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She smiled, her face stunningly beautiful even while pale and sunken. It didn’t matter. She was his, and he would prove to her she couldn’t live without him, even if she would be much better off without him in her life.
She turned away from him and looked at her brothers. “You be nice to Ace. He’s saved me more than once,” she scolded them.
Her big brothers nervously shifted on their feet, making Ace feel like smirking at them. He managed to keep it in, though. He liked it much better when her controlling nature was turned on someone other than him.
The doctor came back into the room, and Ace slipped away. He’d been put through a lot of emotions in the past twenty-four hours, and he needed a few minutes to process it all.
His phone rang, and he lifted it to his ear without thinking about it. Maybe he should have just let it go to voice mail. He wasn’t sure.
“Hello,” he said.
“It’s time you and I meet.”
The deadly voice was on the other end of the line. Ace smiled. It was Nestor, and he’d picked the ideal time to call.
“Yes, it is,” he replied.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Ace felt confident as he went to the location Nestor had agreed to meet him. Of course, it was a trap. Ace wasn’t a fool. But Nestor’s ego was going to be what took him down. Yes, the man would have his goons there, but he wasn’t prepared for Ace’s backup, either. He wouldn’t be so foolish as to assume Ace would come alone, but he knew Ace had injuries, and he was counting on that to make him weak.
The man didn’t know who he was. Rage was all he needed to wipe this man out. There was no way Ace was going to leave any more stones unturned. Not only had this idiot been foolish enough to come after Ace, but he’d attacked Dakota. Ace wasn’t going to allow that to happen again—not ever. This ended today—one way or another.
His body was weak, and Ace didn’t try to hide that fact. The worse off Nestor thought he was, the more victorious the creep would feel. His overconfidence would be his undoing.
All along Ace had planned on being the bait. He had done it before, and this was no different. What amused Ace was the saliva practically dripping from Bill’s mouth at the thought of getting this guy. If anything went wrong, Ace would have to punch his boss. The man was almost as eager as Ace to get Nestor behind bars. However, Ace didn’t care at this point if they caught him dead or alive. He just wanted him out of the picture.
“We can see you clearly. There’s no sign of activity,” Maverick said into Ace’s earpiece.
His foolish brother had insisted on being there, even though he was sporting his own injury from the night before. The bullet that had ripped into Mav’s leg would require him to use a cane for the next few weeks, but Maverick had insisted on being a lookout. He was too good a shot not to include on the mission, so Ace had reluctantly agreed.
Ace didn’t say anything back but nodded his head the slightest bit. If Nestor was watching, he didn’t want the man to get spooked.
“I would feel a hell of a lot better being down there on the ground with you,” Maverick said.
The slightest of smiles tilted Ace’s lips. He knew sitting by wasn’t any of his brothers’ styles. Ace hadn’t let Cooper or Nick come along, as he was too worried Nestor wouldn’t show and would use the opportunity to get to their wives. They were all at the hospital with full security and communication so they knew exactly what was happening.
“When this is over, you’re going to have one hell of a pissed-off woman on your hands,” Cooper said. “She won’t let me leave the hospital room. Her brother also said if you get killed, that counts as running.”
Ace lowered his head as he fought the smile trying to pop up on his lips. He could just imagine the hell Dakota was giving everyone, especially since he’d slipped away without a word. The time had come, and he’d had to move fast. He hadn’t been left with a w
hole hell of a lot of choices.
“It’s showtime, Ace,” Bill spoke up. Ace tensed. “Reports show Nestor entering the premises.”
Ace’s eyes glowed with a renewed rage and concentration. All joking was pushed aside as the intercoms went silent. They knew he needed to listen, needed to be fully in the moment.
Ace adjusted the bandage wrapping his shoulder, letting the fire in his arm remind him of how alive he was. He sat still at the outside table in the remote café as he waited for his showdown with Nestor.
Nestor’s choice of a meeting place had made Ace happy. The man thought he would be safe in a public place, but the patrons had been swapped out with undercover agents, and the scene was most definitely secure. Ace knew Nestor would have his own men around, and that’s where it got a bit more dangerous, but the good guys were definitely going to win this one. Ace had a reason to survive.
Nestor was working off pure hate and revenge. And while Ace wanted his own revenge for what had been done to Dakota, he also wanted this ended for the safety of his family. That trumped anything Nestor could carry with him.
A sleek sports car pulled around a corner, and Ace’s body tensed. He had no doubt this was Nestor arriving in all his glory. The car stopped, and Nestor stepped out, a huge goon with him.
Looking up, Nestor’s eyes met Ace’s, pure evilness in the other man’s expression. He smoothed his jacket with the palm of his hand and then walked toward Ace with confidence.
Ace wanted nothing more than to order the kill shot and have this over with. But he waited, his body on alert, his attention focused on the man he wanted to strangle with his bare hands.
