Red

C H A P T E R T W E N T Y F O U R

We lay together on the bed, the white sheets stained in blood, Ace popped his stitches and the arm was still bleeding shallowly. Five rounds of rough sex clearly did that to man who had been shot.

I cuddled into his chest and circled around one of the many bruises I had caused him during our less-than intimate encounter. His whole body breathed deeply, worn out from our exercise.

“You fight well.” He commented, a mind full of thoughts.

I yawned and stretched out my limbs, feeling exhausted and well spent. I decided not to answer him, after all it wasn’t a question. He was merely making an observation.

“What was it like for you, growing up with your father?” He swallowed hard and his face contorted into a pained expression. Then he wiped it off his face and shrugged.

“I dunno, normal?” He answered.

I wondered if he felt pain at the question or for remembering his father. He only died a year ago, maybe it was still fresh to him. Was he grieving?

After a beat, he sat up and shuffled to the edge of the bed. He let out a dark chuckle and it chilled my bones. “What are we doing Red?” He asked, turning to look over his shoulder at me.

“What do you mean?” It was a simple business transaction, wasn’t that obvious to him yet?

He sighed and shook his head.

“I knew there was something different about you. You captured my attention because you were so fucking fearless when everyone else ran scared.

You didn’t let the men push you around and you never wore that same fearful look in your eyes whenever we spoke.

You approached me uninvited, you spoke to me like I was your equal and not your boss. You called me by my name. It makes sense now, you’re in the mafia, aren’t you?”

“Ace-” I began to reply, not having the energy for a big fight right now. I just wanted a big nap.

“Fuck.” He growled, making efforts to get off the bed. “You lead? Who are you with? I’ve never seen you before.”

I laughed. “You think I lead a mafia?” I was flattered at the compliment. “I don’t lead.”

“So what the fuck are we doing here? Clearly you’re here for intel or to kill me. What game are we playing? You fuck me, get me to drop my guard and then ask me questions? Because I’d prefer torture.”

“Ace,” I tugged on his arm, forcing him back onto the bed. “Just lay down. I’m unarmed, you’re unarmed. We’re tired. Let’s sleep.”

“Are you fucking crazy?” He pulled the sheet off my naked body and sat down on the bed next to me, eyes softening on the scar across my torso. His finger traced it and his thoughts roamed wild.

He knew.

“Who are you?” He asked, slowly.

His brows furrowed and I grabbed the sheet back, inching it to my collarbone. “Please, can we just sleep?”

“It’s not possible.” He whispered to himself.

It was a lot for his brain to take in, he was struggling. I pulled his arm once more, forcing him to lay down. Once I managed to get him under the sheet I shuffled towards him and cuddled into his chest.

“Why are we here Ace, at this hotel, I mean? Are you really so threatened by Valentino and Petrov that they’ve forced you into hiding?”

“It’s not like that. Petrov wants something from me that I’m not willing to give. I’m simply luring them away. I’ll take out all the threats one by one.”

“So why can’t you just fight them back at home. You have a whole army of men at your disposal and safe houses and weapons. Out here, you’re leaving yourself open. One man against hundreds of threats.”

He was still plagued with the thoughts of my identity but breathed in deeply and set a strong gaze upon me.

“My biggest threat right now is you, Red.” He admitted. “I don’t know who you are, where you’re from or what you want with me. That makes you my biggest threat.”

I took his hand and softly allowed his fingers to dust over my scar. I heard him gulp.

“You know who I am.” I told him. “Every kill is strategic. Every punch has a purpose. Every death is counted for.”

“Except one.” He mouthed slowly, drawing the blanks. “You’re the kid?” He asked, freezing momentarily on the bed. “Alessios kid? Fuck!”

Immediately he knelt up on the mattress and reached behind the headboard, pulling out a firearm, clipping it in place and pointing it at me. “So what? He faked your death and hid you away all of these years?”

I didn’t bother moving, I was too comfortable and tired. “Get up!” he yelled. “Get the fuck up and fight me!”

“Oh, just kill me. I need sleep anyway.” I admitted with disinterest and a sleepy smile.

He lowered his gun and banged his fist against his forehead in frustration, as if trying to tap the migraine right out of his skull.

“Fuck!” He shouted in distress. “I can’t believe I let you get this fucking close!”

“We’re close?” I questioned.

“I fucking fucked you!” Clearly he was freaking out and mad, oh so fucking mad. It was actually quite enjoyable to watch. “And the masks, Jesus Christ - I took my mask off in front of you.”

“Well, in your own words Ace - we just fucked. That’s all.”

I sat myself up against the headboard now. I caught a glimpse at myself in the mirror, hickies stained my golden skin, covering my entire body practically. I touched the ones on my collarbone, they still felt sensitive and sore.

He fell silent and hurt clouded in his eyes. He sat himself down on the bed next to me and dropped his voice to a lower volume.

“I don’t just fuck anyone. I haven’t fucked anyone, not for six years.”

Woah. Six years. Mentally I did the math, Ace last had sex at seventeen. But he was so good and he basically had any girl at his disposal.

“Why?”

“Because,” he started, a tone to his voice like I should already know the reason for this. “I’m the fucking leader Red.” I gestured with my hands as if to say ‘so?’ And he continued. “I’m not into this.”

He waved his finger over my body and my brows furrowed. “I mean, look at you. Look at us. You’re covered in bruises, you can’t move because your whole body aches. You have pains in places you didn’t before. That’s all because of me.”

I giggled “so it was a little rough, I can handle it and not every time with every girl needs to be like that.”

“I know.” He agreed. “But, the girls at the club, they’re scared of me. I don’t want to fuck someone who is scared of me. I would never know if I was pressuring them into something through fear. I would never want to get too rough and hurt them on accident. It would be like domestic abuse and I’m not into that.

There’s mafia boss Ace and then there’s Ace. They’re two completely different people, one hunts and kills and the other watches puppy talent show contests on television.” I smiled hugely. “I never wanted to get in bed with enemy. I never wanted to hurt the one I was sleeping with or be forced to kill her. I just wanted normal.”

“Well, it’s taken six years and you still haven’t found normal. So I think it might be time to give up looking buddy.”

“I’m not looking, I wasn’t looking. But then you turned up out of the blue and that first time, that lap dance, when I looked into your eyes, as cheesy as it sounds - I just - I felt - there was just this - connection - I wanted you to be mine.”

“Awh, you care for me.” I teased.

“Calm down, I wanted to fuck you.” He spoke stubbornly.

“You care for me.” I laughed. “That’s really sweet and really dumb. Careful Ace, you’re showing your cracks.”

He grabbed my throat, this time intentionally squeezing to cut off my oxygen. “I could put you down in a second if I needed to, don’t mistake me finding you hot for me having feelings.”

He let go of my neck and stood up, dressing himself in the clothes that messed the floor. I watched him gather his weaponry and keep them on his person, away from me. He wore a scowl on his face and his eyes never left mine, watching my every move.

“You know, you’re stupid to think Petrov is the bigger threat. My father has more man power and stronger weapons. Nikolai is an idiot, sexist too.”

“Petrov are after something that belongs to me.” Ace replied, pulling his gun backwards in preparation to shoot.

“Right, the package. What is in the package?”

“I’m asking the questions here Red. What business does Petrov have with Valentio that puts me as a mutual interest?”

“They both want you dead?” I thought that was obvious, why else would they be so willing to work together?

“No. There’s more, I know there is. Does Valentio want to get his hands on the package too?”

I didn’t answer, I’m not sure my father knows what’s inside the package. But sure, we’ll take it - if not for anything else but curiosity. What was Ace willing to go to great lengths to protect?

“Do you want the package?” He asked, assessing my silence and the interest on my face.

“Yes.” I admitted and his eyes widened, danger flashed through them and sliced right through me like a sharpened blade.

“You will never get your hands on it.” He raised the gun towards me and rested his finger on the trigger. “You or your pedo father.”

“You’re wrong about my father. He’s not into sex trafficking. He owns a drug empire, produces and disputes mass weaponry and dabbles with counterfeit money. That’s all.”

“You know nothing Red.”

“No Ace, you know nothing. Your father was corrupt.” I spat out viciously. “He kidnapped me because he wanted to put me in the child sex trafficking ring, just like all the other children I could hear screaming.”

“What you talking about?”

“It’s your organization that’s fucked Ace. The girls in your club are raped and groped by your men, under your leadership.”

He grabbed my throat and squeezed.

“Watch what the fuck you’re saying, you better get the fuck up right now!” he warned, adding more pressure to the trigger.

I sighed, throwing the sheet off me and then stood up and pressed my naked body up against his. He gripped his gun tighter.

His shirt was left unbuttoned so I trailed my hand up his bare chest and clutched the back of his neck, pulling his lips into mine.

He kissed me back instantly, his chest moving rapidly as we did. I took hold of the gun and slowly teased it out of his hands, setting it down on the desk.

“There’s a good little mafia leader.” I patronised as I guided him back to the bed.

He watched my every move, scoping out the distance between me and each weapon then mentally calculating how many seconds it would take for me to get one.

“Relax, if I wanted you dead then you would be dead by now.” I laughed.

I grabbed his arm and made him fall to the bed beside “We’re tired, let’s just sleep... we can kill each other tomorrow.” I pulled his arm across my body and skimmed my finger over his heart-shaped birthmark, smiling warmly to myself.

“How am I supposed to trust you’re not going to slit my throat while I sleep?”

I leaned down and kissed his birthmark. “Tonight Ace, I’ll give you normal.” I whispered, before his warm embrace lulled me to sleep.