Kace (Allen Securities) (10 page)

* * *

Kace cursed, this had escalated entirely too fast.

Finn moved back after breaking the man’s jaw. “Don’t you ever fucking touch her again.”

The man laughed, his jaw at an odd angle. When he spoke, his speech was distorted.

“Look at that, big boss has it for innocent woman. Well let me tell you, she’s not so innocent. Likes it when you’re rough with her.” He laughed when Alyssa started crying.

“Stop talking about her,” Finn ground out. “Or I won’t stop at your fucking jaw.”

Kace wasn’t surprised that Finn had won out for leadership. Seeing him in his glory, this was not a man that you took lightly.

He glanced over to Jessica and Alyssa. The poor woman stood shaking to the core while Jessica tried to comfort her.

“Whatever.” The man spat out blood. “Her pussy ain’t that great. You can have her. Figure I used her pretty good already.”

The man laughed as Ryder and Liam jumped in front of Finn.

He stood calmly behind them. Acid laced his voice. “One day, you and I are going to meet up. We’ll see what you have to say then.”

The man turned his ugly head as police flooded the room. Terrified customers fled from the club when the officers came in. Obviously someone had called. The police must have assumed the Russians had made their move.

Kace saw a few he knew and pointed to the other man.

“Arrest him,” he said. “Assault, disturbing the peace, trespassing and for being a jackass.”

They stood back as the team of men tackled the large man. It was almost like watching a giant fall. The man glared at Finn from the floor.

“You’ll fucking pay for this,” the man said.

Finn laughed. “You come and see me when you get out.”

Kace watched as they pulled the man out of the club. Somehow, he knew this wasn’t going to look good when he contacted Lt. Jackson, but what was he supposed to do?

* * *

“Allen!” He cringed when his superior officer came around the corner of the club. Somehow he knew this was coming. He had avoided calling in for some time, since he knew that it would be hard for him to lie about how he was feeling. The truth was, things weren’t as cut and dry as he had been told.

“You want to tell me what they fuck is going on?” The burly black man glared menacingly at him, and he looked around. Nearly all eyes were on the two, likely looking for the next fight.

“Sir.” He glanced at the back door. “Let’s step out there.” He leaned in a little closer. “I don’t think some of these people can take much more yelling.”

“Fine,” Lt. Jackson said. He marched to the back door.

Kace found Jessica across the room and held up a finger. She nodded and sat with Alyssa at the bar.

When the door shut behind him, he could feel his future slipping between his fingers.

“What the hell is going on around here?” Lt. Jackson paced in front of him. The light from the sidewalk, fifteen feet away, cast an eerie glow. “Fights, not calling in, and I know you’ve been getting a little too close with that woman.”

Kace sighed. “Aside from fending off attacks, I really don’t have much to tell, sir.”

“Bullshit.” He stepped closer. “What about the woman?”

“She’s a key part to this,” he said. “You told me to stay with her.”

“Stay with her, not fuck her,” the man said.

Kace felt his blood boil. “All due respect, sir, who I fuck is none of you or anyone else’s business.”

He spun on his heels and walked to the door.

“Son,” the older man said. “I just don’t want to see you piss away what you’ve worked so hard for just for some woman. You keep that in mind.”

Kace clamped his mouth shut and gave a curt nod before going inside.

He let out a sigh. Last thing they needed was to be dealing with this bullshit.

Looking up, he found Jessica and sighed. This was not how he had planned to spend the evening. She glanced up, and he smiled. Even in the worst situation, she still looked amazing. Kace groaned. He was fairly sure she would be worth pissing his career away.

* * *

Jessica and Meg had pulled the women to the bar as Dale and the limited staff closed things up. She was certain she would be getting more resignation calls in the morning.

She glanced over to the women. Irene and Alyssa just weren’t made to handle this kind of stress. The two women sat very quietly. She wondered if there was something more that could be done.

“Here,” Jessica said and placed shots in front of them. “I think we could all do with a whisky shot.”

Without hesitation, Irene slammed back the drink. It was more than a little surprising to see her this way. Alyssa sipped the shot. Jessica and Meg glanced at one another. This was going to be much harder than either had expected.

Ryder stopped beside Irene. “I can take you home if you want.”

She looked up at the other women but nodded. Irene stood and leaned across to give Jessica a hug.

“Be safe,” she said.

Jessica nodded. “You too.”

She watched as Irene trailed behind the hulking man.

Tired, she sat in the now vacated chair. A warm hand moved along her back, and she blinked her eyes open. She must have had dozed off for a moment.

“Let’s get you home,” Kace said next to her ear.

She smiled and looked at him from her folded arms. He looked just as tired as she felt and wondered if he was also having trouble.

“What about Meg and Alyssa?” she said, glancing around.

“Finn and Liam are going to take them home,” he said.

Jessica gave a dry smile. “I’m sure Meg is thrilled.”

Kace gave a chuckle. “Something like that.” He slipped a hand to her side and guided her to stand.

They moved quietly through the main club to the entrance. There were still a few police lingering outside, and she smiled as several waved to Kace. It was obvious he was popular at the station. No surprise though. He seemed like the kind of guy that would always say yes, even when he had more than enough reason to say no.

She snuggled into the car after he shut the door.

Jessica yawned heavily as they drove to her house. She wanted to keep her eyes open but just couldn’t seem to do it for much longer. She jumped when the car came to a stop.

Her heart jumped a little when he got out and came to her side of the car. She climbed out and stood in front of him.

“Just sleep,” he said quietly.

She blushed and nodded. He held her hand as she climbed the stairs to the house. When they got to the top, she frowned.

“That’s weird,” she said.

She jumped when Kace peered around her.

He placed an arm around her and pulled her back. When he was in front, Kace pulled his gun from the holster.

“Stay here,” he said.

She placed a hand on his arm. “What if they are out here?”

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Okay, follow me, but stay quiet and at the first sign of trouble, you run.”

Jessica nodded.

Kace silently pushed open the door and moved into the house. Figuring lights were better than nothing, he flipped them on. Nothing seemed out of place. As they moved to the living room, they noticed the note taped to the mirror over the fireplace.

He went over and pulled it down.

“They aren’t very creative,” Jessica said from behind him.

“They don’t really need to be,” he said.

The message was clear and direct: quit working at the bar or pay the price. He scratched his chin a little as he tried to piece the whole thing together. It just didn’t make sense. Why try to run off the business if this was just revenge? That wasn’t really how the Russians operated.

He sighed. This shit wasn’t going to get sorted at this hour. They were both exhausted and in need of a decent night’s sleep.

“Go pack a bag. I’m going to make a few calls.”

He pulled out his phone but stopped when she looked like she wanted to disagree. Kace put his hands on her shoulders.

“It’s late. We’ve both beat, and what we need is to rest.” He brushed some hair from her face.

Jessica nodded and went up the steps. When she was out of sight, he placed a call to Liam.

“We’ve got a problem,” he said quietly. “When Jessica got home, there was a note taped inside the house. It was a warning.”

He waited as Liam explained the situation to Finn.

“We’re on our way. You staying?”

“I’ve got her packing a bag. I’m going to call Ryder, so he can pass on to her sister to just stay put for a few days.” He cleared his throat as she came back down. “So we’re leaving. Let me know what you find.”

“Will do, but this all seems so out of the norm for the Russians,” Liam said.

He looked over to Jessica. “I was thinking the same thing.”

He hung up and called Ryder. “Is Irene still with you?”

“Yes,” he said stiffly.

“Tell her to keep Victoria for a few days. Their place was broken into, and the Russians left a warning.”

“I will,” Ryder said.

When he hung up his phone, she was staring at him.

“A few days?”

Kace nodded. “Just in case. Better to be safe than sorry.”

Jessica sighed, and he knew he had won.

“Well, let’s go then,” she said.

Chapter Ten

When they arrived at Kace’s house, it was so very different than what she would expect from a cop. The old Victorian just didn’t seem to put off the macho feel that she always got from him. It was only when they stepped in that she really felt the macho air.

All the wood had a dark finish but didn’t really bring down the overall feel. She set her bag on the oversized couch and snickered a little at the abundance of electronic equipment.

“Can I get you anything?” Kace asked. “A drink, something to eat?” He came around to stand in the doorway to the kitchen.

Jessica licked her lips. What she could really use was another shot, but it likely wouldn’t be a good idea.

“Water would be good,” she said and followed him into the kitchen. “Nice,” she said, looking around.

He smiled brightly as he handed her a bottle of water.

“Thanks,” he said. “Did it all myself.”

She let out a low whistle. “It’s great work. Do you cook?”

He looked to the side and seemed a little embarrassed. “I do. How about you?”

Jessica laughed. “Not unless you count boxed mac and cheese.”

Kace wrinkled his nose. “How about you let me make dinner sometime?”

Her heart jumped in her chest.

“I’d like that.” She smiled.

She stared at him for a moment across the island. Something about him pulled her, and despite the situation, she felt herself drawn to him.

Kace cleared his throat as she continued to stare.

“How about some popcorn and a movie?” he asked and then glanced at the clock on the wall. “Unless you’d like to just go to bed.”

Jessica yawned. “I think a movie would be a good way to wind down.”

“Great,” he said. “Make yourself at home, and I’ll get the popcorn.”

Jessica glanced into the living room and spotted the bathroom down the hall. Right now, all she could think was to get out of her heels and slip on something more comfortable.

Kace nearly choked on his drink when he came in the room. She was curled up on the couch. She had changed to a slinky red shorts and tank combo.

He grabbed a blanket from the closet and tossed it to her.

“In case you get cold,” he said and cursed himself.

He wanted her to cover up, but only because it was driving him crazy. Not because he didn’t want to look.

After placing the popcorn between them, Kace sat on the other side of the couch.

“Have any preference what we watch?”

Jessica shook her head and nibbled quietly on the popcorn. When he picked an action movie, she moved the popcorn to the table and moved to his side. Surprised, he lifted his arm, and she snuggled into his side.

“I just,” she sighed in to his arm. “Just hold me.”

Slowly, he relaxed with her in his arms and enjoyed the feel of her curves next to him.

She twisted and rested her cheek on his chest. Kace looked down. She was staring up at him.

“You think they’ll come back?” she said quietly.

“They will,” he said. She sat up slightly to look at him. “The Russians mean business.”

She shivered. He pulled her closer.

“Have you thought about doing something else?” he asked.

Jessica gave a sad smile and shook her head. “What else would I do? I didn’t go to college, and I’ve got Victoria’s school to pay for. Finn pays me well. More than I could make anywhere else.”

Kace frowned. “He’s trouble.”

Jessica laughed.

“If you hadn’t noticed, you’re trouble too,” she said and laughed harder when he frowned.

“I’m not trouble,” he said and turned away.

Her small hand cupped his cheek and turned his head back to look at her.

“Oh you are absolutely trouble,” she said. Her finger brushed his lower lip, and she focused on his mouth.

“I thought you were tired,” he said.

She shrugged, and he felt his body come to life.

“I think you’re the one that’s trouble,” he growled and pulled her to him.

When their mouths met, he took her in a powerful kiss.

He groaned when she moved her body and straddled his legs. His hand skimmed up the back of her legs and cupped her ass. The satin fabric skated easily over her skin as he kneaded the flesh under his palms.

Jessica pulled back from the kiss and groaned his name. Eagerly, he moved his mouth to her ear and along her neck. He sucked and licked along her soft skin.

He jumped when she settled her warm heat over his aching cock and rocked against him.

His hands moved to her hips to still her movement. He chuckled when she huffed her irritation. Kace moved his lips to her ear.

“I’m not going to last if you do that,” he said. “I’ve been dreaming about this for far too long.”

Kace lifted her off and stood abruptly. He switched the TV off and went through the room turning off lights, leaving only a small wall lamp on.