Page 55 of Vicious in the Dark

“Is it though?” Wolfe asked, drawing my gaze back to him. “You don’t have to pretend for us. This is always a safe space.”

A sudden swell of emotion momentarily overwhelmed me. Tugging the wig off my head, I shook out my hair and nodded. “Yeah, I know. Thanks. That means a lot to me.”

Ace leaned forward, placing a hand on my shoulder. “We’re still yours, Bright Eyes. I hope you know that.”

These two were seriously testing my resolve. I didn’t want our time together to be plagued by painful memories from the past.

Placing my hand on top of Ace’s, I murmured, “Yeah. I know.”

I hadn’t always known though. Part of me had been terrified that I’d come home to find my former loves all married off with children. Every one of them was a solid catch. According to Rumer, they’d been known to get their rocks off with one-night stands, but that was it. I’d done the same. While away I’d told myself that I would date again when I was ready, but I’d never been ready.

Placing his fedora on my head, Ace tugged the ginger wig from my grasp and put it on his head. “Time to turn this mood around and lighten the energy in here. Who’s hungry? I can order from this great Italian place downtown.”

Watching him adjust the wig and finger comb the long red locks made me burst into laughter. It was the serious expression he wore while making sure the wig sat perfectly. That was the moment I knew without a doubt that no matter what happened between the five of us, I’d never be able to bring myself to leave them again.

“Italian sounds good,” I said when my laughter subsided. “Have I told you yet how much I missed you guys?”

Tucking a ginger tendril behind one ear, Ace beckoned me with a hand. “Lay it on me. I’m all ears.”

Wolfe reached across the console to lay a hand on my thigh. We shared a brief look before he turned his attention back to the road.

Less than an hour later we arrived at Wolfe’s house with a bag filled with food that made the car smell delicious. We pulled into a large circle driveway that led us to a sprawling ranch style house with a three-car garage. Leaving the Hale Syndicate hadn’t stopped Wolfe from finding success.

We stepped into a large entryway with a dining room to the left and a small office to the right. Wolfe led the way past both rooms to the kitchen and living room. A large spiral staircase in the living room wound its way down to the lower floor. Ace spread everything from the takeout bag on the kitchen island while Wolfe fetched plates from the cupboard.

My gaze traveled around the room. A cozy set of chairs and a loveseat were arranged in the living room in front of a fireplace with a TV mounted above it. A fuzzy white throw rug gave the hardwood floor some warmth. A large black and white framed photo of wild horses galloping beside the ocean hung on the wall above the loveseat. I remembered it from Wolfe’s bedroom back when he’d lived at the Hale house.

Ace plucked the wig off his head and tossed it on the kitchen table next to the fedora I’d placed there. “This might be a good time to take out one of those old bottles of booze you’ve been hoarding, Wolfe.”

Sliding onto one of the stools at the island, I pulled out Mark’s burner phone and started a deep dive on his text messages. I’d already seen enough to know that Archer had a big drug shipment on the way. It had to be worth millions.

Wolfe disappeared downstairs, returning a few minutes later with a bottle of scotch. He poured a splash into three glasses, passing one to both me and Ace. We dug into the food, filling our plates with three different kinds of pasta and a lasagna that was to die for.

“Find anything good in there?” Wolfe asked, motioning to the phone I held.

I stuffed a bite of lasagna in my mouth and nodded. “Archer has a load of drugs on the way. His guys are supposed to do the pickup tomorrow night. A big one. Eleven o’clock. There’s an address for a rural location outside the city.”

“Nice,” Ace said, twisting his fork in the spaghetti on his plate. “So, what do we want to do with that information? Leak it to our cop friend? Or steal the shipment for ourselves?”

The three of us exchanged a look. Handing the info off to the authorities was a great and easy way to fuck over Donovan Archer. The cops would show up, seize the delivery, and a handful of people would go to jail. Although it was a good way to give Archer a middle finger, it didn’t feel satisfying enough.

I took a sip of the perfectly aged scotch, pausing to savor it. “We should steal it, then turn around and sell it to one of the MCs dirt cheap.”

Ace nodded, a grin spreading across his face. “That’s genius, Bright Eyes. Archer will shit a litter of kittens.”

“He might hit back,” Wolfe pointed out. “Is that a risk we’re willing to take?”

“It’s too late to think about that now,” I said, reaching for the bottle to top up my drink. “We’ve already made our first move. He’ll find out that we have this phone, and he’ll send extra people to protect this drug delivery. We have to see this through, and we’re probably going to have to create a distraction somewhere else. Maybe plan a robbery of one of his businesses or arrange a raid on one of his nightclubs.”

“Dear God, I love you,” Ace gushed, slapping a hand exuberantly on the counter. “I’m sorry if it’s too soon for me to say that. I know you just got home and all, Maven, but damn, we really need you here.”

This wasn’t the first time Ace had told me that he loved me. Although it was the first time since I came back. For a moment tears threatened to well up in my eyes. I blinked vigorously to keep them at bay.

“I love you too, Ace,” I managed to say without my voice cracking. A large drink of scotch helped ground me.

As I dropped my gaze back to the burner phone, I caught Ace shooting a pointed look at Wolfe. What was that all about?

Before I could question it, Ace’s phone rang. He took the call, a frown stealing over his face as he listened to the person on the other end. When the call ended, he swore and abandoned his scotch next to his plate on the island.

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