Chapter 25
CHAPTER 25
A ce walked into the front of Jacks. Normally he’d go in the back when he got to work, but with his wrist in a cast he wasn’t allowed to drive yet. Plus, he’d had a checkup with his doctor at the hospital this morning, so Luc had dropped him off.
“Hey, Ace! Good to see you back,” Kelley greeted him as he came into the bar. “How ya feeling?”
“Can’t complain,” he said with a shrug.
And he couldn’t. The past few days being nursed back to health by Millie had been wonderful. Not that he’d needed all her fussing over him, but he had to admit. It had been nice to be the one taken care of for a change. He’d been hoping she’d come over last night after her shift, but she’d texted him that she was beat and headed straight to bed. Disappointing, but understandable.
Kelley chuckled. “You could have your whole arm ripped off and not complain.”
Naw, he’d complain a little if he was missing an appendage.
“Who’s on shift with you today?” Normally he knew the schedule, but the past few days had been discombobulating to say the least. “Need any help up here?”
She crossed her arms, giving him a firm look. “I’ve been given very strict instructions by BJ, Charlie, and Del not to allow you to work out here tonight.”
He frowned. His siblings were being ridiculous. They’d all sent food to his place the past few days. Texted him daily. Even his mother wasn’t as obnoxiously overbearing as his sister and brothers. Then again, she might be the driving force behind the check-ins. It would be just like his mother to have his siblings report back to her on his health. Sneaky woman.
“Fine. I guess I’ll go do some paperwork in the back then.”
The one thing about running your own business. There was never an end to the paperwork.
Kelley gave him an approving nod. As he made his way into the back, Brad passed him, carrying a bucket of ice.
“Hey dude, how’s the wrist?”
Ace lifted his cast. “Couple of weeks in this thing then I’ll be good as new.”
“Nice. Pro-tip, if it gets itchy in there do not use a wooden chopstick to scratch. My cousin did that, got a splinter and had a nasty infection. Nearly lost his leg.”
“Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.”
Brad nodded and continued on his way to refill the ice for the bar. As Ace made his way back to the office, a few other employees greeted him, inquiring about his injury and wishing him well. He thanked each one, discomfort growing with all this attention focused on him. He’d never been one to enjoy the limelight. That was more Del’s speed.
As he made his way into the office, he closed the door. Shutting out the well-wishers, he closed his eyes and leaned against the door. A sigh of relief filled him as he took in the calm silence of the room.
“There’s been an update on the theft,” BJ said.
So much for the peace of silence. Eyes popping open, he stared at his twin who sat at the desk.
“Tell me.”
“The money is back.”
He knew he hadn’t taken any of those painkillers the doctor gave him, but he must have been slipped something because the words coming out of his brother’s mouth did not make sense.
“Come again?”
BJ lifted a manila envelope, turning it upside down. A bound stack of hundred-dollar bills fell out onto the dark, wooden desk. Ace pushed off the door, storming over to the desk. His heart raced in his chest as he grabbed the money, flipping through the bills. They were bound together with a yellow band indicating an amount of ten thousand. He recognized it as the same type of bands their bank used. Not surprising considering there were only two banks in all of Kismet.
“Who?” he asked, his voice going hard as a mix of emotions churned within.
BJ shook his head. “They didn’t say. Just left this and a note apologizing for the theft. But hey, at least the money is back.”
His twin. Ever the optimist. On the one hand he was glad the money was back, but just because it was returned didn’t mean everything was okay.
“We still have a thief out there.”
“They returned the money,” BJ pointed out.
“Yes, but we don’t know who they are, why they took it, if they’ll do it again,” he insisted. Tossing the cash on the desk he sat in the chair across from BJ.
“Look,” BJ said, grabbing the cash and slipping it into the bank bag they kept locked in the desk drawer. “Maybe it was a mistake or something.”
He snorted. “How does someone ‘mistakenly’ steal thousands of dollars over the course of months?”
It didn’t make sense. He needed to know who and why to make sure it didn’t happen again. His family relied on him to protect them, protect the business, and he wasn’t going to let any of them down.
He needed to talk to Millie.
Unfortunately, it proved to be a very busy night at Jacks. Del and Charlie had taken the night off after covering for him the past few days. Two of their servers called in sick so BJ stayed in the restaurant all night helping. The bar staff had their shit handled and refused to let him help. Which was a good thing considering he had to deal with a missing shipment from their fruit supplier. Customer service was a joke, and he spent over an hour on hold before being transferred a dozen times.
He'd texted Millie that he needed to talk to her when things slowed down. She hadn’t responded, but he’d seen her come in earlier in the night, so he knew she was there. Probably didn’t have time to check her phone. A good thing, considering they discouraged employees from using their phones during work hours unless it was an emergency. His desire to talk to her did not constitute an emergency.
Even if it felt like it.
Finally, the night wound down. Around midnight, the door to his office creaked open and Millie popped her head in. Her blue hair had faded over the past few weeks. Funny how when they first met, he’d been horrified by the color. Now he wondered if she was going to touch it up or go with an entirely different color. He didn’t think there was a color she couldn’t pull off.
“Hey,” she said softly, stepping into the office. “You wanted to see me?”
He nodded. “Come in, close the door.”
“Uh oh, sounds like I’m in trouble with the boss,” she gave a halfhearted chuckle and a smile that fell flat.
He frowned. This wasn’t like Millie. Something was clearly wrong. He didn’t know what, but he’d get to the bottom of it. Right after he let her in on this new development.
“The thief returned the money last night,” he said, getting right into it. “They left an envelope of cash and a note apologizing but not identifying who they are.”
She frowned, nodding her head slightly. “Good. The money is back. That’s good right?”
He paused. She was acting strange. Stranger, he should say. Millie never did what he expected, but he assumed she’d be shocked by this news. A bit of surprise at least. Unless…
“Why aren’t you surprised?”
“Huh?”
“I just told you ten thousand dollars was returned mysteriously and you barely batted an eyelash.”
“That’s such a weird expression.” She reached up to tug her ponytail, gaze landing everywhere in the room but on him. “How can someone bat their eyelash? It’s just blinking, isn’t it?”
“Millie,” his voice grew harsh as suspicion rose. “Do you know something about this?”
Her hands twisted together in front of her, teeth coming out to bite her lip. Her shoulders sank in defeat. “Yes.”
The softly spoken word hit him straight in the chest like a knife to the heart.
“What. The. Fuck.” The words tore from his throat, dripping in betrayal.
Her hands lifted in surrender, eyes pleading with him as she explained. “It’s not what you think. The thief isn’t really the thief, wait, no that’s not right. I mean the person who returned the money didn’t steal it, but they know who did and they’re just trying to protect themselves and I promised not to say anything—”
“Promised not to say anything?” he roared, pausing to take a deep breath and lower his voice before he continued. “We had a deal. You were supposed to find out who the thief was and tell me so I could handle it.”
“But the money is back so what difference does it make?”
Was she serious right now? He stood, chair falling over with a loud smack at his abrupt movement.
“The difference is I hired you to discover the person who betrayed us and instead you betrayed me.”
She reared back in shock. Face blanching as if his words were a physical blow.
“No…I…I didn’t mean…it’s complicated.”
“Who is it, Millie,” he demanded.
She pressed her lips together, head shaking. Dammit! How could she do this? Protect someone who threatened his business, his family. He thought they meant something to each other. Clearly, he was wrong.
“Give them a chance to come to you,” she pleaded. “To explain what happened.”
“You explain.” He shook his head. “Don’t you see? I can’t have a known thief working here, it’s too big a risk. One I’m not willing to take. I’m paying you to find the culprit, not protect them. Now give me a name or our deal is off.”
She frowned, moving further into the room until she was on the other side of the desk facing him.
“Ace, please. Just let me talk to T—them. Encourage them to come to you and explain everything. I know you’ll understand—”
“What I understand is you betrayed me, Millie.”
A harsh gasp left her lips. She stood there stunned.
“How long have you known?” He eyed her, covering the pain ripping his heart in two with icy accusations. “How long have you been playing me for a fool?”
“Ace…no, I didn’t—”
“I can’t believe I ever trust you,” he muttered the darkly spoken words.
She slammed her hands on the desk, fury entering her eyes as she glared at him.
“Dammit, Ace, take your head out of your ass for one second and listen to what I’m trying to say. I didn’t betray you. I only found out who it was last night.”
Last night. When she texted to say she was too tired to come over.
“The situation is complicated, and I promised the person I wouldn’t say anything if they came clean. Which they will do. Just give them some time.”
“Give a thief time?” he scoffed. “Should I also give them my social security number? My bank pin?”
“Stop being a jerk.” She scowled at him.
“Stop being na?ve,” he threw back. “Tell me the name or our deal is off, and you don’t get your money.”
Her jaw clenched. Spine straightening, she lifted her hand and flipped him off.
“Fuck your money and fuck you, Alfa Jackson. I thought I saw a kind and caring person underneath all that ice and stone, but I guess I was wrong. You’re a heartless bastard like everyone says. I quit.”
With those parting barbs she turned and stormed out of his office, but not before turning back and pointing at him.
“Remember to keep your wrist elevated and don’t forget to finish off your round of antibiotics.”
Eyes glossy, she stared at him for a beat, longing and regret filling those beautiful gray eyes. Words crawled up his throat. Apologies, pleas for her not to leave him, but he swallowed them all down. His pride and fear stopped him from responding. She shook her head, leaving his office and closing the door softly behind her. Sealing him in with a swirl of anger, pain, and doubt.