know whether your boss is helping Spencer, I’m not letting you out of my sight.”
“Do you not think I’ll be safe at your house? I don’t want you to put your life on hold for me.”
As he pulled in the driveway, Ace hit the button to open the garage door. “Yes, you’ll be safe here as long as you don’t contact anyone other than Seth. That is if you’re one hundred percent sure you can trust him.” Once in the garage, he closed the door behind them and turned off the motor.
“I trust him. His wife, Vanessa, and I are best friends, and I’m their kids’ godmother. If he even thought of betraying me, she would string him up by his balls.”
Ace chuckled. “Ouch. Let’s get your things inside, and I’ll show you around.” He took her bags, but instead of following, Rayna walked over to inspect his Harley.
“So cool,” she muttered, smoothing her hand over the leather seat.
“Have you ever ridden?”
Rayna shook her head. “No. I’ve never known anyone with a bike.”
“Would you like to? I can get you a helmet. Just say the word.”
“If you promise not to dump me off the back,” she joked.
Ace rarely doubled anyone, but he would Rayna. He would also purchase a backrest so she wasn’t worried about falling off. “I promise.”
He inclined his head to the door, and after taking one last look at the bike, she joined him. The door opened to a short hallway with the laundry room on one side and a pantry on the other. Past that was a modern kitchen Ace had spent a lot of money on. Living alone, he had learned to cook for himself many years ago, and other than the den, it was where he spent most of his time. “The fridge and pantry are well stocked, but you can let me know what you like to eat, and if I don’t have it, I’ll place a grocery order.”
“I’m not picky, but if I never see oatmeal again, I’ll be happy.”
“Noted.” Ace led her through the house, showing her each room until they arrived at the spare bedrooms. “There’s one bedroom and a bonus room upstairs. My bedroom is down there.” He pointed to the door at the end of the hall. “Both guest rooms down here are equally appointed, and the bathroom has plenty of linens.”
“This one is fine.” Rayna entered the room closest to the kitchen, so Ace followed and placed her bags on the queen-sized bed. “I appreciate this, Asher. While I’m here, I’ll help out around the house to pay you back.”
“That isn’t necessary, but I do want you to make yourself at home. And if you want to cook, I won’t say no.”
Rayna scrunched her nose. “Yeah, you might feel differently after you taste my food. I can burn water.”
Ace laughed, and she smiled. “Then we’ll leave the kitchen duties to me. Why don’t you unpack, and I’ll go grab a burner phone for you?”
“Sounds good.”
Ace left her to it and retraced his steps to the front of the house. While he waited on Rayna to unpack, Ace called Ryot. There was no need to barge in on the little family when a phone call would suffice. Ryot exploded, exactly as Ace expected. That was another reason Ace preferred to deliver the bad news over the phone. What he didn’t share with his Pres was the fact that Rayna was staying with him. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Ryot, but the fewer who knew of her whereabouts, the better.
His Lion wanted to come out and meet Rayna’s Cheetah. There was no reason not to, so he agreed he would suggest it once she got settled. The sounds of Rayna moving around the guest room settled something inside Ace, and for the first time in forever, he was at peace. He didn’t understand why, though. It wasn’t like they were mates, so maybe it was just having someone else in his otherwise empty house. Whatever the reason, Ace was going to enjoy it while it lasted.