Page 73 of Ace

"The plan was to leave the cameras in the house to see if we couldn't catch something else on video, but it wasn't half an hour after you left that she bent down, looked right into one of the cameras, and saidWilliam wasn't involved. Please give my family time to grieve, before she unplugged every one of them."

"Shit, " I mutter.

"Yeah," he quickly agrees. "Shit."

"I have to go back over there," I say. "Maybe I can convince her to put them back up. I worry about her safety."

"William has left, but I think it's better for everyone if you were to still be in the house," he says, and that makes my mind up for me.

I grab the handle of my overnight bag and leave the room.

"I'll call you with an update as soon as I have one," I tell him.

"I'll do the same."

I climb back on the elevator, tapping my fingers on my phone and resisting the urge to call her and grill her about pulling the feeds. The ride down seems to take forever, and by the time I step out into the dimly lit parking lot, I feel a sense of urgency inside of me. I need to get to her, to make sure she's safe, to tell her she might be in danger and making a mistake about William.

I blame my distraction for why I don't see the man in the mask until a split second before he hits me in the head with something heavy and unforgiving.

The weight of my body carries me to the ground and before I can try and stand, booted feet kick at me, leaving me incapable of much else other than trying to protect myself. I cover my head and curl into a ball but the hits keep on coming. Itake one to the face and my world spins, pain radiating out from my left cheek.

Then it's over. As quickly as it began, the kicks cease, leaving me bloodied and broken on the cracked concrete parking lot.

"That'll make you think twice before sticking your dick where it doesn't belong, Agent Yarrow."

I don't recognize the voice, but the warning is clear.

Stay away from Cora Preston.

The attack seems out of character for William, but who else could it be?

She never mentioned any scorned lovers, but I'd be foolish to think that someone in her life could be in her bubble and walk away easily. I sure as hell know I never could. It was as if she trapped me in her aura and held me hostage, preventing me from thinking of anyone but her.

What doesn't make sense is doing it now, after I've already walked away from her and have no real reason to go back to her. The attack was obviously planned, and I don't doubt it was a paid-for warning, not done by someone willing to get caught in the act of beating someone senseless.

Instead of going back to the Preston Estate, I pick myself up off the ground, swiping at the blood on my lip as I hobble to my car. There'd be no way for me to make the trek back to Tennessee on the bike, and I have a feeling this is bigger than just a beating for what has happened between Cora and me.

Also, I know how intense my feelings are for her, and this isn't something I feel like I can navigate on my own.

It's time for me to eat crow, and although I'm not looking forward to it, I'll chew that shit for the rest of my life if I can ensure that Cora is safe.

Chapter 32

Cora

It seems like the sadness is even harder to handle with him being gone. There's nothing that will serve as a distraction for me today, and I think that having him come here with me from California was a mistake. It was a bandage, not a solution, and after spending even more time with him, I feel an even greater loss with him gone.

I've avoided opening my eyes despite being awake for at least fifteen to twenty minutes. I can feel the pain behind my eyelids, and I know this morning will be no different from the others. Since getting back home after hearing the horrible news about Sadie, I spend every night chasing after her in my dreams, reaching out to her, and losing her right before I'm able to pull her into my arms and keep her safe.

I can't count the number of times I've woken with wetness still on my cheeks.

Last night, my nightmares changed and it was Eddie I was reaching for. He taunted my inability to catch him the exact same way Sadie did in my dreams.

Sadie's taunts have always been a reflection of memories from chasing her around the yard when she was little. Even her voice in my dreams is childlike and playful like it was all those years ago before her behavior changed. I know my subconscious is trying to cling to a version of her that fits easiest into my grief, but when I wake I know better.

I know my sister was not an innocent child who made good decisions and had others' best interests in mind. I know she was troubled and caused problems just to watch people react. I know she did those things because she ached for attention and didn't really know how to ask for it. It's possible she didn't have enough of a grasp on her reality to know what she was missing in life.

Regardless of why and how she acted, she didn't deserve to die, and now that I know William wasn't involved, I want to know who hurt my sister. Who despised her so much that they took it upon themselves to hire someone to kill her?

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