Page 37 of Coming Up Aces

“That’s what family does.” Lucy winked at Rayna, then wrapped her hand around Tamian’s bicep and led him to the door.

“Family. I like that,” she whispered.

Chapter Thirteen

Ace

Either Ace wasstill floating from the pain meds, or he was the luckiest bastard alive. After a handful of days, Rayna was claiming him, and she was willing to wait for his romantic feelings to catch up to hers. Ace never understood why all his previous attempts at a relationship failed. Until now. He had to go through the heartache to get to his perfect mate. And Rayna was perfect. He knew he needed to rest, but he wanted to remain alert so they could talk. That was the main reason he didn’t want any pain medicine.

“Ripley’s dad stopped by earlier to invite you to lunch. I had just finished getting the rest of the dirt turned, so I showed him the garden spot, then he and I chatted.”

“You chatted, or he interrogated you?”

Rayna scrunched her nose. “A little of both. It was evident he cares for you. Before he left, he invited both of us to join him and Regina for a meal.”

“That’s good. Like I said before, they basically adopted me, so I’m glad you got along.”

“We did. I’m happy for Glory, having someone like him as a father figure considering the one she had growing up. I’m looking forward to hanging out with her outside of Haven. I really like her.”

“I’m happy she and Rip got together. They both deserve to have someone special.”

So do we.

Ace agreed with his Gryphon. He had prayed for a mate, and now, here she was.

“I agree. Maybe once you’re all healed up, we can invite them over to hang out. From what Rev said, you’re in good shape considering. We’ll get you home, and you can rest on the patio while I do the planting. You can supervise from the lounge chair.”

“That sounds like an excellent idea,” Sutton said, entering the room.

“Hey, Boss.” Ace tried to sit up, but Rayna’s hand on his shoulder stopped him.

“Let me.” She pushed the button on the side of the bed, raising the back.

Sutton stepped closer to the bed. “How are you feeling?”

“Not too bad. Honestly, I thought that was the end for me, and if their guard hadn’t gotten me to the clinic, I probably would have bled out.”

“Thank Zeus for that. Lucy already told me the rest, so you don’t need to rehash it. Fury found Abraham’s newest location. It’s smaller than the others, and there are no guards with guns. It looks like he’s starting from scratch. When you overheard his new compound was south, he didn’t meantheSouth. It’s only about four hours away. I instructed Fury to voice him, which he did, so we shouldn’t have any more trouble out of him. Fury convinced him to go to the local FBI office and admit to everything he ever had a hand in that wasn’t legal.”

“Did Fury ask if Abraham told anyone about Rhiannon’s gift? Because if he did, she’ll still be a target.”

Sutton cut his eyes toward Rayna, and Ace got it. Rayna was new, but if they were going to be mates, Sutton needed to know he could trust her. “Rayna’s one of us now.”

“Is that right?” Sutton asked, his eyes dancing with mirth.

Rayna faced Sutton. “Yes. Asher and I haven’t had a chance to talk about the future with everything going on, but as soon as we track down David Spencer and ascertain whether my boss is on the take, I’m resigning from the agency. I have a nice nest egg, so I don’t need to work, but I do like to keep busy. If there’s anything I can do to help the Hounds, I’ll be glad to do so.”

“For now, just take care of Ace. Fury did ask Abraham about Rhi, and he said neither he nor Ruth told anyone about her abilities. He also admitted there were a few outlying compounds, and we now have all their locations. At least those on this side of the country. Abraham admitted he answered to a man named Isaac Brown, who is the leader over all of The Ministry in the states.”

Ace eased his head back onto the pillow. “At least we can now manage the ones around here.”

“And I have plenty of other Hounds to do that. Your job is to get well and spend time with your female. Ripper and Glory are planning a trip to Florida to take Glory’s sisters to their grandmother’s. In the meantime, Regina will need someone to dote on, so if you need help with anything, maybe reach out to her.”

“Yeah, Con stopped by the house earlier and invited Rayna and me out to eat. I guess I should call them and let them know what happened. Then again, if I do that, Regina will tell Ripley, and I don’t want him to put off his trip.”

Sutton patted Ace’s leg. “If he knows you are on the mend with someone taking care of you, he’ll be fine. But he’s your brother, so do whatever you think is best. I’ll leave you now so you can rest. If you need a ride home, let me know.”

“Thanks, Boss.”

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