He’s my blood, my protector, my confidante. And so, yeah, I trust him with my life. I hate that I’ve brought this mess into his.
“Yeah. I know.”
He studies me, like he’s making sure I’ve got my head together in spite of all the crazy shit surrounding me right now.
“C…Marcus’ brother…”
Carson shakes his head. “Nah. Couldn’t get anything else out of him after…after. Once he saw Marcus he fell apart.”
Sighing, I roll my neck. It was a lead that’s temporarily cut off now because of the body. Whoever planted it there knew exactly what he was doing. For the first time since this all started, I feel the air being sucked from my lungs. I’m drowning, sinking fast in this mess, and I’m in over my head.
I nod toward the door. “I’m gonna take her back to campus in the morning, and then I’ll track him down. I need to know what he knows, Uncle C. I’m sick of this shark being two steps ahead of me.”
Carson looks thoughtful. Stroking the rough hair on his chin, he zeroes in on me. “I think you need to open the G-Ring tomorrow night.”
“Say what?”
The expression on his face is intense. “I’m serious. We surround you with protection, of course. I’m not sending you in there alone. But it might be the thing to draw the snake out of his hole. Maybe instead of sending his guys, when word gets around you’re hosting some games, he’ll come to you himself.”
It’s a solid plan. Well, it’s risky as hell, but it’s the only plan we’ve got. And I’ve never run away from a fight before. Not gonna start now.
“Yeah.” I nod. “Looks like it’s going down at the Ring tomorrow night.”
Carson looks serious. “And I’m gonna be there. This ends tomorrow.”
I contemplate, picturing what it’ll be like to finally find the person who started this whole nightmare. What it’ll be like to end this fiasco once and for all.
“Tomorrow.”
Twenty-Two
NAIMA
It’s dark. My body feels heavy, spent. As I blink in the inky blackness around me, every memory from the previous day creeps in, and my body jerks and recoils.
“Easy.” Ace’s deep voice acts like a balm, soothing me. I settle into him, and his arms go around me. In them, I’m secure. I sigh.
“What time is it?” I don’t even recognize my own voice. It’s still scratchy from the injury to my neck, and it hurts like hell to use it. The screaming didn’t help, either.
Warm lips brush against my neck as he answers, and I shiver in spite of the battered state I’m in. “Late. Or early. Didn’t mean to wake you up.”
I turn in his arms, facing him in the darkness. I can just make out the outline of his face, and it’s such a welcome sight.
I fell asleep earlier after he urged me into bed. I knew I was unraveling, losing my tenuous grip on my emotions, so I listened and lay down in the center of his king-sized platform mattress. It didn’t take me long to fall asleep in the delicious warmth and comfort, but I kept hearing snatches of conversation between him and Carson in the other room while I drifted in and out of consciousness.
As I wake up to Ace, the overwhelming feeling of comfort sweeps over my skin. I felt it in his condo from the moment that I arrived, but it’s stronger, more vivid and vibrant now. Whenever I’ve stayed somewhere that’s not home, that isn’t my own bed, I awake feeling like a bird fallen out of its nest. I’ve shared so much with Ace in a short amount of time, but what we’ve been through together has packed a serious punch.
My heart is full, a beating bundle of emotion. Being here with him amplifies everything I’m feeling inside, forcing what I’m experiencing to grow much faster than it ordinarily would.
I rest a hand on his cheek. “You’re just coming to bed?”
He nods, and lifting my hand, kisses the inside of my wrist. “Yeah.”
“That…dead guy? That was him, wasn’t it? The one that got shot that night?” I shudder as the image flickers through my mind.
One of his hands rests on my hip, and he squeezes just a little. “Yeah.”
Silence stretches between us. I’m waiting for him to say more; he’s holding back.
“Ace.”
His hand brushes with gentle pressure from my hip, up to my waist, and back down again. He repeats this motion, this time meeting the skin under my shirt. The fabric rides up on my side. His palm is so warm, so perfect against me that I scoot just a little bit closer. A moth dancing dangerously close to that tiny, flickering blaze of light.
“I’m taking you to campus in the morning. And I’m going to send Carson to pick you up after. Okay? This will all be over by tomorrow night.”
His words sound…wrong. They send a chill of foreboding rushing through my body, and I shake my head in the darkness. “I want to stay with you.”
He leans forward, brushing his nose against mine. “You’re with me right now.”
“I know, but—”
His lips take me, and the words I was going to say are lost somewhere in his mouth. His is wet, warm, and everything I need it to be in that moment. He kisses me like he owns me, and maybe he does.
His hand
