Bear reaches out and grabs Caz by the throat. Lifting him in the air in front of him. Ace holds his gun up. “Care to tell me what you’re up to, Caz?” Ace dangerously asks, his eyes turning crazed and that jaw ticks uncontrollably.
Caz holds his deadly gaze on me before his lip curls. “Your brother is coming to claim what is his.”
“My what?” I spit. You’ve got to be fucking kidding me right now.
Ace looks to me questioning and my eyes search his, my breathing gets heavier; not again, not another a fucking secret.
“I don’t have a brother, Caz.”
“Oh, I think you should start asking Daddy some questions.” His words rasp out with Bear's tightening hold as if he weighs nothing. Caz's feet dangle about two feet off the ground.
A gunshot fires out, and Caz falls limp in Bear’s grasp from Ace's shot. I look over at Ace noticing the steam rolling off his shoulders, the rage engulfing him with the betrayal setting in.
Ace turns and walks away, leaving me standing there in complete shock. Once again, but this time, I’m not breaking down and crying.
I’m breaking every bone in my father’s body.
BEAR
I drop the backstabbing fucker to the ground and when I turn and look at Ace, I see that crazed look in his eyes, the same look he carried the day he killed Luca’s son. To hear the betrayal of the man that he trusted; I can assure you, that hit his ticker, and he is ticking.
He turns and walks away from us. Emma tries to go after him, and I wrap my hand around her wrist stopping her. “Don’t. Trust me, he needs a minute.”
“Bear, he’s been shot, he needs a doctor.”
I shake my head. “It was a clean shot, through and through; he’s had worse. Leave him alone. I’m warning you, Emma, he is not Ace right now.”
She searches my eyes and I need her from the bottom of my heart to understand what I am telling her right now. Ace is a good man, a way better man than me, until he is not. And right now, he is not and he will hurt anything in his path with what is brewing in his head right now. And if I don’t keep Emma away from that, she will get hurt and he will not be able to live with himself.
“I’m not leaving him alone, Bear.”
“Get in your car and go home.” I tell her.
She huffs with annoyance, and I inhale a deep breath;keep your cool Bear.I say to myself over and over.
“Emma, trust is his ticker, and when it is broken, he ticks. Right now, he looks like he might explode, you need to stay out of his path of destruction before you become a target.”
“Stay with him then.” She insists. “I can’t do that; I must stay with you.”
“I have someone for that.” She spits. Trying to find any way of getting me to go after Ace, and I know better. “It doesn’t work like that, Queen. Get in your car and drive it home before I have someone drive it home for you.”
She narrows her eyes at me, and I wait for her to fight me, but our attention is broken by the sound of Ace’s car starting up, and he peels wheels out of here.
I pull my gaze back to Emma and lift a brow. “He doesn’t want to be around anyone, just give him time to accept what just happened. I know we have our differences, Emma, but I can assure you, you need to stay outof his way.”
EMMA
The entire drive home I tried to call Ace, but he didn’t answer me.
Don’t shut me out baby, please don’t shut me out.
My heart hurts, but that’s been hurting for a long time, but this, knowing he has been shot, and Caz, who has been his right hand here in the states, even when Ace was in Russia, Caz was supposed to be on Ace’s side, doing what he asked and he did, but what else was he doing. That we won’t know because he’s dead. But the shocker of it all, I have a brother? What the fuck!
My mind stirs in a million directions at a rapid pace with that detail, or should I say secret. My entire life I have felt a void in my heart. Like a piece of me was missing, but I always thought that was because of my mother.
I need to find out what the truth is. Is it true, do I have a brother?
Before going down to the chambers to pay my father a visit I call Ryan, the one person I prefer not to talk to, but he is also the only person that has been in my life, my whole life, besides my father.
