Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Liz
“Set me free, Ace,” I whisper against his lips. My mouth crashes onto his in a heated kiss. Our bodies are flush against each other. I pour everything I’m feeling into this kiss. Every touch, every breath, every word spoken between us over the last few weeks pours out and my body comes alive. Our souls connect on a deeper level.
Ace pulls away first, panting heavily. “That’s not the reaction I thought you’d have.”
He moves a stray piece of hair from my face and his eyes never leave mine. A smile graces his handsome face, showing off his beautiful white teeth and it takes my breath away. I inhale and exhale a few times, my chest heaving, until I get myself under control. I don’t know what to say to everything Ace has confessed to me, but he’s staring at me like he’s waiting for something.
Before I can answer him, Ace’s phone vibrates in his pocket, breaking the spell we’re under. He pulls it out and reads the message. “Shit, we’ve got to go. Are you good?”
“Are you?” I counter.
“I…” Ace trails off, staring into the cloudless blue sky, the waves lap at our bare feet. He shakes his head, “Yeah, I’m good. I’ve had that bottled up inside of me for so long, I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.” Ace leans in and gives me another kiss on my lips. “Let’s go home.”
“Home,” I respond.
Ace stands and holds out a hand. I grab it and he lifts me to my feet. Threading our fingers together, we walk back to his bike. We grab our socks and boots and put them on before Ace helps me with the helmet. His fingers brush against my cheek, sending a shiver down my spine and a need burning between my legs.
“Ace,” I kiss his fingertips. The rising sun reflects in his whiskey eyes staring into mine. “I don’t think any less of you for what happened. It wasn’t your fault and you didn’t instigate or encourage those fuckheads. If anything, I’m in awe and wish I had the courage you have when I needed it the most.” My right thumb runs along a jagged scar on my left wrist, covered with a tattoo of a phoenix rising from the ashes.
“What happened to you?” Ace asks, leaning his forehead against mine.
I open my mouth to answer him when his phone goes off again. This time it’s an incoming call and not a text. Ace pulls away, exhaling a harsh breath and takes his phone out of his pocket. I miss his warmth already. “We will continue this, Liz.”
He answers his phone in a gruff tone. His nostrils flare before his eyes land on me and he smiles, while I patiently wait for him to finish his call. “Got it. Be there in a couple of hours.” Ace hangs up and shoves his phone into his pocket. “That was Rooster. We really need to get back.”
Ace straddles his bike and lifts the kickstand. I rest my right hand on his shoulder and put my left foot on the peg before swinging my leg over the seat and settling in behind him. I wrap my arms around his waist and lean my head against Ace’s back. He starts his bike, the vibrations thrum through my body. I close my eyes as Ace takes off and think about everything he has told me. Then I think about what I need to tell him. Will he be able to protect me once he hears my secrets about why I’m two thousand miles away from home? Will Ace be able to understand my heritage and accept me for who I am? Will he throw me away like yesterday’s garbage or will he fight for me? Will he run away in fear or will he stick around and help me? I’ve been at this for so long on my own, I don’t know how he will react. My own twin betrayed me when I needed him the most. Will Ace do the same?
I contemplate how much I’m going to tell Ace and by the time we pull into the Clubhouse driveway, 2 hours later, I’ve decided to tell him everything. Ace pulls into what I’ve discovered as his parking spot between two bikes and he turns his bike off. The engine ticks in the quiet morning. With my mind made up, I climb off his bike on shaky legs and a sore ass and wait for Ace to do the same. He helps me remove my helmet and sets it on the seat of his bike. Ace grabs my hand and we walk up the concrete slab to the wrap-around porch.
“Ace, there is something I need to tell you.” I pull on his hand to make him stop walking.
Ace turns and looks down at me with fear and concern in his smoldering gaze. “What’s wrong, Liz.”
“I…” I inhale a deep breath and release it before speaking, staring down at the wooden floorboards instead of at Ace. “My brother killed my Memaw, then, when I found out the truth, he tried to kill me and make it look like a suicide. Then my parents didn’t believe me, so I left and ended up here, two thousand miles away from home.” I ramble, trying to get everything out. I take another deep breath. “And my Memaw is Madeline LeRoux, Queen of Louisiana Voodoo and she was a powerful Voodoo witch. I don’t have the ability to do half of what she could, but I do have some of her talents and I’m not going to stop practicing my heritage.” I snap my mouth shut and wait for Ace to reply.
Ace lifts a hand and pulls my chin up, forcing me to look into his beautiful eyes. There is no annoyance or fear. Their depth brings me love and understanding. “That’s a lot to unpack. First of all, I’m never going to make you stop doing what you love, if it brings you peace. Secondly, I’m sorry about your Memaw and third, I’m going to kill your brother.” The anger in those last six words makes my heart skip a beat. I’ve never had anyone defend me the way Ace has since the moment he found me stranded on the side of a back road in the middle of BFE.
“There’s one other thing,” I say, dropping my gaze to the floorboards again. I raise my eyes until I’m staring into Ace’s gaze. “I have to go back to Louisiana in a couple of weeks for Memaw’s death-ivesary. It’s tradition in our culture to come back on the day the Voodoo queen died and pay your respect to her. The only thing is, I’m terrified to go alone.”
Ace kisses the top of my head before pulling me into his arms. “Let me talk to Kayne and I’ll go with you. I’m not letting you out of my sight, even for a moment.”
Relief fills my body from Ace’s words. “You mean that?”
“Every word, Sweet Cheeks.”
“Thank you, Ace.”
“Don’t thank me, Liz. I want to do this with you.”
The front door swings open with force and Butch is on the other side scowling at us. I hide behind Ace, terrified of this big brute, but I realize he isn’t giving me a nasty look. Instead, he is glaring at the car pulling up the driveway. A beautiful woman with long brown hair steps out of the car with a matching scowl on her face.
“What the fuck are you doing here, Detective ?” Butch’s deep voice spits detective out. He’s glaring at the woman as he steps off the porch. His posture is ridged and his big hands are clenched at his sides.
She crosses her arms over her ample chest, barely confined behind the white silk dress shirt under a black blazer. She has on black dress pants, black shoes, and a gun strapped to her hip. “I’m here to speak with Kayne. Not that it’s any of your business, Mr. Christiansen.”
“If it involves my club, Detective, it involves me.” The fury in Butch’s voice is making me shake in my boots. But this woman stands strong. She doesn’t back down. Instead, she steps away from her car and approaches Butch with the same amount of hatred in her silky brown eyes.
My gaze ping-pongs between the two of them. There is a lot of tension festering between them and I wonder what that story is about. I don’t hear Poison or Kayne step outside until a baby squeaks next to me, making me jump.
“Detective Kendrick, please come inside.” Kayne interrupts Butch and Kendrick’s standoff.
Butch’s back straightens even more from Kayne’s words. He towers over the best of them at six foot six and is intimidating as hell, but this detective has balls of steel. “Gladly, Kayne. Good to see some people are still polite, instead of brooding assholes.” She pushes past Butch, brushing her hand against his junk, giving him a smirk as she passes.
Butch scowls even deeper at her brazen grope but doesn’t say a word. Instead, his dark eyes follow her as she sways her hips and walks up the porch. Ace wraps his arm around my shoulders, pulling me to his side protectively. I watch with fascination at this big burly biker being manhandled by a woman. Butch shakes his head and releases a deep growl before following Kayne, Poison and the detective into the Clubhouse.
“What was that about?” I ask when they’re out of sight, fanning my face.
“No idea, but I need to go with them in case Butch loses it,” Ace responds.
I snort. “That man has it bad for her. If he loses it, it’ll be her pleasure.”
Ace shakes his head. “No way. Bikers don’t get mixed up with cops. It’s bad for business.”
“Tell that to Butch’s dick,” I respond. Ace scowls at me and I hold my hands up in mock surrender. “Just saying, is all. He’s either going to blow a gasket or blow his load.”
“When did you get so crass?” Ace asks with a grin.
“I don’t know.” I tap my fingers against my chin. “Maybe about the time I met this biker and he corrupted my innocence.”
Now Ace snorts, “Innocent my ass.”
I swat him on his chest just as Ace’s lips land on mine. He kisses me hard before pulling away “Babe, I’ll corrupt you every day if you’ll let me.”
“Keep kissing me like that, and I’ll let you corrupt me,” I respond breathlessly.
A loud crash comes from inside the Clubhouse and I jump. “Shit, I’ve got to go. I’ll see you in a little while. Don’t get into trouble.” Ace gives me a quick kiss before disappearing inside.
I stay out on the porch for a little while, soaking in the morning sun and enjoying the quiet. I pull my phone out of my pocket and type out a text.
ME: I’ll be home in two weeks but I’m not staying.
MOM: Please come home for good. Your brother and father miss you.
I snort and roll my eyes at the last sentence. I know better. My brother wants me dead and my father wants to cover up his indiscretions. My mom is blind to it all or she’s afraid.
ME: Can’t. I have to finish school and I have a life.
MOM: Your family needs you here, Elizabeth. Memaw would be so disappointed if she knew you threw us away.
ME: I’ll see you in a couple of weeks.
I shove my phone back in my pocket and wipe away angry tears. I’m not the one who pushed them away. They pushed me away and called me a liar and a slut. Saying I was the one to instigate what happened to me.
I didn’t ask for any of this. I didn’t ask for Memaw to die. I didn’t ask to have my wrist sliced open. I didn’t ask for the betrayal of the one man I thought I could trust.
The only good thing to come out of the whole fucked up situation is Ace and this Club. I hope he can handle the craziness of a Voodoo family.