Chapter Six

CHAPTER SIX

Ace

M y brothers were uncharacteristically quiet as they stared at me. I gritted my teeth, beyond annoyed. They’d busted up inside Gunner’s home, inside my safe space, as if they had some kind of right to. As if I wasn’t an adult capable of taking care of myself. Shaw and Konrad had trained me extensively on hand-to-hand combat, as well as knife-wielding and guns. I wasn’t some kid anymore, even if they liked to think I was. I was an adult now. I could take care of myself.

“You’re awfully quiet,” Konrad finally said as Gunner walked into the room, holding two mugs of coffee. He handed me one before standing beside me, his hand coming down to rest on my shoulder. I relaxed a bit. Gunner would always be there. Would always be ready to comfort me and be my strength when I felt off-balance. And boy, did I feel off-balance right then.

“How would you feel if someone broke your door down and busted into your safe space?” I snapped at him. He had the decency to look chastised. Shaw winced. “You owe Gunner a new fucking door, by the way. You could’ve knocked like sensible adults.”

“We thought you’d been kidnapped,” Shaw quietly explained. “We heard him saying your name, and we just?—”

“Lost your shit?” I demanded, feeling bratty and sullen. They were always on my case about my explosions, but it was okay for them to act without thinking first?

Gunner gently squeezed my shoulder. I lifted my mug of coffee to my lips, sighing when the sugary goodness exploded over my tastebuds. Gunner made the best fucking coffee ever.

“You would’ve done the same if it’d been one of us,” Cameron said, scowling at me.

I scoffed. “Actually, no, I wouldn’t,” I retorted. “Because you guys always treat me like a little fucking kid, so I would’ve been at the back of the line and the last one through the door. Like always,” I bitterly reminded him.

Jax sighed and draped his arms over the back of the chair he was sitting in, frowning at me through his thick beard. “You’ve always been the one we protect the most, Ace,” he quietly reminded me. I knew that. Jax had always gone out of his way to stay in touch with me, even when he was in prison. When everyone else left and lost all contact with me, Jax had stuck around, even from behind prison walls. And when my foster home had been investigated and my foster parents had been charged with child abuse, child pornography, child neglect, sexual assault, and a slew of other charges, Jax had been the one to call Shaw and Konrad, which led to Konrad gaining custody of me so I didn’t have to go to another group home.

I tried my best not to be snippy with Jax because of how much and how long he’d been there for me. Because he’d always been the one constant thing in my life. The one person who didn’t abandon me.

“You need to come home,” Arlo said.

I glared at him, my hands tightening around my coffee mug. Gunner let loose a low, displeased growl that made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

“I’m not going anywhere,” I bit out, glaring at him. “I’m staying right here. With Gunner.”

Arlo scowled at me. “Ace?—”

“No,” I snapped. “I’m staying here . I want to stay with Gunner. You can’t make me come home.”

“What an adult response,” Cameron said, rolling his eyes.

“You got anything to truly contribute besides snide fucking comments?” Gunner finally snapped, looking at Cameron. Cameron’s upper lip curled at him in disgust. I tensed. Cameron was a hothead, and while I was angry with my brothers, I didn’t want Gunner to hate them. And I didn’t want them to fight. “Ace has had a rough couple of days. The least bit of decency you could show is shutting the fuck up unless you have something to actually contribute.”

Cameron jerked to his feet, but Jax stood as well, shoving him back down onto the couch. Cameron glared at him but didn’t say a word. If there was anyone all of us dreaded actually going against, it was Jax. The way he could just shut his emotions off was eerie and disturbing. The only person he truly felt anything for was Blakely, and even then, I was pretty sure some of what he should have been feeling for her was like… muted or something. Like he couldn’t feel love all the way.

“Can we all be adults here?” Shaw asked, sounding exasperated. He looked at me. “You know you need to come home, Ace. We have… things to deal with. Tensions are… high.”

I shook my head and set my coffee aside, tension thrumming through my body. “I’m not coming home. I’m not leaving Gunner. What part of that don’t you get?” I was beyond frustrated. Everyone had taken so well to everyone else’s significant others, and I knew if any of them asked to leave the club, they’d go. Without hesitation. Especially Konrad. He loved Blu and Grey more than he loved any of us. So, why was it so damn difficult to make them see and understand that I wanted to be with Gunner?

“Kid…”

“Stop calling me kid !” I snapped, finally losing my cool. “I’m not leaving him. You can’t make me. You can’t sweet talk me into leaving. I’m staying here . I’m happy here. Why can’t I just be fucking happy?!” I yelled, my throat burning with tears.

“Easy, Ace baby,” Gunner murmured. He moved around so he was in front of me, blocking my view of my family. My chest heaved. It felt like it was going to cave in. I reached up and clung to his shirt, anchoring myself to him. Like I was afraid they might snatch me away and force me to leave him.

“I don’t want to go,” I croaked.

He tenderly cupped my cheeks, stroking his thumbs beneath my eyes. “No one is going to force you,” he assured me. “Over my dead body will they make you do anything you don’t want to do.”

“That can be arranged,” Cameron snarked.

“Cameron, shut the fuck up,” Konrad growled. “You’re making shit worse.”

Gunner kept our eyes locked. “You hear me, baby? Only over my dead body.” I sniffled and nodded, willing my tears to remain in my eyes. Papa was here. Papa would keep me safe. Keep me with him. “Why don’t you go upstairs and unwind for a bit? I’ll be up shortly. I just need to talk to your brothers first, okay?”

I nodded again. He pressed a tender kiss to my lips before gripping me under my arms and hauling me up. After he gave me a tight hug that seemed to squish me back together, he sent me on my way. Once I was upstairs and burrowed beneath the blankets, surrounded by Gunner’s scent, I heard him begin to speak.

“Look… I know you guys are protective of him. I know a lot of this is alarming for you. But Ace has… latched onto me. I soothe something inside of him. He needs me, even if none of you want to admit it or face that fact. If you force him away from here, he’ll hate you—the kind of hate that never goes away. And I’m not letting you take him.”

Someone sighed. “I get you two are attached,” Konrad began. “I do. I swear to fucking Christ, I get it more than anyone. I’ve got two partners of my own who latched onto me like leeches, and I can’t imagine my life without them. But we need him home. We have shit we’re working on—something huge. And now is the time to band together. Not be apart.”

“Tell me what’s going on,” Gunner demanded.

“It’s club business,” Shaw said, his voice hard and firm.

“Yeah, but clearly, he’s here to stay,” Jax grumbled. “Might as well tell him. He’s the only chance we have of getting Ace back home.”

Shaw sighed, sounding defeated. “There’s a sex trafficking ring back home that we’re trying to dismantle. We’ve finally got the bigger players, and we’re working on a plan to take them down. This is going to be an all-hands-on-deck matter. We need him home.”

“And we need to know he’s safe,” Cameron added, surprising me. “He gets on my nerves like no other, but Ace is our brother. These last two days have been goddamn hell on all of us. We had no idea if he was dead or alive. All we found was the SUV. No sign of him.”

“I get it,” Gunner said, his voice all low and rumbly in that way that made me feel all warm and safe. “I’ll talk to him. But if he still doesn’t want to leave…” He paused, letting that hang in the air for a moment. “No one will be forcing him.”

“He’s not a toy you get to just keep,” Arlo sneered.

“And he’s not a fucking doll you can just force to do whatever,” Gunner retorted, his voice hard and unforgiving. “He’s a fucking human being capable of making his own choices. If he’s grown enough to be involved in this shit you’ve got going on at home, then he’s grown enough to decide if he wants to be involved. Clear?”

No one said anything. I held my breath, but a moment later, Gunner emerged at the top of the stairs, his eyes immediately landing on me. I held out a hand for him, and without a word, he slid into bed beside me, wrapping me up in his arms.

“You won’t let them take me, right?” I asked quietly. “You promised.”

“No, sweet boy, they won’t take you.” He pressed a kiss to my forehead. “But it sounds like you’re needed at home.” He cupped my cheek, peering down at me with those pretty blue eyes. They were a couple of shades lighter than mine. “What if I came with you?”

I frowned. “But you have a home here. I can’t take you from that.”

Gunner chuckled. “You’re so precious, baby.” My cheeks heated. “You’re not taking me from anything. I’ll still keep my cabin. We can come here whenever you want. This will still be our home. I promise.” I relaxed at his words. “But I want to be where you are because you’re my home, Ace.”

“Really?” I whispered, stroking my fingers over his chest, wishing he didn’t have a fucking shirt on so I could feel his skin beneath my fingertips.

“Really, baby boy. I promise.”

We sat in silence for a moment, listening to my brothers talk quietly downstairs. Cameron had found the coffee and was banging around the kitchen, more than likely trying to find mugs. I loved Cameron, but he was a douchebag. And he didn’t understand boundaries to save his life. Who the hell just barged into someone’s home and made all that racket and went snooping through their cabinets? Normal people asked .

“Why did you move all the way up here?” I asked.

“When I got discharged from the military, I was struggling to cope in regular society,” Gunner softly explained, his fingers stroking up and down my spine. I melted into him. “I’d seen a lot of shit. Horrible shit. And I just needed time away to heal. So, I bought this place. Learned to live off the land. And over time, I forced myself to grow accustomed to being back in civilization. Now, I just like the peacefulness of being up here.”

“I like it, too,” I quietly told him. After a small moment, I asked, “What happened while you were in the military?”

Gunner sighed. “What happens to almost every infantry soldier in the military, baby. We killed a lot of people who didn’t deserve it because the government gave the orders to.” His muscles tensed beneath me before he drew in a deep breath and slowly released it, forcing his muscles to relax as he did so.

“Oh.” I’d seen enough news articles and TikTok videos to know what he was talking about. “I’m sorry, Gunner.”

He cuddled me close. “I’m okay now,” he assured me. “And I’m even better now that I found you.” He squeezed me to him, and I slipped my knee between his thighs, plastering our bodies together. He hummed. “Why don’t you take a nap? Today has been pretty eventful already.”

I nodded. “Stay with me?”

Gunner nodded. “Yes, sweet boy. I’ll stay. I swear it this time.”

I cuddled into him, knowing he would hold true to his word. Especially after the way he’d reacted when I’d emerged downstairs and had thrown a fit over him breaking his promise. He’d looked shattered that he’d hurt me so much. It seemed petty to be upset over something so little, but after being abandoned time and time again, the smallest broken promises cut deep .

“I’m sorry for being a brat this morning,” I mumbled, sleep already tugging at me. It was so easy to fall asleep with him holding me.

“You were hurt,” Gunner said gently. He cupped the back of my head, his touch extra tender over the lump on my skull. “Just know, Papa is never going anywhere,” he promised me. “And I won’t ever break another promise to you.”

I smiled and pressed a kiss to his chest before I allowed sleep to fully claim me, my Papa’s warm, strong arms banded tight around me.