Coming Up Aces (The Hounds of Zeus MC #9)

Chapter Seventeen

Rayna

Rayna kept her eyes peeled for wildlife as she drove the back way toward New Troy. Thinking she should at least text Asher and let him know she wasn’t immediately coming to the clinic, she reached out to tap the icon on her display when headlights shined behind her. They brightened, and Rayna slowed down. The car sped up, moving into the oncoming lane. Rayna slowed even more. Big mistake. The other vehicle rammed into her rear quarter panel. Rayna was a skilled driver, but her car fishtailed a few times before the other vehicle rammed into hers again. The force of the impact had her rear tires sliding toward the shoulder. The other car continued pushing until Rayna was in the weeds, then wedged against a tree. By the time she regained her bearings, her door was flung open, and a strong hand grabbed her left wrist. The seatbelt held her in place as she struggled against her attacker.

“Let go of me!” Her claws popped out on her right hand, and she raked her sharp nails across the attached arm.

“You fucking bitch!” a familiar voice shouted, his grip faltering.

Rayna disengaged the seatbelt, but as soon as she was free, the man struck again with his uninjured hand, punching her in the temple. Fuck. Her head throbbed, and her vision dimmed. The man once again pulled her left arm, and Rayna grabbed for purchase, missing the steering wheel, and her claws dug along the door’s interior. The male’s grip was strong. Since she didn’t want her shoulder to be dislocated, Rayna allowed herself to be dragged from the car.

Drawing on her beast’s abilities, Rayna twisted, landing on her feet. Perkins had a gun trained on her, but she was fast enough to claw him a second time on the wounded arm holding his pistol. Perkins screamed, releasing her wrist and dropping his weapon. Rayna didn’t give him time to retaliate. She popped a front kick into his stomach, sending him flying. She retracted her claws, picked up his gun, and moved toward him, but another voice stopped her in her tracks.

“Stop right there, Agent Bellamy.”

Rayna raised both hands in the air, finger on the trigger guard, and turned. Grissom stood on the far side of his vehicle, shielded. His service pistol was aimed at her chest.

“Sir? What’s going on?” Rayna allowed her voice to tremble.

“What the fuck are you?” Grissom asked.

“Shoot her!” Perkins yelled. “Look at what she did to me!” Rayna didn’t have to look to know his arm was torn apart, dripping blood.

“I’m an agent, Sir. A confused one. Why are you after me? I’ve been undercover at Haven. I was coming back to work in the morning like you instructed.”

“What did you do to Perkins?”

“I didn’t do anything.” Rayna glanced over her shoulder. “He must have cut his arm on the car.”

“Where’s your partner?”

“I don’t know. You told me he was on a case. I haven’t spoken to him.”

Tell Asher’s Gryphon we need Tamian. Now.

On it.

“Don’t lie to me.” Grissom raised his gun. Her past life didn’t flash before her eyes. What did, though, were the future years she wouldn’t have with Asher if Grissom shot her in the head.

“No!” Rayna screamed, eyes wide as she stared behind her boss. Grissom turned to look behind him at her frightened outburst. Dumbass. Rayna lowered Perkins’s gun, shooting Grissom in the shoulder before diving to the ground. She commando-crawled until she could see under his car, then shot him in the foot. His high-pitched curses scared the birds nesting in the nearby trees. Rayna rose to a crouch and turned to be sure Perkins hadn’t moved. He hadn’t, but he was glaring at her.

“You’ll pay for this, bitch.”

Using her shifter strength, she bent her legs, then leapt atop Grissom’s car, landing on silent feet like the cat she was. “Toss your weapon,” she demanded. Grissom did as instructed, although reluctantly.

“What are you?” he asked again.

Ignoring the question, she jumped to the ground beside her boss. “On your stomach.” When Grissom complied, Rayna searched him for another weapon. Finding none, she stood with the gun trained on him while keeping Perkins in her sight. “Get up,” she commanded. Perkins was slow to move, but he did as she bade. “Strip.”

“I’m not getting naked for you. You’re not my type.” Rayna aimed at his feet and fired off a round a few inches from his toes. “I won’t ask again.”

“Fuck. All right.” When Perkins was down to his underwear, she stopped him. “Turn around, hands where I can see them, and walk backwards toward me. Slowly.” When he was ten feet away, she commanded, “Stop. Don’t move.” Keeping both men in her field of vision, Rayna sidestepped to the driver’s side door and popped the trunk. Thankful to find a field kit, she grabbed enough cable ties to secure them both. Once they were properly restrained, she removed the kit from the trunk and made them both get inside. That took a little persuading, but when she aimed at their heads, they complied while threatening and cursing her parentage. She slammed the lid, then leaned against the car, staring into the darkness.

Now what? Fuck. She was thankful it was late and no cars had passed by. She had to get off the road. There was nothing she could do about her car, so she got into Grissom’s vehicle and started the engine. When the men began shouting, Rayna wished she’d taped their mouths. Half a mile down the road, Rayna noticed a faded sign for an old quarry. She turned and drove the short distance to the abandoned entrance. The long-forgotten gate hung crookedly. Rayna put the car in park, got out, and with her shifter strength, was able to move the gate enough to drive through it. She continued past an old trailer that had been used as the office and parked behind it. Turning off the engine, Rayna got out and reached for her phone.

“Shit.” She’d left it in her car. Rayna had two choices. One, she could go back and get it, or two, she could trust her Cheetah to speak to Asher’s Gryphon and get word to Tamian. Rayna didn’t trust Grissom and Perkins not to get out of the trunk, so door number two it was.

Ace

Ace twisted the phone in his hand. He was sitting in the chair instead of reclining on the bed. He had walked down the hallway to see Viper earlier, but the Hound had gone home with his mate. Regina and Conrad finally left when Ace kicked them out, telling them to go home and get some rest. He had the book Rayna brought him, but after reading the same paragraph several times, he gave up. Now, here he was, bored out of his skull, waiting on his phone to ring. When it did, it made him jump.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Asher. It’s Lucy. Have you heard from Rayna?”

“Not since she was on her way home from Ray Brook. Why?”

“Okay, I don’t want you to panic, but she was supposed to be on her way to my house. Now I can’t get her on the phone. Before she left her place, she sent me photos of some items she found buried in her backyard. She thinks Seth left them there since her house wasn’t broken into and the alarm wasn’t tripped. Only Seth and Vanessa have the code to get into her house.”

“What kind of items?” Ace pushed to his feet and ignored the twinge of pain in his chest.

“Photos of Frederick Hanson. Someone had slit his throat. There were also some documents, mostly bank statements, and she had a thumb drive she was bringing to me. I’ve tried to find her on cameras between her house and here, but there’s no sign of her car.”

“Shit. I need some clothes. I—”

“And this is you panicking,” Lucy deadpanned.

“Of course I’m fucking panicking, Lucy. Rayna’s my mate. Rev!” Ace yelled. The Hound came running down the hallway.

“What are you—?”

“I need clothes. Rayna’s missing, and I need to go.”

“You don’t have a car, Brother, and if she’s missing, where are you going to look for her?”

“I don’t know, but I have to get out of here. I’m not sitting on my ass doing nothing.” Ace put the phone to his ear. “Lucy, keep searching. I’ll be to your house as soon as I get a ride and a fucking shirt. Screw the shirt. I just need a ride.”

Rev put a hand on Ace’s good arm. “I’ll drive you to Lucy’s myself.”

“We’ll be there in twenty, Lucy.”

“See you then.” Ace punched the screen and turned to Rev. “Let’s go.”

“Hang on, Cowboy. You might not want a shirt, but you’re fucking well getting one.” He walked to a cabinet and pulled out Ace’s boots. “Do you need help with these?”

“No. I can manage.” At least he hoped he could. Ace took the boots, sat down in the chair, and sucked in a breath. “Would I not heal quicker if I shifted?” He’d already asked, so Rev’s negative response wasn’t unexpected.

“No. Not with where the bullet hit your rib. That’ll take time. Get your boots on while I grab a shirt.” Rev rushed out of the room, and Ace struggled with his footwear. By the time Rev returned, Ace was sweating, but he didn’t care. He could endure a little pain. He’d endure any amount of discomfort if it meant getting out of the clinic and going to help find Rayna.

Rev held out a button-up, and Ace slid his arms in. “Let’s go.” He followed the Hound down the hallway and out the back door to where his truck was parked. Ace climbed in the passenger seat, gripping his phone like a lifeline. He placed it on his lap long enough to button the shirt, then he stared at his phone, begging it to ring.

“What happened?” Rev asked as soon as they were on their way.

Rev was already up to speed with everything going on with the Feds and David Spencer, so Ace filled him in on what he’d learned in the last few hours. “Rayna went to the Ray Brook facility earlier to see if Grissom had stashed Seth there. He hadn’t, but the agent showed Rayna the paperwork where Spencer was being transferred to a high-security facility, which was contradictory to Seth telling her that Spencer was being released. Seth was the one who took possession of Spencer. Then, when Rayna got home, she somehow found documents and photos buried in her backyard. She’s positive Seth placed them there since only he and his wife have the alarm code to her house, and there was nothing indicating someone had broken in. Plus, her Cheetah sensed he had been in the garage. The photos showed someone had slit her immediate boss’s throat, and the documents were bank statements. There was also a thumb drive, but Rayna didn’t want to access it on her laptop, so she was taking it to Lucy. She hasn’t shown up, and Rayna’s not answering her phone.”

“Where does Rayna live?”

“New Latham, which is less than fifteen minutes from Troy. Shit, I don’t know her address.”

“I’m sure Lucy can get that for you, but I thought we were going to Lucy’s house.”

“Maybe something happened at Rayna’s, and she can’t answer her phone.” Ace called Lucy’s number. When she answered, he said, “Can you give me Rayna’s address? I want to stop by there to make sure something didn’t happen.”

“Tamian already did a drive-by. He’s been riding around searching for her car… Hang on, he’s calling. I’m going to put you on hold.” The line went silent, and Ace drummed his fingers on his thigh.

Rayna needs Tamian.

Ace bristled. Why would his mate need the Gargoyle? Where is she?

“Are you still there?” Lucy asked.

“Yes, but my Gryphon was speaking to Rayna’s Cheetah, and it said she needs Tamian.”

“He found Rayna’s car. From the looks of it, someone pushed her off the road with their vehicle, and there was a scuffle.”

“A scuffle? Like blood or…?”

“Like claw marks on the door as if her Cheetah came out to play. There is minimal blood, so it’s possible she attacked the other person. There’re no shredded clothes, meaning she didn’t fully shift, but there are a set of men’s clothes on the ground for some reason. Her burner phone was in the car, so I can’t track her that way.”

“Lucy, why would Rayna ask for Tamian?”

“Maybe because whoever took her has a gun? She knows he’s impervious to bullets.”

“Oh, that makes sense. Where is her car? We’ll head that way.”

“It’s on Bullock Road, west of 87. I’ll send you the exact coordinates. Tamian will be waiting.”

Ace disconnected and scrubbed a hand down his face. Does her Cheetah know where they are or who they’re with?

Yes. It’s her boss, Grissom. But Rayna’s in control.

If she’s in control, why does she need Tamian’s help?

He’s a Gargoyle.

And?

That’s all she said.

Lucy’s text came through, and after plugging in the coordinates, Ace gave Rev directions to the tree-lined road. Rev’s headlights shined on Tamian who was leaning against his SUV with its emergency flashers on, tapping on his phone. When they parked in front of his vehicle, he glanced up, continued typing, then put the phone in his back pocket. Rev told Ace to stay put, then came around to help him out of the truck.

Tamian inclined his head. “Ace, Rev.”

“Show me the blood,” Ace demanded.

Tamian walked to the side of Rayna’s car and pointed at the ground with the toe of his boot. His Gryphon threatened to come out, and the air swirled around them in a miniature cyclone.

“Ace, control your beast,” Rev commanded while holding his hands in front of his face.

Ace took a deep breath, berating his animal to calm the fuck down. When it complied, Ace gingerly knelt, dipping his fingers in the sticky substance. He brought it to his nose, and after inhaling, let out a sigh of relief. “It’s not hers.” He braced himself against the car and stood. “Rayna’s Cheetah is asking for you. It said Rayna is with the deputy director, but she’s in control.”

Tamian didn’t seemed surprised. “Does her Cheetah know where they are?”

“My beast hasn’t said. Let me ask.” Ace waited for his Gryphon to reach out again.

She’s waiting at an old sand quarry not far from here. She hid the evidence bag in the trunk and needs Tamian to bring it to her.

Frustrated, Ace relayed the message, then asked, “Why you?”

Tamian’s stoicism softened. “You are supposed to be resting in the clinic. Besides that, she knows bullets won’t hurt me, and I can also voice humans like a Gryphon can. We had this conversation during our drive to Oasis.” Tamian walked to Rayna’s car and pushed the trunk release button. With the back end being damaged, the Gargoyle had to pry the trunk lid open to retrieve the plastic bag she’d hidden there.

Ace pulled out his phone and opened the map app. “She’s here,” he said, showing Tamian.

The Gargoyle hummed. “Not far then. I would tell you to go home and let me handle this, but I won’t patronize you. Do you want to ride with me or follow behind?”

“You should ride with Tamian,” Rev said. “I’m going to call Sutton to have someone come tow Rayna’s car to the clubhouse. We don’t need humans asking questions about the claw marks. I’ll stay here and wait on the truck.”

“Thanks Rev.”

“You got it, Brother. And do try to take it easy if possible. You are still healing. Come on.” He motioned his head toward Tamian’s vehicle. Ace didn’t bother fussing. Instead, he let his friend help him into the cab, which honestly, was much appreciated.

The quarry was less than a mile away, and when they approached the gate, Ace opened his senses, searching for trouble. Tamian continued through the entrance, following the gravel road until they reached a dilapidated trailer. Rayna was nowhere he could see, but Tamian drove around behind the metal building. Thank Zeus one of them had their emotions under control.

Ace had never seen a more beautiful sight when his mate came into view. Rayna was leaning against a car, holding a gun. When she noticed Ace, her eyes widened. She shoved the firearm into the back of her pants as she strolled toward Tamian’s vehicle.

“What are you doing here?” she asked as he opened the door. Rayna crowded Ace, not letting him get out.

“Came to assist you.”

Rayna rolled her eyes, but then she grinned up at him. “I’d have done the same thing.” Looking past Ace, she said, “Hey, Tamian.”

“Rayna. I brought the evidence packet. Where is Grissom?”

She waved behind her. “He and Perkins are in the trunk. They may need medical attention.” Rayna placed a hand on Ace’s thigh. “The reason I asked for you is because you’re a Gargoyle, and both Grissom and Perkins had firearms.”

“Why didn’t you take them to the field office?” Ace asked.

“Because I don’t know who to trust. Plus, I want to see what’s on the thumb drive first.”

The two men were shouting about bleeding out and needing a hospital. Ace asked, “Did you shoot them?”

“Grissom, yes, but nowhere critical. I did claw Perkins, so one of you will need to voice him and convince him he cut his arm trying to drag me out of the car.”

Ace narrowed his eyes. “Did he hurt you? Is that the real reason your Cheetah reached out to my Gryphon?”

“I wasn’t sure how I was getting out of being confronted by two agents with guns. If I were human, I probably wouldn’t be standing here, but I’m fine. Now that you’re both here, can we take the thumb drive to Lucy and see what’s on it?”

“What are you going to do with those two?” Ace inclined his head toward the other vehicle.

“Can we take them to the clinic and have Rev patch them up after you voice them? I don’t want them losing too much blood.”

“Rev’s waiting at your car for one of the Hounds to bring a tow truck. We didn’t want someone to happen upon it and see the gash marks in the door.”

“Oh, that’s awesome. While you’re voicing Grissom, maybe you could encourage him to pay for the damages since he’s the asshole who ran me off the road.”

“You’re not going to tell… Who are you going to give the evidence to if you don’t know who to trust?” Ace asked.

“I’ll probably go to Stanton Milsap, the director.”

“Once we see what’s on the thumb drive, we can pass it off to Lachlan. He can do a deep dive to uncover who all is involved,” Tamian said. “Do you want me to drive the two captives and meet with Rev while you two head to our house? Or would you rather get back to the clinic?”

“That’s up to Asher.”

“I don’t want to go back to the clinic.”

“Then Lucy’s it is, but I need to get my bags out of my car before it’s towed.” Rayna patted Ace’s leg before closing the door and heading around to the other side. She removed the weapon from the back of her pants and handed it over to Tamian before climbing in. Once seated, she leaned over and pressed a kiss to Ace’s cheek. “You really feel up to this?”

“Yes, ma’am.” And he did. Ace would much rather be with Rayna, enduring a little pain, than sitting in the clinic wondering what she was doing.

Rayna reached over and squeezed Ace’s hand. “I’m glad you’re with me.”

Ace entwined their fingers. He was glad too.