Page 85 of Until Ace

Why am I bound?

Who did this?

How did I get here?

Where is here?

“Finally, the princess awakens.” The words are drawled in a voice I know well.

In that second, everything comes back to me. Work. Ace calling and telling me all that stuff that couldn’t be true. Jim coming in. And then… nothing.

I look in the direction of where the voice came from, seeing my brother is standing a few steps away.

God, I used to look up to him, before he started doing all the stuff that made my skin crawl and caused worry to lodge permanently in my stomach.

He was once a guy who made you shine brighter when you were around him. Girls fell over him if he just smiled in their direction.

Now, all that is gone. The once beautiful, cocky man is nowhere in sight.

Instead, in his place, is a man covered in dirt. His clothes are torn in places, his dirty hair sticks in every direction, and he keeps pulling at the strands. A tic he has when he’s stressed.

“Did you have a nice nap, sis?” he mocks.

I stay silent, looking at the man who was once my brother. A man I would walk through hell for if it would help him, but no longer.

He rolls his eyes when I don’t take the bait and crosses his hands in front of his hips.

In one hand, he’s holding a gun.

I gasp at the sight of it, pulling a smile out of him.

“What is it, Mandy?” Jim takes a small step closer. “Is something bothering you, huh? Did something happen?”

I don’t answer. I look him in the eyes, locking my mask of indifference in place.

Seeing the ice queen taking over and the sight of the true me hiding behind it, he loses his patience.

“Don’t fuck with me, Mandy! It’s time for you to stop playing around and do what is needed of you!”

I tilt my chin up, making it seem I’m looking down on him, even while I’m sitting in a chair, and in a cold voice, I ask, “What did you do?”

Chapter 20

Ace

“I can’t believe this is happening!” Ken shouts. He looks around the parking lot that’s filling up with cop cars. “How is this happening? First, Mia, and now Mandy. Why are people going after my girls? My girls are good girls! They didn’t do anything wrong, yet people are trying to hurt them.”

I search for and find Officer Lindy’s eyes. When I jerk my head to Ken, she nods and walks his way.

As soon as she gets to him, the shouting stops.

Lindy’s good in situations like this. She has an uncanny ability to calm even the worst of storms in people. A trait that comes in handy in our line of work.

“We need to roll,” Cobi barks, looking left and right.

Yeah, we do. The problem is, we don’t have the full picture.

Was Jim by himself, or did he have a partner?