Ace had been silent since I got him to the hospital. He refused to verbally answer the doctor, and most of the time, he just slept. He hadn’t even bothered saying, “Papa,” when he needed something. He just reached for me. Thankfully, I was good at reading his nonverbal cues, and Jax knew all of his information, so he was able to fill out the remaining hospital paperwork that I couldn’t.

  I gently stroked my hand over my boy’s purple hair, and he snuggled deeper into me. He was dissociating hard—had been for hours. I was antsy to get him home so I could properly take care of him. He needed a shower, food, and cuddles. So many fucking cuddles. I’d hold him for days. No matter how long he needed me to.

  Jax’s phone rang, and he grabbed it, swiping his thumb across the screen to answer Blakely’s call. “Hey, sweet girl. What’s up?”

  “I’m trying to leave to come up to the cabin with you, but Shaw is being a dick and has us all on lockdown. Can you please talk some sense into him? I’m armed. I’ll be in your truck. I’m safe.”

  Jax sighed. “I know you are. Let me call and talk some sense into him. Sit tight for a sec, alright?” He ended the call with Blakely, and a moment later, he called Shaw, the ringing of Shaw’s phone as we waited for him to pick up filling the cab of the truck. Ace groaned and reached up to cover his ears. Thankfully, Shaw picked up quickly.

  “Jax?” he grunted.

  “Let my woman out of the fucking clubhouse, Shaw. I want her with me. She’s under my orders.”

  “It’s not fucking safe, Jax, and you know it,” Shaw told him, sounding exasperated. “Stop being a fucking macho man asshole and open your eyes for two fucking seconds. We almost lost Ace, and we all taught him self-defense⁠—”

  “Stop,” I snarled, covering Ace’s ears with my hands. He shivered in my hold, his breath falling across my skin as he sighed before sinking deeper into me. “He can hear you.”

  Shaw heaved a tired sigh. “You really want to put Blakely at risk?” Shaw asked Jax. “You and Gunner might have wiped out several players, but some of those were big time politicians, attorneys, and members of law enforcement.” He wasn’t wrong. They’d been getting ready to do an auction when Jax and I had burst in with Rico’s men. Rico had a catastrophic clean-up on his hands. Jax and I had gone in with guns blazing, and we hadn’t given a single fuck about the bodies we dropped. Our only goal was finding Ace and getting him the fuck out of there. “There’s going to be blowback from this. A lot of heat. They could target Blakely.”

  “If you’re that fucking worried,” Jax snarled, his patience wearing thin, “then bring my woman up here yourself. But I want her with me, and I can’t leave Gunner and Ace alone. Gunner is going to be too preoccupied with Ace to protect either of them properly.”

  I tried not to take offense to that. He glanced at me, taking in my scowl, and shrugged his shoulders, unapologetic.

  “You expect me to just leave everyone here and⁠—”

  “If you’re gonna bitch about what I decide to have my woman do, then yeah. I expect you to bring her to me, brother. I’m not arguing about this any longer. I’m tired. Ace has a concussion and a headache. Conversation’s over.”

  “Jesus fucking Christ,” Shaw snarled. “Fine.”

  The call abruptly ended, and Jax flexed his fingers around the steering wheel. I glanced at him as I dropped my hands from Ace’s ears to wrap my arms back around him. “Are tensions always this high between y’all?”

  Jax shook his head. “Nah. Normally, we’re all pretty chill. This whole sex trafficking thing just has all of us worked up. And Ace…” He glanced at my boy before focusing back on the road as he wound around another sharp curve. “Ace has always been the baby, hence his road name Babe. We’re all fiercely protective of him, even though we know he can handle his own. Having him kidnapped and beaten and violated has made all of us a bit…”

  “Pissy?” I suggested.

  He snorted. “Sure. We’ll go with that.” He eased to a stop outside my drive and then turned, carefully making his way up the narrow driveway. “We also did leave a huge mess—one that wasn’t prepared for. And Shaw doesn’t trust Rico the way I do, so he’s… I don’t know. In his feelings?”

  I chuckled at his choice of words, and Ace’s hand dropped from my shoulder to rest over my chest, where it vibrated with my laughter. I covered his hand with mine, giving it a gentle squeeze. “You say that like you don’t have your own feelings.”

  Jax shrugged one shoulder as he eased to a stop in front of my cabin. “Honestly, I don’t. Not like normal people do. I’ve always felt… detached. I love my woman to the best of my ability. My anger comes and goes pretty quickly—doesn’t ever stick. I’m very… calculated. Ace likes to joke that I’m a psychopath, but to be honest, I don’t think he’s that far off the mark.” He looked over at me. “That gonna be a problem?”

  I shook my head and pushed open the passenger side door. “Nope.” I eased from the truck with Ace in my arms, then kicked it shut before striding to the house. Jiggling the keys in his hands, Jax searched until he found the house key, then unlocked the door, swinging it open. He headed straight to the kitchen, and I turned for the stairs, needing to get my boy out of these clothes Jax had picked up from Walmart and into a shower.

  “I’ll start dinner,” Jax called after me.

  Once I was upstairs, I gently set Ace on the foot of the bed. “Let me go start the shower, baby, okay?” When he nodded, I leaned forward and pressed my lips to his forehead, letting them linger for a moment before I forced myself to leave him be so I could get everything in the bathroom ready.

  I turned my back for two fucking seconds, and Ace lost it.

  A wretched scream tore from his throat, and something shattered against the wall. I spun back around, rushing to him as he smashed my lamp to the floor, sobbing, snot running down his nose and over his lips, tears streaking down his cheeks. I wrapped my arms tight around him, and we sank to the floor, his hands curling into my shirt as he cried, completely falling apart.

  My own tears burned in my eyes. Goddamn them for doing this to him. Fuck his brothers for putting him in this situation. Fuck Dorman and everyone else involved in that fucking trafficking ring for hurting my boy and touching him. Fuck them all.

  “I’m here, baby,” I rasped, clutching him to me and rocking him gently side to side as he wailed, his fists pummeling my chest. I took every hit, wishing I could absorb his pain and torment, too. “I’m here. I’m always here. Papa’s got you, sweet boy.”

  “I hate them all,” he sobbed, the pain in his voice tearing at my insides. I buried my face in his hair, squeezing him even tighter. “They touched me, Papa. They shoved something inside me. They touched me. I swore it’d never happen to me again, and it did, and I want to claw my skin off!” he shouted.

  A piece of me fucking died. If I’d gotten up when he did, I would’ve known he was leaving the clubhouse. I would’ve been with him. He wouldn’t have been alone. None of this would’ve happened to him.

  “I want a shower,” he finally croaked. “And I need you to touch me, Papa. Even if it hurts. Please. I can’t…” His voice wobbled, and he collapsed into my chest, sobbing his fucking heart out and ripping mine to shreds. “I can’t take this.”

  I quickly rose to my feet and headed for the bathroom, stepping inside the shower fully clothed with him in my arms. After toeing off my boots, I kicked them outside the shower, then turned the water on full blast. It was icy at first, but I wasn’t even sure Ace noticed. His shoulders slumped, and some of the tension bled from his body as the water beat onto his abused skin.

  Silently, as the water heated, turning almost scorching, I stripped out of my clothes, then eased him out of his, tossing them outside the shower as well. Then, I sank to the floor and pulled him down onto my lap, touching and kissing him. He quietly cried as he leaned into each of my touches, seeking more of my hands on him. And I didn’t stop.

  I had no idea how long we sat there with me mapping the planes of his lean body with my hands and mouth, but eventually, his tears stopped, and his eyelids grew heavy, sleep tugging at him.

  “Stay awake for me a little longer, sweet boy,” I murmured, pressing a soft, tender kiss to his lips. “I need to bathe you and wash your hair, okay?”

  “Okay, Papa,” he croaked, his hands smoothing over my chest, his nails raking through the hair there. I pressed a kiss to his bruised cheek, then grabbed the bar of soap, running it over his tender skin. Once I deemed him clean, I gently shampooed and conditioned his hair, letting him cling to me as I did so. It didn’t make the task easy, but I didn’t care.

  No amount of difficulty would make me ease him back some to make my task easier.

  I toweled him dry, then dressed him in my briefs and one of my long-sleeve shirts, which swallowed him and damn near fell to his knees. He sat on the bed, watching me as I got dressed.

  Crouching between his spread thighs, I gripped his knees, looking up at his bruised face. Absently, he slid his fingers into my hair, blinking down at me through swollen, bloodshot blue eyes. “Can you eat, Ace baby? Jax made dinner.”

  He yawned and nodded, then wrapped his arms and legs around me—a silent order for me to carry him. When we got downstairs, Jax looked up from where he was setting bowls of spaghetti on the table. Ace smiled a little, his eyes growing watery.

  “Is it like Blakely makes it?”

  Jax shrugged. “I don’t know, kid. She walked me through it, but we all know she’s the best cook.”

  Ace sniffled and laughed a little, nodding for me to sit him down in the chair. He winced when his ass met the seat, and immediately, I lifted him again, sitting down and settling him on my lap. I dragged the other bowl over to me.

  “Papa is best, but she’s second-best,” Ace told him. He looked at Jax as he picked up his fork. “Does she know…”

  Jax looked at me. I sighed. “Everyone knows, baby.” He sighed and closed his eyes, his expression pained. “But it’s okay.” I pressed a kiss to his abused cheek. “You’re going to stay here with me and recover. When you go home, you’ll be as good as new.”

  “Blakely is coming to stay with us,” Jax told him. Ace frowned. “Shaw is bringing her, so she’s not coming by herself, but Shaw’s not staying, Ace. And you don’t have to face Shaw if you don’t want to.”

  “Jax and I won’t let him bully you,” I promised. “This is your home. Your safe place. And we won’t let anyone destroy that. You hear me?” I gently gripped his chin and turned his head to look at me. “Do you understand me, Ace?”

  He nodded. “Yes, Papa.”

  I kissed him softly. “Good boy. Eat your food. Then, we’ll put on a movie and cuddle. Sound good?”

  He smiled a little, and something inside my chest eased, some of the tightness dissipating. “Sounds good.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Gunner

  Ace stirred when a soft knock sounded on the front door. Jax grunted and stood to his feet, his steps silent as he crossed through the living room. Ace’s eyes blinked open as Jax opened the door, revealing who I assumed was Blakely, since I hadn’t had a chance to meet her yet, and Shaw. I blinked in surprise at Blakely. She was a gorgeous as hell woman—certainly not who I expected a man like Jax to end up with, honestly. Jax was so rough around the edges and a bit scruffy. But Blakely was drop-dead gorgeous with long, blonde hair and eyes that shone.

  And she was covered in hickies, bruises, and… were those bite marks?

  Jesus Christ, Jax and Blakely were into some kinky shit.

  “Ace…” Blakely breathed, brushing past Jax and into the house, her worried eyes locked on my boy. There was no pity there—just concern and anger. She crouched in front of us, not even sparing me a glance. “Can I touch you?”

  He grabbed my hand in both of his, squeezing tightly before he nodded. She gently cradled his face, turning his head to look at the bruising and swelling better. Blowing out a soft breath, she released him, then marched into my kitchen like she owned the place. I watched over my shoulder as she grabbed a Ziploc bag, dropped some ice cubes in it, closed it, and wrapped it in a dish towel before coming back over to us. She held it out to Ace, and he slowly took it from her, frowning.

  “Put that on your face, honey.” When he followed her instructions, she looked at me then, a warm smile tilting her lips. She held her hand out. “I’m Blakely, Jax’s old lady.”

  Reaching up, I shook her hand, smiling. Yeah… she might have definitely been way too damn gorgeous for a scraggly grump like Jax, but there was something about the way she carried herself that let me know they were a perfect match. He was grumpy and cold, and she was warm and full of smiles, but I had no doubt she wasn’t the woman to be fucked with.

  Any woman with a man like Jax had to be a force to be reckoned with.

  “Gunner,” I told her. “Make yourself at home.”

  Shaw stepped deeper into the living room, his eyes locked on Ace. Ace leaned his head on my chest again, his eyes shutting as he held the ice to his swollen face. “Ace…”

  “I’m not coming home,” he mumbled, not bothering to open his eyes.

  Shaw took a seat on my coffee table, his brows furrowed as he gazed at his youngest brother. It was clear he was concerned. I knew he wanted to take charge and force Ace home, but I wasn’t going to allow him to bully Ace into this. Besides, I didn’t want Ace home until this shit was dealt with. I wanted the entire ring dismantled before I brought my boy back into civilization.

  We were playing by my rules now.

  “Ace,” Shaw sighed, “you’ll be safer surrounded by all of us. Please come home.”

  “No,” Jax and I said at the same time. I looked at Jax as he crossed his arms over his chest, his feet planted shoulder-width apart. “This happened to Abbie, too, remember?” Jax continued. “It shouldn’t have happened again, Shaw, but it did. Ace stays here. Cameron may be cool with keeping Abbie around the clubhouse while this shit is happening, but I’m not.”

  “I’m not either,” I said, trying to hide my surprise at the news of this having happened to Abbie, too. Lightning rarely struck in the same place twice, but it had this time. And my boy had been the victim. Anger rolled through my veins at the thought. “He stays here. You had the opportunity to keep him safe, and quite frankly, Shaw, you failed.” He flinched, unable to hide the pain in his eyes. I felt bad for him; I did. Because I knew he loved Ace. But Ace was mine. He was mine to protect. And had I known he was leaving the clubhouse, he wouldn’t have been by himself. This wouldn’t have happened to him. “He stays here, Shaw. And he’s not coming home until this ring is dismantled.”

  Shaw sighed, dropping his head, his elbows braced on his knees as he leaned forward. Reaching up, he dragged his hands down his face, looking much older than I believed him to be. He looked at Ace. Ace, who now had his eyes open, just stared back at him unflinchingly.

  “I’m sorry, Ace,” Shaw rasped. “I’m sorry I failed you when I promised no one would ever touch you again.”

  Ace swallowed thickly, the sound audible, but he didn’t say a word. Silently, Shaw stood to his feet, looking at me. “Please keep me up to date on his progress. Jax has my number.”

  I nodded once. “I will,” I assured him.

  He clapped Jax on the shoulder, then quietly left, the front door shutting behind him with a barely audible shnick. Ace sighed, snuggling in closer to me. I tightened my arm around him, turning my head to press a kiss to the top of his. “Thank you,” Ace quietly said, his voice a bit muffled by my chest. “I just… don’t have the energy to fight with him.”

  My chest tightened. My sweet boy was a brat through and through, and I couldn’t deny how concerned it made me that he didn’t have it in him to fight with one of his brothers. In the very short amount of time I’d been around Ace and them together, I knew my boy loved to push every single button they had.

  Ace pulled the ice pack down from his face and leaned back, looking up at me. “Can we go upstairs?” He glanced at Blakely and Jax, who were sitting together in my recliner, Blakely on Jax’s lap. He was tracing one of the bruises on her arms, and she was talking quietly to him—so quietly I couldn’t hear, not that I wanted to. “I don’t really want to be around anyone right now but you, Papa.”

  I nodded and gently pulled him onto my lap. He wound his arms and legs around me, tucking his battered face into the curve of my neck. Standing, I headed for the stairs, knowing Jax would figure out sleeping arrangements for him and Blakely.

  When we got upstairs, I gently laid Ace on the bed, but he still clung to me, so I eased my weight down on top of him. He sighed, his muscles relaxing, his fingers absentmindedly stroking over the back of my neck and through the hair at the base of my skull. When I looked down at him, he was already staring up at me through those pretty, blue eyes I loved so damn much.

  “Will you…” He swallowed thickly, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat. “I need…” He huffed in frustration, squeezing his eyes shut. Bracing myself on one arm, I cupped his cheek, brushing my thumb over his soft skin. He slowly opened his eyes, his gaze watery. His lips trembled. Leaning down, I smoothed mine over his, and he nodded, tugging me closer to him.

  Our tongues danced together slowly, and I groaned when he arched his hips, pressing his cock into mine. I didn’t ask him if he was sure if this was what he wanted. Obviously, he couldn’t have sex yet because he needed to heal from what Johnny Dorman had done to him, but I could still touch him. Could still get him off. And if this was what he wanted, I trusted him to be able to make this judgment on his own.

  I was his Papa, but he was still an adult who knew his limits. And if there was one thing I knew about Ace, I knew, no matter what, he wasn’t afraid of enforcing his boundaries. Even with me.

  “Papa…” he groaned against my mouth. “I need—I want—” He huffed in frustration, so I eased back. He pouted up at me, but he took in a deep breath, finally gathering his thoughts. “I need to be with you. Please, Papa.”

 

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