Chapter 9 #2
“No jobs today?”
She shook her head. “I thought it best to cancel a few things.”
“You’re with me at the Norcross office again.”
“I’ll keep working on my photos.” She fiddled with her hair. “Are your parents okay? About the baby?”
“Pretty sure my mom will have started a list of baby names.”
“We haven’t talked about how this will work. About after the baby arrives…”
“Hey.” He cupped her cheeks. “We’re still adjusting, and you’re in danger. Let’s sort that out first.”
“You’re afraid to be a father.”
He froze. Fuck . “I said, give it time.”
“What are you so afraid of?”
“I said, leave it.” His voice was a harsh rasp.
She jerked back.
He cursed and ran a hand through his hair. “Sorry, I…” He didn’t want to dredge up his worst failure. Or darker, older secrets.
“It’s none of my business.” Face blank, she headed back to the bedroom. “I’ll grab my bag. I’ll be ready to go when you are.”
Ace looked at the ceiling. “Fuck.”
It was a quiet drive to the Norcross office. Maggie kept busy on her phone, or staring out the window.
“Maggie—”
“It’s okay, Ace. We all have our demons. You don’t have to share them if you don’t want to.” She kept her gaze on her phone.
He reached over and gripped her thigh. “I…don’t want you to look at me differently.”
Her gaze flew to his face. “Will I?”
“Yeah. Probably.”
“Ace, I know you. Some old secret, no matter how old, isn’t going to change that.”
He hoped that was the truth. He saw the Norcross warehouse ahead.
All of a sudden, a man darted across the street.
“Oh, my God,” Maggie cried. “Watch out!”
Ace slammed on the brakes and narrowly missed him, but the man lunged and slammed into a parked car.
“ Merda .” Ace pulled into a parking spot on the street and turned the Porsche off.
Maggie leaped out of the car.
“Maggie, wait.” He raced after her.
He was circling the vehicle, when Maggie reached the man.
“Are you all right?” she asked.
Suddenly, the man looked up and grabbed Maggie.
“Hey.” Ace broke into a run.
The man tried to lift Maggie off her feet, but she fought. She kicked her legs and jerked her head back. The back of her skull collided with the guy’s nose.
His ripe curses filled the air.
Ace lunged in and rammed his fist into the guy’s side.
The man grunted and let Maggie go. Ace yanked her away.
The man straightened and pulled a knife. Maggie gasped, and Ace shoved her behind him.
The attacker slashed out.
Sloppy. Ace hadn’t worked in the field as much as the other Norcross guys, but he was trained, and he worked out with them every week.
He flowed back and dodged the slash. He kicked at the man’s knee.
The guy staggered and Ace drove a blow into the man’s arm. The asshole dropped the knife, but whirled fast with a growl.
His punch slammed into Ace’s gut, driving the air out of him.
“Ace!”
He blocked out Maggie’s cry and absorbed the pain. He was not letting this asshole lay hands on her.
Ace snapped his elbow into the guy’s face, spun, and followed through with two solid punches.
The guy winced and bent over. Ace rammed his knee into the guy’s face, and the man dropped to the concrete with a low groan.
“Maggie?” Ace asked.
“I’m okay.”
Staring down at the guy, Ace pulled out his phone and dialed.
“Yeah,” Vander’s voice.
“Guy tried to grab Maggie out front of the office. We—”
“Coming. Hang tight.”
Ace turned to Maggie. “We’ll—”
Her eyes widened. “Ace!”
The blow slammed into the back of his head. The world turned to a dark haze.
Fuck, no . He couldn’t lose consciousness. He fought to stay on his feet. He couldn’t leave Maggie unprotected.
He heard Maggie cursing, and the sound of a scuffle.
The next thing he realized, he was being dragged along the sidewalk between two guys. The one he’d beaten up was yanking Maggie along. The guy’s nose was clearly broken, and he was likely going to get a black eye.
They were led into an alley. Ace pulled in a slow breath. Vander was coming, they just had to hold on a few minutes longer.
“Car’s ahead,” one guy growled.
Fuck . Ace couldn’t let them get him and Maggie in a car. He needed to slow them down.
He swung out and rammed a fist into the guy on the left. The guy grunted. The guy on the right was already reacting.
Ace swiveled and slammed the two guys together. Their foreheads cracked together and they went down.
“Don’t move,” a deep voice said.
Ace jerked his head up.
The other guy was holding Maggie in front of him, a knife pressed to the delicate underside of her jaw. Fear was alive in her eyes, but she was staying still and calm.
Good girl. Ace met her gaze.
He pulled his phone out, keeping it close to his side. From feel alone, he touched the screen and tapped.
“Hold still, asshole,” the man said. “Or I’ll cut her up.”
Ace looked at the guy. He was sweating, hurting, and nervous.
Ace touched the screen. A high-pitched noise screeched from the phone and he tossed it at the attacker.
The phone hit the man in the head and he staggered.
Maggie jerked free, clamping her hands over her ears.
Ace grabbed her hand. “Run!”