THE OUTLAW’S BRIDE Read online

  “How? Tell me this,” Alexei demanded. “You have all the plans lately, don’t you?”

  “Whoever Fiona Brown is to Ace Connor, she’s not a part of The Hell Brothers, which means she can’t be that important to him,” Vlad pointed out. “We tell Ace we will let him and all of his gang relocate without harm if he gives us the girl. We find her brother later,” he said, waving dismissively. “The boy does not have his sister’s intelligence; he can’t hide for long.”

  Alexei dug in his pocket. “Here,” he said gruffly, slapping his phone into Vlad’s hand.

  “What do you want me to do with this?” he asked, confused.

  “Something you don’t know for once—good,” Alexei said shortly. “Your plan, you make the call. Get him here, and get him to bring her.” He turned abruptly on his heel and walked out the door.

  ***

  A few hours later, Ace strolled into the warehouse. Alexei’s mouth tightened imperceptibly. When Vlad told him Ace already knew the location of their office, he had hoped the biker would be bluffing. Though Alexei was still confident he had the numbers and the weaponry to outmatch Ace, he didn’t like that the man could stop by at any time.

  “Afternoon, gentlemen,” Ace said casually as he walked into the open room. “Nice shop you got here.” He gestured to the carefully organized and itemized shelves.

  “All alone?” Vlad called softly. “Where are The Hell Brothers?” he taunted.

  “Don’t you worry your pretty little head about it,” Ace said with a wink. “They’re around.”

  “Take a seat,” Alexei pointed at the open space on the couch near him, “and cut the shit, as you Americans like to say. I want the girl.”

  Ace sat down heavily. “No,” he replied simply, not bothering to pretend he didn’t know who Alexei was talking about.

  “Let me repeat myself,” Alexei tried again. “Give me the girl, and I don’t kill off half your people.”

  “If you’re going to threaten me, why not threaten to kill all of my people?” Ace said mockingly.

  “Because it’s not a threat,” Vlad interjected, quieting as Alexei held up a hand.

  “He’s right,” Alexei said evenly. “We had already decided it was too much of an effort to try to ferret out every one of you vermin, so we settled for killing most and letting the rest of you go to salvage whatever was left of your lives.”

  Ace couldn’t remember the last time someone had spoken to him like this, but whenever it had been, he was certain he had left the person bruised and broken.

  “Now, if you hand over the girl,” Alexei continued, “I will let you go—all of you—as long as you promise to relocate outside of the state. I’m not interested in spilling blood over her.” Alexei paused. “Unless you decide to stand in my way. I think we all know how that would go.”

  There wasn’t a single person in that room who didn’t know Alexei’s mob could crush The Hell Brothers, though at what cost to Alexei, no one could say.

  Ace thought for a minute. “I’m willing to give her to you,” he began slowly, “but not for another day—a full day,” he clarified.

  Alexei frowned. “I am not a patient man,” he said, irritated.

  “Then we have something in common.” Ace chuckled. “But I’ve been waiting to fuck that girl for a couple days now, and I’d like to see that patience rewarded, get me?”

  A thin, knowing smile spread across Vlad’s face, and the back of Ace’s hand itched to wipe it off.

  “You will bring her to me twenty-four hours from now?” Alexei asked.

  “I was thinking by midnight tomorrow,” Ace pushed.

  Alexei gazed at him. “I will give you twenty-five hours, and not a second longer.”

  Ace shrugged, giving him a crooked smile. “Twenty-five hours it is.”

  He could have cut it down to twenty hours and I would have agreed, Ace thought. I’m not giving him Fiona, so it doesn’t really matter. That wasn’t exactly true; any extra time he could buy before Alexei realized he wasn’t handing over Fiona was time the gang could use to set up their plan, but it was what Ace told himself.

  Alexei put his hand out and Ace shook it firmly. Suddenly, Alexei seized him by the forearm, pulling him close. “If you do not bring her to me, I will kill everyone you love in front of you, ending with the girl. I promise you: it will not be swift,” he said quietly, giving Ace a meaningful glance towards Vlad.

  “Well, then,” Ace said, returning the pressure that was being applied. “I guess it’s a good thing I’ll be dropping her off tomorrow.”

  Alexei released his hold, as did Ace.

  He nodded to the men in the room. “Gentlemen,” he said, turning to leave.

  Ace kept his stride slow and calm, smoothly starting his bike to cruise away. Once he hit the highway and he was sure he was not being watched, he opened up the throttle, tearing down the road back to headquarters.

  If they didn’t execute the plan soon, it would be too late for all of them.

  Chapter 8

  Ace returned from Alexei’s to find Katie, Diego, Smalls, and Riley all sitting at the kitchen table, waiting for him.

  “We need to talk to you,” Katie said, her voice tight.

  “What is this? A fucking intervention?” Ace joked as he sat down.

  “Some of us,” Smalls began hesitantly, “are concerned your focus isn’t exactly where it should be right now. But all I need is some reassurance that you’re looking after things,” he said, emphasizing the ‘I’ to let Ace know he didn’t agree with everything Katie was saying.

  Ace let out a deep sigh. “Look, guys, I know you’re worried, but trust me—I have everything under control.”

  “You are not behaving like someone who has things under control,” Riley said.

  Everyone gave him their full attention. Riley didn’t speak often, but when he did, it was something to be carefully considered.

  “You walked into Alexei’s with no one behind you.” Ace realized Riley was scolding him. “The people in this gang rely on you. You have a responsibility to them as their leader to make them feel safe. When you make reckless choices and put yourself in danger, you weaken yourself, which frightens people and makes them weak in turn.” Riley gazed at Ace with heavy eyes. “Strong leader, strong group. Weak leader, weak group.”

  Ace didn’t say anything for a moment, absorbing what Riley had said. “What about you, Diego?” he asked.

  Diego shifted in his seat. “I’m all for going in guns blazing, pero going in by yourself is suicide. We need you around. This girl…” Diego started to say, immediately stopping when he saw Katie’s death glare.

  Ace looked between the two of them. “Wait a minute, this is about Fiona?” he asked, looking directly at Katie.

  “This is about the decisions you’ve made recently,” Katie said, throwing her hair over her shoulder. “But if we’re going there, yes, you started making these kinds of decisions once she came around.”

  “Well, I’m taking her out of here, so you don’t have to be jealous anymore, Katie,” Ace said drily.

  Riley, Diego, and Smalls all exchanged looks, slowly and quietly getting up out of their chairs to leave the kitchen. The three of them all knew there was no longer any room for a rational discussion. When Ace and Katie went at it, minimum safe distance was the far side of the moon.

  “I am not jealous!” Katie screamed, and Ace rolled his eyes. “You are behaving like a complete ass, and you’re going to get us all killed!”

  “Are you listening?” Ace asked sarcastically. “I said I’m moving her out of here! So no more danger, all right?”

  “So you take her to some safe house, then what? What happens next? Because I’m still seeing us getting murdered.”

  “I don’t understand how you can still be so mad,” Ace exclaimed. “This morning you told me you didn’t want her staying here, and now she’s not staying here! How do you still have a problem?”

  “What I said was that you needed
to put the gang first!” Katie yelled back. “And right now, the gang agrees! They want to know that if we go through with this plan, that if some of us die, it’s for us—not her.”

  “How can you say that to me?” he asked her, pain clouding his dark green eyes.

  Katie shrugged. “You haven’t been around lately…it makes some of us wonder.”

  You especially, Ace thought. “The Hell Brothers happens to have a common interest with Fiona,” he said. “I make the choices I make for us, but she’s done a lot for her brother, and I think that kind of grit should be rewarded. She’s ballsy as fuck, you have to admit.” Ace gave Katie a sidelong glance. “If you didn’t hate her so much, you might like her.”

  Katie turned and gave Ace the coldest look he’d ever seen. “If you don’t get her the fuck out of this house in the next thirty minutes, I’ll do Alexei’s job for him,” she said, walking away without a backwards glance.

  Ace took the stairs to his room two at a time. Fiona brought barely anything with her, so getting her out would take less than ten minutes, but Ace didn’t trust Katie to stick to her word.

  He burst into his room to find Fiona sitting in a chair with Lianna at her feet, a towel around her shoulders. Fiona was wearing yellow dish gloves and had a fistful of Lianna’s hair in one hand, and a small, goopy brush in the other. Lucky was sitting on his dresser, reading the back of a hair dye box.

  “What the fuck…” Ace said, looking around. “I leave for two…” He stopped and took a deep breath. “Fiona, whatever this is, we gotta go, okay?”

  “We can’t,” Fiona protested. “This has to set for at least twenty minutes.”

  Ace grabbed Fiona’s bag. “Dammit, Fiona! Did you not hear me downstairs?” He knew from past experience sound traveled in this house.

  “Of course,” Fiona said, bewildered. “But Lucky said that there was nothing to…” She trailed off, seeing Lucky in the corner making a slashing motion near her throat. “Okay, then. Let’s get going.” She peeled off the gloves, gingerly passing them to Lucky, who put them on and resumed painting Lianna’s hair.

  Fifteen minutes later, they were on the back of Ace’s motorcycle. Fiona had no idea where they were going, but she found she trusted Ace, whatever his plan was.

  He eventually began to slow, pulling into the parking lot of a mid-sized hotel.

  “No way,” Fiona said once he had stopped and she had taken off her helmet. “I’m not staying here.”

  “Goddammit, Fiona,” Ace said, exasperatedly rubbing his eyes with one hand. “Can we please at least argue inside? I’m feeling very exposed right now.”

  Fiona looked around, noticing there was a clear view of the parking lot from the highway. “Fine,” she muttered, following him inside and to their room. “If I’m going to run away, why can’t I stay wherever Niko is?” she asked once the door was closed, throwing her bag on the bed.

  “Do you know where he is?” Ace demanded. “Because I don’t. And strategy-wise, it’s a very bad idea to put the two of you together. I’m not an idiot, Fiona.”

  “I never said you were!” she replied hotly. “But I don’t exactly have the greatest idea of what’s going on, so excuse me if I have a few questions!”

  When was the last time I took a breath that wasn’t a tired sigh from repressing my frustration? Ace wondered. “Ask away, then,” he said, opening the mini-fridge and pulling out a beer. He fell back into a chair and took a long swallow.

  “Why can’t I stay and help you? Don’t you think I could be of use?”

  Ace flashed back to the Molotov cocktails in Fiona’s kitchen. “Of course I do, but the whole point of our deal was to keep you safe,” Ace pointed out.

  “No,” Fiona corrected him. “It was to keep my brother safe. I can be an asset to you, Ace,” she insisted firmly.

  “And here I used to think you were the obedient one,” Ace muttered under his breath. “It’s better for everyone if you stay out of the way, okay?” he said loudly.

  “Why?” Fiona cried. “If I can help, why wouldn’t you want me there?”

  “Christ!” Ace bellowed, shooting to his feet and flinging the beer bottle to the side. “Because if you’re there, Fiona, I won’t be able to focus on anything else!” he was breathing heavily, the unsaid implication of his words hanging in the air.

  Fiona went over to him, taking his face in her hands. “What are you trying to say, Ace?”

  He opened his mouth, trying to push the words past his tongue, but he couldn’t. Instead, he simply grabbed her wrists, holding her hands to his face as he leaned in to kiss her.

  There was still this intense urgency in the kiss, Fiona noticed, but it was different this time, gentler, more sensual.

  The kiss deepened as Ace lowered his hands to Fiona’s back, lightly tracing her spine with his fingers. Fiona reached up on her tiptoes to try to pull Ace even closer to her. They broke apart, panting.

  Ace tugged on the hem of Fiona’s shirt. “Can I see you?” he asked quietly, desperately wanting her, but not wanting to push her.

  “Of course.” Fiona smiled softly, pressing a sweet kiss to Ace’s lips.

  He gently lifted the bottom over her head, his touch leaving a trail of goosebumps across Fiona’s tanned skin. Tossing the shirt to the side, Ace got down on his knees, the top of his head coming level with the underside of Fiona’s breasts. If he were two inches taller, he’d be able to bury his face between her luscious tits. Time for that later, he reminded himself as he began to undo the buttons of Fiona’s shorts.

  He slid them over her wide hips and down her firm, muscular thighs. As the bottoms fell to Fiona’s ankles, Ace gave her legs long, erotic kisses. Fiona didn’t know the back of her knee could make her feel so sexual.

  “Wh-what are you doing?” Fiona whispered, worried that if she spoke too loud, she would break whatever trance seemed to have come over Ace.

  Ace sat back on his heels and stared at Fiona, not saying a word, his eyes roaming over her body, which was now dressed in only a matching set of plain yellow cotton underwear. Fiona wished she had worn something sexier, but Ace thought he had never seen someone so beautiful. Finally, he leaned forward again, kissing her tummy. “Let me show you,” he said.

  Ace pulled down her panties, his thumb brushing back and forth over the soft dusting of hair that grew between her legs. Gently parting the curls, Ace pressed against her clitoris, smiling with delight as she shivered above him.

  Fiona felt his other hand slide around to firmly cup her ass. He squeezed it tightly as his tongue performed acrobatics on her rapidly moistening pussy. His fingers slid inside her, then quickly withdrew, eliciting a sharp gasp from Fiona. She looked down to see him licking his middle finger.

  “I swear, you taste as good as you smell,” he said, staring up at her before leaning in to lap at her sweet core like a man starved half to death. The force of him on her pressed Fiona back until her legs hit the edge of the bed and she fell, her legs spreading wide to grant Ace better access.

  Ace held nothing back, giving Fiona every trick he knew to try to get her to that point as many times as he could. He knew she was close when she started to whimper and tug on his hair.

  Instead of riding what Ace modestly thought could be the best orgasm of her life, Fiona sat up, pulling away from his tongue and fingers.

  Now it was Ace’s turn to ask Fiona, “What are you doing?”

  “Let me show you,” she repeated back to him, sitting up.

  Switching places so Ace was the one on the bed with his legs resting over the edge, and Fiona was on her knees between his thighs, she pulled off his pants and boxers, while Ace removed his shirt.

  Grasping his cock gently in her hand, Fiona pursed her lips, wrapping them around his head. Ace groaned loudly and Fiona flicked her tongue a few times to heighten his sensations.

  She had never been particularly adept at this part of foreplay, but Ace brought out the seductress in her. She felt powerful with Ace at her
mercy beneath her.

  As Fiona worked him over with her beautiful mouth, he found himself reaching the need to cum far too quickly. He sat up a little, brushing Fiona’s hair over her ear. “Hey,” he said, breathing hard, “that feels way too good right now.”

  Fiona bobbed her head down once more before coming up, and Ace’s eyes rolled into the back of his head. He grabbed her by the arm, pulling her to lay alongside him in the giant hotel bed.

  “Holy shit, girl,” he said, smiling at her. “That was amazing.”

  “Thank you,” Fiona said modestly. “It’s the least I could do for you when you make me feel so good.”

  “Oh, that’s nothing!” Ace said wickedly. “You just wait!”