Page 80 of Queen Of WildCards

MALLORY

Hecalled on aMonday, and finally, on aFridaymorning, the door to the garage opened, and a frazzled, jet-laggedAcestumbled into the warehouse like the sunrise had chewed him up and spit him out.Twice.

Hewas so focused on his mindless drive to find coffee, he didn't even notice me in the kitchen untilIcrossed in front of him and slid a hand into the fridge to fetch the eggs.

Evenhis eyes were slow to track as they followed the line of my arm up to my face, which was all smiles and calm, even though on the inside,Iwanted to strangle him still for what he'd done to me last time we shared this kitchen.

Forthe knife.

Forthe blood.

Foreverything.

"There'scoffee on the counter, and a fresh mug in the sink, if you want some,"Ioffered hesitantly, afraid he might lash out and bite me like a rabid dog ifIwasn't careful. "Iwas just about to make breakfast.Youlook like you could use a plate."

Heeyed me hesitantly as he took a seat at the table, perhaps too tired to argue.Iwouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, but it might be nice to know what brought about the sudden change in demeanor, and if it was temporary or more permanent.

Hestared off into the distance, like he wasn’t even there, sitting at the table but miles away.Sensingsomething was off was easy–it was figuring out what to do about it that proved the more delicate task.

Eversince the incident in the kitchen three weeks ago, there’d been no love lost forAcein their hearts.EvenJonah, who on some level understoodAce’smonsters, his darkness, still couldn’t stand to be around, had refused to pick him up from his flight.

Itlooked like dealing with things was up to me today.

“So,”Imuttered, wandering to the far side of the kitchen for another mug to fill with coffee, “Spade’shealing nicely.Hethinks he’ll be able to hop back into the ring in another couple of weeks or so.Stitcheswill probably come out next week if he’s lucky.”

Acedidn’t acknowledge my commentary, not even with a nod or a twitch o a single muscle of his face.

Fine.Ifthat was how he wanted to play it, we’d play it that way.

“BlackJackis down at the racetrack withJoker, said something about making sure they were respecting the rules, thoughIhave a feeling they won’t need the extra firepower they took with them.NotafterSpadecalled around and politely offered to put a bullet between the eyes of any asshole willing to take their chances.”

Thepitch-black coffee swirled lazily in the pot asIlifted it and filledAce’smug, remembering to add the single scoop of sugar he insisted made the liquid tolerable, before setting the pot back on the burner and moving back to the table.

Itook a seat a few feet from the man who’d almost taken my life a few weeks ago, the man who’d fucked my mouth ten feet from where he stood now, the same one who’d put a gun inside my lady bits and threatened to shoot me whileIcame.

Imean, that was kinda hot, not gonna lie–but clearly,Ihad issues, so make of that what you will.

Isettled into my seat, folded a single leg in half, brought my knee to the edge of my chin, and scooted his drink with my free hand.

“Youknow, you can drink it.It’snot poisoned or nothing.”

Hiseyes flicked over to the mug of steaming brew, andIfelt a sense of relief flood me as the corner of his mouth twitched just the slightest, and he picked up the mug.Steamcurled around his jawline, partially obscuring his face as he closed those piercing eyes and inhaled the scent of familiarity, routine, and the mundaneness of coffee in the morning.Hebrought the cup to his lips, downing half of it in one go.

Itwas always a miracle to me how these men managed to suck down their coffee so damn fast.Itwas scalding, hotter than satan’s ballsacks in theGeorgiasun.Icould hardly sip the cupIhad, andI’dadded creamer to mine.

Whenhe set the cup down, his eyes flicked to the other end of the table, where my new cellphone sat, black screen, forgotten but for the faint sound of music emanating from it.

Ihated silence, hated when it was just me in this colossal ass compound, especially whileImade breakfast.SoI’dturned on some faint dregs of classical music to keep me company.Iassumed by the look onAce’sface he hadn’t been made aware the boys had cloned me a burner phone, so they could always reach me.

Infact,Iknew they wouldn’t have.Acewould have said something along the lines ofno fucking way in hell.

Myhand darted out and palmed the little electronic, tucking it safely away in my pocket after silencing the music with a flick of a finger.MeetingAce’sgaze again held no appeal, soIstared into the swirling pit of my coffee and sighed, wishing more than anything that one of the others had been here for his arrival again.

Hehad me on edge.Hissilence was unnerving, but his whole person was giving off strange vibes that left me feeling likeI’dbeen thrust into a boat and shoved off the shore, no paddle, no life vest, in crocodile-infested waters.

Shit.

Irealized a little belatedly thatI’dstarted pulling ingredients for breakfast but never got that far, andIwas out of my seat in seconds, bustling about the kitchen like a fucking bee on crack, unable to stand still for a moment or more.Inno time at all, there was a veritable smorgasbord of delicious offerings on the counter, from eggs to bacon, french toast, and even fresh sliced fruit offerings.Ace’sface was still trained on the table, soIjust piled a little of everything on a plate for him and nodded to myself, determined to break through the icy demeanor.Ididn’t plan to sit in silence for the rest of eternity, and food was one surefire way to get through to him–one of my first lessons while under the tutelage ofJokerhimself.

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