20. ACE #2
He nods. “Yes. Morgan. But Emma, do yourself a favor and don't bring her up.
She got really sick and we were young. It was before we had taken our vows into the brotherhood, before he became who he is now.
And, I don't think you can say they loved each other like he does you.” My eyes flutter with my smile hearing those words.
“But they were close, they probably didn't know what love was.
It brings up bad shit for him and I don't think he needs that right now, you got me?”
“Oh, I gotcha ya. I feel it too, Bear. I know what it's like to have something special ripped away from you and your heart broken.” And I truly do know.
I know the pain of just wanting to keep shit buried so deep, that you accept it's there and allow yourself to move on only to have someone dig it all up again.
So when I leave this conversation, I will leave with the information and never speak of it again. There's no need to.
“Come on, I'll help you find Ace.”
“Where's my father?” I ask.
“In the chambers.” He shoots me a wink with a dangerous grin. The words explode from my mouth before I can think of them. “Let's go there!” My brows shoot up playfully.
“Alright, we can make a pit stop. I've been dying to see if what Ace has said is true.” Bear jokes.
“I'm afraid to ask.”
“Don't be babe, own it. Don't fight the crazy, it will only eat you alive.” Bear confidently states. A playful laugh escapes my throat as I say. “I feel psychotic sometimes; like what was I fucking thinking stepping up to my father's gun like I did?”
“You weren't. You have to learn to control that. Your father will give you practice.”
“How so?” I ask.
“If you go in there and retaliate now, you have to pull away from him. Or you'll kill him and regret not giving him the proper torture he deserves. How you wanted.”
“How?”
“Remember everything he did, and tell yourself, this isn't enough, he deserves more pain; you have to find the strength and pull yourself off.
Keep your mind focused on your plan, what you've longed to do, and turn your fucking emotions off.” His words are swallowed by my ears and kept locked in my brain.
That's just what I needed to hear. I'm fucking ready.
Bear's words ring in my head. Hitting me harder than I expect them to, but I know what I need to do, I need to fill this pain in my heart with revenge.
I open the door, and my eyes immediately fall on my father tied to a chair in front of me. My eyes travel over, looking up at Ace. “Having fun without me again?”
He chuckles with his words. “No, I was actually just leaving.”
“Stay awhile, I think it's time we start playing some games.” I look over at my father and his lip curls to a snarl as his darkened eyes pierce mine. “Show me what you got Princess.”
“Eww, don't call me that.” I hissed. My gaze falls on a wooden bat laying on the table, along with many other weapons which pulls a devious smirk to my face.
Perfect, a few good swings should get some of this frustration out.
I walk to the table, wrapping my hand around the smooth wooden bat.
I pick it up, doing a good twirl with it as I walk back over in front of my father.
He looks up and meets my gaze and the question that is most important to me, shouts from my mouth.
“Why? Why were you such a miserable bastard that hated me so much? I did everything you asked of me!” He says nothing, his darkened eyes hold their deadly gaze on me, and a huff escapes my throat before I nod. Okay.
Taking the bat in both hands I turn my body, before I swing the bat with every ounce of strength I have across my father's already shattered knees.
“FUCK!” He groans.
“ANSWER ME!” I swing again. This time across his stomach, ripping the air from his lungs.
His head falls forward and I reach out, entangling his hair between my fingers, I tug, snapping his head back, making him look me in the eyes as the words hiss from my tongue.
“You will feel every ounce of pain I have felt since I was a little girl. It started when I was six with you. When you smacked me, giving me my first black eye, because you tripped over my BIKE!”
His words painfully whisper out. “You left it in my way.”
“I WAS SIX!” I bark the words before the bat swings across his stomach again, leaving a deafening thud when the bat meets his gut.
My father bellows in pain and it brings a smile to my face.
Blood pools at the corners of his mouth turning my smile to a fucking grin.
“Does it hurt? Good!” His eyes roll with annoyance.
“You don't have much to say now, do you? How does it make you feel seeing me like this? Are you fucking proud of this?” The questions spit from my mouth before my fist connects with his jaw.
His head snaps to the side before it snaps back, his eyes meeting mine and his words whispering out with a cold heartless meaning to them. “I could never be proud of you.”
I try to fight the urge to explode, to lose my control, thinking of Bear's words, I don't want to kill him yet, I want to pay him back.
I tell myself to breath as I stare into his eyes, clenching my teeth so fucking hard I'm scared I might break them, fitting the lose control voice in my head so fucking hard.
But it consumes me and I unleash every bit of pain I am feeling on my fathers face.
His head snaps from left to right with every left and right hook I give, watching my father's eyes roll to the back of his head.
ACE
Bear and I stand here watching Emma give her father his torture. But listening to her rips my fucking heart out. You can hear the pain in her voice every time it cracks, the flames that feed off her back with rage that eats her alive.
Bear growls beside me as he watches her. Her words of her being six when this started gets under both our skin. The urge to join her and rip her father limp for limp consumes me, but I bite my tongue and let her handle this; this is fueling the fire I have inside me for Luca.
I'm shocked her weapon of choice was a bat tonight. I thought she might go for those knives again and start slicing him to pieces but she has her plan and she will get everything she needs from this.
She hits him across the stomach with that bat wrapped in her hands, ripping agonizing groan after groan from his throat.
“That's right girl.” I hear Bear whisper under his breath as he watches her intently with a smile on his face.
He told me about their talk when she came looking for me about her outbursts, we both know what she needs.
She has to learn to control the Devil in her.
You will not hear from my mouth again that she doesn't know the ways of the world we live in, she does, very well.
But what she knows in knowledge she doesn't know in controlling what is consuming her, and that's dangerous.
Her madness is justifiable in every way, but it's clouding her judgement, her control, and who she really is; she has to find that again.
“You better stop her now or she's going to kill him, Ace.”
“Let her.”
He shakes his head. “She kills him now she will carry that regret the rest of her life and you know that.”
I look over at her as she stands over top of her father, landing punch after punch to his face, his eyes starting to roll. He's right and this will teach her the control she needs.
EMMA
Bear rips me from my father, pulling me back against his chest out of the room.
He whispers in my ear. “That's enough for now, you have more to do tomorrow, the hardest day.” I swallow hard, staring at my father's unconscious body through the doorway as Ace steps in front of me, curling his finger, hooking it under my chin, lifting my gaze to him. “Listen to Bear, Baby Girl.”
I furrow my brows, why the fuck do I have to listen to Bear all of a sudden.
Ace reads my question through my gaze, his words low and deep.
“You need to learn how to control this inside you and I can't teach you, I have to be the person for when you need to feel safe and a place to break.” I hear what he is saying, I know I need to control it, but I really don't need to be coddled either.
“I need to drive Ace.” My words are nothing but a whisper before Ace snaps his gaze up to Bear, before returning his gaze on me.
“Can I trust you?” My heart slams against my chest, my breath catching in my throat.
“Please don't play with me.” My words are nothing but a hopeful whisper.
“Promise me, if I give you your car back, you won't go anywhere unless I know about it.
Do you understand me, Emma? I am trusting you, please don't break that again, Baby Girl. You need this to help snap you out of this crazed shock, I think you are in with everything going on.”
In a way he is right, I'm on edge, shocked that my mother is alive, unsure if I'm going to fall to the floor in a puddle of tears or if I'm going to rip someone's face off, I need to drive.
My car has been separated from me for too long and I am ready to get behind the wheel and feel her purr. “I promise. Please let me drive.”
“Oh, you're not just driving; you're racing.”
ACE
I need her to smile again, I need her to find herself before she loses herself completely. There hasn't been any sign of Luca or his Heathens since the night of the engagement party. It's been Charles causing all the ruckus around here burning the South Hotel and Casino down.
We managed to get that cleaned up and the Feds off our ass. Fortunately, Caz was able to delete the footage, telling the Feds it was destroyed in the fire. But I have it, the video of Charles setting it on fire, in Emma's office. Fucking bastard.
The Charles situation is handled. That no good piece of shit isn't going anywhere but to hell when Emma sends his ass there with a smile on her face. The same smile I miss seeing on her lips.
As much as she turns me the fuck on with her bad girl shit, especially after seeing what she had at her safe house. I miss her catch me games, and that smile that can light the room up.
EMMA
As we make our way to our room, Ace and I look over at each other when we hear a woman's voice, I do not recognize, giving Ace a question look and his brows furrow.
“Who is that Ace?” His shoulders rise with the deep breath he inhales into his lungs.
“That's April's voice.” My mouth falls open.
“WHAT? She's here? Fuck Ace, I can't.” Panic washes over me as I shake my head, my breathing coming in quick gasps.
I clench my chest with my hand. I can't do this.
Tears burn my eyes, a full blown panic attack rips me apart. I can't face her, I hate her, I want to kill her like my father. She abandoned me, she left me with a Monster. The tension in my jaw burns, trying to fight the tears from falling but they do.
“Baby Girl, breathe. You don't have to see her, I will take care of it.” Ace takes my face in his hands, making me look at him, his words calm, but firm. “Breathe, I'll take care of it.”
My eyelids flutter closed as tears fall down my cheeks, the words painfully whispering out.
“Why are they doing this to me?” Ace's hands drop my face, quickly wrapping his arms around me, pulling me firmly against him, my head burrowing into his chest. “I'll get rid of them Emma, just breathe, remember what I told you.”
I look up and Bear holds his gaze on me before his lips go into a straight line with a nod, he turns and walks towards my mother. “I promise, Emma, when we get Luca, this will all be over for you.” My head snaps back. “What do you mean for me? What about you?”
I look up and meet his gaze and I see this big merciless man shed a tear, his words deeply rolling off his tongue. “I can never leave, Emma. I took a vow, but you did not, and I will not let you live this life.”
“Do I get a say in that?”
“Of course you do.”
“Then I'm not going anywhere. Ace you are my home, my safe place; unless the contract is still at play here?” I ask with a questioning look.
“Not a chance in hell Baby Girl, but I want you to do what you want, and don't think about anyone else's feelings and if it will hurt them.” My finger flies over his lips, hushing him as I smile up at him.
“Shut up! I'm not going anywhere, but one thing is for sure, Ryan and April are getting out of this house.”
My ears are burning with the yelling in the other room, and it has been since Bear went out there, I've tried to block it out, but Ryan is just getting louder.
“It's time to tell our parents goodbye.”