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But I know better than to hope for that, and almost as if the universe senses the calm I’ve allowed to wash over me, a loud explosion in the hallway propels me forward into Ace’s hard body.
I should have known better than to allow myself to hope for anything other than a life of misery.
CHAPTER TEN
ACE
Isee the moment she lets her guard down, and it’s beautiful.
She leans her cheek into my palm and her eyes flutter closed, her long, dark lashes whispering across her high cheekbones, and the tension she holds so close releases ever so slightly. It’s the first time she hasn’t flinched when I’ve touched her, and the significance of that isn’t lost on me.
I brush my thumb across the soft freckles she hated as a child, relishing in the softness beneath my rough hand.
A quiet click drags my attention from Mia a split second before the door explodes, the power of it shaking the floor beneath our feet. Before I’m aware of the decision, I push Mia to the ground and roll my body over hers, shielding her from whatever is coming through the door.
What the fuck is going on?
I reach for my phone on the table above us, quickly shooting an SOS message to the Saint James family. I wouldn’t normally ask for help from anyone, but this is different. It’s for Mia.
“Stay down,” I command, leaving no room for argument. I roll toward the couch and slip my hand between the cushions, letting out a breath of relief when my fingers wrap around the handle of my Glock. Normally I have the thing laying around, ready to use if someone strolls into my apartment unannounced, but I didn’t want to frighten Mia, so I hid it nearby.
Almost as soon as I’ve left her, I’m back with my body shielding hers. No one has come through the door yet, but it’s only a matter of time.
“Ace,” she whimpers, her hands gripping the back of my shirt like an anchor.
“It’s going to be okay, sugar. Just do exactly as I tell you and we’ll be fine.” The promise rolls off my tongue, even though I have no right promising such a thing when we’re bound to be outnumbered, and there’s no way Frost can deploy backup that quickly.
She nods frantically, but her attention is focused on the doorway, waiting for someone to walk through it.
I train my gun right in the center of where the door used to be and let out a deep, steadying breath. “I want you to run for your room and lock yourself in the bathroom, do you understand?”
“I can’t leave you,” she whispers.
“Mia,” I snap. “Go now. I’ll be fine.”
She hesitates for another beat before crawling across the carpet until she disappears through the door, and I’m equally relieved as I am anxious about having her out of my sight.
I pull my attention back to the hole in the wall just in time for three men dressed head to toe in black tactical gear to breach the entrance. The first one through is dead before he can even see me as the bullet hits him in the center of his forehead.
The other two dive out of the way before I can aim at them, and I quickly move behind the oversized couch.
It won’t protect me from being shot, but it will slow the bullets down enough that they shouldn’t kill me.
“We just want the girl,” one of the men calls out. “Hand her over and we’ll be out of your hair.”
“Does that line ever work?” I ask.
“You’d be surprised how many men are willing to throw their women to the sharks to save themselves.”
I close my eyes and map out the hotel room, trying to place where the voice is coming from. He’s not near the doorway anymore, but he’s also not on the same side of the suite as Mia’s room.
“Sounds like you deal with a lot of assholes.”
The other one chuckles, and I quickly look to my other side. They’re surrounding me. “You have no idea.”
“So where is she, Ace?” I’m not surprised they know my name, especially because I’ve probably worked with these idiots at some point, but I hate that he thinks I’m going to hand her over.
Everyone I’ve met in the last ten years thinks I have no attachments. A true loner. And that perception has worked for me. Anyone who works with the underbelly of society knows having attachments only makes you seem weak. But that also means these two dipshits think I’m going to hand over the woman I’ve been obsessed with for almost my whole life.
