Ace (Reckless Souls MC 2)
She’s as stubborn as I am, but I appreciate the information, so I’ll send her a bottle of good vodka because she’ll never send it back.
I use the ride back to Angel Harbor to clear my head, to let my bike become one with the road, the wind whipping against my skin. My first stop is Ace Motors to check on the status of Kenna’s Audi.
“Hey, boss!” Luca smiles from his spot under the familiar green Audi. “Your girl’s car is about done. Figured I’d take a peek under to make sure only the tires were tampered with.”
“Good. Find anything?”
“All good. We’ll deliver it to her in the next hour.”
“Great. Coop around?”
Luca nods. “He’s up front doing a quote.” Luca let out a laugh that says better Coop than him, and I smile, then go wait for Coop in his office.
“Ace.” Coop stops at the door when he sees me, and his smile fades quickly. “What’s up?”
“Found out who Grace’s boyfriend was. Nico Seppi, a patched member of the Iron Kings. Lives up in LA. With his mother.”
“Shit,” he bites out. “You think Grace knew he was in the MC?”
I nod. “Explains why she kept him a secret from McKenna.”
Coop flashes a crooked grin to go along with his acknowledging nod. “Yeah, it does. So, what do you want to do about it?”
“Find Nico. Yesterday.” A snowball has a greater chance in hell than we do of getting Nico to talk to a rival MC. But it’s our best move for now.
“I’m on it.” Coop stands a little taller and puts on his battle face. “Anything else?”
“Yeah, take Jordi with you. He’s good, a little wild, and more than capable, but I need to know we can trust him to do what’s in the club’s best interest first, above his need to blow shit up.”
Coop lets out a deep chuckle. “I’ll tame him, Ace, no worries.”
“Good. Find this Nico and bring him to me. Alive. The quicker, the better.”
Coop nods and reaches for his sunglasses before he rushes off to follow orders. I relax a little, knowing that if Nico is still alive, Coop will have him standing in front of me within the next forty-eight hours. He’s a solid member of the crew, and the one time it’s paid off to trust a Nomad.
Once I have Nico, I’ll have answers, and then we can figure out what to do next as a club.
With that settled, my thoughts inevitably turn to McKenna, which pisses me the fuck off. Now is the worst time imaginable for me to get mixed up with a woman, especially a rich woman, one who has a clear hate-on for bikers. But just thinking about her has my cock stirring to life, which means it’s time to head to the gym.
But not before I send a quick text to her. It’s only fair I’m on her mind since she’s moved into mine.
See you soon, Kenna.
I slide the phone into my pocket and vow not to check it until after my workout.
Chapter Nineteen
McKenna
See you soon, Kenna.
Mark sent that message two days ago, and I have yet to lay eyes on him, which is maddening, frustrating, and just damned annoying. I want to see him, to smell him and touch him and taste him too, even though I can’t want any of that.
See you soon. What in the hell does that even mean, anyway? Is it a threat or a promise? Can a threat also be a promise?
“Working hard or hardly working?” The playful voice of Lori, my manager, startles me, and I act like I got caught doing something wrong.
“I’m working,” I insist with a smile. “But I’m also daydreaming, apparently. Or maybe I’m overthinking again.”
Lori rests one elbow on the counter, her eyes scanning the half-empty dining area for customers needing attention. “About a man? It’s always about a man, isn’t it?”
It’s most definitely about a man, a man who is a ten-thousand-percent alpha male who makes my toes curl even if he shouldn’t. Mark is more than a man.
His body is a lethal weapon in bed, yet he holds back more than he lets loose, except for during sex. Ace isn’t just a man; he’s the reason I can’t hold more than one thought in my head at a time. And that thought? Him.
Lori laughs and shakes her hand like she’s just touched a hot stove. “Oh wow, it is a man!” She pushes off the counter and saunters over to a table of businessmen out for lunch, flirting while she checks on them.
I smile at Lori’s antics and slide one final gaze at my phone screen before shoving it in my back pocket and getting back to work. I can’t fall for Mark, no matter how hot he is, no matter how incredible the sex is. We are all wrong for each other.