ACE

A fter I’d told Jax that I was leaving to go see Harley, I headed back to my room to pack up. While I was folding my clothes, the phone on the bedside table rang. Rehab facilities rarely allowed phone calls from the outside world, they found it hindered the patient’s progress. But, of course, they made exceptions for Jax and I. We knew the perks of being famous and definitely used them.

“Hello?” I answered, hoping it was Harley.

“Ace, my man!” Gage’s voice rang, filled my eardrum.

“Uh… how’d you get this number?” I asked carefully.

He brushed me off quickly. “Devon gave it to me but listen man, I know you guys are busy working and all, but I got to tell you something.” I breathed a sigh of relief that he didn’t know where we really were. I knew Jax would tell him and Gage later on, but for now, this was the sanctuary that Jax needed.

“Hey Ace!” Rocco’s voice called out to me from somewhere far off.

“Hey Roc!” I called back to him. “So, what the hell do you two have to tell me?” I chuckled.

Suddenly, Rocco was on the line too. “Man, it’s not good… I’m sorry… listen, we went to the club last night.” He paused.

“Okay, nice. What club?” I asked, a little puzzled. Calling to tell me about last night’s partying couldn’t be the reason for this call. Not after the elaborate lie that I’d told Devon and the guys about our time away.

“Sunset Dreams.” He whispered. “She was there… dancing.”

A knot formed in my throat as the contents of my stomach flipped over.

“Harley, was on stage?” I croaked, truly shocked.

“Yeah, I’m so sorry, man, but we thought you should know.” Gage answered.

My vision blurred as an uncontrollable rage rushed up from the depths of my soul. The scream that escaped my mouth was guttural and ripped its way through my body. My world went dark as rage coursed through my blood. How could she do this? Lie to me like that? And Devon! What the fuck?! Had he not given her something to do yet? Was that why she was back at the club? Was she forced? Or… or was she just a fucking liar, who was out to screw with me over like all the others?

I saw red as these questions and many more waged an all-out attack on my brain. Slamming down the phone without even a goodbye, I left my suitcase and all my belongings on the bed and headed straight for my Jeep that I’d parked in the back. I was going to get to the bottom of this immediately.

From rehab to Harley’s apartment, should have been at least a three-hour drive. I did it in an hour and a half, which was insane. How I hadn’t gotten caught was actually pretty shocking. The police could have pulled me over and given me a hefty fine, or even taken away my license for my reckless driving. Cutting other cars off, riding the shoulder to avoid the traffic, burning all the lights. My driving was beyond dangerous and I knew it. I just didn’t care. Handling the Jeep like a drunken teenager was dangerous, erratic could have been potentially deadly to myself and everyone else on the road. But I was hyper focused on the only thing that mattered to me—Harley.

By the time I arrived at her apartment, I barely even knew how I’d got there. Pushing the Jeep into park just outside the main door of her building, I flew out towards the main door of the building and launched a full-on attack on the buzzer. I pounded those buttons so hard that one of them stuck and became unusable. My growls of frustration filled the surrounding air, which only aggravated me even more. I let out a roar before punching out the ring system.

Someone behind me screamed. “Oh, my god!”

I turned to see a woman running off in the opposite direction screeching, like a stuck pig.

The buzzer was silent. Harley was obviously not at home and I had possibly just broken her building’s buzzer system and terrified a neighbour. Perfect. Just my luck.

Under normal circumstances, Jax or even Aria would have been my next phone call, but as that wasn’t an option, I did the next best thing.

When I arrived at the Sunset Dreams, it was already open, but the place was still relatively empty, except for a handful of regulars. The usual bouncer wasn’t even at the door yet and they had some scrawny kid taking cover at the door.

“Where’s Tony?” I asked him.

“His shift starts at 10pm.” The kid mumbled, handing me some change without even looking up.

Not that he would have recognized me. A week’s worth of scruff on my face, baseball cap pulled down low, and my sunglasses stayed on. All that, along with the dark club atmosphere, all benefited me. And it was a good thing they did because getting recognized was not on the agenda tonight.

I made my way inside, down the long hallway and into the main room that opened up into a semi-circle. Stopping to grab a beer at the bar, I then walked around the entire place and checked out the scene. The stage was in the center and, of course, a pretty half-naked girl was twirling around on the large center pole. Only about ten guys were in the place. Older, mostly and definitely regulars. A weird mix of dirty looking truckers that ogled at every piece of ass in the joint and high-class business men pretending to look busy, with their brick like mobile phones glued to their palms, all while avoiding their home life.

Sliding in to a hidden booth located off to the side and slightly closer to the backstage area, I mentally prepared myself to see Harley walk onstage. I prayed she wouldn’t, that this was all a mistake, but my heart told the truth. A bubble of air felt trapped in my lungs; I couldn’t exhale it, no matter how hard I tried. My heart pummelled itself against my rib cage, pounding like a one of Rocco’s freaking badass drum solos.

I didn’t have to wait for long. The tiny redhead who was twirling around the pole when I’d arrived was finally done and slowly making her way backstage while blowing kisses to the half empty room.

“And now… for one of our most requested dancers….” Came the MC’s voice over the speakers, “Let’s welcome Candy to the stage!”

A few hollers punctuated his words before new music played.

An icy chill spread through my veins as she walked onstage. Scantily clad in nothing but a golden g-string, glittering pasties with long tassels and an entire bottle of body glitter made her sparkle brighter than all the lights. Then Harley danced. With one fist closed tightly around my beer bottle, I held on like it was the only lifeboat in a storm. I’d seen her dance many times before, but this was different. Sure, I knew that more men than I could probably even fathom had seen her writhing around naked under the lights, but now that she was mine… I just couldn’t condone it. And that wasn’t even the worst of it. No, the worst part was that she had lied to me. She’d made an agreement, a promise, and then she had gone ahead and purposely broken it. And I needed to know why.

I’d reached my limit.

“Harley!” I called out from my spot in the corner. No response, not even a turned head at the sound of her name. She couldn’t hear me. Fuck! In fact, she couldn’t even see me from where I was sitting. Hiding away in the dark like that, what was I thinking? I wasn’t the one who had fucked up. I didn’t need to hide.

Standing up, beer still in hand, I took one last long swig. When my head came back up, my focus shifted to a guy leaning over the stage, his chubby forearm with a single dollar bill, just inches from Harley’s beautiful ass, that she was bouncing up and down in his direction. With her long blonde hair cascading down her bare back, the pink strands caught the light and made for a striking contrast against her pale skin. The man reached a little further and pushed his stubby fingers into the side of the g-string, pining the bill between the tiny strand of fabric and my girl’s soft skin.

Rage exploded from the depths of my soul when I saw those stubby fingers graze her skin. Smashing the beer bottle down on the table, I yelled out Harley’s name once more. And this time, I got noticed.

Every head in the room spun around and locked in on my direction, but my eyes never left hers. Wide strides propelled me towards her, as her face crumpled and her eyes filled with tears. A singular thought ran through my mind. Damn right, you’re going to fucking cry.

Finally, she found her voice just as I reached the stage. “Ace!!!” Harley screeched, as I jumped up on the stage and grabbed her arm just above the elbow. As I pulled her towards the backstage area, I could hear Ron and Tony right behind us.

“Hey you!” They both called out, obviously completely unaware of my identity. “Let her go, you can’t just pull a girl off stage!” Came Ron’s voice. “If you want alone time with her, you just have to pay!” He continued.

The girls’ dressing room was right in front of us. I opened the door and pushed a blubbering Harley inside, then turned around to face the men.

I might have towered over sleazy Ron, but Tony was about my height and probably twice my size. I was a pretty muscular guy, but this Tony guy was like a fucking wall. A massive wall of weight. So, I focused on Ron. Leaning down so that my face was just inches from his, I gave it to him straight. “Listen up, little man… Harley is not your girl. She’s mine and she’s not supposed to be there right now.” I barked at him, pointing back towards the stage.

“That may be your deal, but I too have a deal with her!” Yapped Ron, poking a finger into my chest and squinting up at me.

This guy was going to get the better of me. I could feel it. Any second now, my fist was going to have shut his irritating little mouth. I needed to leave before I did something that I’d regret. Calling back to Harley, I let her know it was time. “Get you things, H, we’re leaving, NOW!” I snapped at her.

Her voice was small when she answered, but it was there none the less. “No, Ace, not happening.”

I kept staring Ron down while I answered Harley. “Don’t do this, H. Don’t make me even more angry. You need to do as I say right now. Don’t wait to find out what happens if you don’t.”

Silence.

Truth be told, I was thankful that Tony had stepped between us right then. Someone needed to stop me because I was out of control.

“Okay, you two…. That’s about enough.” He said calmly, holding one hand out in both of our directions to keep us apart.

“Don’t worry about it. Harley and I are out of here.” I spat before pushing the door open. Harley was still standing where I’d left her, except she was now wearing an oversize Calvin Klein sweatshirt. Another girl was standing next to her, arms around her protectively.

“Get your things. We’re leaving.” I growled.

“Ace, wait… You don’t understand.” Harley pleaded.

“What is there to understand?” I yelled back. “We had a deal, and you ignored it. Or maybe… maybe you just lied to my face and planned to be here all along?” I demanded.

Tears ran down her cheeks as I kept on yelling. She stood frozen in place, not even blinking.

You lied to me, Harley! We had a deal, and you broke it. Was it on purpose? Did you ever intend to listen to my concerns? Probably not. But you know what happens when you don’t listen? This is what happens!

I was losing it on her and couldn’t stop. Even though something far back in my mind told me to, I just couldn’t. I wanted to anger her, upset her, hurt her. She needed to feel as enraged and as betrayed as I had when the guys had called me. Once again, I looked like a fucking moron in front of my band mates. I’d gone and fallen for yet another girl who didn’t care about me or my feelings. Fuck me… the guys would never let this go, never let up on me now.

“Ace, please stop… please stop yelling at me,” Harley cried. She was shaking now and her face crumpled into her hands.

“Stop yelling? The reality is Harley…” I was on a roll now. My mouth was off and running, and I wanted her to hurt. To hurt and make her feel the same shame and embarrassment that I did.

“…we had a deal, and you broke it. So, whatever happens now is your fault. You’re the one who brought this on yourself.” I spat, towering over her.

“FUCK YOU, !” Harley’s voice went to a decibel level that I’d never heard before. It shocked me to the core and had me frozen in place.

Also… she’d said my name out loud… for everyone to hear. Shit.

The room immediately fell to a hush. The girl hugging Harley let go, slowly turned around and ushered all the other girls who’d been watching previously coiffed hair and touched up their already perfect makeup.

Ron cackled from somewhere in the distance. “You owe me an extra shift, darling!” He sang out in Harley’s direction as he, too, made his way back to whatever hole he’d crawled out from. “Tonight does not count!”

None of us even answered him. We just stood in silence and waited till the door had closed behind him.

Soon it was just Harley, me, and Tony.

“Tony?” Harley asked, looking over at him.

“Tell me what you need.” His deep voice echoed off the walls of the empty hallway.

“Call me a cab, please. I’m leaving.”

“Yeah, that’d be great.” I mumbled, looking over at Tony and then back to Harley. “Let’s get out of here and go somewhere.”

But she just stared at me in surprise. “I’m sorry? Perhaps you didn’t get the message. I’m leaving but I’m leaving alone!” She emphasized the word ‘alone’ as she glared at me. “There is absolutely nothing that I want from you, Ace. Not a thing. Forget my number.”

Tony was down the hall at the back door, calling out for Harley. She took off in his direction, but I was right behind her. “We need to talk, Harley!” I called to her.

Both Harley and Tony ignored me. He held the car door open for her while she threw her bag inside. Then, with one foot in the cab, she turned to look at me. “What part of FORGET MY NUMBER don’t you understand?” she sneered. “Go away, Ace.”

“Not a chance in hell, sweetheart.” I scoffed back before pushing Tony aside and slamming the cab door shut. Taking my seat next to the driver, I gave him instructions and watched in the mirror as Harley curled up against the window. She buried her face in her arms and ignored me as I tried to engage with her. Small whimpers filled the air of the backseat, each one making me feel more and more like the piece of shit I knew I had been.