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I shove my hands into my hair, pushing it off my forehead. I spin around, surveying the damage, and then turn to stone. “No. No. No.”
“What?” Ace asks as he notices my stare fixed on the open freezer door in the kitchen. “Iris?”
I run over, stepping on the half-thawed food boxes that’ve been thrown down on the kitchen floor. The freezer is completely empty. My hands shake as I immediately drop to my knees, searching frantically for a sandwich baggie that was filled with all the money I had earned from tips since I started at Angel’s a month ago.
This isn’t happening to me!
Clear plastic pokes out from under one of the boxes, and I grab it and find myself staring at an empty bag. My heart immediately drops to my stomach, and tears burn before they begin falling down my cheeks. A scream tears from my throat. I push all of my anger into it, making it so loud that I’m sure the entire trailer park is wide-awake now.
“Iris?” Ace bends down next to me, concern filling his voice. “What is it?”
“It’s gone,” I’m barely able to whisper through my sobs. “All of it—the money I’ve been saving for the taxes. It’s all gone.”
Ace rubs his forehead and closes his eyes. “You kept it all here?”
I cry harder at my own stupidity, for trusting that the money would be safe here if I hid it. “I switched banks when I moved to New York, and the closest Wells Fargo bank is in Columbus, so I didn’t make the drive to deposit it. My check from Angel’s is direct deposit, so I never had to worry about that.”
“Did you tell anyone that you had that money in there?” he asks.
I shake my head as I wipe my face with the back of my hand. “No. No one. I can’t think of anyone—”
I cut myself off before I can finish that statement, because someone instantly pops into the forefront of my mind. The same guy who gave us problems last night and saw us go into Ace’s trailer. Jeremy knew I wasn’t here last night and used that knowledge to rob me blind.
Ace’s nostrils flare and his jaw muscle flexes beneath his skin. “I’m going to kill that motherfucker.”
He begins to stand, but I grab his wrist, keeping him kneeling on the floor next to me. “No. Ace. Don’t risk it. It’s not worth it.”
Anger burns in Ace’s eyes as he cradles my face in his hands and locks his gaze with mine. “No one is going to hurt you, Iris. No one. I’m getting your money back.”
He crushes his lips to mine before standing so quick that I don’t have a chance to grab him again to make him stay.
“Ace!” I yell as he whips out the door.
I scramble to my feet to chase after him, but he’s already in a full sprint and nearly at Jeremy’s door already. I call his name again, but he doesn’t turn around. He’s too pissed and is focused on righting the wrong that’s been done to me.
A thunderous crack sounds across the graveled lot of the trailer park and I watch in complete horror as Ace kicks open Jeremy’s door and rushes inside.
“What the fuck—” Jeremy shouts, but he doesn’t get to finish his sentence before there’s a booming crash inside.
My legs pump faster, burning with each step, as the need to stop Ace from doing something crazy overwhelms me.
I make it to the door of Jeremy’s trailer in time to see Ace on top of Jeremy and landing a hard right to his face. I cringe as Jeremy’s head snaps left.
“Where is it? Where’s the money?” Ace screams in his face.
Ace yanks Jeremy up, expecting an answer, but a sharklike smile stained with blood fills Jeremy’s face. “You’ll never get it. That money’s long gone.”
Ace opens his mouth to say something else, but Jeremy spits and it lands under Ace’s right eye, causing Ace to go into a frenzy. He lands blow after blow onto Jeremy’s face as I stand there completely frozen with fear.
Jeremy’s body goes limp under Ace, but he doesn’t stop. No longer am I worried about the media finding him, but what will happen to him once the police get involved with this.
Blind rage overtakes Ace, and he doesn’t show any signs of regaining control of himself without someone intervening. It’s like he can’t see that Jeremy’s had enough, so I scream. “Ace! Stop! You’ll kill him!”
I’m scared out of my mind because of the sheer intensity of the situation. I’ve never seen anyone lose it like that before, and it makes me think twice about taking off with Ace somewhere. This is the second time I’ve seen him go after Jeremy. It’s clear that Ace isn’t afraid to unleash his wrath on someone who angers him. This really drives it home that we haven’t known each other that long. Love is blinding, so I’ve allowed myself to overlook that fact.
Suddenly, I find myself at a crossroad. The time has come to leave everything behind and run away with him, but I’m not sure I can do it like I promised. I wish I had more time to get to know him before I am forced into making a choice.
At the sound of my words, Ace stops his drawn-back fist from coming down yet again, his breathing erratic as he stares down at the unconscious man below him.
I rush to Ace’s side and grab his arm, doing my best to hold him back. “He’s not worth it.”
Ace’s viselike grip loosens and he allows Jeremy’s limp body to fall to the dirty trailer floor. Ace turns to me with wide eyes and a panicked expression after he realizes the reality of what he’s just done. He stares up at me. “What have I done?”
