Page 60 of Ace

Chapter 22

Ace

He brought a book with him to read while Lizzie did most of her deliveries. He understood that this was her job, and his goal wasn’t to get in her way or exercise control over an aspect of her life he wasn’t involved in. His goal was simply to make sure she was safe, and that no member of the Vipers was up to their old tricks. He’d never forgive himself if something happened to her if a target was put on her back simply because she had the misfortune to be with him.

All day he stayed out of her way, staying in the truck while she made delivery after delivery, simply observing this side of her that was a deeper look into the first version of Lizzie he’d ever had the pleasure of knowing.

The Viper’s Den was her last stop. Whether she planned it that way, or whether that was the usual schedule, he didn’t know and didn’t ask. It didn’t really matter.

When she pulled into the lot, he looked around at the bikes in the lot, seeing several he knew belonged to customers they’d used to serve at King’s, but not seeing Vinny’s.

He didn’t know Joey well enough to know if his was here, but from the way Lizzie tensed up when she scanned the lot, he assumed it was.

Unbuckling, she grabbed her clipboard of invoices from the console between them and sighed, looking over at him. “I don’t suppose you’re planning to stay out here and read some more?”

“Hell no.” He quickly squashed whatever hope she might be entertaining of going in alone. “Not a chance, babygirl.”

“Yeah.” She sighed. “That’s what I figured. So how does this go down? If you go in with me, aren’t we just drawing more attention to the fact that we are together? And aren’t we hoping that’s what they don’t know? Sorry, I’m just trying to understand.”

“I’m gonna hop out now, and you’re going to pull around the back and enter through the side like you usually do. I’ll go in through the front like any paying customer would.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Paying customer? You’re going to give them your money?”

Ace shrugged. “Probably not, but I don’t want them to know that. I see some guys I know—well, I see their bikes, so I’ll go in the front, spot whoever is closest to the bar, and strike up a conversation. I hope you are right, and I’m worried over nothing. Then, worst-case scenario, I have a nice chat with an old friend, you make your delivery and we go home for the start of another perfect, fun-filled weekend.”

“Okay.”

“Okay.” With one last glance at her, Ace hopped out of the truck and watched as Lizzie pulled around back. Then he pasted on the most jovial of fake smiles he could, and ambled through the door of the bar that was truly enemy territory.

Lizzie

Daddies overreacted about everything. That was the conclusion she came to as she stomped around the back of the truck and loaded the dolly. She’d told Ace about the stuff with Joey because it was the right thing to do, and she didn’t want to be accused of lying by omission. She hadn’t thought Ace was gonna insist on going to her deliveries with her and make her move out of her apartment and in with him. Not that she minded at all living at Utopia, or with her Daddy, but sometimes she wondered if he would later resent having moved her in out of some misplaced obligation to protect her.

Daddies protected, she got that, especially big, bad, tough-guy motorcycle Daddies like Ace and his friends, but still, she was pretty sure they were making mountains out of molehills, and that was supposed to be a Little thing, not a Daddy thing.

With the dolly loaded, she stomped through the back delivery door that went into the kitchen, expecting to see Casey, the cook, and probably Joey, or one of the other Vipers. Instead, when the door swung open and she stepped into the small space, she found herself surrounded by Vipers. And not the nice ones. Immediately, Joey slid behind her blocking her exit.

“Hey! What the hell!” she hollered, but not too loudly because she didn’t want Ace or the other patrons in the front to hear her yell. Ace would come running with his proverbial guns blazing, and she was still pretty sure this was just a prank, at best. At worst, they thought they’d back her into a corner, make some lewd comments and throw around some threats. “Come on, guys, I don’t have time for this bullshit today. Let’s get the order unloaded, get the invoice paid, and let me get on my way.”

“I don’t think so, bitch.” A hand that wasn’t Joey’s snaked around her throat and she glanced down to see the glint of a metal blade pressed against her neck.

She opened her mouth to scream for Ace, still unable to believe how wrong she’d been and before she could, a fat, meaty hand clapped over it, stifling her scream.

“Shut up,” the meathead with the knife growled. “Don’t even think about yelling or I will slit your pretty little throat. You’ll be dead in two seconds.”

She was hedging her bets, trying to figure out if he’d actually have time to kill her before Ace arrived. Odds were, probably not, but if she took the chance, and she was wrong it wouldn’t matter if she was dead because her Daddy would actually kill her. Or at least spank her so good she would wish he had.

Anger bubbling because she had no idea how she was going to get out of this mess, she scanned the room. Joey was blocking the exit. Some asshole meathead who smelled like stale beer and BO had a knife to her throat, and two assholes in leather jackets were standing in front of her wearing lecherous grins. They were also holding knives. One of them had a gun tucked into his waistband.

She was pretty sure he wouldn’t use it. Mostly.

She just had to stay calm and plan her escape. She didn’t even have to escape really, she just had to cause a big enough ruckus to get Ace’s attention and somehow manage to not get herself killed or maimed in the process.

She needed a distraction. Something to take their attention off of her even for a split second to give her time to act. But with her mouth covered and a knife to her throat, there was no way for her to create one.

The two guys in front of her stepped closer, menacing smiles on their ugly faces and suddenly she realized how she knew them. Snake and Spider were Vipers… or they had been until recently. She heard rumblings of them being kicked out of the club by Vinny the president, but either they hadn’t gotten the memo or they just didn’t care. She hadn’t recognized them at first, with beanies pulled down covering their foreheads, but she did now. The one with what looked like a fresh snake tattoo covering his neck pulled a doo rag from his pocket and she wondered what he planned to do with it as he took another step toward her.

His hand with the rag flew up to her face, and for a second she expected Meathead to move his hand so Snake Tattoo could gag her with it, but instead he opened the rag and clapped it across her nose. And then she knew.