“How about a steak? Can I order that?”

 

Fiona flashed a smile at Bobby. “Of course! You can get whatever you want. In fact, why don’t you order me one too,” she said. “I’m just going to try Ace again really quick.”

 

She turned back to the hotel phone, dialing the number Ace had left her. This was the fifth time she’d tried to call him in the last two hours and so far, there had been no answer. This time the call went straight to voicemail.

 

Putting the phone back in its cradle, Fiona sat on the bed, wondering why he wouldn’t answer. The most obvious reason was that Ace couldn’t answer the phone because he was currently being murdered to death by Alexei and his mob, but Fiona didn’t want to think about that.

 

He could just be busy, Fiona tried to reason with herself. Busy searching for Alexei.

 

Maybe he just doesn’t want to talk to you, that horrible, self-critical side of her suggested. Maybe now that he’s had everything he can get from you, there’s no reason for him to stick around. He probably doesn’t give two shits about Alexei, Niko, or you.

 

“Everything okay?” Bobby asked, shaking her from her dark thoughts.

 

Fiona flashed a smile, bigger and brighter than ever before. “Absolutely! Did you order that food?” she asked, filled with false cheer.

 

“Uh, yep. Should be here soon,” he told her. “Did you get ahold of Mr. Connor?”

 

Keeping her tone light, Fiona waved a dismissive hand. “No, but that’s fine. We’re having a good time without him, right?” she said.

 

Bobby smiled. “Totally!”

 

Fiona tried calling Ace once every two hours for the rest of the night, but it continued to go to voicemail. Bobby had fallen asleep at this point, and Fiona woke him so he could get home before his parents worried.

 

She slept fitfully that night. Fiona was plagued with nightmares, some where Alexei was torturing her brother, some where Alexei was torturing Ace, and some where all three of them were tied up and tortured together.

 

She woke suddenly the next morning with the feeling that she hadn’t slept at all. She glanced at the clock. It was close to ten in the morning, but when she checked her phone, Ace still had yet to call her back.

 

A knock came from the door and Fiona ran to it, thinking it was Ace, but when she opened it, she came face to stomach with an incredibly tall, good-looking black man.

 

“Riley?” Fiona said confusedly. “What are you doing here?”

 

“I’ve come to guard you,” he answered. “You should not have answered the door so quickly. You did not ask me who I was, or check the peephole,” Riley said, pointing to the small security measure.

 

Fiona’s blood ran cold. Riley was right. She had completely forgotten that she was also a target.

 

“Please go back inside now, so you are not seen,” Riley instructed her.

 

“Where’s Ace?” Fiona asked, ignoring him.

 

“He is busy with the gang’s affairs—as he should be,” he added pointedly.

 

Fiona took the hint that her question was not going to be answered and stepped back into the room. She wasn’t happy that Ace couldn’t at least call her, especially when he said he would, but she knew that after last night, there was no way Ace could be accused of using her.

 

It had been everything she thought it would be: Ace had been so gentle at the beginning, so tender. And then they had flipped the script, and he had shown her exactly what she had been missing all these years. There was no doubt about it in Fiona’s mind: that was how people were supposed to have sex.

 

Still, when several hours had passed, and she and Bobby were well into the afternoon marathon of Law & Order: SVU, Ace still hadn’t contacted her.

 

“Riley?” she hesitantly called through the door. “Could you call Ace for me? I haven’t been able to get a hold of him.”

 

“Ace knows what he is doing. He will call you when the time is right,” Riley replied, his deep voice muffled.

 

Fiona went and sat back down on the bed with a huff. She briefly wondered if, perhaps, Ace was avoiding her, but dismissed the idea quickly. She didn’t think many of the members of The Hell Brothers particularly liked her; Riley might be the one blowing her off instead of Ace, not that she preferred that scenario by much.

 

“Are you okay, Mrs. Connor?” Bobby asked around a mouthful of ice cream.

 

“Sure,” Fiona said, not bothering to fake any enthusiasm.

 

An hour later, while Olivia Benson was delivering her snarky one-liner to the arrested criminal, someone knocked on the door—pounded, actually.

 

Fiona and Bobby exchanged nervous glances, and Fiona hurried to the door, making sure to check the peephole this time. It was Riley, but he was accompanied by another man. She opened the door cautiously.

 

“Something has happened and I must go,” Riley said hurriedly. “This is Andrew; he’ll make sure no one comes near you, okay?”

 

Fiona looked at the second man. He could have sat in the dictionary next to the word “biker.” He had an enormous chest that sloped into a respectable beer belly. His black shirt had the sleeves ripped off, displaying arms that were entirely covered with tattoos—many of which were naked ladies and skulls.

 

“Nice to meet you, Andrew,” Fiona said politely.

 

Andrew grunted in return. Riley took off without a word, leaving Fiona awkwardly looking at the man next to her, who did not seem to notice she was there.

 

Unsure of what to do, Fiona stepped back into the room and slowly closed the door. She rejoined Bobby in watching Olivia and Elliot bust bad guys, but Fiona couldn’t get it out of her mind: Where is Ace?

 

Two episodes later, right before the confession, Fiona decided she couldn’t wait around any longer. She picked up the remote and switched the TV off.

 

“Hey!” Bobby protested.

 

“I’m sorry, Bobby, but I need your help with something,” Fiona said solemnly.

 

“Sure, Mrs. Connor, what’s up?” Bobby had been calling Fiona that for the past two days, and she had let him, partly for simplicity’s sake, partly because it had been fun to pretend to be Ace’s wife.

 

“I think Ace might be in trouble. Do you have a car?” she asked.

 

“Well, yeah,” Bobby said. He had a Toyota that was only a few years younger than he was, but it got him from A to B without too much trouble. “But how do you know where he is if he’s not picking up his phone?” he asked.

 

“I have an idea,” Fiona said, “but you’re not going to like it.”

 

Half an hour later, Melanie was knocking on the hotel door.

 

“’Sup,” she said to the giant biker beside her.

 

Andrew grunted.

 

Fiona opened the door. “Come on in!” she said brightly.

 

“Good talk,” Melanie said, waving to Andrew as she stepped inside. “So, what am I doing here, and who’s the kid?” she asked, pointing to Bobby.

 

“That’s Bobby, and I need your help getting out of here,” Fiona explained.

 

“Oh, okay,” Melanie said. “So, you don’t call me for days, and now you need my help?”

 

Fiona rolled her eyes. “Melanie, please. It’s not like I blew off plans for a slumber party; people’s lives are in danger. Let’s keep it in perspective, okay?”

 

Melanie pouted for a minute. “Oh, fine. What do you need me to do?”

 

“I need you to be me,” Fiona said.

 

“Is that was this is for?” Melanie opened her bag and pulled out the long black wig and pair of heels Fiona had asked her to bring. “Are you going to be me? No offense, but I don’t think that’s gonna fly. What about you, kid?”

 

Bobby cleared his throat. “You’re not very…well, what I mean is, neither of you are…um…no,” he finally finished.

 

It was true, Fiona and Melanie had completely opposing body types; Melanie was tall and lithe, Fiona was short and curvy.

 

“I know,” Fiona said. “I’m not blind. But that guy might as well be.” She jerked her thumb towards the door behind her. “You saw him coming in. He barely even looked at you. All he saw was tall,” Fiona pointed at the heels, “and dark,” she said, pointing to the wig.

 

“You have a point…” Melanie said slowly. “Okay, I’m in. What’s the plan? I pretend to be asleep when he checks on me or something?”

 

“Pretty much,” Fiona shrugged.

 

“Simple,” Melanie said. “I like it.”

 

Twenty minutes later, Fiona was moving down the hallway as quickly as the heels would let her. If everything went to plan, Bobby would join her outside in another twenty minutes to take her to Ace’s house.

 

Andrew was just as oblivious as Fiona had hoped, and almost a half an hour later, Bobby came out looking like he was trying very hard to keep himself from running.

 

“Thanks, Bobby. You’re a life saver,” Fiona told him.

 

Bobby slowly drove down the dark street as they made their way to Ace’s, nervously looking around. Almost all of the streetlights were busted, and sirens constantly echoed in the distance.

 

“Does anything look familiar?” Bobby whispered to Fiona, despite the fact that the windows were rolled up and there was no one around to hear them.

 

“Yep,” Fiona said grimly.

 

Two houses ahead, Fiona saw a familiar red and matte black motorcycle parked in an overgrown yard. Dozens of bikes surrounded the place, but, for once, Fiona didn’t feel intimidated; she felt furious.

 

Bobby, on the other hand, was feeling very intimidated. He unconsciously slowed the car to a stop. “You want to go in there?” he said.

 

Music and shouting could be heard even at this distance. There was obviously a major party happening, and who knew what that might entail.

 

“You can wait in the car, Bobby,” Fiona said dangerously. “This will only take a minute.”

 

She got out, slamming the door behind her, stamping toward the thumping house with the vibrating windows. Bobby stared after her miserably for a moment, then resignedly unbuckled his seatbelt and got out to follow her. He pressed the button to lock his car, listening to the sad, futile honk.

 

Fiona threw open the door, her head whipping left to right as she searched for any sign of Ace. Bobby cautiously entered after her, completely terrified, but determined to make sure Mrs. Connor was okay.

 

With her limited knowledge of the house’s layout, Fiona began to work her way room to room as she looked for Ace. Suddenly her ears pricked up, hearing a bold, familiar laugh coming from the kitchen.

 

Squeezing her way down a crowded hallway that seemed to be entirely made of leather and hair, Fiona finally popped out in what appeared to be more of a mess hall than a kitchen, with Bobby close behind her.

 

A long wooden slab about eight feet long served as a table to over a dozen people, all indifferently scattered around it. At the far end, Fiona saw Ace sitting on top, his boots resting on the bench, laughing uproariously with his friends—Katie being one of them. She was sitting on the bench next to Ace’s legs, leaning against him as she raised her can to empty it of its contents.

 

Fiona’s face burned with anger and humiliation. She didn’t know whether she wanted to tear Ace apart or run away and hide. What was I thinking? He used me! Melanie was right. Everything he ever said was a lie. She remembered her fantasies of being “Mrs. Connor” and a sick shame washed over her.

 

“Come on, Mrs. Connor,” Bobby said softly, his hand gentle on her shoulder. “I’ll take you back to the hotel.”

 

Closing her eyes against the embarrassing sting of the title Bobby had given her, Fiona turned to go with him. Stopping at the doorway, she looked back and saw Katie’s gaze boring a hole into her, a wild, victorious smile spreading across her face.

 

Fiona stared at the other woman as she stood up to whisper something in Ace’s ear. Giving Fiona one last look over her shoulder, Katie walked towards the back of the kitchen, Ace trailing obediently behind her.

 

Fiona’s embarrassment disappeared, and a hot, territorial fury began to grow inside of her. Shaking Bobby’s comforting hand off of her, Fiona tried to follow, but the crowd of people was too great, and before she could catch up to Ace and Katie, they had disappeared.

 

She whirled around angrily, searching for any sign of the man who had betrayed her, but there was nothing. Fine by me, Fiona determinedly thought to herself, I’ll search this place inch by inch if I have to.

 

And with Bobby still following her, that’s exactly what she did.

 

***

 

“Katie, I know you want to go over the plan again, but please,” Ace begged as he walked up the back steps behind her, “can we just go back to the party?”

 

Katie looked back at Ace and smiled wickedly. Ace paused mid-step, realizing she was not bringing him upstairs to talk plans. Taking a deep breath, he followed her into her bedroom and carefully shut the door behind him.

 

“So, er, what did you want to tell me that you couldn’t downstairs?” Ace asked, still trying to pretend that Katie hadn’t lied to him to get him alone.

 

Katie responded by peeling off her tight black crop top. She wasn’t wearing a bra underneath, and Ace instinctively averted his eyes, even though Katie’s breasts were something he had seen a hundred times before.

 

“What are you doing?” Katie asked him curiously. She stepped closer and Ace turned away from her. “Come on,” she said, reaching out to wrap her long, slender fingers around his arm. “It’s been too long for us. That’s why we’ve been off lately.”

 

Ace pulled away, still keeping his eyes down. “Katie…” Ace didn’t know how to say what he needed to. Partly because he couldn’t believe he was about to say it, and partly because if he said the wrong thing, Katie might very well pull out her gun and shoot him.

 

But Katie had been trying and trying with him over the last week, and he had kept pulling away. His mind hadn’t been ready to accept it until now, but things with Katie were done.

 

“Just spit it out, Ace,” she said coldly, folding her arms over her breasts. “Whatever it is, fucking spit it out already.”

 

“I can’t do this with you anymore,” he finally said. “Us, this…” he gestured between them, still not looking at her, “…it’s over, Katie. I’m sorry.”

 

A long silence spread between them.

 

“Is this because of her?” Katie asked, and Ace knew she meant Fiona.

 

“No,” he answered honestly, surprising himself.

 

“Then what’s it about, Ace?” She sounded almost desperate.

 

“It’s about me, and what I need,” he told her. “I can’t really explain it, Katie.” Ace shrugged. “I wish I could, but I can’t.” Ace privately thought maybe he actually could, but not to Katie, and that was the whole point of it.

 

“So that’s it?” she said disgustedly. “We’ve been together for three years, and all you can give me is ‘I can’t explain it’?”

 

“Technically, we were never really together,” Ace pointed out. “You were the one who didn’t want us to be official, but then you became enraged whenever I was with anyone else. What kind of game is that, Katie?”

 

“It’s not a game,” Katie spat. “This gang is my life, Ace, and I accept the rules that go along with it. Gangs with female leaders are seen as weak, so I’ve never run for president because even though I know I could do the job better than anyone—even you—I don’t want to hinder The Hell Brothers in any way. That’s why I don’t push to be your second-in-command either, so no one accuses our leader of favoritism.”

 

Ace was stunned; he had never known Katie wanted to be leader.

 

“That’s why I’m so upset with you bringing her around. You did it without any regard to how it affected the gang,” Katie said. “You’re the one who’s treating it like a game. So just…get out,” Katie said, her voice like stone. “Get the fuck out of my room, Ace.” She grabbed her top from the floor and turned her back to him.

 

Ace went to the door, unsure of what to say, if anything, that could mend things between him and Katie. Turning the knob, he opened the door to leave and came face to face with an angry-looking Fiona and…the hotel waiter behind her.

 

***

 

Fiona had searched every inch of the lower level of the house, even though she already knew deep down that Katie had brought Ace upstairs. Still, she had searched, hoping against hope Ace had refused Katie and had instead joined a game of beer pong somewhere.

 

Finally heading up the stairs, Fiona first tried Ace’s room. It was empty, which, for a moment, filled Fiona with joy—until she realized there had to be at least five other bedrooms on this level.

 

Three turned out to be empty, as well, and the fourth had a couple in it, but it wasn’t Ace and Katie. After apologizing for the interruption, Fiona went to the fifth door, praying it would also be empty—or, if it had to have someone in it, let it be Ace, alone.

 

“Are you sure about this, Mrs. Connor?” Bobby asked as Fiona reached for the handle.

 

He understood the need for truth, but even at his sixteen years, he didn’t think it was a good idea to intentionally walk into a room to see your husband cheating on you.

 

“Why don’t you just wait until they come out? Then you can say what you need to—”

 

The door flew open just then, removing anyone’s choice in the matter.

 

Fiona barely even saw Ace. She was already zooming in on Katie’s naked back. She swallowed hard. Bobby was right. I should have just left. I didn’t want to see this.

 

Without a word, Fiona turned on her heel and walked down the steps. She almost made it out the door before Ace caught up with her.

 

“Hey, Fiona, wait…just let me…” He was stumbling over his words trying to explain what she had walked in on.

 

She ignored him and he grabbed her arm to keep her from leaving.

 

“Let go of me!” Fiona screamed, violently thrashing in her attempt to get away.

 

She somehow managed to simultaneously knee Ace in the groin and punch him in the ear and he dropped like a hot stone. Having heard the yelling, Smalls, Lianna, and Riley all piled into the room to see what was going on.

 

“Go get her,” Ace ordered through gritted teeth. He was holding onto his junk like it was going to fall off. It felt like she burst something down there.

 

A minute later Smalls and Riley returned with a thoroughly incensed, very vocal, Fiona between them, each firmly holding one of her arms. Next came Bobby, who looked extremely put out at being led from behind by Lianna, her powerful hand clasping his shoulder.

 

“You tell these assholes to get the fuck off of me, Ace! Right now! I mean it!” she shrieked as they half led, half carried her up the stairs to Ace’s room.

 

Ace closed his eyes and took a deep breath, waiting for the ringing in his ear to subside. It eventually quieted, but the pain did not. He opened his eyes to see Katie standing over him.

 

Why, God? Why me and why today? Ace asked.

 

“Well, I never thought I would ever say this, but I’m glad she was here,” she said viciously, looking down at him. “Watching her kick your ass was a special treat.” Katie stepped over him and walked into the kitchen, slinging her arm around a tall, handsome stranger Ace had never seen before.

 

As he pulled himself to his feet, he watched her pluck the cigarette from the man’s lips and take a drag. She kissed the stranger, and when they separated, he blew smoke to the ceiling, a giant grin on his face.

 

Ace shook his head. Katie was upset, but he was willing to bet there were plenty of people around who would be willing to give her a shoulder to cry on. He took the steps slowly; he seemed to have a minor case of vertigo from Fiona’s blow to his ear. The girl could really pack a punch.

 

He walked into his bedroom to see Fiona sitting on the bed, a furious glare on her face. Bobby was sitting next to her looking considerably more frightened.

 

“Guys, can you give us a minute?” Ace asked, meaning Fiona and himself.

 

Smalls and Lianna looked at each other. Riley shifted imperceptibly.

 

“What?” Ace asked, looking at each of them.

 

“We are growing concerned over the impact this girl is having on the gang,” Riley said, nodding towards Fiona. “Katie is not the only one with concerns. Even excluding the issues this has prompted with Alexei, which many of us feel would have come about anyway, events like tonight are not acceptable.”

 

Ace stared at Riley. Embarrassment burned his face, but he refused to look away. “I believe my patch still says Leader on it, and until it doesn’t, you’ll do what I say,” he said quietly.

 

“Dammit, Ace!” Riley cried, flipping over his nightstand. A lamp shattered. The light bulb popped loudly inside, causing Smalls, Lianna, and Bobby to each let out a Smalls scream. “Blake died today! People are mourning downstairs, and you’ve got two women at your throat all because you can’t keep your dick in your pants!”

 

Ace was shocked. Never in all the years he had known Riley had he ever heard him raise his voice. “I know,” he said soothingly. “I know, and I’m sorry, Riley. You’re right.”

 

Riley was breathing hard, sweat shining on his dark skin. “Diego was right downstairs; we need you, Ace. If you want to wear that patch,” he raised a long arm to point at Ace’s vest, “then you’d better do something to deserve it.”

 

Riley walked out of the room, Smalls and Lianna behind him, Lianna stopping long enough to grab Bobby by the front of his shirt. He glanced back at Fiona helplessly before Ace closed the door.

 

He stood there for a long moment, leaning on the doorknob with one hand.

 

“What the hell are you doing here, Fiona?” he asked tiredly.

 

“You weren’t returning my phone calls,” she fired back hotly. “I thought something had happened! I guess I know what it was now.”

 

“Nothing happened between Katie and me tonight,” Ace told her. “If you don’t believe me, you can go ask her yourself. She’s your biggest fucking fan after seeing you take me down,” he added, seeing Fiona’s skeptical look.

 

“Why is that?”

 

“She’s pissed because I broke up with her,” Ace said, sitting next to her on the bed.

 

“Was it because of me?” Fiona couldn’t help but blurt out.

 

“Did you not hear Riley just then?” Ace asked. “Somebody fucking died, Fiona! Because I wasn’t there to do something about it! Because I was too busy with all your shit!”

 

“Ace, that is such bullshit!” Fiona said. “How the hell were you supposed to predict that?”

 

“Is it?” He laughed skeptically. “Maybe if I had been here, where I belonged, I could have…have…” Ace trailed off, throwing his hands into the air.

 

“What?” Fiona asked. “Done what? What would you have done differently if you had been here?”

 

Ace didn’t answer her.

 

“Exactly,” Fiona said softly. “Nothing. So stop blaming yourself. It’s only keeping you from blaming the person truly responsible for hurting your friends.”

 

Ace looked at Fiona gratefully, and she leaned forward to kiss him. There was nothing more in the world that Ace wanted to do right now than kiss Fiona and show her his appreciation for her words, but her gentleness with him only further proved his point that she deserved more than he could give her.

 

He pulled away.

 

“What…?” Fiona said with a confused smile. “Ace, it’s okay if we mess around a little; I promise nothing bad will happen if you ‘shift your focus’ for an hour,” she teased, thinking he was worried about Alexei’s next move.

 

“It’s not that,” Ace said, his voice suddenly cold.

 

“Well, then what is it? Are you too drunk?”

 

“No, I’m just not interested.”

 

Fiona felt like a cement fist had just punched a hole in her stomach.

 

“I mean, don’t get me wrong, back at the hotel was great, but…Fiona, come on. Did you really think I would want to hit it twice? I’ve moved on.”

 

The fist uncurled and a thick concrete rope spread from each finger to every limb, filling it with a numbing sensation.

 

“But…at the hotel, it seemed like…” she feebly protested as she lost the feeling in her lips.

 

“Yeah, well, a lot can happen in a day,” Ace said shortly, hating himself more and more with every word, weakly holding onto the knowledge that this was what was best for Fiona. “I’ve moved on; you should. too.”

 

Ace stood up and headed to the door.

 

“Wait!” Fiona cried, tears beginning to swim in her eyes. He stopped and looked back at her. “I love you,” she admitted, the tears now freely slipping down her cheek.

 

Ace swallowed hard, trying to keep himself in check. “You don’t love me,” he said without a hint of emotion. “You just confused good sex for love. Now, Riley is going to keep an eye on you, since you can’t seem stay put like I told you. Alexei will know I’m not bringing you back to him by now, and he’ll be out looking for you. If you need me, I’ll be downstairs.”

 

“I don’t know why you’re lying to yourself,” Ace heard Fiona say from behind him. He paused and turned back to her. “You felt something at the hotel, and if you don’t want to admit that, then you’re a weak man, Ace, and you can go to hell,” she said.