“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.
Alexei paced furiously back and forth. He picked up a very large, very expensive-looking vase and heaved it over his head, smashing it against the far wall.
“Blyad'!” he cursed, his heavy voice echoing against the far metal walls.
Paul winced as a ceramic shard whizzed by his scalp.
“You’re surprised?” Vlad drawled. “This is what happens when you give people options. They think they can do whatever they want.”
“Might I remind you that you are the one who suggested I give him this option?” Alexei pointed out tersely.
“True,” Vlad admitted. “But I didn’t tell you to give him the extra time with the girl. You should have taken her immediately.”
“You speak up now; where were you yesterday with your wisdom?” Alexei asked.
Vlad shrugged, sensing now was a good time to be quiet.
“What about you?” Alexei suddenly asked Paul. “Any smart ideas?”
Paul wasn’t sure how to answer that, so he took Vlad’s lead and said nothing.
“Come on,” Alexei said, waving his hand. “Speak up!”
“Uh, are you sure he wasn’t at the bar when it blew up? Maybe he got hurt or something,” Paul suggested lamely.
Alexei let out an ugly laugh. “That would be funny. He is preparing to go to war with us, and he dies in the first battle.”
Paul laughed with him, secretly praying Ace was alive and was still going to go through with their plan.
“Where is William?” Alexei asked, suddenly turning to Paul. “He’s late.”
Paul stood up straight. “He should be here any minute.”
As though on cue, the side door boomed open, slamming against the metal wall. William strolled through looking like the cat that had eaten the canary.
“Why do you look so happy?” Alexei asked suspiciously.
“Because I found Niko,” he said with a nasty grin. “We finally got a bead on him somewhere in Massachusetts; he’s staying with an uncle on his mother’s side.”
Alexei finally began to smile. So what if he didn’t have the whore, Fiona, today? He would have her soon enough, and he had the image of Ace Connor’s mangled, crispy corpse to keep him happy.
“We need to grab him,” he ordered William. “We will use him to draw the girl out. If Ace is alive, he will follow her to us.”
“What if it doesn’t work?” Paul blurted out. “How will you lure him here, then?”
“Why wouldn’t it work?” Alexei asked, his brow furrowing. “Do you know something?”
Paul bit his lip, shaking his head. “No, of course not. I’m just…trying to be thorough. Sorry if I seem nervous,” he said.
Alexei stared at him suspiciously for a long moment, then broke into a grin. “Do not be nervous!” he said, throwing a friendly arm around Paul’s shoulders. “It’s very simple, trust me.” Releasing Paul, Alexei began to bark orders at the people standing around him. “William, contact our people in Boston and have them sit on the boy until we get there. Paul, I want you to look into our situation with Ace. Vlad,” reaching into his pocket, Alexei pulled out his wallet and threw it to his second-in-command, “I want two first-class tickets leaving for Boston tonight, one way, and we’ll need a car to drive back in once we have picked up Niko.”
Vlad lazily snatched the wallet out of the air. “You got it, boss.”
Six hours later they were touching down in Boston and picking up their rental car—something with a nice, large trunk for the way home. Using William’s connections, it hadn’t been difficult to find Uncle Leon. Apparently the man worked for a big time law firm.
Alexei wondered how someone so prestigious could be connected to someone like Niko, but he supposed that was the weakness of family. At the very least they could rob the man once they had collected Niko.
“We’re here,” Vlad said, pulling up alongside a three-story brownstone that was partially obscured by clinging ivy.
Several lights, at least one on every floor, were on in the house, causing Alexei to worry that, perhaps, others lived with Leon Carver. He had not come prepared to execute an entire family, neither mentally nor materially. That kind of work required a serious cleanup crew, which he simply did not have.
Movement caught his eye—it was Niko! He was standing in the middle of the kitchen wearing only his boxers. Alexei glanced at his diamond encrusted watch. It was almost midnight. Why do they have so many lights on at this hour? And if everyone is awake, why is Niko the only one who is up?
Watching Niko open the refrigerator and take a pull straight from the milk carton, Alexei realized that what he was looking at was the careless lifestyle of an adolescent man who had been left in an extravagant home with no supervision.
He nudged Vlad. “He’s alone. Let’s go.”
They quietly stepped out of the car, carefully shutting the doors behind them. The last thing they wanted was to give him a head’s up. As they crept around to the back of the house, both Alexei and Vlad darkly recalled the violent resourcefulness of the elder Brown, thinking they didn’t want to find out if it ran in the family.
It had been easy enough for Alexei to pick the lock of the back door. The hinges squeaked gently as the two men snuck inside, but muted footsteps from above told Alexei that Niko was upstairs now, too far away to hear such a small noise.
Alexei pulled his gun from the back of his waistband, silently motioning for Vlad to do the same. They circled around to the floating staircase, tiptoeing up the steps to maintain the surprise advantage. The top of Niko’s head came into view, and Alexei quickly ducked back down to avoid being seen.
He looked at Vlad, who gave a nasty grin in reply. Alexei smiled, too. Niko had evaded him for far too long, and now he was going to learn what it meant to pay your dues.
***
Riley was standing guard as Ace had ordered, making sure Fiona didn’t randomly decide to take off, when Lucky approached and asked to go in.
“I don’t think Ace would like that,” he said, dubiously shaking his head.
“Oh, come on,” she pleaded, prettily batting her eyelashes. “Ace only said Fiona couldn’t come out. He never said no one could go in.”
Riley glanced down at her, raising his eyebrow. “I’m not going to make my judgment based on a technicality, Lucky. The answer is no.”
“Yeah, but, the whole point is to keep her here, right? Is she more likely to stay put if she has someone to talk to, or if she’s bored off her ass?” Lucky pointed out. “Besides,” she continued quietly, “she’s obviously hurting, Riley. She needs a friend.”
Riley’s shoulders drooped as he gazed into his lover’s eyes. “You have a good heart,” he murmured, quickly glancing around before dipping his head to press his lips to hers.
Lucky wrapped her arms tightly around him, her fingers digging into his back. Riley pulled away suddenly and she let out a small gasp of surprise. He smiled at her response, then nodded towards the door behind him, stepping to the side so she could knock.
How dare he? Fiona fumed, throwing herself on the bed. He can open up to me about how he feels responsible for what happened, but apparently he needs to ‘move on.’
Of course he wants to move on, the self-doubting side of her started in, He’s probably bored of you. He’s been with scores of women, had sex hundreds of times. Why would he ever want a repeat of what he’s already had?
Fiona had called Ace weak for not admitting his feelings for her, but what if he wasn’t weak and she was just some crazy, ranting girl who couldn’t see that she’d been dumped? What if she was imagining what she had felt between them at the hotel?
A soft knock interrupted Fiona’s self-deprecating tirade. “What do you want?” Fiona called irritably.
“Fiona?” she heard Lucky’s muted voice on the other side of the door. “Can I come in?” the younger girl asked.
Frankly, Fiona wasn’t sure. Part of her wanted someone to vent to, the other wanted to shut everyone out.
“Fiona?” Lucky repeated. “We don’t have to talk. I just thought you might need a friend.” Not hearing a response, Lucky reluctantly stepped back. “Okay, I’ll just go, then…” She gave Riley a miserable look.
“No. You can come in,” she said, opening the door a moment later.
Fiona stepped back to let Lucky enter, and the two women sat on the bed together. No one said anything for a long time.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Lucky finally asked. “I mean, you don’t have to, I’m just asking.” She didn’t know the right thing to say.
Fiona didn’t reply.
“We could talk about something else, then,” Lucky tried again, still getting nothing in return. “Oh!” she said suddenly, her eyes wide. “I got it. Wanna hear about the time Ace literally broke his ass in front of everyone outside of The Crabtree?” Lucky giggled, motioning for Fiona to lean in close. “He had to wear a cast that looked like a pair of shorts for two months.”
The image came to Fiona’s mind vividly, and she snorted loudly despite herself. “That sounds exactly like something I would want to hear right now,” she said. “Go on, what happened?”
“Well, we were all pretty drunk,” Lucky said with the tone that this should be considered the precursor to all of her stories. “This was back when there were a lot of gangs, and The Crabtree was sort of considered our Switzerland, or whatever.” Lucky waved a dismissive hand. “It was a place where the rivalry between us was friendly. So, we’re wasted, and someone suggests we do Biker Olympics. There were a bunch of categories: beer chug, best tits, you get the point. Well, we nominated Ace for the wheelie race, and—”
Fiona’s phone, the burner cell she had picked up at Niko’s suggestion, began to ring, cutting Lucky off mid-sentence. She seized it and her heart froze—she and Niko had spoken almost every day to check in with each other, but each time that phone rang, Fiona was terrified it was going to be Alexei, or a police officer telling her they’d found Niko’s body washed up on a river bed somewhere.
You’re being ridiculous, Fiona, she told herself. Niko is fine. Answer the phone and see for yourself.
“Sorry,” she said, looking at Lucky. “It’s my brother, and if I don’t answer he’ll—”
Lucky held up her hands. “Say no more.” She stood up from the bed. “I’ll give you guys some privacy.” Walking out of the room, the purple ends of Lucky’s platinum blonde hair bounced merrily from the bottoms of her pigtails, and Fiona smiled, wishing she felt as free.
Shaking her head, Fiona pressed the answer button. “Hey, Niko,” she said warmly. “How’s it going?”
“Fiona!” Niko cried in a strangled whisper. He was panting heavily. “Fiona, they found me!”
Everything Fiona had feared, everything she had tried to push away, was now happening. “What do you mean?” she blurted out. “How are you calling me? Where are you? Can you get out?” She had a million questions.
“I’m at Uncle Leon’s,” Niko hurriedly explained. “He wasn’t home, so I was checking out the house, when I saw Alexei and Vlad creeping up the stairs in the mirror behind me. They didn’t think I saw them, so I kept pretending I didn’t see them until I thought I could make a run for it, but they cut me off. I managed to make it to the garage and now I’m hiding in the trunk of Uncle Leon’s car. Fiona, they’re going to find me! I just know it! I know—”
“Niko!” Fiona said firmly. “Stop! Take a deep breath before you pass out.” Niko had been ranting at top speed. “Now, I’m going to tell you what to do, okay? I’m going to get you out of this,” Fiona promised, deep down knowing how utterly powerless she truly was. “What I need you to do is—” she began.
“Fiona!” Niko whispered. “They’re coming…”
In the background, Fiona heard a large boom, like someone had just knocked in a door, or, perhaps, somehow dented an expensive car.
“What do I do?” Niko breathed.
Footsteps echoed, sounding closer and closer, but Fiona had no idea what to tell her brother. She was terrified it would be the wrong thing.
“Just stay quiet, and maybe they’ll—” Fiona heard the loud pop of two gunshots and the screech of metal on metal, then clear, raucous laughter.
“Fiona!” Niko screamed, his voice piercingly high. “Fiona! They got me! Fi! Fi!”
Fiona nearly began screaming herself, but she didn’t want Niko to think anything had happened to her. “Niko, I’m coming, okay? Okay?” she cried into the phone.
Her brother’s screams faded into the distance and she knew someone was dragging him away. There was a rustling sound from the phone. Someone had picked it up—she could hear them breathing.
“I’m looking forward to seeing you, Fiona,” Vlad said.
She shivered, the oil in his voice sliding down her skin. Fiona shut the phone. She wanted nothing more than to throw it across the room, but it was her only tie to Niko. Fiona fell to her knees. Laying her head on the bed, she began to sob.
What am I going to do now? Even if Ace wasn’t the biggest asshole on the planet, he still wouldn’t be able to convince The Hell Brothers to abandon whatever plan they have just because Niko is in danger!
Fiona raised her head, roughly wiping away her tears with the palm of her hand. Think, Fiona! Think! This is no time to get weepy and fall apart. She already knew and had accepted that she was going to have to save her brother herself; debating whether Ace wouldn’t or couldn’t help her was beyond the point. Her current problem was how to get away from Ace without him noticing.
If he knows I’ve gone after Niko, he’ll just come get me and bring me back. He doesn’t understand. He as much told me that if Niko were his brother, he would have let him go a long time ago. My best option is to go before Ace gets back, while Riley is still the one on guard.
Fiona got up and examined all of the windows. There were only two, one of which was painted shut. She stuck her head out of the other one. It was a twenty-foot drop straight to the ground—not a tree limb to climb out on or a gutter to drop from.
She pulled her head back inside and sat on the bed with a sigh. There wasn’t a sheet so she couldn’t even try to make a rope. Ace’s negligent lifestyle had provided him with the perfect jail cell.
But what about the jailer? Fiona thought, a smile spreading across her face.
Fiona opened the door to see Lucky and Riley in the middle of what appeared to be an intense discussion.
They immediately stopped talking and both turned to face her.
“Did you need something?” Lucky asked.
Fiona glanced at Riley, who calmly returned her look. “I finished talking to my brother, and I could use some company,” she said, looking back at Lucky.
“Of course,” Lucky immediately replied. “I’ll talk to you later,” she said, turning so she could give Riley a discrete wink.
Fiona closed the door once Lucky entered, making sure it was firmly closed.
“Are you feeling better now that you talked to your brother?” Lucky asked, falling back onto the bed.
Fiona grabbed Lucky’s wrist, pulling her up into a sitting position. “I need your help,” she demanded.
“What do you mean?” Lucky said, confused. “Help with what? With Ace?”
“No, not Ace,” Fiona said bitterly. Ace wasn’t any help at all right now. “I need help with my brother. He just called me to tell me that Alexei and Vlad found where he was hiding out.”
“Oh my gosh!” Lucky exclaimed. “Is he okay?”
Fiona bit her lip, trying to keep the tears from overflowing. “I don’t know. He was talking, then I heard screams, then…then…there was a gunshot. Maybe more than one, I can’t remember,” she said, now openly crying.
“We’d better tell Ace!” Lucky said, getting up from the bed.
“No!” Fiona cried, grabbing Lucky’s arm to stop her. “He can’t do anything about it. He won’t do anything about it,” she said, correcting herself. “I’m the only one who can help my brother right now, and if we tell Ace, he’s just going to keep me locked in here while my brother is out there, dying.”
“Ace’s just trying to keep you safe,” Lucky said.
“Why?” Fiona asked. “It’s obviously not because he cares about me. He made it very clear to me that he’s moved on. He even told me to do the same.”
“Well, that’s just plain not true,” Lucky said, rolling her eyes and sitting back down on the bed. “Ace’s obviously crazy about you—that’s why the gang is so pissed off. He’s putting you over everyone else. Whatever he told you, it’s not true.”
“I wish I could believe that,” Fiona muttered. “Either way, it doesn’t matter,” she added, louder. “I’m the only one who can help Niko. Will you help me?”
Lucky looked around. “Who are you talking to? Because I know you don’t expect me to walk into the lion’s den next to your crazy ass.”
“No, I don’t,” Fiona said. “I need your help busting out.” She nodded towards the door.
“Well, that’s a different story, then. What’s the plan?” Lucky asked.
“I feel skeezy asking, but do you think you could…y’know…distract Riley?” Fiona asked hesitantly. “I only ask because I thought I caught him looking at you that way when you came in earlier.”
“Oh yeah?” Lucky said, a grin spreading across her face.
She was absurdly pleased to find out that Riley was giving her looks behind her back. Fiona was giving her a look right now, but it was a very odd one. Lucky quickly stopped smiling.
“Um, yeah, I could try to do that,” Lucky said in what she hoped was casual, but not too casual, manner. “He’s pretty quiet, though, so who knows if it’ll work.” Yeah, right, she thought to herself.
“Right,” Fiona said slowly, still staring at Lucky. “Anyway, if Alexei is driving Niko back from Boston—”
“They will be,” Lucky interrupted, reassuring her. “Crowds, security—it’s too hard to fly with a hostage.”
“Okay, that gives me some time,” Fiona said. “So, if you could distract Riley early tomorrow morning, maybe say you came to check on me or something?” she suggested. “Then I can sneak out and go rescue my brother.”
“What if Ace wants to check in on you after you’re gone? You’ll need someone to keep him busy,” Lucky pointed out.
Fiona scoffed. “I don’t think that will be a problem. He’d have to care to want to check in on me.”
Lucky rolled her eyes, ignoring Fiona’s comment. “You need a backup plan. Lianna could help.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to tell anyone that’s going to tell Ace.”
“You can trust Lianna. I promise,” Lucky assured her.
Fiona bit her bottom lip. “Okay, but no one else,” she warned. “It’ll get back to Ace and he’ll try to stop me. Alexei and Vlad grabbed Niko from my uncle’s place, so I need at least thirteen hours, ten if they’re really pushing it.”
“Okay,” Lucky said. “When I leave, I’ll mention to Riley that you’re tired and don’t want to be bothered. Maybe that’ll keep anyone else out who thinks of visiting you.” She stood to leave, then stopped suddenly. “Wait! How are you going to get to…wherever you’re going? Where are you going? Maybe this isn’t such a good idea after all…” Lucky was beginning to have second thoughts. “How are you going to do anything if you’re all by yourself?”
“If you’re worried about me being on my own, don’t be,” Fiona said. “I’ve been taking care of my brother by myself half my life; I’m used to it. As for a ride, you guys aren’t going to hold Bobby here the whole night, right?”
“You’re going to ask that kid to come back here early tomorrow morning after the late night you just put him through?” Lucky said.
“Don’t judge me,” Fiona said flatly, her temper rising. “I’m going to do whatever it takes to get my brother back home safe and sound, and don’t you dare tell me that if it were someone you cared about, you wouldn’t do the exact same thing.”
Lucky thought about Riley, the man she loved, who stood only ten feet away on the other side of the door, and she knew Fiona was right.
“All right,” Lucky sighed. “I’m going to get in so much trouble,” she muttered to herself.
“Thank you, Lucky,” Fiona said, giving the younger woman a warm hug. “I’ll never forget this.”
Something tells me neither will I, Lucky thought.
The next morning, Fiona woke early in anticipation. For the next half hour, she had her ear pressed up against the door, listening for Lucky’s approach.
“Hey, hot-stuff,” Lucky said, strolling up to Riley. “How’s the hostage?”
Riley raised an eyebrow at her. “I haven’t heard anything. She must still be asleep.”
“It’s been an emotional couple of weeks for her. God knows I’d be sleeping hard after the time she’s had.”
Lucky was tensely aware that Fiona was listening in on her conversation with Riley. Therefore, she was tasked with the difficulty of getting Riley into bed without seeming like they had done it several dozen times before.
“Standing here all night must have you feeling a bit stiff,” Lucky said, rubbing her fingers up and down Riley’s arm slowly.
“No. I am fine,” Riley said, quickly catching Lucky’s meaning. He was resolutely determined not to fall victim to his desires. Ace had ordered him to stand guard, and Fiona had already given one of them the slip.
Poor Andrew, Riley thought, remembering the ridicule the huge man had faced upon returning to the house. He’s never going to live that one down.
Ace had called Andrew after discovering Fiona was at the house and reamed the man out. Andrew had burst into the room, startling Melanie from what had been a very satisfying nap, and had come back to headquarters to a ruined reputation.
“Come on, Riley, everyone’s still asleep,” Lucky whispered, stretching up on her tiptoes to whisper in his ear. “We can make it a quickie. She’ll be passed out until noon; you’ll be back in a half hour, tops.”
Lucky slid her hand down Riley’s broad chest to the front of his jeans. Slipping her hand into his pocket, her fingers found the outline of his long shaft. At her touch, it immediately began to harden and swell. Lucky smiled. She knew she was only a few deft movements away from convincing Riley to join her in her room.
Lucky reached up to press her lips to the hollow of Riley’s throat—a spot she knew he loved. His large hands came down to meet around her waist, drifting lower and lower until he could cup her ass.
Lucky moaned into him, her hand gripping his cock through his pants. Riley tweaked her nipple in response, lightly flicking her nipple ring the way he knew she liked. Lucky moaned again, louder this time.
Fiona, still listening in, blushed and stepped away from the door, embarrassed to be overhearing her friend in such an intimate setting.
Lucky unbuckled Riley’s belt, tugging on one of the ends as she pulled him towards her room. “Let’s go,” she said, panting with desire, an eager grin on her face.
At this point Riley didn’t even know who Fiona was, let alone that he was supposed to be guarding her. Plucking at the buttons on Lucky’s shirt, he followed her into the room, kicking the door shut behind him.
The second the door closed, Lucky jumped into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist and pushing his jeans down with her feet. Riley met her enthusiasm by unhooking her bra and taking her breast into his mouth, his tongue encircling the metal piercing.
“Oh fuck, Riley. You know just how I like it,” Lucky said, smiling sweetly down at him.
Riley dumped her onto the bed, chuckling as he climbed on top of her. “Of course. I know everything you like,” he said, looking deep into her eyes.
Lucky let out a soft, satisfied sigh as he entered her. She hooked her arms around his neck, letting him fill her body. They moved together, Riley murmuring in her ear as Lucky climbed higher and higher.
She came, Riley following barely a moment later. They pressed their foreheads together, panting as they smiled at one another.
Riley rolled over onto his back, pulling Lucky in close to his side. “That was amazing,” he said, kissing her forehead. He closed his eyes. After the stressful week everyone had been having, that was exactly what he needed. He let out a deep sigh, satisfaction sweeping through his body.
He drifted off to sleep, feeling the pulse of his lover’s heartbeat against his chest.
***
Fiona cautiously opened the door, cringing when the hinges squeaked. Screamed, more like it, Fiona thought, glaring accusingly at the offending hardware.
She paused outside one of the rooms, hearing the familiar noises of two people locked in the throes of a passionate tryst. Fiona’s stomach twisted, remembering how only a few days ago, Bobby had been sent to tell her and Ace to keep the level down on their own rendezvous.
Fiona began to carefully make her descent down the steps when the stair beneath her foot groaned loudly. She froze, holding her breath, waiting to see if anyone had heard the seemingly deafening sound. At the base of the steps, a face appeared around the corner. It was Lianna.
She held up her hands, motioning for Fiona to stay where she was. Lianna looked into the room to her left, then waved her hand for Fiona to continue down the stairs, holding one finger to her lips.
Fiona got to the first floor without any more problems, thankfully. She looked into the side room to see Ace sleeping on the couch and suddenly she was very, very grateful for Lianna’s help.
“Thanks,” she breathed once Lianna had led her past the living room, to the back door of the house.
“Don’t worry about it—it’s nothing none of us wouldn’t do for each other,” Lianna said, checking over her shoulder to make sure Ace hadn’t suddenly materialized behind them. “Bobby’s parked in the alley at the end of the block. I’ll do my best to keep Ace occupied when he wakes up, but there are no guarantees,” she warned Fiona.
“I’ll take whatever I can get,” Fiona said.
“Then take this,” Lianna said. She opened the top drawer of the kitchen cabinet. Inside were two guns, the smaller of which Lianna pulled out and handed to Fiona. “Do you know how to work it?” she asked.
“Make sure the safety is off and pull the trigger?” Fiona said.
“Basically,” Lianna agreed. She leaned back to glance out the window; everyone was still outside, but Fiona needed to hurry. “Keep the safety on until it’s time to use it. Otherwise you’ll end up shooting your tits off.”
“Thanks again, Lianna,” Fiona said, hugging her tightly.
Lianna hugged her back until she heard movement from upstairs. Someone had woken up and was walking down the steps. “Go!” she whispered roughly, pushing Fiona out the front.
Fiona stumbled across the back porch and down the steps, nearly falling flat on her face. Righting herself, she looked up the alley one way, then the other, trying to spot Bobby’s car. The early morning sun blinded her, making it difficult to pick out the old Toyota. A car at the end of the road started its engine, tapping its brake lights and catching Fiona’s attention.
She jogged down to the end of the block, double checked that it was, in fact, Bobby behind the wheel, and hopped into the car.
“Hey, Mrs. Connor,” Bobby said, nervously checking his rearview mirror.
“Just call me Fiona, Bobby,” she tiredly replied. Fiona was terrified; she had no idea what she was going to do, or how she was going to do it, and the last thing she needed right now was to be constantly reminded of Ace and his betrayal.
“Okay, Fiona,” Bobby said, her name feeling awkward and uncomfortable in his mouth. “Where are we going?”
Fiona didn’t reply for a long minute—she needed to think.
Niko won’t even be inside the city limits for another three hours. How do I get Alexei to come to me before he can hurt him?
Her plan was simple: get Alexei to come to her, then blow his brains out. Fiona knew that as long as Alexei was out of the picture, Niko would be safe. Anything that happened after that was just collateral.
“I need to go home,” Fiona said flatly.
Bobby stared at the townhome as he pulled into the driveway twenty minutes later. The garage was demolished, the windows were boarded up, and bullet holes were lodged in the siding. “You’re going to stay here?” Bobby asked doubtfully. “I don’t know, Mrs. Con—I mean, Fiona. I never thought I would say this, but Mr. Connor’s house seems like a safer place for you to be.”
Fiona opened the car door and got out. “I’m not looking for safe. I’m looking for my brother.” She leaned onto the car door, peering at Bobby through the open window. “Thanks for everything, Bobby. I hope we see each other again.”
Waving goodbye as he backed the car out of the drive, Fiona sighed and turned to go inside, carefully checking to make sure she still had the gun in her bag. Even though Alexei wasn’t supposed to be back for another couple of hours, Fiona wanted to search her home top to bottom for the man, just in case.
Once she was satisfied that she was the only one in the house, Fiona began to scope out the best vantage point for her to carry out her plan. The problem was it all depended on which way Alexei decided to enter the house, and Fiona didn’t know how to predict that.
She was sitting in her bedroom, trying to get inside the mind of a sociopathic Russian mobster, when she heard a car outside. Fiona panicked immediately, thinking it was Alexei come early.
Calming herself, Fiona remembered that Alexei still didn’t know she was here. So who could it be? Not Ace, or I would have heard his bike instead of a car. Bobby? Did he forget something?
Holding the gun at her side in a tense grip, Fiona carefully tiptoed her way to the front entrance. There was a small window near the top of the door which allowed Fiona to see the top of someone’s head—someone who had very shiny, straight black hair.
Fiona threw open the door, grabbing Melanie’s wrist and yanking her inside.
“Hey!” she protested. “Watch it, I bruise easily.”
“What are you doing here?” Fiona hissed. “You can’t be dropping by whenever you feel like it! It’s not safe!”
Melanie abruptly stopped rubbing her pained wrist and gave Fiona a cold look. “Funny, that’s exactly what I came here to tell you.”
“How did you even know I was home?” Fiona asked, peeking through the door window for overly observant neighbors.
“I didn’t,” Melanie said, annoyed. “When you didn’t call me, again, I made my rounds. I stopped by Ace’s, but when Lianna answered the door, she just slammed it in my face, the fucking bitch. I took that to mean you weren’t there.”
Fiona sighed. “Sorry. It’s not Lianna’s fault. She probably just didn’t want Ace to see you.”
“And why would that be a problem?” Melanie asked confusedly.
“Because I sort of escaped this morning,” Fiona confessed.
“Why are you escaping from your boyfriend’s house?”
“He’s not my boyfriend!” Fiona snapped, her eyes flashing. Melanie raised an eyebrow, and Fiona’s lip began to tremble. “You were right, okay?” Fiona said. “Ace was just using me. He made that very clear last night. So, go ahead, say ‘I told you so.’”
Melanie wrapped her arms around her friend. “I think you’ve had it bad enough that you don’t need me rubbing your face in it.”
Fiona cried on Melanie’s shoulder for a few minutes; the stress of her brother, the confusion with Ace, everything was so overwhelming. Fiona didn’t know if she could handle it. Finally, her tears subsided, and Fiona surfaced, wiping her wet cheeks with her sleeve. “Thanks, Melanie,” she said.
“Of course. That’s what friends are for.” Melanie smiled warmly at her. “So is that why you’re at home? You and Ace…?” She trailed off, not wanting to say something that might wound Fiona.
When Fiona didn’t say anything for a long moment, Melanie thought, perhaps, she had managed to upset her anyway.
“No,” she finally said. “That’s not why I’m here.”
“Fiona,” Melanie said in a strained voice, “I’m a nervous fucking wreck over here. I need you to tell me everything, right now, all at once.” She loved Fiona dearly, but her friend had the annoying habit of telling a story bit by bit, and not always in the best order.
“Alexei has Niko, and I’m the only one who can help him now,” Fiona told her. “That’s why I’m here. I’m setting up a trap for Alexei.” She walked over to her kitchen and pulled the gun out of the top drawer, setting it on the counter.
“Why do you have a fucking gun?” Melanie asked, staring at the weapon.
“I think you know why, Melanie.”
“You’re going to kill Alexei?” Melanie said disbelievingly. “What—you think you’re gonna just call him up and ask him to swing by before killing your brother?”
“I’m going to tell him that I’ll tell him how to get to Ace in exchange for Niko,” Fiona replied.
“Let me guess,” Melanie rubbed her eyes with one hand, “you don’t really have any information that will help Alexei with Ace. You’re just hoping he walks in here, into your trap, with no protection or backup of any kind, am I right?” she asked sarcastically. “Have you thought about what will happen when Alexei sees through your terribly obvious plan and kills you? Or, let’s say a miracle happens, and your plan does work—what then? Even if you manage to kill Alexei, one of his little cronies will just come right in after him and kill you himself,” Melanie pointed out.
Fiona said nothing.
“Oh my god.” Melanie slowly realized what Fiona was thinking. “You don’t even care, do you? You know there’s a high chance you won’t live through this, don’t you?”
“There’s nothing else I can do,” Fiona said calmly. “I’ve tried everything I can, except for this one last thing.”
“Alexei is going to know something’s up right away, Fiona,” Melanie said, trying a softer approach. “What good does this do if it’s basically suicide? That doesn’t help Niko.”
“I have to try,” Fiona said stubbornly.
Melanie shook her head. “How can I help?” she asked.
Fiona smiled. “Thanks for the offer, but I don’t think you can. This is something I need to do alone. If you got hurt…I don’t know what I’d do.” Melanie opened her mouth to protest, but Fiona put up her hand, silencing her. “Please. If you feel like you have to do something, can you check on Bobby? The poor kid seemed a little shaken up.”
“Welcome to the club, Jimbo. We’re all a little shaken up,” Melanie muttered to herself. “Fine. I’ll go. But I’ll be back in a couple of hours to check on you,” she insisted. Melanie threw herself at Fiona and gave the smaller woman a giant hug, using more strength than anyone looking at Melanie would think she rightfully had.
“You sure you know what you’re doing?” Melanie asked one more time before opening the door.
“Yes,” Fiona said more confidently than she felt. The truth was she had no idea what she was doing, or if any of it would work, but like she had told Melanie earlier, she had to try.
Stepping outside to walk Melanie to her car, Fiona made sure to wave to her neighbor, the one who lived in the other half of the townhome. The woman stared at her, rightfully terrified, having heard gunfire and rampant property destruction on the other side of their shared wall no less than three times in the last two weeks.
Fiona watched the woman hurry back into her side of the building; hopefully she was calling the police right now. Fiona wouldn’t know for a while, so she walked back inside and settled down to wait. She looked at her burner phone and made sure the volume was on high.
Sure enough, less than a half an hour later, the phone rang loudly. Fiona knew that when her neighbor called the police, it meant William would be notified, and he would call Alexei immediately to tell him Fiona was at home, alone.
Taking a deep breath, Fiona answered. “Hello?”
“Hello, Fiona,” Alexei said on the other end of the line. “Are you feeling homesick?”
She ignored him. “I have information that you might want.”
“What could you possibly have that I would care about? I have your brother.” Fiona heard rustling as Alexei pulled the phone away from his ear and passed it to someone. There was a dull thud, then a loud groan.
“Fi…” Niko’s voice was muffled.
“And soon, I will have you,” Alexei continued, bringing the phone back to his ear. “You have nothing I want.”
“I have Ace,” she replied evenly. “I can get you Ace.”
Alexei said nothing for a long moment. “You have him, or you can get him?” he asked. “Those are two very different claims.”
“I can get him for you,” Fiona clarified. “Whenever you want, however you want. I can get him for you.”
“How?” Alexei asked suspiciously.
“He’s in love with me,” she said, lying her ass off. “He’ll do anything for me. If he wasn’t, he would have given me up to you when you gave him the chance, but he didn’t.”
Ace has his own code of honor, but that doesn’t mean he’s in love with me—it just makes him obligated to me, Fiona thought bitterly.
“Let me guess: you want you and your brother to go free in exchange for Ace?” Alexei asked.
“Can Niko hear this?” If Niko overheard what she was about to say, he would flip out and ruin everything.
“No,” Alexei said slowly. “Only me.”
“I’ll give you Ace, and…I’ll take Niko’s place,” Fiona said.
She had absolutely no intention of giving up Ace, or herself for that matter, but Fiona needed to make a reasonable offer, or Alexei would know something was off. He might figure it out anyway, but if Fiona didn’t at least try, Niko would never even have a chance.
“Please, I’ll do anything,” she said, echoing the very words she had once directed at Ace only a week ago.
“Very well,” Alexei agreed after a short pause. “I will come to you. And, Fiona? Don’t do anything stupid,” he coldly warned her before immediately hanging up.
A chill ran down Fiona’s spine, and she tucked the phone into her back pocket. She arranged her demolished couch as best she could and sat down, looking at the gun in her lap. She flicked the safety off and raised the weapon, testing the weight of it.
A good pick, Lianna, Fiona thought. Thanks for this, girl.
She ran through her plan in her head repeatedly, checking her watch every ten minutes. Fiona didn’t know exactly when Alexei would arrive, which left her in a high state of alert. She took a deep breath to calm herself. All she could do right now was wait.