Chapter 44
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
Ace
Song- Snap Out Of It- Arctic Monkey
I drag Jett off the table before he falls and snaps his neck. But I don't tear my eyes from Harper.
"You alright?" Colten asks beside me.
"Yeah," I grunt.
"We promised Hunter no fightin' tonight. And that corporate twat won't survive a punch from you, Ace."
I laugh. He's right. I'd drop him instantly. And I quite enjoy the thought.
"Ace," he warns.
"I know the deal. It ain't real," I tell him.
Doesn’t mean I’m not fuckin’ pissed off.
"Hmm. That look on your face ain't telling me that story, bro."
I shrug. "I ain't a huge fan of this arrangement, no. But Harper needs to stay on this case. It's a business transaction to protect us."
And I hate that right to my core. She shouldn’t have to do this shit to keep my family safe. She shouldn’t be messed up in this, with the Italian mafia breathing down her neck, demanding intel. With a sleazy boss forcing her to lie so he can steal his dying father's company.
My sweet girl deserves so much better. I need to figure out a way to kill Gianna’s family, the Greeks, and this Hudson asshole.
"You think once her deal is done, she's going to come back here permanently?" Colten asks.
I take a slow breath and pick up my beer. "I ain't lettin' her leave this time."
My eyes stay on her. She takes off her hat, places it on the table, and runs her fingers through her blonde curls. The tank top. The boots. She dressed like a cowgirl tonight, and I don't think that was for Hudson.
I slide out my phone.
ME: You're makin' me hard, pretty girl.
She pulls her phone from her purse, leaning back to read it. I can't see her face, but I see the text bubbles appear.
Goldie: I'm wet just being in the same room as you.
I nearly choke on my drink.
ME: You're comin' home with me tonight.
She turns, glancing over in my direction, and I smirk. Fuck, she's beautiful. She knocks back her shot and turns to speak to her uncle.
Goldie: Better catch me first, baby.
A low growl escapes me. I adjust myself in my jeans. I went a long time without her, and now all I want to do is have her. Every minute. Every hour. Every goddamn day.
Hudson turns and looks in our direction. He frowns. Leans in to whisper something to Harper.
I see the way her back straightens. She shakes her head. But he's already off his chair.
Walking right toward me.
I push myself off the table and stand straight. He's short compared to me. Probably a foot between us. The suit alone makes him a target in here. This is a cowboy bar, not a boardroom, and every man in this room can smell outsider on him.
Harper catches up and grabs his arm. He brushes her off.
I square up to him with a straight face.
"Is there a problem here?" I say.
He comes to an abrupt halt. Looks up at me. His Adam's apple bobs as he swallows. So I clear my throat.
"I said, do you have a fuckin' problem? Or is there a reason you're stomping over here looking like you want to start a fight?" I lean down an inch. "I'll give you some advice… don't come into a cowboy bar wearing a suit and expect to leave without a black eye."
Jett erupts into laughter behind me. "Last prick in a suit didn't last long."
Reese. Hunter's ex-best friend. We buried him a few weeks ago. Jett probably shouldn't joke about that. Especially not in front of him.
"This is Hudson," Harper says, stepping between us. Her voice is tight. Her eyes are begging me to behave.
Hudson extends his hand.
I take it. And I squeeze. Watch his eyes bulge. Hold it for three seconds longer than necessary.
"I'm Ace. Harper's…" I pause. Glance at her. She's giving me the don't you fuckin' dare look.
"Harper's friend," I say with a smile.
He snatches his hand back and not so discreetly tries to cover up that he's shaking it out.
"Right. Well, I'm her fiancé." He straightens his jacket and gives me the kind of smile that men give when they think a title makes them untouchable.
I look down and there it is. My chest feels like it’s caving in. The diamond on her finger. Ginormous. The kind that just screams money and zero thought.
The exact opposite of what my Goldie would want. Seeing it—even knowing it ain't real—hits me square in the chest.
His eyebrow arches. "Let me guess. You're the ex."
"What makes you say that?"
He shoves a hand in his suit pocket. "Men just know, don't they? When another guy is after their girl. But you? You had that look about you. She's the one that got away. The one you’ll never quite be ready to give up on. So… you're the ex."
I clear my throat. He's not wrong. Except the part where Harper is his. What he fails to know is that I'm the one making her scream every night. I'm the one she wants.
My lips curve upwards. "Wouldn't call it that. Too negative for my liking. I think of it as I was Harper's first."
And last. But I keep that to myself.
Harper gasps beside him.
"First love. First kiss." I pause. "First—"
Harper's hands connect with my chest, shoving me back a step. I can’t help but snicker.
"You can go now, Ace," she snaps.
I glance down at her, biting my lip. "I was going to say friend."
She rolls her eyes, and I let out a low chuckle.
"We both know what you were about to say. And it also began with an F," she whispers.
She’s really turnin’ me on with this explosion of sass. It’s making my hand twitch at my side.
"Oh…" I play dumb. Scratch my jaw. "First fuck? Yeah. That too. And you remember, don't you? That night, you had that cute little—"
She slaps her hand over my mouth. Her palm is warm. Her eyes are murderous. And I’m twenty seconds from being hard. Or bending her over the bar and showing her fiancé just how well I know her.
"Ace Sterling. You get your ass away right this second. Think, baby," she says the last part softly.
And it registers with me. Just about. Only she holds this kind of power over me.
Hudson takes a step forward, and she drops her hand, moving away from me. Putting distance between us. Choosing the performance.
Oh, she's going to pay for this later.
"Congratulations," I say flatly, tipping my hat.
Colten grabs my shoulder and I’m already moving. "Come on."
I brush him off. Give Harper one last look. Let her see it—that I ain't done. Not even close.
I can deal with many things. Her telling me she's engaged. Her going back to him and staying at his stupid mansion for dinner with his parents. Trusting her not to break me again.
But I draw the goddamn line at him being in my bar, declaring himself as hers. When he ain't. The only man she owns is me.
I follow Colten back to Jett at the bar. Jett silently hands me a bottle of beer. I drown it and slam it back on the counter.
"Fuck," I hiss.
I know she’s mine. I know it. My soul fuckin’ knows it. Doesn't mean I don't want to hurl my fist through a wall. Or better yet, through that sleazy bastard's head.
I hear her voice, and for some obviously self-inflicting reason, I turn.
They're at a high table. They're talking. She's nervously bouncing her leg. And then she excuses herself, pushing back from the table, and rushes toward the bathrooms. Nearly crashes through the door.
That is my cue. I’m already walking.
"Ace," Colten warns, following my eyeline.
I adjust my hat, ignore him, and head straight out the front door.
Around to the back of the bar. Through the back entrance that leads into the hallway for the restrooms. I rest my back against the wall opposite the ladies' room door.
And I wait like I got all the time in the world.
Which I suppose I have when it comes to Harper.