Chapter 11
YARA
“So, the apartment is all set up for you already.”
Ace presses his finger against the biometric reader on the keypad, then punches in a long string of numbers. Once the little light on the keypad switches from red to yellow, he leans down to stare into the retinal scanner, and a moment later, the yellow switches to green.
The lock makes a soft clicking sound, and he opens the door while adding, “I’ll make sure Tyler gives you access, so you don’t have to ask one of us to let you back in.
” His hand moves from the small of my back to my hip as we walk through the doorway and into the Blade and Arrow headquarters.
“I’m sure you’ll want to rest for a few days, but once you’re feeling better, I can show you around the rest of the property. ”
“I’m not sure I need a few days to rest,” I protest. Hoping to relieve the tension that’s been etched into Ace’s features since he rescued me last night, I try to inject some levity into my tone. “It’s not like my legs are broken after all. Just my fingers.”
But my words seem to have the opposite effect. Ace frowns, and a muscle in his jaw twitches. His gaze slides to my injured hand, where my three broken fingers are splinted. He takes a deep breath and exhales slowly. “Your body is recovering from a trauma, Yara. You need time to recuperate.”
“Just a few cuts and bruises. I’ve had far worse before.”
“That doesn’t make me feel better,” he retorts. “And I’d hardly say you only have a few cuts and bruises.”
Technically, he’s right. Thanks to Davis’s fists and knife, my body is littered with close to a dozen cuts and bruises combined.
None of them were life threatening—the worst of the cuts only took ten stitches to close—but considering what could have happened had Ace not arrived when he did, I’m in no position to complain.
Well. I could complain. I could gripe about the throbbing ache in my broken fingers, or the dull throb of my bruises, or the painful pulling sensation from my stitched and bandaged cuts whenever I move.
I could complain about the simmering panic inside me that’s getting harder and harder to contain.
But it wouldn’t solve anything.
I can’t go back in time and change history so Davis was rescued at the same time as me. I can’t make it so he was never transferred to that other facility, which I’m certain was much worse than the one I was held in. I can’t change the hatred he harbored towards me for years.
And no amount of complaining is going to take away the memories of last night.
As soon as my thoughts wander close to them—to the blood, the fear, the helplessness, the flashbacks that felt oh, so real—I quickly turn them in a different direction. “Anyway,” I reply brightly, “I’m feeling fine. So, how about a tour?”
Ace’s brows pinch in confusion. “A tour? But you’ve been here before. For Indy and Bea’s wedding.”
“I didn’t see the whole place, though.” I glance around the large, open living space where Indy and Bea held their wedding reception a couple of months ago.
The room is decorated for Christmas now, rather than a wedding, with twinkle lights trimming the windows and pine garlands adding a crisp, woodsy scent. “Just here and the deck.”
Ace’s gaze follows mine. A moment later, a slight smile curves his lips. “Looks like they put up even more decorations.” He nods in the direction of a small herd of wooden reindeer. “Last time I saw, there were only three.”
I look at the cluster of six deer of varying sizes. “Maybe they found friends? Or had babies?”
“Maybe,” Ace agrees. “Apparently, Eden and Noelle are behind all of this. Although I’m sure Bea will jump in to help if she hasn’t already.”
“That sounds nice,” I say, and it’s not just to be polite. Something I’ve always thought was cool about the Blade and Arrow teams—not just the Shadow team, but the others, as well—is how they’re not just co-workers, but family. And the gaily decorated room is just one example of it.
“Yeah, it is,” Ace agrees. He turns to me. “If you’d like, we could get the fireplace going later. Once you’ve had time to rest—”
“Ace.” I nudge him with my shoulder, immediately regretting it as the cut on my chest stings with the movement. “I’ve been lying down all day. I don’t need to rest right now. I’d like to walk around a bit.”
When he frowns again, I quickly add, “Unless you only want me to stay in the apartment. I didn’t think. But I’m just a guest, so you probably don’t want me just waltzing around like I live here.”
Surprise jerks Ace’s features. “What? No.” He takes my hand in his.
“That’s not it at all, Yara. You’re not a guest. I—we—didn’t ask you to stay expecting you’d stay holed up in the apartment all the time.
You’re welcome to explore any part of the property you want.
I just figured, after last night, and the chaos of the hospital, you’d be too tired to do much exploring. ”
“Maybe I’m a little tired,” I concede. “But I guess…” Hesitating, I debate how much of my anxiety to reveal.
“What?” Ace asks. “Do you need me to get Indy to check you out? You know he was a medic, and he keeps up with his training, so if anything’s hurting you…”
My chest squeezes. “I think I’d feel better knowing the layout. I know it’s dumb, considering how safe B and A is. And if you have other things to do, it’s okay. I’m sure you must, considering you spent all of last night and today at the hospital.”
“Tink.” Ace gives me an are you kidding me look. “Other things to do? First off, it’s the weekend. Unless I’m on an active case, I do get weekends off. Also, I was planning to spend the weekend with you. Which I’m doing.”
I’m not sure where this insecure Yara came from—Tacoma or the time spent strung up in my basement—but I don’t like her. I want to be strong, confident Yara who tells Ace what she wants and doesn’t worry that he might be having second thoughts about dating someone with so much baggage.
Ace stares at me for a few seconds, thoughts working in his eyes.
Then he slips his arm around my waist, his hold on me strong but gentle.
“There is nothing I’d rather do than spend time with you,” he says firmly.
“And I can understand wanting to know the layout of the place. How about this? We take a quick tour today, just the inside of HQ, and tomorrow we can take one of the ATVs out for a drive around the rest of the property?”
Part of me wants to insist that I can do all of it today. But in truth, I can see the logic of Ace’s plan. As much as I want to claim my injuries are nothing, I hurt all over. I’m exhausted after only managing a few hours of sleep at the hospital. And I’m mentally drained.
That’s why I agreed to come to Blade and Arrow when Ace asked. I don’t need to be here—with Davis in police custody, he’s no longer a threat, and I’m more than capable of taking care of myself. But stubborn independence aside, I couldn’t deny his idea was appealing.
“If you come back to B and A,” he explained, “it’ll give you some time to decompress.
We can arrange for people to clean up your house, so you don’t have to deal with it.
And you can heal without being surrounded by memories.
Think about it. We can watch BattleBots every night.
There’s a place in Williston that makes great pizza.
Plus those cookies you liked? I can get more of them for you, probably still warm from the oven. ”
Then he added the final piece that pushed me over the edge. “It’ll make me feel better, Tink. Having you close by. I know you don’t need me. But…” His face twisted unhappily. “I need to know you’re okay. Not just hear you tell me, but see for myself.”
It was the vulnerability in his eyes that got me.
The knowledge that he was struggling with everything that happened with Davis, just like me.
After all, when he showed up at my house last night, the last thing he could have ever expected was to have to shoot one of his fellow Delta operators to stop him from killing the woman he’s dating.
His girlfriend.
I haven’t forgotten that part of the night, either. We haven’t spoken about Ace calling me his girlfriend since, and honestly, I’m not sure how to feel about it.
Do I like the sound of it? Yes.
Am I afraid I’m too screwed up for that kind of commitment? Also, yes.
But it felt really good having him by my side at the hospital. Knowing that even though I could handle everything by myself, I didn’t have to.
It was such a reassurance, waking up from one of my stolen catnaps to see Ace standing watch beside my bed or hearing his rumbly voice just outside my door while he conferenced with his team.
And crap, it feels really nice being here with him now.
“What do you think, Yara?” Ace prods. “How does a quick tour sound?”
I look into his worried blue eyes, and my heart squeezes a little. It’s been a long time since someone worried about me like that. It’s been a long time since I allowed them to.
“Okay,” I reply. “A quick tour. And then I’ll rest for a while.”
Ace lifts his chin. “A quick tour it is, then.” With a smile, he adds, “If you get tired, I can always carry you the rest of the way.”
I look at him, aghast. “Carry me? Through Blade and Arrow?”
Yes, he carried me last night after cutting me down from the crossbeam in my basement.
But that’s vastly different from carrying me around the B and A headquarters like an invalid.
I can’t even imagine running into one of the other members of Ace’s team like that.
And I don’t want to imagine what they’d think.
They’d think you’re tired and hurting after what that asshole Davis did to you, the rational voice in my head retorts. They wouldn’t judge you as being less. Only you would.
That may be true, I silently concede. But decades of doing everything I could to prove myself to the men who doubted me isn’t something I can cast aside easily.