Page 52 of Coming Up Aces

Using her shifter strength, she bent her legs, then leapt atop Grissom’s car, landing on silent feet like the cat she was. “Toss your weapon,” she demanded. Grissom did as instructed, although reluctantly.

“What are you?” he asked again.

Ignoring the question, she jumped to the ground beside her boss. “On your stomach.” When Grissom complied, Rayna searched him for another weapon. Finding none, she stood with the gun trained on him while keeping Perkins in her sight. “Get up,” she commanded. Perkins was slow to move, but he did as she bade. “Strip.”

“I’m not getting naked for you. You’re not my type.” Rayna aimed at his feet and fired off a round a few inches from his toes. “I won’t ask again.”

“Fuck. All right.” When Perkins was down to his underwear, she stopped him. “Turn around, hands where I can see them, and walk backwards toward me. Slowly.” When he was ten feet away, she commanded, “Stop. Don’t move.” Keeping both men in her field of vision, Rayna sidestepped to the driver’s side door and popped the trunk. Thankful to find a field kit, she grabbed enough cable ties to secure them both. Once they were properlyrestrained, she removed the kit from the trunk and made them both get inside. That took a little persuading, but when she aimed at their heads, they complied while threatening and cursing her parentage. She slammed the lid, then leaned against the car, staring into the darkness.

Now what? Fuck. She was thankful it was late and no cars had passed by. She had to get off the road. There was nothing she could do about her car, so she got into Grissom’s vehicle and started the engine. When the men began shouting, Rayna wished she’d taped their mouths. Half a mile down the road, Rayna noticed a faded sign for an old quarry. She turned and drove the short distance to the abandoned entrance. The long-forgotten gate hung crookedly. Rayna put the car in park, got out, and with her shifter strength, was able to move the gate enough to drive through it. She continued past an old trailer that had been used as the office and parked behind it. Turning off the engine, Rayna got out and reached for her phone.

“Shit.” She’d left it in her car. Rayna had two choices. One, she could go back and get it, or two, she could trust her Cheetah to speak to Asher’s Gryphon and get word to Tamian. Rayna didn’t trust Grissom and Perkins not to get out of the trunk, so door number two it was.

Ace

Ace twisted thephone in his hand. He was sitting in the chair instead of reclining on the bed. He had walked down the hallway to see Viper earlier, but the Hound had gone home with his mate. Regina and Conrad finally left when Ace kicked themout, telling them to go home and get some rest. He had the book Rayna brought him, but after reading the same paragraph several times, he gave up. Now, here he was, bored out of his skull, waiting on his phone to ring. When it did, it made him jump.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Asher. It’s Lucy. Have you heard from Rayna?”

“Not since she was on her way home from Ray Brook. Why?”

“Okay, I don’t want you to panic, but she was supposed to be on her way to my house. Now I can’t get her on the phone. Before she left her place, she sent me photos of some items she found buried in her backyard. She thinks Seth left them there since her house wasn’t broken into and the alarm wasn’t tripped. Only Seth and Vanessa have the code to get into her house.”

“What kind of items?” Ace pushed to his feet and ignored the twinge of pain in his chest.

“Photos of Frederick Hanson. Someone had slit his throat. There were also some documents, mostly bank statements, and she had a thumb drive she was bringing to me. I’ve tried to find her on cameras between her house and here, but there’s no sign of her car.”

“Shit. I need some clothes. I—”

“And this is you panicking,” Lucy deadpanned.

“Of course I’m fucking panicking, Lucy. Rayna’s my mate. Rev!” Ace yelled. The Hound came running down the hallway.

“What are you—?”

“I need clothes. Rayna’s missing, and I need to go.”

“You don’t have a car, Brother, and if she’s missing, where are you going to look for her?”

“I don’t know, but I have to get out of here. I’m not sitting on my ass doing nothing.” Ace put the phone to his ear. “Lucy, keep searching. I’ll be to your house as soon as I get a ride and a fucking shirt. Screw the shirt. I just need a ride.”

Rev put a hand on Ace’s good arm. “I’ll drive you to Lucy’s myself.”

“We’ll be there in twenty, Lucy.”

“See you then.” Ace punched the screen and turned to Rev. “Let’s go.”

“Hang on, Cowboy. You might not want a shirt, but you’re fucking well getting one.” He walked to a cabinet and pulled out Ace’s boots. “Do you need help with these?”

“No. I can manage.” At least he hoped he could. Ace took the boots, sat down in the chair, and sucked in a breath. “Would I not heal quicker if I shifted?” He’d already asked, so Rev’s negative response wasn’t unexpected.

“No. Not with where the bullet hit your rib. That’ll take time. Get your boots on while I grab a shirt.” Rev rushed out of the room, and Ace struggled with his footwear. By the time Rev returned, Ace was sweating, but he didn’t care. He could endure a little pain. He’d endure any amount of discomfort if it meant getting out of the clinic and going to help find Rayna.

Rev held out a button-up, and Ace slid his arms in. “Let’s go.” He followed the Hound down the hallway and out the back door to where his truck was parked. Ace climbed in the passenger seat, gripping his phone like a lifeline. He placed it on his lap long enough to button the shirt, then he stared at his phone, begging it to ring.

“What happened?” Rev asked as soon as they were on their way.

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