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I tried to tell Ace it was unnecessary to do that, that it’s unlikely any of them will be coming after me now that Kyle is dead, but he was insistent that he couldn’t allow people who hurt me to live. And who am I to argue with a man who wants to kill for me?
“Ace, what’s got into you?” I ask as I shove the last piece of pancake between my lips. My relationship with food began to improve almost as soon as the threat of going back was taken off the table. I’m not saying it’s good every day, because that’s certainly not the case, but so far this week I’ve been able to eat two meals a day.
“I have a surprise,” he beams, as if he’s been holding in those words ever since we left the apartment.
A smile tugs at the corners of my lips, and I look down at the yoga pants and sweater I pulled on as I was being shuffled out of the apartment. I pull my bottom lip between my teeth and nibble at it as I try to tell myself Ace would have told me to change if I wasn’t dressed appropriately for whatever the surprise is.
“You look perfect, Mia,” he tells me, and when I look up, I’m staring into his eyes.
He throws some bills onto the table and takes my hand as he drags me out of the diner so quickly I can barely say a thank you to our waitress. Once we’re on the cold street, he pulls me under his arm and walks us back toward the apartment building.
“The surprise isn’t sex, is it?” I scoff as we step into the private elevator to the penthouse.
“Would it be so bad if it was?” He stares down at me with mischief in his eyes.
“I mean, no. But if that were the case, you’ve woken me up with a surprise three nights this week.” I laugh, and the sound almost feels foreign to my own ears. I went so long without hearing it, and I never realized just how much I missed it.
He winks at me as the doors to the elevator slide open, and I spot the group of people standing in the middle of the apartment with bright smiles and a drink in their hands. Above them is a banner that has my brows pulling together in confusion.
Welcome Home.
I look up at Ace as he ushers me out of the lift and toward everyone standing in the living room. I find Tommy and Clara standing at the front, his arm wrapped possessively around her waist and her smile so huge it could almost blind someone.
Emerson and Rayne are beside them in a similar position, and behind them, Snow and Wynter are fussing over baby Summer, while Everett and Elijah flick their gazes between us and them. The only Saint James missing is Storm, but that doesn’t totally surprise me. Or at least until he and Ayvah appear from the kitchen with two glasses of champagne each, handing one to Ace and me.
“What’s going on?” I ask quietly as I take the glass from Ayvah and thank her quietly.
“We’re having a housewarming party,” Storm answers for him, and my brows pull together in confusion. I’m missing something here.
Ace pulls me into him and presses a kiss to my temple. “I bought the apartment from Snow for us. This is officially our home.”
I stare up at him with wide eyes as I consider the words he’s just spoken before looking around at the people who have come to celebrate. “You bought an apartment for us?”
He nods, doubt creeping into the moss green. “I thought, seeing as you already feel safe here, that this was a good place to start our lives together, if you don’t?—”
Before he can finish his sentence, I’m throwing my arms around him. He bought me an apartment. We needed a home, and he made it happen.
“Thank you, Ace,” I whisper against him. “Thank you for constantly making my dreams come true.”
He holds me tightly against him, his arm banded around my lower back as he presses another kiss to the top of my head. “I have a lot of years to make up for, but this is just the beginning.”
Doesn’t he get it? He’s already given me everything I ever could have hoped for.
CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE
ACE
This surprise is much more unhinged than the housewarming party was, but I think she’s going to enjoy it just as much.
Mia’s gaze bounces around as she wraps her arms tighter around herself. The tunnels that run beneath the city are always cold and damp, but I imagine seeing them for the first time is daunting.
“You’re not bringing me down here to kill me, are you?” she asks with a nervous giggle, but surely she should know by now I would never do anything to hurt her.
I shake my head and tug her closer to me. I don’t love having her down here. It’s a fucking cesspool, and that’s why Tommy has used it as his killing field for all these years.
I lead her through the tunnels, keeping a close eye on every corner we take. There aren’t many people who know this place even exists, let alone how to access the tunnels, but I’m not willing to risk Mia.
There’s a scream from somewhere deeper, and Mia stops in place, fear taking hold in her gaze. “Ace, I don’t think I should be down here.”
