Back in Ace’s office has me more on edge than the last visit.
Sloane is in the kitchen with Collins and Hayes, Killian opting to go with them than stay.
The fire is gone, and the lights are dimmed, shadows filling the room. Ace stands behind her desk, hands shoved into her pockets. She’s dressed in all black again.
Similar to me, I stand behind the armchairs. I don’t trust her to sit. Not after our last time together.
“My product is missing.”
It’s so cold, the temperature dropping along with it. I fight off the urge to shudder, keeping my eyes locked on the psychotic woman.
“I know.”
“Where did it go?”
I pinch the bridge of my nose warily. “I don’t know, Ace. I’m looking into it.”
When I look back to her, a knife is flipping in her hand, fingers pinch the tip. Over and over, it flips, a metallic sound cutting the air. It’s as menacing at the look she’s giving me.
“You’ve had a week. I’ve had shipments stopped and still, no news.” The words are deadly calm. “You’re married to my sister. I let you into my family. Let you have one of the most precious things I have. And when I trust you to do your fucking job, you lose my shipment.”
The knife sails through the air, stabbing the wooden door at my ear. It doesn’t cut me, but I feel the gust. A warning. A well-placed warning.
Sweat dots my brow, fear spiking in my gut as the closeness of the blade. I steel my spine but even I know how precarious this situation is.
Ace could kill me without a second thought. Worry and fear sit like led in my gut. I’m on borrowed time.
“Do you plan on killing me, Ace?”
“I’m considering it,” she retorts, eyes black. “I trusted you. We have a contract. Now I hear my sister is learning to shoot.”
“My wife,” I correct her. “Nico and I both thought she should learn. It’s a tragedy she was never taught, especially as the daughter to a Captain. It’s an asset.”
She glares, face paling. “I had my reasons.”
“And she’s a De Luca now,” I remind her, pulling the knife from the door. It’s a pearl inlaid handle, with a delicate blade. Meant for a woman to hold.
I notice it’s the same blade Sloane keeps on her person, always tucked away.
“You love to remind me of that.”
“You like to forget.” I hold the knife out to her, an act of truce. Thankfully, this time, I’ve learned to keep my temper in check and speak to Ace like a business associate.
“I don’t forget,” she says slowly, plucking the knife from my hand. “But she’s an O’Brien first and I protect my siblings.”
It’s the first time Ace has seemed vulnerable. If being prickly and plotting my death counts as vulnerable for the woman.
I decide to meet her halfway. I can’t let emotions run high or risk losing her alliance. That’s what the mole wants. “I protect my family, Ace. Sloane is my family. You are my family too. I would never risk your product or your clan. Not on purpose.”
This appeases her, the tension draining from her shoulders. “Where are you at with it?” She sits into the chair, curling her legs under her body.
“Frankly, nowhere. The mole is taking shipments, rerouting them. I have Killian looking into names.”
As much as I don’t want to rely on the reaper, he’s a good choice. He’s outside the organizations and can see things clearer than I can.
“I want those names.”
I shrug. “I don’t have any yet.”
Now, she smiles wide. “You’re lying.”
I stare, keeping my face neutral. Because fuck, Ace is absolutely terrifying. It’s no wonder why Ferguson left the clan in her hands.
“You have a suspicion. But you won’t tell me who.” That smirk grows. “Is it because you think I’ll kill them?”
“I know you will.” She stops short.
Tilting her head, there’s a flash of something I wasn’t expecting. Respect.
“Fine. Killian is working with you to find the leak. You have names you won’t give me.” Her green eyes are fighting the black, and therefore her rage. “I’ll continue to stall my shipments. I can’t have more of my things taken because you can’t handle your business.”
I don’t let the bite in her words get under my skin. Because she’s fucking right.
I can’t handle my organization and now, the rivals are starting to notice it too. That means weakness.
I will not be weak.
“And what do you want in exchange for such a mercy?” It’s sarcastic but not untrue.
It’s a blessing. Ace is under no restraints to kill me. It’s within the contract to do so. But I won’t make it easy on her.
“Why do you think you’re losing your shipments?”
Sighing, I lean against the door, hands sliding into my pants. I might look relaxed, but my eyes don’t leave her knife because I don’t trust her. “They’re after me. After what I have. Business, family. Take your pick.”
She nods, glancing to the left. “Did you find who mugged Sloane?”
My blood boils at the reminder. At my inability to keep her safe. I’ve yet to find any liable leads there either.
I feel incompetent. I feel like a failure—as a Capo and as a husband.
“No. But she seems to have dealt with it.”
“Of course, she has.” Ace glares at me. “Sloane is stronger than you think. She doesn’t let anything stop her.”
My eyebrows rise in surprise. After the last interaction and how Sloane responds to her sister’s name, I assumed the hate went both ways. Clearly, that’s not the case.
“They didn’t take her ring. They left it. Took everything else.”
Ace gives me a small, pleased smile. I’ve figured something out, stumbled upon something that she already noticed.
“And what does that tell you?” There’s a pricking on my skull as her words echo within my skull.
Everything. It tells me everything. “I need to go.”
I open the door, Killian leaning by the frame. He gives me a once-over, glancing back to Ace sitting in her chair. “Good talk?”
Ace shakes her head, turning back to her computer. “I expect results before the auction.”
“You’ll be going?” The auction is only in four days.
“Nico wanted both sides to be present. To show a strong front against the rivals in the city.” To show that our alliance is strong. That we, as a unit, are strong. It’s a statement to the city but to the mole too.
Nodding, I slip around Killian. “I’ll have answers by then.”
