Chapter 10
10
I jolt awake as a phone rings.
Ice’s voice booms on the speaker of the car, “What the fuck are you doing?”
“On my way to Miami to deliver the goods,” Ace answers.
“Aren’t you a bit early on schedule?” his boss asks.
“Yeah but I figured…”
“Don’t care,” the man cuts in. “It was a bad idea. So get off at the next exit and come up on a side road back to the office. You’ll probably have company but nothing you can’t handle. Just bring them to us, we’ll be waiting for you.”
Ice hangs up and looks in my direction.
“What?”
“Just making sure you had your seat belt tight.”
A minute later, Ace goes down the ramp and bypasses Alternate A1A to take a smaller road.
“How can we have company?” I ask. “Your decision to take me back to Miami now was sort of spur of the moment thing, no?”
Ace frowns as if debating what he can share with me and then says, “I’m guessing they just leaked intel to check a theory.”
We drive up a couple of blocks. It’s quiet until it’s not… An SUV passes us and swerves to block our way. Tires screech and Ace curses under his breath, his knuckles white on the steering wheel. In the rearview mirror, I see a sedan gaining on us. Is that our back-up?
“Hold on,” Ace warns, his voice tight with concentration.
I grip the door handle, bracing myself for impact but we don’t hit anything. Ace jerks the wheel, sending us careening onto a side street. The sedan follows, its engine roaring. We pass a school bus and enter a busy street. Ace weaves through traffic, his jaw clenched. “These guys don’t give up easy.”
As the sedan gains on us, I turn around and catch a glimpse of the driver. It’s David Blackwell.
“It’s my boss’s son,” I gasp.
Ace gets out of traffic into a cul-de-sac. Before he reaches the end of it, he slams on the brakes, sending his SUV into a spin. The sedan shoots past us, its tires smoking. Ace throws the vehicle into reverse and blocks the exit.
“We need answers,” he growls.
Ace rushes out of his seat and stands in front of David’s car, pointing a gun at him. Standing like a cowboy in an old western, Ace’s the sexiest man alive. If I wasn’t so scared I’d… well I don’t know what I would do.
David kills his engine and raises his hands. As soon as he does, Ace yanks open the driver’s side door, dragging a dazed David out. He slams him against the car, his forearm pressed against David’s throat.
“Talk,” Ace demands. “Now.”
David’s eyes widen, his face pale. “I… I didn’t have a choice,” he stammers. “They said they’d kill me if I didn’t do what they wanted.”
“Who’s they?” he asks.
“The guys I owe money to. From the poker games.” David swallows hard. “They said if I didn’t help them frame you, they’d…” He trails off, his eyes filling with tears.
Ace’s grip tightens. “But you’re such a dumb fuck, you didn’t set all this up on your own. You got Alicia to help you? She’s the one who organized everything?”
David’s eyes widen, and he shakes his head vigorously. “No, no. She was one of our two marks. None of the girls had anything to do with it.”
Ace releases him, and David slumps against the car, rubbing his throat. Ace looks in the car and pulls out a phone. He places it in front of David’s face to unlock it and looks at the screen for a bit.
He throws the phone to the ground and steps on it. I’m not sure what he’s trying to do. Annoy David or make sure no one will be following us? As far as I know, crushing this state-of-the-art equipment isn’t enough to make it impossible to track.
And now Ace pulls out his phone and dials. “Where the fuck are you?” he asks. He listens to someone answer. “Well, tell them to hurry up a bit or they’re going to be late to the party.” Another pause. “Yeah, in Flamingo Pass, and I’ve got the son of the boss. He just peed himself.” Ace hangs up.
He kneels to get to David’s level. He pulls out a pair of handcuffs from his back pocket, snaps them onto David’s wrists, and says, “If you’re waiting for the cavalry to come rescue you, don’t get your hopes up, asshole. My guys just took care of them so no one’s coming to your rescue.”
I want to tell Ace that I’m not so sure about that. I’m ready to bet my condo that Blackwell Sr. will do everything in his power to make the entire case go away. But I keep my comments to myself.
Why? Because Ace needs to apologize for thinking the worst of me. And I’m not sure apologizing is going to be enough.
Ace drags David up to his feet by pulling on his cuffs and shakes his head. “You’re coming with us.”
“Where to?” he whines.
“Not sure yet,” Ace answers. “It’s up to my boss. If it was up to me I would…”
We don’t get a chance to know what he would do if he was in charge as we’re interrupted by the arrival of the large SUV that had blocked us earlier, escorted by a dozen bikers sporting the colors of the Iron Tornadoes MC.
The one whose jacket identifies him as the VP of the MC approaches Ace.
“We got the goons,” he says, jerking his thumb toward the SUV. “Tied up in the back.”
Ace nods, a grim satisfaction on his face. “Good.”
Another man steps forward. “Ice called. Everyone’s meeting at the office in Point Lookout.”
“Everyone?” I ask, curious.
“You must be Alicia,” the man says, offering his hand. “I’m Whizz, one of those lazy-ass bosses. It’s a pleasure to meet you. It’s not every day we get someone’s who actually not guilty.”
“Nice to meet you too,” I say. “But you still haven’t answered my question.”
“Right, everyone would be a representative of the bondsman, the sheriff, and even Blackwell Sr.”
At the mention of his father, David turns white as a sheet. I almost feel a twinge of sympathy for him but then think better of it. He climbs in the back without complaining. He’s lucky, he could have been thrown in with his buddies, tied up and packed like sardines in the back of the other car.
We make our way to Ace’s office in silence. As soon as we arrive, David gets dragged out of the back seat. He shuffles pitifully inside between two of Ace’s men.
The office is bustling with activity, people milling about and talking in low voices. I spot Ice in the corner, deep in conversation with a man I assume is the sheriff.
Ace guides me to a chair and tells me to wait. I sit down, my nerves on edge. I’m not sure what’s going to happen next, but I know that whatever it is, it’s going to change everything.
Minutes later, the door opens again, and Blackwell Senior walks in. He’s an imposing figure, tall and broad-shouldered, with a neatly trimmed beard and piercing eyes. He surveys the room, his gaze landing on his son.
“David,” he growls. “What have you done?”
David seems to shrink under his father’s gaze, his shoulders hunching. “I… I’m sorry, Dad. I didn’t… I didn’t mean for it to go this far.”
Blackwell Sr. shakes his head, disappointment etched on his face. He turns to Ace. “I assume you have evidence of my son’s involvement in this?”
Ace nods. “It’s all there. Bank records, security footage, everything.”
As Blackwell Senior sighs and shakes his head, I feel a sense of dread wash over me. What if he finds a way to turn this around on me? What if he uses his influence to make all the evidence in my favor go away?
But then I catch Ace’s eye, and he gives me a reassuring nod. I take a deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart. I have to trust that the truth will come out, that justice will be served.
The room falls silent as Blackwell Senior sits across from Ice, who hands him a thick file. He turns the pages, his expression unreadable. A few minutes later, he closes the file and looks to the sheriff standing next to the desk.
“I want to press charges,” he says, his voice firm. “Against my son and anyone else involved in this scheme.”
Relief floods through me, so intense it’s almost dizzying. I feel like I can breathe again for the first time in weeks.
As the sheriff starts to read David his rights, I catch Ace’s eye once more. He gives me a small smile, and I feel a rush of gratitude toward his team.
He may still have to turn me in, but I know, at the end of the day, I’ll be a free woman.