Page 5 of Ace's Ascension

Rooster comes out of his Communications room and heads straight for Kayne who’s sitting on the couch with Poison. Kayne stands and they exchange heated words. Rooster nods his head and hands Kayne a piece of paper. Kayne reads it and the color drains from his face. His cold blue eyes snap toward Tank, Cobra, and Reaper. So much shit is happening right now and I’m at a loss at what’s going on. I’m sticking around to find out though.

Kayne marches over to Tank and shoves the paper in his face. “Are you playing some kind of sick fucking joke?” His jaw is ticking and his eyes are betraying his emotions. Usually, Kayne can keep it together better than this. Whatever it is, Kayne is ready to kill someone.

“No joke, brother. This is what I needed.” Tank’s jaw is set tight. His fingers curl around the paper, squeezing it. “This proves Ben Cross is in deep with Steam and the Russian assholes Kozlov brothers.” He turns to Cobra and Reaper. “We need to get Dia out of there.” Panic is clear in his voice.

“Chainz is working on it, brother. We need to get back now.” Reaper keeps Tank calm, but not by much.

“Thank you, Kayne. You didn’t need to do this but we’re grateful you did. Chainz wants us to extend an invite for your Club to come to Pennsylvania and help us take Ben Cross out.” Tank holds out his hand and Kayne shakes it.

“Give me a few days to get things in order and we’ll be down,” Kayne responds. “Drive safe brothers. Keep the tires on the ground and the wind in your face.”

Tank, Reaper, and Cobra leave our Clubhouse with the devil on their heels. Something big is going down in Pennsylvania and by the sound of it, we’ll be there to bring him to his knees. No one and I mean no one, fucks with allies of ours and gets away with it.

Chapter Four

Liz

No. No. No. No. No.

This cannot be happening to me today! Why is bad luck following me everywhere I go? Is it a curse from the Tarot reader the other day or something else altogether? It’s not supposed to be like this. Moving here and going to college was supposed to be a change for the better, not the worse. I miss my hometown in Louisiana, but things got too tough when my Memaw passed away and a change was what I needed. She was the glue that held our family together and taught me everything I knew about Voodoo and witchcraft. She’s the reason I decided to go to college and pursue my degree in spiritual folkways and liturgical languages, so I had a better understanding of our heritage. The best school I found was over a thousand miles away. Away from the dangers. Away from the heartache. Away from everything associated with my family.

Ding. Ding. Ding.

My check engine light on my little piece of shit car keeps dinging at me and I’m lost in the middle of nowhere.

I had a dream last night that called me to do something new today. So, I decided when I woke up that I was going to venture out and see more of the countryside instead of the city I’ve been living in for six months. The sun was out beaming brightly on my face this morning, which I believe is a sign from my Memaw, telling me to go on an adventure. I grabbed my keys, wallet and cell phone, left my apartment and started driving on these backroads. I heard all roads eventually lead into each other so with no destination in mind, I started driving. With the radio up and the windows down I began my adventure.

Now, I’m totally screwed. My car stalled on the side of the road. No one knows where I am. I don’t even know where I am and the positive energy surrounding me this morning is quickly fading and leaving dread in my heart.

“Memaw, if you’re listening, what do I do now?” I bang my head on the steering wheel and the horn beeps, scaring the living daylights out of me. Rays of sunshine beam down on my face warming my red hair.

“Is this a sign from the Tarot reader the other day?” I wait for an answer but of course, one doesn’t come.

I went to a Tarot reader a few days ago to see what she had to say. Of course, curiosity kills the cat but with all the bad luck I’ve been experiencing, I wanted to know if it was going to end or keep going. Apparently, I pissed the Voodoo gods off or something because bad luck is still following me. I’m on the verge of losing my apartment, something about the owner having sold the building. My professors are hard asses, and now I’m failing and the job at the nightclub is one of the worst bartending jobs I’ve had in forever. The manager is a sleazy asshole who likes to manhandle the female staff. He tried to cop a feel while I had my hands full in the backroom the other night and I ended up slamming him into the wall. I’ll be surprised if I still have a job tonight.

The faint rumble of motorcycles grows louder. They’re getting closer to me. Shit. I don’t know if I can handle another dreadful thing happening to me today without a mental breakdown, so scooching as far down in my seat as I can, I rub the crystal charm around my neck, praying they can’t see me. The rumble gets closer, vibrating my entire car and my eyeballs.

Once they pass, I sit up a little in my seat and watch where they go. There are three of them with leather vests on and I watch as they slow down to make a left-hand turn out of my sight. It’s so quiet again, I can hear the birds chirping.

“C’mon girl, you can do it.” I talk to my car and twist the key, praying it’ll turn over. The motor whines and stutters before coming alive. “Hallelujah! Thank fuck!” I put the car in drive and take off from where I stalled. Making a wide U-turn, I head back towards the city. That’s enough of an adventure today. The dreadful ding for the check engine light comes on again and I groan.

“Oh no, not again.” My car sputters and stalls before dying in the middle of the road. “Fuck!” I punch the steering wheel and the horn doesn’t even beep, but pain shoots through my knuckles. “Good one, Liz. Way to use your brain.” I roll my eyes and put my car in neutral. I need to get it to the side of the road before some unsuspecting driver hits it. I open my door, step between the door frame and the driver’s side and try pushing it. The heat from the day is scorching my pale skin and sweat is breaking out all over my body. At this rate, I’ll sweat all the extra pounds I gained going to college. When someone says freshman fifteen, you better believe it. Only, I’m not a teenager like the rest of the college students. I’m pushing twenty-three, not nineteen. I get my piece of shit rocking back and forth and the rumble of a single bike pierces the quietness surrounding me. Birds take flight above me in a hurry and panic sets in my chest.

Shit, if they see me, they’ll stop and the last thing I want is trouble. Why do I keep getting into these predicaments? Why can’t anything go right for me? The distinct rumble grows louder until it gets quiet and the only thing I can hear is my heart thumping against my chest and my breath coming out in pants. I don’t dare turn around, afraid of what or who is coming up behind me. I keep pushing my car until it finally moves. I jump in the driver's seat and steer it to the side of the road. Well, that was easy enough. Fear and panic must give me super strength.

I look in the rearview mirror and see a man in a black leather vest. I can’t see anything but his body in the mirror. It dawns on me that it wasn’t me who moved my car but this huge man and he’s coming up to my door. I slam it shut and push the button to lock my door. My heart beating hard in my throat, I watch his long powerful legs eat up the ground in my side mirror. Those powerful legs have my mouth watering. No, Liz. This isn’t the time to get all hot and bothered. You’re lost in the middle of nowhere with no help. If he wants to kidnap you, no one will ever know or care.

“Need help?” The deep sexy voice of the biker makes my skin break out in goosebumps. He leans in my window, his strong forearms covered with sleeves of different skull tattoos, resting against the hot metal. Shit, I forgot my windows were down. I facepalm and gather my wits.

“No. I’m good. The cops are on their way.” I tighten my grip on the steering wheel, grounding myself not to touch his inked-up arms.

“Oh really?” He cocks an eyebrow. Shit. He knows I’m lying. I’m a terrible liar and never could get away with it.

“Yeah really. I just called them and they’re sending someone out here. Should be here any moment.” I shrug my shoulders like it’s no big deal that this sexy-as-sin man is pretty much insidemy car. The scent of leather and motor oil fills my senses making my heart beat erratically.

“Hmm.” He mumbles before pushing off the side of my car and taking a step back. His hands are still on the door frame leaning toward me, his knuckles are red and raw, possibly from a fight.

“What?” I whisper. Afraid if I talk any louder, more of these burly men will appear and I’ll really be in trouble.

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