“Nope.” Kaden blew out a strained breath. He looked exhausted, but he’d probably say the same thing about me. “I’m headin’ to bed. The spare room has an inflatable mattress if you wanna use it.” He jerked his chin at me before disappearing upstairs, his steps heavy, indicative to the weight on both our shoulders.
After finally settling in for the night, I stared at the ceiling, willing my overcharged brain to shut down. But I had no such luck. From the fight between Ace and Chelsea to Kaden wanting Riley to move in with him, to wondering what was gonna happen with Tag, I couldn’t seem to quiet my mind. It was only when my thoughts wandered to a certain brunette that I started to drift off, imagining a scenario where I could make good on my internal promise to myself and save her from them.
“Hold up,” Ace groaned, righting himself against the couch before leaning forward. His eyes were bloodshot, and sections of his dark hair stuck up in places. His shirt looked like a crumpled mess, matching the rest of his appearance. “Run through that again. I wanna make sure I heard everything right.”
“Kaden and I were texted an address, and when we showed up, Jagger led us into the basement. That’s when we saw Tag strapped to a table.” I gripped the back of my neck, the strain of the past twelve hours making my muscles ache.
“Tag?”
“Yeah.”
“And why does Marek think he’s a Reaper?”
“’Cause he found a picture in the guy’s wallet, and apparently Tag’s father was a Reaper,” I said, blinking a few times because I hadn’t gotten enough sleep and my vision was still hazy.
“This Vex guy, Tag’s father, was someone who did unspeakable things to my mom when she lived with them,” Kaden interjected, taking a seat next him on the sofa.
“Sully was part of the Reapers?” Ace asked, his brows knitted tightly together while trying to piece all the information together.
“Apparently. Her father was the president of the fuckin’ club.” Even as I said the words, it was hard for me to associate Sully with any part of the Reapers, let alone being the daughter of its leader.
“So, she was involved with their shit?” After asking another question, Ace stood, his fingers pressing the sides of his temples. He groaned and closed his eyes. “Why the fuck did I drink so much?”
“Who knows,” I replied, not sure if he remembered much from last night at this point. Before either Kaden or I jogged his memory, however, we finished telling him about our latest issue, to put it mildly.
“My mom wasn’t involved with them the way you think.” Kaden leaned his head against the back of the couch, his shoulders tense, and his expression deflated. “I was told her father abused her as well as allowing the other members, specifically Vex, to do so.”
“Okay… okay. But because your mom was treated how she was,” Ace said, slowing his words toward the end because he was probably uncomfortable saying such things about Sully, “Marek thinks Tag is just like him?” Before either of us could answer, he said, “I thought Tag didn’t really know his ol’ man. That he left when he was a kid.”
“That’s the information we have, too,” Kaden answered, blowing out a breath because now Ace could somewhat understand our frustration. “I really don’t think Tag is a Reaper, but it’s hard to try and convince the other guys of that.”
“Well, what now?” Ace took to pacing, stopping after several steps to clutch his head again.
“Marek said they would research his story before they did anything else. How long it’ll take, we have no idea.” I looked to Kaden, and he nodded, agreeing with every word I spoke.
“Now,” I started, turning fully to face Ace, “about last night.”
“Yeah,” Kaden chimed in, rising from the couch. “The next time Riley has to call me to come get her because she’s nervous to be around you while you’re drunk, we’re gonna have a problem.” Kaden stepped closer to Ace, but surprisingly, the guy didn’t flinch. Maybe his hangover consumed too much of his good sense.
“First off, I didn’t do a thing to Riley. I wasn’t the one throwing stuff, and I sure as hell wasn’t the one screaming bloody murder. If anyone was uncomfortable last night, it was me.” His expression hardened when he looked back and forth between me and Kaden. “I’m sorry Riley felt some type of way, but I didn’t have anything to do with that.”
“You were drunk, and you engaged in Chelsea’s bout of crazy.” I reminded him he wasn’t as innocent as he liked to believe.
“Riley said you tackled Chelsea. Is that true?” Kaden asked, his jaw clenching while waiting for the answer.
Ace closed his eyes, and just when I thought he wasn’t gonna say anything else, he nodded, reaching around to grab the back of his shoulder.
“I fucked my arm up, too.” His nonchalant words made both me and Kaden bristle with anger.
“Are you serious?” I shouted.
By this time, Ace realized we were both pissed, and he backed up a few steps. “Listen, I didn’t tackle Chelsea to hurt her.” He reached up and touched his temple once more. “She started throwing shit at me. She even hit me in the head with somethin’ heavy. I had to get her to stop, so I rushed toward her in self-preservation.” His attention bounced between us. “I’d never intentionally hurt her or Riley.”
“You were drunk,” I repeated. “You should’ve left when it got heated.”
“You’re right,” he said, conceding to my point.
“I don’t care what you do. But when my woman is present, you better act accordingly.”
Ace and I simultaneously grimaced.
“What?” he asked, confused by our expressions.
“It’s still weird to hear you call Riley your woman,” I said.
“Yeah, it is,” Ace agreed.
“Get used to it,” Kaden shouted over his shoulder as he walked out of the room.
The vibration of my phone
