Chapter 13
Ace
I knew I was lost without her. I could feel it in my bones. However, Elena had made it very clear to me that she had chosen her father over me. She didn’t even want to believe what I told her, she was blinded by her loyalty to her family, and I couldn’t blame her. But did she not see that Duncan was dangerous? That he could hurt her again?
I left my Kelley’s apartment and rode straight to the bar. No Church had been called today, but I went anyway, and as much as I’d predicted, Daredevil and Beasty were there, drinking.
“Where have you been, brother?” Beasty called out to me as they saw me approaching them at the bar counter.
“Had some things to take care of,” I replied gruffly and sat down at the bar. A bottle of beer was slid down to me as usual, and I took a large gulp.
“Were you with Elena?” Beasty added with a laugh, and I looked up and caught Daredevil studying me. I clenched my jaw at him, just as a group of some of the other members walked in and Beasty got up to go and greet them.
“All good in Paradise?” Daredevil said, now that we were both alone.
“It’s hardly Paradise,” I replied to him, and took another gulp of the beer.
“What happened between you two?” Daredevil asked, and I gripped the bottle tighter in my hand.
“I rescued her from her prisoners. You know what happened,” I said gruffly because I wasn’t in the mood to have a chat about Elena.
“No, I mean what happened between you two before? You seem like you know her well,” Daredevil said and I looked over at him, my eyes burning up with anger. I hoped that she was all right. I hoped that she hadn’t been stupid enough to leave Kelley’s place where she was safe. No matter what she thought of me, I still worried about her. I wouldn’t ever stop worrying about her.
“She was the boss’ daughter, and she left town to get away from this life. And she stayed away and shouldn’t have come back. That’s what happened,” I said and took in a deep breath. The reality was just sinking in. That was the truth, wasn’t it? What was I thinking to believe that there could be anything more between us? Why had I been foolish enough to believe that she would choose me over her own family?
“She came back for you?” Daredevil’s voice interrupted my thoughts.
“She came back for her Papi!” I snapped, and I was glaring at my friend. This conversation was only reminding me of all the stupid decisions I had made in my life. How stupid I had been to pine for a woman I could never have, for all these years.
“Has she called him yet?” Daredevil asked, and my mouth clamped shut in confusion. I had no idea what he was implying.
“What do you mean?” I asked, and he shrugged his shoulders.
“I mean, has she called him since you rescued her? Has she asked for a phone or requested to make a phone call so she can get in touch with him? After all, wouldn’t she want him to know that she’s safe?” Daredevil’s voice seeped into my brain as his words registered. I had my brows crossed as I glared at him a little more.
“Well?” he urged me when I hadn’t replied and my eyes glazed over. No, Elena hadn’t spoken to her father yet. Even after she had chance after chance, she hadn’t asked to speak to him. If he was that important to her, and if she trusted in him as much as I thought she did, why hadn’t she called him yet?
I shook my head as I stared at Daredevil and a smile flickered on his face. He let out a deep happy sigh.
“Somethin’ to think about, Ace. The girl has chosen you,” he said and tipped his bottle over so that he drank the rest of his beer in one gulp.
I had been so caught up in the things that Elena had lashed at me during our argument, that I’d forgotten to explore her actions. Even before I’d told her what Duncan had done, she hadn’t bothered to call him. She said she was back in town for her father, and she claimed that he didn’t know about her kidnapping, why hadn’t she called him yet? Could it be, because now that she met me again, she was afraid of him? Afraid of what he might think of us?
I emptied the rest of the beer down my throat, and I stood up from the bar stool.
“Ever since you met Melody, you’ve become a sentimental softie. You better check yourself before you wreck yourself,” I said and slapped my brother’s back. He laughed and shook his head because he knew he had been a huge help to me, even if I wasn’t going to admit it to him.
“I have somewhere to be,” I said, as I began to walk away.
“Of course, you do. I’ll warn my sister to stay out of the house! That lion of yours never could be tamed,” I heard him say to me and I rushed out of the bar and jumped on my bike.
Did it matter what Elena had said? What mattered was what she did. She trusted me. Deep down, I knew she did. No matter how much she tried to make, me believe that she didn’t. And it was my responsibility to make sure that she was safe, and I wasn’t going to let Duncan Luis come between us again. Not this time. Not after I’d just found her again.
xxx
I opened Kelley’s door with the key she had given me earlier, and when I stepped in, I saw Elena at the kitchen sink, washing a mug. She whipped around to look at me, and she saw it in my eyes; that I wasn’t ready to give up on us yet.
I said nothing, just strode over to her and placed my hands on the sink, cornering her with my body and my arms. Her brown eyes were large, and she parted her lips. I dipped my face towards her and she sunk into me. Her hands rose up to my face, as our tongues lashed against each other’s, lips sliding over lips, stifled breaths mingling.
“I’m sorry about everything I said,” she told me.
xxx
Elena had made us mugs of steaming coffee, and we were sitting together in Kelley’s living room now.
“I haven’t seen Kelley since I came to stay here. I don’t want to displace her from her own home,” Elena said, some of her locks fell over her face as she brought her lips close to the mug’s rim. I couldn’t take my eyes off her.
“Kelley isn’t the kind of person who goes out of her way to be fake-polite. I’m sure she’s just busy with her things, don’t worry about it,” I told her and took a sip of my coffee. I was sitting in an armchair, facing her, my legs spread wide apart with relaxation.
Elena shied away from looking at me directly, and I could see that her cheeks were flushed.
“Elena, have you called your father?” I asked, and she looked up at me with a jerk. There was a moment when I thought she was going to jump to the defensive again, but she didn’t. She had decided against it.
“No, I haven’t,” she said, and I stared at her some more. Putting her on the spot.
“Why not?” I asked, and she took in a deep breath and wrapped her hands tightly around the warm mug.
“I’m not sure, Ace, maybe I don’t trust him anymore. Maybe I never trusted him. Maybe, somewhere in the back of my mind, I already knew what you told me this morning,” she said, and I could feel my muscles untangling. I watched her eyes dart around the room nervously. I could sense that it was difficult for her to talk about her father, and admit that he might be a horrible human being.
“So, you’re saying that you believe what I said to you?” I continued, and Elena gulped, then took another small sip of her coffee. Just to buy time. When I saw, her nodding her head, I felt relieved.
“Yes, Ace,” she said and looked up to meet my eyes. “I don’t trust anyone the way I trust you, and I was wrong when I pushed you away this morning. I shouldn’t have said those things to you. I was just lashing out,” she said, and I got up from the armchair and walked over to her.
Placing my mug on the coffee table, I knelt down in front of her and reached for her hands. I covered her hands with mine, so we were both holding her mug now and finally, Elena looked up to meet my eyes.
“You don’t need to apologize, I understand,” I said, and her lips quivered when she looked at me.
“You’ve gone through this yourself, the betrayal of a father,” she said, and I nodded. She knew about my father; she knew what he had done to me.
“I just want you to be safe and the only way I can keep you that way is if you keep your distance from Duncan and the Snake Skulls,” I continued, and she nodded her head.
“Yes, I know that. I knew that this morning too. I just lost it when you told me what I already knew. What I didn’t want actually to admit to myself. I should have trusted you from the beginning,” she said, and I reached for her face and pulled her in for a kiss.
“Elena…my feelings for you haven’t changed,” I said when our lips eventually parted. I knew I was taking a leap of faith, but I was either going to be all in or nothing at all. This was the only second chance I could have with the woman I’d always been in love with.
“I love you, Ace,” she blurted out and then clamped her mouth shut like a little child.
I smiled and stroked her hair. It was soft and glossy, and I knew I wanted to wake up every morning with that hair and that face and that body. This was the truth I had denied myself for such a long time.
“I want to be with you, Ace. I want to live with you, and be your mate. In all these years, it’s what I’ve always wanted, ” she said, and I nodded my head.
“Very soon. I’m going to take care of all of this, and then we can be together the way we were always supposed to,” I said and straightened myself up.
“Are you leaving?” she asked, and I saw the look of fright in her eyes.
“I’ll check on you tomorrow. Today, I should be with my MC and make sure that everything is under control. Just know that you’re safe here, and I’m going to make sure you stay that way,” I said and stroked her cheek.
Elena finally smiled, and I could see it in her eyes that she trusted me.
“Tomorrow is Sunday,” she said, and I nodded my head.
“Yeah”
“So, I want to go to church with you. I want to be a part of every aspect of your life, including your religion,” she said, and I ran the tip of my forefinger over her soft luscious lips.
“I’ll pick you up at nine, and I’m leaving you some money so you can go and shop for new clothes or whatever you need,” I said, and after kissing her lightly on her lips, I left the apartment.
We were going to be together; I knew we were. Now that we had found each other again, there was nothing that could keep us apart. Not even the entire forces of Snake Skulls. My lion purred with contentment, he was going to like having Elena around full time.