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