Burnout: A Legal Heat Novella (16 page)

“What did I say about turning around, sweetheart?”

Sweetheart?

“We’re gonna pat you down now to make sure we don’t have any accidents. Unless you want to tell me if you’ve got another wire or any weapons on you.”

“Go to hell.”

The man chuckled. “He did tell us you were a bit of a firebrand. Arms out. You know the drill.”

Sophie didn’t move. “I’ve done everything you asked. Now I want to see Jason.”

His voice dropped low in warning. “You aren’t in a position to make demands.”

She pressed her lips together. Resisting was pointless at this stage, and yet she couldn’t go down without a fight, fruitless as it might be. “You touch anything you’re not supposed to touch and I’ll slice off your balls.” Ace’s threat had sounded pretty damn effective when they’d been at the beer store. She hoped it sounded as menacing coming from her, despite the lack of expletives.

“Harsh words for a pretty girl.” He positioned her arms out to the sides. “I promise to be good.”

And he was. The pat down was perfunctory at best, but he did find her weapon and the knives she had hidden up her sleeves in contravention of police policy. But after seeing how effective they could be in taking even someone as strong as Ace down, she’d made her illegal purchases at a pawn shop on Granville Street and been back in time to be wired. Good cop Sophie had become a little bit bad.

“Did you check the money?” The second voice was familiar, slightly higher in tone, younger. Her fear-fuzzed brain struggled to place it and came up blank.

“Into the light while we count the cash.” The hand on her shoulder directed her forward, and she walked toward the man in the chair, trying to make out his features. Was Jason hurt? Alive? But the light was too bright, and all she could see was the barest outline of a man surrounded by darkness. Unmoving.

S
he was terrified.

He could see her face, white in the darkness, her eyes luminescent as she tried to make him out. And yet she walked resolutely toward him. Unarmed, unwired. Nothing but courage and determination to drive her forward.

And love for her brother.

How would it feel to be loved like that? To know there was someone on the earth who would give up everything to save you? A lifetime of foster homes meant he’d never known that kind of love. Not from a family. And without that foundation, he’d never found it with a partner.

Given time, maybe he could find it with Sophie. But they’d never really had a chance. And scaring her to death wasn’t going to help resolve the issues between them.

Hopefully she’d stay long enough for him to explain. And then she’d have to shoot him.

Her steps slowed as she drew near. He knew the exact moment she could make out his features, the dawning of recognition, confusion, and then fear.

“Ace. What are you doing here? Where’s Jason?”

“Safe. Kickstand took him to the hospital. He was starved and dehydrated, and they’d roughed him up a bit.” He cringed inwardly at the lie. Jason had been beaten to a pulp and was near death when they’d found him, but she didn’t need to know that. His Sophie had been through enough.

“How did you free him?”

Ace shifted in his chair and Sophie startled. Damn. This wasn’t going as well as he’d hoped. He wanted to see trust in her eyes, not wariness.
Definitely don’t tell her Ice tortured Andre in the clubhouse dungeon.

“Ice had another… talk… with Andre in the… basement. He gave up the location of the weapons as well as the safe house where Jason had hidden the money. Then we got in touch with the Mountain Master. Had a nice chat. Worked out a deal whereby they gave us Jason in exchange for the weapons and his money. Worked out well for everyone. The Red Dragons now owe us a favour. Everyone is safe. Once you report back, Jason will be put under police protection.”

She chewed on her bottom lip, but her face remained an expressionless mask. Was she happy? Relieved? Angry? Anticipation ratcheted through him. If she could just give him a clue…

“It’s all here. Unmarked. No tracking device and no counterfeit bills.” Kickstand joined them in the circle of light.

“Give it to Spook. He’ll take it back to the clubhouse.” Ryder waved Kickstand to the back door. “Out. Now. Make sure no one comes in.”

Sophie froze as Kickstand ran for the door. “You’re taking the ransom money? That’s stealing.”

Unable to keep away, Ace pushed himself out of the chair, wincing at the pain in his shoulder. “Cost of business, babe. Someone has to pay the bills. And that money was written off the minute they put it in the bag. They paid to get Jason back, and they will. They’ll recoup the costs through the number of criminals Jason will put behind bars with his testimony.”

“What about the police? They should have been here after you took away my surveillance equipment.”

Ryder stepped out of the darkness. “Ice is holding them off. We needed to work anonymously, so we had to play the game until we were sure you had no more wires on you and you weren’t armed.”

Ace reached for her, but she stepped away. His heart sank. He had to give her time. She needed to reconcile what she would see as the theft of the two hundred thousand dollars with the good they had also done and the neat way they had resolved the entire situation.

“So what happens now?” she said softly.

“We were never here. You go out. Tell the police the Red Dragons took your wire, phone, and the money but told you Jason had been released. There will be footprints down by the river to keep them entertained for a while. Meanwhile, the police will get a tip that someone dropped Jason off at the hospital. They’ll put him in witness protection. He’s willing to play ball, and he can take down a lot of people.”

“And I’m involved in a cover-up.”

Ace pressed a kiss to her forehead. “And a shooting.”

She stared at him aghast. “What? Who am I going to shoot?”

He took a step back and spread his arms wide. “Me.”

*     *     *

Shoot Ace?

“I’m angry that you did all this without telling me,” Sophie said. “And that you didn’t get in touch. And that you’ve put me in a position where I have to go back and lie to the police. But I’m not going to shoot you over it.”

Ryder gave her a sympathetic look. “You have to shoot him. It’s his only way out of the MC. I’m already struggling to maintain control. If I let a senior patch like Ace leave the club for no legitimate reason, it would undermine my authority and lead to anarchy. People will be hurt, killed. And not just bikers. Old ladies are at risk. Sweet butts. Kids. Innocent bystanders. We make a lifelong commitment when we join a one-percenter club, and there are not many ways to break it.”

Her gaze flicked to Ace. “You’d rather die than stay with the club?”

“If I can’t ride, I can’t be in the club. Ryder came up with the idea of you shooting me in the leg. Then he can let me go on good terms, his authority isn’t compromised, and—”

“Do you hear yourself?” Sophie raised her voice to a shout. She didn’t give a damn if Dan or any of the SWAT team heard her. In fact, she hoped they did. “You want me to shoot you in the leg? Do you have any idea of the risk? Your upper thigh is rich with vascularity. If I hit it, you could bleed out in seconds if one of the major arteries is severed.”

“Aim lower.” Ace spread his legs and pointed at his calf. “Maybe below the knee.”

Sophie groaned. “Ace, what you’re asking is precision shooting. It’s hard even for experts.”

“Which you are.” His voice dropped, rich and warm, calm and confident. “I trust you, Sophie.”

She scrubbed her hands over her face. “Couldn’t we just pretend? Fake a wound? Or use a knife? Or you could pretend you were killed and move to another province or up north. You could go to Mexico…”

“Babe.” He closed the distance between them and took her hands in his. “This is the only way. It has to be real. Everyone will want to see the injury. They will all try to convince me to ride. I’m prepared to give up my bike, maybe even a piece of my leg, for a chance at a real life with you.”

Emotion welled up in her chest. “Ace…”

“I know we haven’t known each other long,” he said. “But you woke me up to the possibility of living a dream I never thought I could have. I want that dream with you. I love you, Sophie, but I don’t want you to feel like you gotta stay ’cause you did this. If it doesn’t work out between us, if you don’t feel the same way about me, then I’ll accept it and move on. But I want that chance, the choice, a life with someone I love and kids and a family where I don’t have to worry that someone’s gonna die or someone’s gonna get shot or I’m not going to make it home that night.”

“That’s
my
job,” she whispered.

“And I love that about you.” He wrapped his arms around her, squeezed her in a hug. “I love that you believe in what you do. Your determination. Your commitment. Your dedication. You inspire me, humble me, make me want to be a better man. It won’t be easy for me, babe, but I can deal if it means I get to hold you at night and kiss you in the morning.”

Ace stepped back and Ryder handed her the .22. “We don’t have much time. Ice can’t hold them off forever.” He walked over to Ace and shook his hand. “You ever need anything, I’ll always have your back.”

“And I owe you a debt,” Ace said. “Thank you, brother.” He shrugged off his cut, folded it carefully, and handed it to Ryder.

Ryder stared at it for a long moment, and his corded throat tightened when he swallowed. “I’m going to keep this, brother. Maybe one day I’ll have the club I dreamed about. And when I do, I’ll come knocking on your door.”

Sophie wrapped her hand around the cold, hard steel and drew in a shuddering breath. “I couldn’t do this before.” Her voice wavered. “When Ryan was standing in front of me with a knife in his hand, I couldn’t pull the trigger. I loved…”

No.
She trailed off, the gun hanging by her side. What she’d felt for Ryan wasn’t love. But this… Ace… the way he made her laugh, the things he had done to protect her, to show her he cared, his patience and understanding, his faith in her… this was the foundation of love. Maybe the reason she’d spared Ryan’s life was simple compassion.

What she was going to do now was love.

“I love you, Ace.” She aimed her gun and fired.

“I
don’t want
to go to a cop party,” Ace grumbled as they walked up the sidewalk toward Gary’s well-kept character home on Napier Street. “It’ll be full of cops.”

Sophie clasped his hand and gave it a squeeze. “Think of it as a business opportunity. Everyone is doing home renos. Now that you’ve got your journeyman certificate, they’ll be beating down your door.”

“Our door.” He winced as they mounted the steps, and a sliver of guilt speared through Sophie’s chest. Although it had been six months since his injury, Ace felt everything in his leg—from car doors slamming to intense emotions—and he still walked with a limp. But hard work, dedication, and intense rehab meant he was healing fast. He rode his bike a few hundred miles a week, worked out at the gym every day, and loved her hard at night.

Our door.

After leaving the clubhouse, Ace had rented a small apartment a few blocks away from Sophie. But after three months of carrying her clothes around in a plastic shopping bag, she’d decided they might as well move in together. What was the point of paying rent for two places when they slept together every night? Besides, Ace still needed help and he couldn’t drive. Although she’d shot him at his request, she still felt responsible. And then there were the nightmares.

Her shot had been clean and deadly accurate, piercing his upper thigh without hitting any major arteries or bones. But she still woke up at night, heart pounding, caught in a nightmare where her bullet had been a few centimeters off target and Ace was dead.

Ace’s strong arms and soft words beat back her fears, but she still found it hard to believe he felt only gratitude for what she had done and not even a sliver of resentment. As good as his word, Ryder had promptly kicked Ace out of the club because he couldn’t ride. The MC had held a good-bye party for him that involved inspecting his injury and making offers on his bike. After he’d sold it to Kickstand for only a fraction of the cost, the party had devolved into a drunken orgy, and Sophie had beat a fast retreat, only to discover Ace was right behind. There was only one woman he wanted, he’d said. And only one place he wanted to be.

Taking a deep breath, she walked into the house and Ace followed her in. The X Ambassadors’ “Renegades” played through the speakers, and the soft hum of conversation filled the living room, decorated in muted taupe and beige. She hesitated in the doorway, remembering her first night in Vancouver and the party that had started her new life. She’d been so unsure about the move, desperate to find her way again, uncertain whether she’d made the right decision to return to law enforcement after losing her faith in herself. She wished she could go back to that moment and tell the old Sophie she’d done the right thing. And she wished she could have told Jason good-bye. Sometimes she missed him so much she ached inside, but she took comfort in the knowledge he was safe and living a new life—just like her.

She walked through the house looking for Sam. If memory served, he would be with Gary in the kitchen, pouring drinks and swapping war stories with his police buddies.

A smile tugged at her lips when she caught sight of him. There was no doubt he and Ace were brothers. Although an inch or two shorter than Ace, Sam had the same broad build, chiselled jaw, dark hair, and rich brown eyes. But the differences stopped there. Sam had been adopted by a warm, loving family, and raised in a stable home. He had trained as a police officer straight out of high school, and now worked as a staff sergeant in the VPD Canine Unit.

“Ace!” Sam greeted him with a hug and a clap on the back. Skinner had kept his word and managed to track Sam down through old adoption records. He’d laughed when he handed her Sam’s details. Three months of searching and Sam was working only a few blocks away.