Page 47 of Dark King (Advantage Play 2)

A dainty little cough brings me back while Ace quirks her brow and raises her hands in the air.

“A little help, King?”

Sliding the key into the cuffs, I unlock Ace’s hands first, then her collar before peppering soft, open-mouthed kisses along her skin. A tender smile in place, she looks up at me with a sense of ease even though her hands are still shaky in my grasp.

“You okay?” I murmur. I know she’s strong. But she’s also precious. And tonight, she just came face-to-face with her childhood nightmare for a second time. That’s gotta mess her up…at least for a little while.

Sighing, she admits, “I will be. I think I’m still processing everything, ya know?”

Yeah. So am I, I think to myself.

“Let’s get you home.” I open the passenger door, and she slides in without protest. Once she’s situated, I round the front then get behind the wheel and back the car out of the premises. Turning around in the passenger seat, Ace watches the massive house fade into the distance before asking, “What about your sister, Dex, and Gigi?”

“What?” I ask, hitting the brakes. “Gigi?”

“I told you she was there!” Ace shouts, obviously freaking out that I didn’t instantly reassure her that Gigi’s being taken care of. “The girl in the red dress with the bruised face. We can’t leave her with all those men and all those agents. Please, King. We need to turn around or something.”

She’s losing her mind, so I place my hand on her bare thigh as my mind searches for the girl in question.

“There was only one girl in a red dress,” I murmur.

“Yeah. Gigi.”

On a laugh, I mutter to myself, “No fucking way.”

Turning in her seat, Ace gives me a puzzled expression before reaching over and shoving my shoulder. “What’s so funny? I’m not kidding! We need to go back for her.”

“I should’ve known,” I mumble under my breath before voicing a little louder. “When did you first meet Gigi?”

Pinching her brows together, she thinks about it before answering. “I don’t know. A few months ago? We met at the diner in the middle of the night after I got done counting cards and Dottie said she looked like we could both use a friend, pretty much setting us up on a blind friend date. We hit it off, and I guess it became a tradition.”

“So, you’d never go anywhere else? Do anything else?”

Ace looks confused, and maybe a bit annoyed too, as she tells me, “What else was there to do? Before you, my life revolved around counting cards, eating, and sleeping. That’s about it. Why do you ask? And what’s with that sneaky smile on your face?” She shoves my shoulder again, begging me to put her out of her misery.

“My mom used to call my little sister Gigi when she was a baby. Regina means Queen in Italian, which my dad found fitting, but Mama Romano thought Regina sounded way too grown up, so she gave her that nickname. She used it until the day she died, but Regina was only three or so. I never would’ve thought she’d remember something like that.”

The color drains from her face.

“What are you saying, Kingston?” she whispers.

“I’m saying my sister fooled us all. The alias she gave you was her childhood nickname, and I was too preoccupied to put the pieces together.”

Digging her teeth into her lower lip, Ace clarifies, “So Regina is Gigi? My Gigi?”

Again, I cackle. “Yup. Sneaky little brat.”

Ace joins in before adding, “No wonder she loved seeing me steal money at the Charlette. Seems you two had a rocky few months there.”

“Yeah.” I sober, remembering all the fights and slammed doors. “We did.”

She laces her fingers through mine before bringing the back of my hand up to her lips and placing a gentle kiss against it.

“I’m here for both of you. If you need anything, let me know.”

Leaning across the center console, I meet her in the middle and give her a quick peck on the lips. “I will. Love you, Ace.”

The grin that nearly splits her face in two is contagious, and I find myself smiling right back. I never thought I’d say that to anyone. But with her? It just slipped out, and I don’t regret it in the slightest.

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