As Luck Would Have It (The Aces #1)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

S ummoning Ezra Kaine was a privilege few had.

He went by many titles, and none of them were accountable to anyone but himself.

But for his grandfather’s best friend—his godfather—he made a little leeway.

Still, traveling an hour to Eastfield had not been on his schedule today and his tiger carried that irritation, making himself a nuisance.

He was pushing off other meetings to attend this one and he could only hope there was good reason.

Kaine rolled his neck as his security pulled his car up to the valet.

Sliding from the back seat, he nodded to Griff, his head of his security, as he fell in behind him.

The restaurant was busy. It was Sunday, and the August day wasn’t as sweltering as usual for this time of year, so the patio tables were full.

While most tiger shifters didn’t mind the weather, Kaine’s family were rare white tigers, and Florida was a sneak peek into Hell as far as his animal was concerned.

He’d left his suit jacket in the back of the car, but even still, in just his vest and dress shirt, he was feeling the heat.

Entering the cool air of the restaurant was a relief, even though it was barely ten feet from the valet station. The hostess smiled at him, recognizing him.

“Right this way, Mr. Kaine,” she simpered.

His tiger swiped at him in frustration. Being around people was not something his animal enjoyed on its best day.

His presence garnered stares as they moved through the restaurant, not a surprise as his tiger’s presence spoke loudly.

Though he didn’t live in Eastfield, his reputation preceded him and everywhere he went, attention followed.

His family ran the Aces, an assassins’ guild that had been around for decades.

Now that his grandfather had passed, the job fell to Kaine.

Ace of Spades was his title as head of the guild, and though not many humans were cognizant of them, among certain shifters, the Aces were infamous.

But that was not why all attention was on him.

Months ago, his mother had talked him into an interview with a society magazine about the charitable works his family’s brokerage firm was involved with.

What should have been a business article had devolved into society gossip, labeling Ezra Kaine a rich eligible bachelor.

His tiger grumbled in aggravation just thinking about social climbers and gold diggers with avarice on their mind.

Following the hostess, he paused as a voice rose above all the others, a tinkling laugh that lifted the hairs on the back of his neck.

He froze in place, his eyes scanning the room until they landed on one of the most beautiful women he’d ever seen.

Her hair was up in a high pony tail, a pair of gold hoop earrings dangling from her ears.

Her skin was burnished toffee, shining beneath the bright light filtering into the restaurant.

Narrow nose, pouty lips, and large, dark, captivating eyes. She was stunning.

Who was she?

For the first time in his life, he was frozen in indecision.

He wanted to go to her, but he had business to handle.

His eyes skimmed her figure, her smooth exposed shoulders down to the breasts that pushed against the white corset top she wore.

She was slim, but curvy enough to make his mouth water.

His tiger was motionless within him, confused enough to stop the complaining and rattling it was doing earlier. That made his decision for him.

Business first.

That would give his tiger enough time to decide what about the woman caught their attention. The hostess turned to him, a question in her gaze. He nodded toward the woman’s table.

“Whatever they are having, I’m covering,” he instructed her.

She smiled and nodded, leading him into the private area his godfather always booked.

It wasn’t a separate room, but there were partitions up that isolated it from the rest of the restaurant, private enough for whatever business Kenneth needed to discuss with him.

Kaine dismissed the waitress, settling into the chair in front of his grandfather’s oldest friend.

Griff nodded to Kenneth in greeting before posting up at the entrance of the partition, turning his back to them to leave them in some semblance of privacy.

“Kenneth,” he greeted.

Kenneth grunted and studied him. The older male had been in Kaine’s life since he’d been born, helping his grandfather train him for the role that he now inhabited. A wily lion, Kenneth Burnett was a stocky man who wore his seventy years well. His age didn’t diminish the power of his animal.

“You’re late,” the old man finally grumbled.

Kaine chuckled. He didn’t bother looking down at his watch because he was never late, and despite the man’s antiquated views, fifteen minutes early was late by no stretch of the word. He said nothing. A waitress approached their table and sat down a glass of water for him.

“Your usual, Mr. Kaine?”

He shook his head because he didn’t intend on this meeting lasting long. His animal raised when he heard that laugh again. It seemed to float in the air, reaching deep within him and tugging at instincts he’d never encountered.

Who the fuck was she?

He wanted her scent. Kaine inhaled and filtered through the smells in the restaurant, but he could discern nothing this far away. He focused his attention back on the old man.

“You called the meeting, Kenneth.”

Kenneth grunted. “Dustin’s family is requesting justice for his death.”

Kaine waited him out.

When no answer came, the man growled. “It should come from you.”

“I’m not paying them shit, Kenneth. They can take it from the money he stole from me.”

One thing Kaine hated was a thief and he had no interest in discussing the accountant.

His first order of business when he took over his family’s guild had been removing Dustin and giving the position to Declan Edwards.

Killing the thief had been a matter of business and not anything he even gave a moment’s thought to.

He’d attended the leopard’s funeral as though he hadn’t been responsible for him going to the afterlife.

No, his family’s money didn’t come from legal means, but it was his shit and he wanted every single penny accounted for.

“They could make this a lot messier than it needs to be,” Kenneth warned him.

“And there are plenty of spaces left in their family’s plot,” he said calmly.

“You chose Declan Edwards to head up the Aces fund. An outsider, and a wolf no less. You really want to push this?”

Kenneth said it under the guise of helpful advice, but Kaine’s tiger bristled all the same. When Kaine didn’t answer the question, his godfather sighed.

“I had my doubts when your grandfather gave you the position.”

“You’d rather the pastor or First Lady be sitting here?” Kaine scoffed.

His father was pastor of a megachurch and, for all intents and purposes, lived his life in a pious manner.

At least to the outside world. From the very first moment Jeffrey Kaine had set foot into his mate’s exclusive world, he had not fit.

Oakridge was old money, and his father had grown up poor in Franklin, a small farming town outside of the city.

No matter how much wealth Jeffrey had built off Vivian’s money, he had not been accepted.

And so, the position had passed down to their oldest child.

Kaine had no issues taking over the Aces.

His grandfather had trained him for it. From the moment he hit puberty and Henry Browne realized his daughter would not be taking the family’s seat as the Ace of Spades, he had prepared his grandson.

His father hadn’t wanted his kids anywhere near the guild, but not even he could get out of family duty.

“Your father would never be accepted.” Kenneth waved away Kaine’s words. “That doesn’t mean you can come in here and shake up tradition, Ezra. I’m not saying you’re wrong at all for the way you handled it, I’m saying part of the job is balance. You’ve made your point; now, smooth the shit over.”

Kaine sighed. He respected Kenneth and his opinion…

He just really hated being told what to do.

His tiger moved through him, raising the hair on his arms. He expected pushback from the animal, but its attention was still on the puzzle of the woman on the other side of the partition.

“Fine,” he conceded.

“Thank you, that’s all I ask. Until the ascension, you need to be mindful of your moves.”

He had only been in his position for ten months and it was interim. The role of Ace of Spades wouldn’t become permanent to him until after a year. That was two months from now. Kaine had no doubts that he would hold the position, so his godfather’s warning wasn’t needed.

He wished someone would try and take away the legacy his grandfather had built.

“Is that the reason you called me way over here?”

Kenneth scoffed and took a sip of his coffee. “It ain’t like you were going to be sitting in anyone’s pews.”

Kaine laughed, but his attention wasn’t on his godfather’s answer. Instead, he inhaled deeply, sorting through scents to see if any would stand out. It took a minute to filter through the aromas of food, perfumes, and other shifters, but finally…

Oh, fuck.

He frowned, and his tiger rumbled his chest. That scent released a primal instinct in Kaine that made him impatient and, for once in his life…

panicky. Indecision in his position was dangerous, yet both he and his animal were unsure of what to do.

He knew what that scent meant, but approaching the woman in front of all these witnesses…

that would be a misstep. There were a few moves he needed to make in order to safely do what his tiger was prodding him toward.

A fire lit within him and he was even more impatient to leave.

“Ezra,” Kenneth called for his attention. “You’re distracted.”

His godfather had a curious tilt to his head. His tiger swished around his chest, prodding him to keep their secrets close.

“Just business shit,” he murmured, standing. “Or else I’d stay and have lunch with you.”

Kenneth nodded, though it was evident that he didn’t quite believe his words. Dapping up the OG, Kaine left the table, his eyes scanning the restaurant for another glimpse of the woman. The moment his gaze settled on her, his chest rumbled.

Her presence packed a punch.

He smiled in anticipation. The timing was off, but soon…

His animal turned over in his body and all of sudden, the visit to his godfather didn’t seem like an imposition. Dare he say fate had led him here?