Turbulent Intrigue (Billionaire Aviators Book 4) Page 13

“It can wait,” he insisted.

  “Damn it!” she shouted, and his eyes rounded in shock. “Take off the freaking jacket!”

  Ace smiled at her, and she wanted to smack him. But then he took off the jacket. There were two ragged wounds on his arm, dripping blood. Her stomach turned over.

  A loud knock pounded on her door just in time for her to turn and see it crash open. Two uniformed men slid into the room, weapons drawn. Both she and Ace held up their hands.

  “We’re in here,” Ace called out. “My name is Ace Armstrong. I’m with the CIA. The culprits have been neutralized.” He sounded so calm, so professional as he said all this to the officers, who moved forward, weapons still drawn.

  They looked at the two men on the floor and then at Ace and Dakota.

  “My weapon is here on the counter,” Ace pointed out. “My badge next to it.” Dakota was amazed he’d thought about having that out of his pocket for when the officers arrived.

  Another siren cut off as one of the officers checked out Ace’s badge before moving his gun away. Only then did they holster their weapons. One officer spoke into his mic, and then paramedics came through the door.

  “You’ve been shot,” the officer with the name tag R. Johnson said.

  “I’ll get it taken care of,” Ace told him.

  “We need to get you to the hospital,” one of the paramedics stated.

  “I said I’ll get it taken care of,” Ace repeated. The paramedic backed down immediately. There was so much authority in Ace’s voice, Dakota could understand the man backing down.

  “Can you tell us what happened?” Officer Johnson asked.

  Dakota was the one to speak up now. “I was just in my house minding my own business when these two men showed up and pushed their way inside,” she said in frustration.

  The next twenty minutes saw her and Ace replaying the events as the officers took down information. They verified Ace was who he said he was, and the paramedic bandaged Ace’s arm, though he was obviously frustrated Ace wouldn’t go with him in the ambulance.

  Throughout the entire event, Dakota watched Ace. He was so controlled. She was seeing a side of him she hadn’t yet seen. The officers had the utmost respect for him.

  Sure, he was the brother of her best friend’s husband, but that didn’t mean he was safe or even sane. She really didn’t know much about any of the Armstrong men, though she’d thought, up to this point, at least, that they were a good family—a safe family.

  The adrenaline from the last hour was wearing off. Dakota was standing there in nothing but her thin silk robe, tremors beginning to rack her frame. Ace tried to put his arm around her, but she scooted away and held herself. She didn’t understand any of this.

  “It looks like there has been a series of burglaries around your neighborhood,” the officer stated. “Some people haven’t been as lucky as you.”

  What resided in his eyes scared her even more. Those neighbors hadn’t had GI Joe bursting in through the back door and jumping over counters to save them.

  The officer talked a little longer, and then her house finally began to clear out—everyone except for Ace. She found herself standing there with him and a broken door. Ace didn’t say anything as he went and looked at it. There was no way to lock it now.

  “Do you have a hammer and some nails?” he asked.

  It took a moment to process the question. “Yes, in the garage.”

  He left her standing there and then came back with a hammer, nails, and a two-by-four that had been out there since she’d tried to build planters before giving up on the project. It didn’t take him long to seal the door shut, making it unusable. Air still drifted in through it, but at least someone couldn’t push it open.

  “I know you’re a bit freaked out right now, but I think the best thing we can do is get out of here for a while and let you calm down,” Ace told her.

  Him telling her to calm down pissed her off all over again. She glared at him as she tried to calm her breathing so she wouldn’t end up saying something she knew she might regret. He wasn’t the bad guy here. She just wasn’t exactly sure who he was.

  “Telling me to calm down isn’t going to make it happen,” she finally said.

  “I’m sorry,” he replied quickly. “Let’s get out of here, please,” he added.

  She looked around again at the mess that was now her kitchen. The bad guys had been caught, so she didn’t understand why she was still so afraid. But she did feel as if someone could walk in her door at any minute. She felt like a target.

  “Where?” she asked.

  “We’ll go to my brother’s place,” he told her.

  “Okay.” She said the words before really giving herself time to think about it.

  The two of them moved to the hallway. She grabbed a coat, slipped on a pair of shoes, and followed him out the door. Neither of them said anything as he helped her into the passenger seat of his car before moving around to his side to drive.

  As they moved swiftly through traffic, Dakota clutched her seat belt with shaking fingers. They took a corner entirely too fast, making her body slam into the locked door to her right. Ace had the heater on full blast, but she was still shaking uncontrollably.

  “Ace, I . . . I don’t understand how you came in my house like that,” she said when the silence was stretching on long enough to make her feel as if she were beginning to lose her mind.

  She heard his intake of breath, and though he didn’t turn to look at her, she knew he was very aware of every move she made. This was a side of the man she hadn’t yet witnessed. Yes, she’d known he was different, but this man beside her, this man she’d made love to only hours before, was a total stranger.

  “It seems like danger is always following me around,” he said, his voice calm. She couldn’t see him well in the darkness, but she had a feeling that even if she could see his expression, it would give nothing away.

  “Why would you say that? Those men had nothing to do with you,” she said. “I don’t even understand why they came after me.”

  Ace sighed as he ran his hand down his face before meeting her eyes briefly as he drove. Dakota didn’t like the determination she saw in his expression. It didn’t bode well for what was to come next. She had a feeling her ordinary life was about to take a drastic turn, and not for the better.

  “I didn’t come home for a long time because the cases I was working on for the CIA had me deeply undercover. A few months ago, we busted an operation wide open, and the head of the family was killed. I don’t believe in coincidence. It scares me that you were targeted tonight,” he told her.

  “Do you think those men were after you? That makes no sense. The cop said there has been a string of robberies,” she reminded him.

  “Yeah, I’m hoping that’s all it was. But in my line of work, I don’t trust many people.”

  “What in the heck have I gotten myself into?” she asked.

  He gave a mirthless laugh. “I bet you will be asking yourself that same question a lot over the next couple of weeks,” he told her.

  “Weeks? What are you talking about?”

  “I don’t think you should go home for a while, at least until we figure out what is going on.”

  “They got the bad guys. I’m going to be perfectly fine going home,” she assured him.

  He sighed, and she could see he didn’t agree with her at all. She had no idea where that left her. One thing she did know, though, was that she was in for an adventure, even if she didn’t want one.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Ace didn’t know what was going on with him, but he knew for sure that he was in some serious trouble where this woman was concerned. He looked over at Dakota as she snoozed restlessly in the seat beside him. He also knew he was a sick bastard for noticing the sleek curve of her thigh as her robe bunched up around her.

  He couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d been the one to put her in danger. Yet he was still lusting after her. The best thing he cou
ld do for her would be to put her in a safe house and stay the hell away from her. But the thought of doing that had him feeling . . . panic. That was an emotion Ace didn’t feel—didn’t allow himself to feel.

  What was this woman doing to him? He didn’t know, but no matter how much he wanted to fight the emotion, he couldn’t. He cared about this spitfire of a woman, and he didn’t want her out of his sight. Not only because he knew he could protect her better than anyone else could, but also because he couldn’t seem to let her go.

  The more he was with Dakota, the more muddled his brain and body became. He hadn’t been this infatuated with a woman since he was a teen trying to score with the band nerd who had a wild side.

  Dakota was more than he’d ever imagined. She was beautiful, loyal, and fun to be around. She wasn’t afraid of much in life, and he could see himself never growing bored with this woman by his side.

  But settling down with a yard, and kids, and a couple of dogs wasn’t in the cards for Ace. He’d chosen a solitary life, and he’d accepted it. But being back home around his very happily married siblings was messing with his head. Being around Dakota was making it that much worse.

  Ace had been on red alert for so long, he’d forgotten what it was like not to be. Over these few short weeks, he’d let down his guard, at least partially. He hadn’t been as aware of his surroundings, and all hell had broken loose because of it. The cops said it was robberies, but he couldn’t fully accept that.

  What would happen if he settled too casually into this make-believe world he was living in? If the general population had even an inkling about all the bad surrounding them, they wouldn’t sleep so well at night in their comfy little homes. Ace was very aware of the danger, and even he’d grown somewhat complacent to it all.

  His arm was throbbing, reminding him he’d been shot. The medics had wrapped it, but if he didn’t get the bullets out soon, he was going to have some problems. His sister-in-law was a nurse. She’d take care of him. Right now, he had a call to make.

  Turning down the volume on his car speaker, he dialed Bill and waited.

  “Hello.” The greeting was abrupt as always.

  Dakota stirred in the seat next to him at the bold voice coming over the speakers, but then she settled back down, obviously exhausted from their ordeal.

  “My friend Dakota was attacked tonight,” Ace told him, coming straight to the point. “Could it have anything to do with me?” Ace tried desperately to keep the rage from simmering over. It wasn’t working too well.

  “I haven’t heard anything,” Bill said slowly, but there was a knot of suspicion in his voice. He didn’t believe in coincidences, either. “Random attacks do happen,” he added.

  “I don’t trust anyone,” Ace told him. “Two men were in Dakota’s house, both of them armed. I have no doubt they wanted to harm her. It was a good thing I showed up.”

  “I’m sorry, Ace. Maybe we should meet up and see if any of this has to do with you. But honestly, I don’t think so,” Bill told him.

  “Not right now. Can you do some research without me? I have Dakota with me and I’m getting her to safety,” Ace said.

  “You know you don’t have to do this alone,” Bill told him. “I’m here for whatever you need.”

  “I’ll take care of my own problems,” Ace said with no room for argument.

  “Ace—” Ace cut him off with the click of a button. He respected Bill, knew he wasn’t a part of all of this, but he’d been wrong before. He wasn’t going to allow anything to happen to Dakota. And that meant he was going to take her to his brother’s home. Even after all these years, he knew where he could go for safety, and he knew he could count on his family above anyone else.

  Ace continued toward Cooper’s place. It had become the meeting ground through the years. He knew the rest of his family would drop everything and meet him there. He didn’t know exactly why. He hadn’t given any of his brothers reason to trust him in a very long time.

  Ace dialed his phone again. Coop picked up on the second ring. “I have a situation,” Ace said, forgoing the greeting.

  “Are you on your way here?” Coop asked, calm and alert.

  Ace didn’t understand why, but his brother’s words caused a surge of emotion to rush through him, and he wasn’t able to respond immediately. Yes, he’d known he could count on his family, but maybe there was still a small part of him that had wondered when they would stop taking his bullshit.

  “Yeah. Can you call the others?” Ace finally asked. “And maybe find sitters for the kids?”

  “Are we in danger?” Cooper asked.

  Ace paused. “I don’t think so . . . but I still worry.”

  Now it was Cooper’s time to pause for a moment. “If you think there’s danger, of course, we will gather and make sure the kids are safe,” he finally said.

  Ace was still uneasy, but he needed his family. “Good,” he said.

  “What’s your ETA?” Coop asked.

  “One hour.”

  “I’ll have the coffee brewing.”

  With that, Ace hung up the phone and picked up the speed of his car. He needed to get back home. Not only did he want the help of his family, but his arm was really throbbing. He needed these bullets out. And if the attack on Dakota hadn’t been random, then he had to warn his family they could be next.

  With that thought in mind, Ace felt the urgency to get back to his brother’s place and be there for his siblings like they were doing for him. He’d feel much better having Dakota surrounded by people he knew would protect her. Not only would they do it because she was with Ace, but they already cared about her as Chloe’s best friend.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Never in Dakota’s life had she been so relieved to see a group of people as she was when they pulled up in front of Cooper’s front door and she saw Ace’s three brothers and their wives anxiously standing by waiting for them.

  The vehicle didn’t even have a chance to get put into park before they were swarmed by Ace’s family, all of them wearing looks of concern as they yanked open both the driver’s and passenger doors.

  “You took longer to get here than you said. We were growing concerned,” Cooper said as he leaned down and looked inside.

  “Is that blood?” Maverick asked, instantly doing a visual of the yard, searching for danger before his eyes focused back on Ace.

  “What in the hell is going on?” Nick piped in as he assisted Dakota from the car.

  Cooper and Maverick tried to help Ace out, but he brushed away their hands, grumbled about being perfectly capable of getting out of the car on his own, and then wobbled on his feet as he stood.

  Dakota rushed around the vehicle to his side, sliding her arm behind his back. When everything had begun at her house, she’d been afraid and needed someone to blame. Then she’d dozed in the car for a few minutes, and when she’d woken up, she’d instantly felt guilty about having yelled at Ace. He’d saved her from being attacked and possibly killed. She’d noticed the bloodstain on his arm growing larger as they drove and the color draining from his cheeks. She’d felt responsible. Now she felt protective. She hadn’t been sure if she’d ever wanted to see this man again at the beginning of their traumatic night, but now she couldn’t imagine leaving his side.

  “Why aren’t you at the hospital?” Mav’s wife, Lindsey, asked as she nudged in on Ace’s other side. Being an ER nurse, of course Lindsey was concerned about the obviously fresh wound.

  “I just felt it would be best to get here,” he told her. “Besides, I knew there was a nurse on site,” Ace said with a grimace Dakota was sure was supposed to be a smile.

  “I don’t have all the things I need here, Ace,” Lindsey scolded him.

  “Yes, you do. I just need you to pull out the damn bullet and stitch me up,” he told her. His face was ashen, and Dakota wondered how in the world he’d managed to continue driving them for so long after being shot. It had to be the adrenaline rushing through his system. It was
the only explanation that made any sense.

  “I don’t have anything to numb you with,” Lindsey insisted.

  “I’m an Armstrong. A little bit of pain isn’t going to kill me,” Ace told her.

  “We need to get him inside,” Chloe said. She hadn’t worked as a nurse for a while, but she would certainly be a good assistant for Lindsey. She’d been a nurse before deciding to go into physical therapy, which was how she’d met her husband, Nick. Dakota wasn’t worried about the two of them getting Ace patched up.

  “Yes, let’s get them in the house. I don’t know what in the hell is going on, but I don’t like being out in the open like this,” Maverick said. His years in the military had him more on edge than any of the others.

  The group slowly made their way to the front porch. It took Ace a few tries to make it up the stairs. Dakota didn’t miss how his brothers hovered around him in a half circle, trying not to be obvious about it but right there in case he did fall. Dakota’s respect for this family was growing by the second.

  “How are you doing?” Chloe asked Dakota once they were safely inside and moving toward the dining room.

  “I’m fine. A lot has happened tonight, but I’m fine,” Dakota said, her voice shaking the slightest bit.

  “You are lying, but since it appears Ace needs the most critical attention, we’ll cater to him first. But then you have some explaining to do as well—such as why you’re standing here in nothing but a silk robe and jacket with cuts marring your normally perfect skin.”

  Dakota felt heat infuse her cheeks as her best friend pointed out her attire. She’d completely forgotten she was barely wearing a stitch of clothing. In all the rush from the time those men had shown up at her door, she hadn’t had time to even begin to think about her appearance.

  She had to be a mess, her hair in that just-had-sex disarray, and whatever makeup she’d started the day with had to be smeared and splashed across her face. Add to that the fact that her robe was hardly appropriate for a family gathering, and her jacket was too thin, and she was a sight. But none of them were paying attention to her—no one but her best friend. The rest of the group’s attention was fully on Ace.