Page 22 of Coming Up Aces

“Well, that was the plan. Can— Hang on a second. Dammit. We have a situation with Sultan and his mate. Go back to Haven and voice Abraham. I’m not sure how long this will take, so have him stay there, and once I’m finished here, I’ll meet you at the compound.”

“Since when does Sultan have a mate?”

“It’s new, and it’s also trouble involving the mafia or some shit. I need to go.”

“Do what you need to do there. I’ll be fine handling Abraham.” The line disconnected, but it didn’t bother Ace. If the mafia was involved with Sultan and his mate, Ace couldn’t imagine the trouble they were in. He removed his clothes from the saddle bag and put them in his carry pouch along with his phone. After shifting back to his Eagle, he clutched the bag in his talons and took flight. Ace landed in the woods behind the barns and took to his skin, dressing quickly. He shoved his phone in one back pocket, then folded the pouch and put it in the other. When he got to the spot he’d last seen Abraham, he wasn’t there, and neither were the young men. Ace strolled through the compound, which was now void of people walking around. When he reached the main house, he tried the knob, finding it unlocked. Inside were several older men, sitting at the kitchentable drinking coffee. They didn’t rise when he approached, but they did look wary.

“Where’s Abraham?”

“He left earlier,” one answered.

“Left the house or Haven?”

“The house. Are you our new leader?”

He added power to his voice when he responded, “Yes. Get up and go find Abraham. Have him meet me here if you find him before I do.”

All four males rose, abandoning their coffee, and filed out the front door. Ace took a moment to look around the house. From what Glory and Rayna said, the cabins where most of the residents lived were sparse with nothing but single beds and chairs to sit on. There was also a small bathroom with a tiny shower stall. This house, though, had all the amenities one would need to be comfortable, including a sofa and armchairs in the living room. The master bedroom was appointed with a king-sized bed, while the smaller rooms held full beds. All had thick mattresses instead of the thin ones in the cabins. Another room’s door was locked, but it was nothing for Ace to use his shifter strength to bust into what was an office.

He walked over to the desk where a laptop’s screen was dark. Ace moved the mouse, and the screen came to life. Sitting down, he began scrolling through the various tabs, one of which was a porn site. He closed out of it, then clicked on the file icon. Ace didn’t have the time nor inclination to go through them all, so he called Bishop who walked him through how to zip them and email them over.

The front door opened, and Ace rose to go see who it was. One of the men he’d sent to find Abraham stood in the living room. “Abraham left the premises.”

“Shit.” Ace brushed by the male, and when he hit the ground, he took off running across the compound. He stripped as soon as he was hidden, then took to the sky.

Chapter Nine

Ace

It was wellpast suppertime when Ace pulled into his driveway. He sent Rayna a text earlier on the burner phone apologizing for being gone all day. When she didn’t immediately reply, he almost called one of the Hounds to go check on her, but she finally responded, saying she was fine, making him curious as to how she spent her day. After parking his bike in the garage, Ace entered the house to find Rayna sitting at the island, her hair wet, as she ate takeout.

She wiped her mouth with a napkin. “How was your day?” she asked with a smile. He had never had that – coming home to someone asking about his day.

“Long.” Ace sniffed the air. “Is that Korean?”

“Good nose. I ordered plenty, and it should still be warm enough.” Rayna slid off her stool and got another plate, bringing it to the counter for Ace. “Chopsticks or fork?”

“Fork, please. I’m too tired to work at keeping rice on chopsticks.” Ace plugged his phone into the charger, then washed his hands before plating some beef bulgogi and kimchi fried rice. Rayna grabbed him a beer out of the fridge, then retook her seat, expertly scooping rice with her chopsticks. He’d never really gotten the hang of using them. He dug into his meal, eating half before coming up for air.

“I take it you didn’t stop long enough to eat lunch?” Rayna asked.

“No.” Ace took a long pull off his beer. “Abraham showed up at Haven. It was rather comical. He didn’t know what to do with a compound filled with happy people mingling. I left to call Sutton, and by the time I returned, Abraham was gone. I was able to spot him driving away, so I followed him to Oasis. Viper is there, so he’s going to keep an eye on him. I had to fly back to my bike, and that took all day.”

“I’d love to have seen that. Now what happens?”

Ace picked up his fork and scooped up some rice. “I’ll have to ask Sutton, but I suppose we’ll go in and voice Oasis like we did Haven. The main goal is to ensure Rhi is safe from Abraham and Ruth, then find out if they confided in anyone else about her abilities. With David out there somewhere, we need to eliminate all possible threats as quickly as possible.” Ace took a bite. As he chewed, he studied Rayna. She was calm, and if he wasn’t mistaken, content. “How was your day? Did you find something to do so you weren’t bored?”

“I, uh…” She took a drink of water, then cleared her throat. “I may have started a garden in your backyard. Just a small one,” she assured him like he would mind her digging in his yard.

“Really? That’s amazing. What did you plant?”

“Nothing, yet. I wanted to ask what you’d like. I did get the ground ready, though.”

“I don’t know anything about what to plant when, so I’ll leave that up to you. Thanks for getting it started.”

Rayna relaxed. “You’re welcome. I enjoy getting my hands in the dirt. Gran and I used to have a big garden every year, and I’ve missed it. There’s nothing like eating something you grew yourself. And I’ll pay you back for all the supplies I bought.”

Ace waved his fork. “I’m not worried about the money. Besides, I plan to take advantage of the vegetables, so I should probably pay you for your time.”

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