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“I don’t want you guys in danger,” Ace told them.
“And do you really think any of us are safer with you gone?” Nick asked. “If someone were truly after you, which they aren’t, don’t you think you would see the signs before we would?”
“Mav would. He has military experience. And if I’m the object of someone’s vendetta, they would follow me,” Ace said.
“And we don’t back down from a fight,” Maverick informed him.
“I’m not exactly asking that of you. I’m just saying this isn’t your fight,” Ace said, feeling frustrated.
“That’s pretty damn shitty of you to say,” Mav said, his voice rising. “For years, we didn’t know if you had gone to the dark side or not. To push us out again is spitting in our faces.”
There it was. Ace shouldn’t be shocked at the anger in his brother’s tone. He didn’t know what to say to that. He had known he’d been hurting his family through the years, but he’d been doing it because it had been what needed to be done.
“You’ve been gone a long time, Ace, and maybe your instinct is to run at the first sign of danger, to do everything on your own, but you’re back home now, and we’re all here for you,” Chloe said. “Besides that, Dakota is like my sister. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for her. Just stay here.”
Ace turned and looked at Dakota, who’d been silent this whole time. He was willing to drag her away where danger could possibly follow them, but not keep her in the safety of family. That made him an e
ven bigger dick.
“What do you want to do?” he asked her.
She sighed before speaking. “I’m exhausted, and my brain is fried. But I will say this much,” she told him. “I’m not letting those disgusting bastards run me out of my own town. I have commitments. Plus, they’re locked up anyway.”
Ace held so much respect for this woman beside him. Not only was she beautiful, kind, compassionate, and spirited, but she was brave and a force to be reckoned with. He was a lucky man to have met her.
“I just hate that you were nearly killed,” he said, exhaling in frustration.
“You were the one shot,” she pointed out.
“I’ve been shot before.” He brushed off her words, which only seemed to annoy the woman more.
“That’s not making the case for you,” she told him.
“Everyone is tired, and we’re just going in circles. Ace, you and Dakota are staying here tonight. You can use the guest cottage so you have privacy. You can sleep with ease,” Cooper insisted.
“I just reacted and wanted to get away from Dakota’s place. We don’t need to stay here,” Ace said.
“I have a house to get back to,” Dakota agreed.
“This is no longer up for debate. We’ll all get some rest here. Tomorrow, I’m sure this will all seem like nothing more than a nightmare,” Coop said.
Ace didn’t really want to argue with his brother about this. Besides, at the moment the danger had begun, he’d quickly decided to go to his brother’s house, to have his family surround him. So why did he want to leave now? Because he was an idiot.
“I agree. It’s late, and you need rest. Lindsey just pulled two bullets out of your arm,” Mav said.
“We’ll all stay here tonight. The kids are already sleeping,” Nick added.
Ace looked around the room at the determined expressions on everyone’s faces. He knew, at least for tonight, he was defeated. He’d been the one who’d wanted to come back home, anyway. Maybe underneath it all, this was exactly what he’d needed and wanted.
“For tonight, I guess that will work,” Ace finally agreed.
“Good. Now that it’s all settled, I’ll take you down to the cabin,” Stormy said.
“You stay with the kids. Mav and I will take them down,” Cooper said.
Stormy smiled at her husband and then nodded.
“Good, let’s get some rest,” Nick said. “No more heroics, at least for tonight.”
