12
Grace
"Hey, Ray. What's up?" I ask stepping away from the table and answering the phone.
"I got a job. Info retrieval. Meet me at the warehouse." He says in his hard business tone.
"Got it. Be there in twenty. Have everything ready to go." I reply.
"You got it. See you soon." I hang up and return to the table. Everyone is chatting happily and I feel bad for having to leave. I'm having a good time with my family. That's a weird sentence. I never thought I'd say that.
"Um... sorry guys. I have to go help Ray with something again. I'm sorry." I wince.
"Oh, that's okay, Dear! We understand." Grandma smiles softly.
"We do?" Asks Andras.
"Yes, we do. This Ray guy is her family through choice. He is important." Grandpa explains. I'm glad they get it. Andras seems to think about it but ultimately nods.
"Alright, remember you have school tomorrow though." He says pointedly.
"Okay, thank you!" I run off and then run back in. "It was nice to meet you. Have a good night everyone!" I smile and grab my jacket and helmet and head to the warehouse.
Ray is waiting outside with the van and he helps me get the bike in the back .
"Hey, little mama. How was your meltdown?" He smirks.
"How was Shay?" I snipe making him glare at me. "Then shut up." I smile sweetly.
"Fine. Get in."
"Yes, sir." I sass and get in the back.
We make our way to another warehouse, this one in a shipping yard. I have my aviators, braid, and weapons in position as we exit and lock up the van. We stalk towards the specified container and knock.
Liam opens the door and smiles. Fuck today. The whole day, fuck it all!
"Mr. McConnell." I greet him with a straight face.
"Ace. Right, this way." He says. He seems different than he is at school. Harder. I mean, I get it. I'm the same. Grace is scared and angry all the time, but Ace is strong and ruthless.
"What all are we dealing with tonight?" I ask.
"We have three guys. They're higher up some things aren't adding up and my father wants to know what they're hiding." He explains handing me three file folders. One on each man.
He opens the first door revealing a man tied up and left on the floor. That's what I like about the Irish. They're practical. The Italians seem to be very dramatic. The Russians are brutal. And the Yakuza is very traditional. Me? I'm flexible.
I stalk in towards the man on the floor, he's a mixture of scared and confused. Liam takes up watch on the wall opposite Ray beside the door. I open the file on the man in front of me.
Brian O'Connor. Age 35. Married. With the McConnells for ten years. Loves his mistress Angela Marconi. Marconi? Interesting. I know a Marconi. He's a total scumbag. He was one of my parents' dealers among other things. She's going to be the key here though.
"Hello, Mr. O'Connor. My name is Ace. I've been sent here to talk to you." I say in a friendly voice.
"A-ace? "
"Yep."
"But you're a girl," Brian observes making himself sit up as Ray curses under his breath.
"Well spotted. Yes, I am. But I can guarantee that won't matter in the end." I smirk cruelly taking out a big hunting knife from its sheath behind my back. "Now, I'm after some information today so depending on how good you are, you may walk out of this room. Or not. Your choice."
"What do you want to know?" Brian asks holding his chin up. Bold move but I guess one of his bosses is supervising this so if he was hiding something he'd be a lot more nervous or a lot more obstinate.
"I need to know about Paolo Roberts and his associates. Mainly his boss."
"Roberts? I know him but isn't he with the Italian mafia?" He asks genuinely confused.
"He was ." Liam chuckles darkly. I turn to Ray giving him the signal to get Liam out of here. He fucking ruined my plan.
Getting information is a delicate process. You can't just fucking jump in and give the prisoner new information.
Ray shakes his head and leads Liam out while I handle damage control. Once the door closes I sit down across from Brian tossing my knife back and forth.
"Look, I'm going to level with you. Your boss needs names. Who was close to Roberts?" I ask. I can tell he's clean so whatever. He straightens instantly and answers.
"Honestly? I've never met the guy. I heard he was involved in some skimming off the top but it didn't matter since he wasn't with us."
"Who told you this?" I ask.
"McCray and Donahue. I overheard them at the pub one night." He admits. I nod.
"Okay. My advice? Ditch Marconi. She's bad news. If she's in contact with that fucker, Nathan, then she's involved in some really shady shit. Your wife is clean by the way." I shrug. "Oh, and keep this shit to yourself or I will be back for you. Your boss has me on speed dial." He nods quickly.
"Oh, Ace. I heard some rumours about you that you may want to hear." He mutters. "The four Heads are trying to get their heirs involved with you." What?! For fucks sake!
"Great. Just what I need. Thank you." I'm going to ignore that tidbit for now. I walk out of the room with the files. Ray is still chatting with Liam so I head to the next room.
Donnie McCray. Age 26. Single. Connections with Marconi, Roberts, and Ryan Oliver. Intriguing. I smell a problem.
I walk into the room and curse. Problem, indeed. Donnie is shaking with sweat soaking his grey t-shirt. I see he's bleeding around his binds. The dude is going through withdrawal. Fuck sake's.
The Irish are not making this easy on me.
I'm going to have to get this guy high before he tells me anything close to intelligible let alone reliable.
I check him over to see his drug of choice.
Heroin. Of course, it is. It's gotta be Make Grace Freakout Day.
I repeat, fuck today! I make my way out to Liam and Ray to give them the good news.
"Donnie is going through withdrawal. I can't do jack shit with him unless he has some heroin in his system. Get it figured out." I tell Liam. Ray subtly tenses at that. He knows this one is going to be rough.
"I'll call someone." Liam nods.
"Okay. I'm onto contestant number three."
"Ace. Sorry for fucking with your information." Liam states. I nod and head to the third door.
***
We have nothing. The only lead we had was McCray and he fucking died before he told us anything. I told Liam that O'Connor was a bust. The third was innocent too.
We make our way to the van when Liam jogs up beside me.
"Ace, can I talk to you?" He asks. I nod and follow him to the side.
"What's up?" I ask.
"My father said I could learn things from you. Why do you do what you do?"
"I'm good at it." I shrug. "Look, this isn't really a job shadow kind of situation. If your hands are already dirty, another stain isn't going to really matter. If you take over your father's position you'll learn that quickly."
"So, you had a hard life?" He asks.
“Listen, I'm not talking about my life with you. Find a girlfriend if you want that shit." I say rudely. It hurts but I can't be fucking doing this.
"I tried." He mutters and I can't help it.
"What do you mean?" I ask.
"I fucked things up with a girl I like. She's pissed at me. I misspoke and she rightfully lost it on me." He admits. I like Liam not just because he's cute and makes my stomach do a weird twirl when he smiles at me. I like him as a person. He's funny and sweet and he's not afraid of my scars.
"Then correct it." I shrug cursing myself as I walk back to the van. I can’t believe I just did that. I am a complete moron!
I'm almost home on my bike when I get a call. Jai.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" I shout at the sky before answering.
"Hello?"
"Hey... uh... Grace?"
"Yes."
"It's Jai? From last weekend?" He sounds so unsure I can't help the giggle.
"Are you sure?" I ask making him chuckle.
"Yeah. Sorry just making sure you remember me."
"I do remember you. It's only been like a week." I laugh. "I'm not that busy."
"Shit, that is not what I meant."
"I know. How did you get my number?"
"Rudy. I was wondering if you wanted to go out for dinner Saturday night."
"I can't I'm sorry. My friend and I are going to a party."
"That's okay. Maybe another day. Either way, I like talking to you." Fuck! Why does he have to be so sweet? Why couldn't we have had an amazing night and then just part ways and never see eachother again? Life is unfair.
"Well, it's been nice talking to you too."
"Shit. I gotta go. I'll talk to you later." He hangs up before I can respond. God damn organized crime syndicates and their hot sons!
I continue towards Andras' house and manage to get to sleep before midnight. Success.
***
I'm surrounded by hands. Too many hands to belong to one person but the familiar stench of Him tells me who they belong to. They're pushing and pulling at me. Tearing at my skin, dragging me down. I can't breathe. There's no air here.
All of a sudden, I can move. I'm back in the familiar room.
No. Not here. Anywhere but here. The ripped and stained green couch and cluttered table are just how I remember them.
I have to get out of here before he comes back.
I make a dash to the door but find it locked and panic tries to strangle me again.
The blood on the floor follows me as I run searching somewhere else for safety in vain.
"Where did my little doll go?" His voice echoes.
I jolt awake with a scream lodged in my throat. I try to get a hold of my breathing. I need to do something. I need to get some control of myself and I can't wait for my fight tomorrow. I need it now.
Strangely, living on the streets was easier in some ways. Sure, I was cold and hungry most of the time but I was in control. It was just me. This whole family and friends thing is making me weak. I haven't had a nightmare like that in years. At least not about Him.
I decide to go search for that gym that Andras mentioned. I get dressed and slap a sticky note on the kitchen counter so the cavalry doesn't get called again.
I head in the direction Grandpa left last night and surprisingly find it after only ten minutes of searching. This house is a freaking labyrinth!
I can't even give Andras crap for the extravagance of this gym.
If I had money this is exactly what I would do.
There is a wall of mirrors and a row of exercise equipment.
There are mats and weights and bars. It's got a freaking sauna!
I may not see Rudy again if I'm living with this. I hope he'll be okay without me.
I step up to the heavy bag and take a breath.
The fear is still rushing under my skin and I need it gone.
It's not just from the dream either. So many big changes are happening in my life and I need this outlet.
I slip in my headphones blasting DIAMANTE and lose myself to the sweet aggression of the heavy bag.