Hers To Keep (Servite Academy #2)

Chapter 20

Chapter

Twenty

ACE

I t’s been over a week and my body is still reeling from the best fucking blow job I’ve ever received. More like three of them.

Scarlett is a fucking siren, a goddess, a nymph, whose sex drive, and stamina rivals mine. Every day this week we’ve spent locked in my bedroom after school, fucking like rabid animals, coming over and over together.

I can still sense her reluctance to open up to me emotionally, saying over and over that whatever this is between us is just sex. I can’t blame her when I have yet to declare to her exactly how I feel. But I know she feels so much more. I also know she’s not ready to hear it, not ready to admit it to herself, let alone say it out loud. We’re connected on a deeper level, not just physically, but our souls are made from the same substance. The same fight flows through our veins, the same will to protect, to sacrifice ourselves, lives deep within us. Our fates, although so seemingly different, will lead to the same outcome. Our survival, or our demise. But no matter what the consequence will be, we will rise or fall together.

I never thought I’d find another soul who was as tainted as mine, but still so equally divine. She’s the calm to my chaos, the fuel to my fire, the sanity to my madness. A soul so extraordinarily rare I am never letting her go.

Which is why today I’m coming clean to Sebastian. To my brother who obviously already knows how I feel for her, but who I need to have on my side. Without a doubt I know he will be with me. He’s my best friend, my comrade. If I can’t trust him, then I’m fucking screwed.

We’re heading out-of-town tonight, just the two of us to our old stomping ground, Killian’s Billiard his beard looks like it’s home to some kind of rat’s nest.

“The rich boys thought it was a good night to come out and play, Zeke,” another of the men says, this one with a shaved head and his face completely covered in tattoos.

“Boys, come on, I thought the Cobras showed a touch more hospitality,” I scoff, clearly irritating them more.

“Nah, Ace, these prissy princesses don’t know what that big word means,” Bass mocks as they all step forward, cracking their knuckles tauntingly.

The leader, Zeke, moves toward me, standing right before me. Our foreheads are level with each other. “You’ve got some nerve, boy, coming here to our town and insulting us on our turf.”

“No, you got some nerve, Zeke. Do you have any idea who the fuck you’re talking to?” A mixture of rage and confusion takes over his expression and I see the wheels in his brain turning, trying to figure out what I mean.

“Nah, boy, you don’t know who the fuck you’re dealing with,” he sneers, his mouth practically foaming.

“Stand down, Zeke,” a voice shouts from behind the crowd. I immediately recognize the guy walking toward us, Malachi Saint.

“Well, well, Malachi, what brings you out here?” I ask, turning from Zeke to him.

“Just visiting some old friends,” he answers standing before me, wearing the same leather Cobras jacket as the others. I would have never guessed that Kai would be part of the Cobras, but I guess growing up in these slums, there really is no other option.

“Who the fuck is this prick, Saint?” Zeke asks, but Kai is quick to turn and shut him up before I do.

“This prick is Wallace Servite, the prince of darkness of Hillcrest Hills.”

After Kai’s declaration of who I was, Zeke and his crew were quick to back away. Their fake apologies and excuses of not knowing who we were, only pissed me off further. Especially since their half assed apologies were for my Uncle Wesley.

Bass and I went inside. The conversation I had planned was not something I could postpone. They men were smart enough to keep their distance, giving us the privacy we deserve. We headed over to a pool table on the second level of the bar, the crew downstairs eyeing us shrewdly as we played a few rounds. We’ve been here for two hours, but I’ve yet to tell Bass why I’ve really dragged him out here. Not that I’m nervous or worried he won’t understand but saying it out loud makes what I’m about to do all that more real.

“All right, I’m over this. Why the fuck did you bring me out here, Ace?” he asks, dropping the pool stick down against the table after yet again, losing another game to me.

“Come on, don’t be such a sore loser, Bass, and keep your voice down,” I say, turning to look down at the crowded bar. All eyes are glaring at us, obviously pissed by our visit, but they know better than to act out against us. “Those fuckers are just dying to know why we’re really here.”

“I’m dying to know why we’re really here, Ace, so why don’t you come clean. Why are we here?” Ignoring him, I set the table up for another round as Bass moves to grab another pitcher of beer from the red-haired waitress who’s been tending to our needs all night. He’s been flirting incessantly with her in his typical Sebastian Silver way, promising nothing more than a quick fuck in the dirty bathroom downstairs, or outside in the trash covered, dark alley. Sebastian is the man whore of our group. Sure, we all enjoy the company of different girls, never settling down with just anyone or promising anything more than an epic fuck, but Sebastian doesn’t stay with them for more than it takes to get them to come. Then it’s goodbye, move on, and fuck off.

“The Gallows,” I say, cutting down to business, “There’s something shady going on.”

“Well no shit, Ace, it’s a fucking whorehouse,” he mutters sarcastically .

“I’m serious, Bass.” I never told Bass what happened that night Scarlett followed me down to The Gallows. Never mentioned why Macallan left the academy so abruptly. For one, I didn’t think he’d care to know the bastard nearly fucking raped my girl, but I guess it may have been more to protect her privacy and not share something I’m sure no one besides us even knows. But he needs to know. He needs to see what kind of shit my uncle has dragged us into. “About two months ago, Scarlett followed me down to The Gallows by order of Wesley. He wanted her to find out the extent of his power and the extent of my involvement in his corrupt empire.”

Bass turns his attention to me, puzzled by my statement. “She went to The Gallows? Shit, she must have fucking flipped the fuck out,” he says, reaching over and hitting his mark.

“She more than flipped the fuck out. She somehow got taken into the cages, confused for one of their girls, and was bid on and bought only to be taken back to a room, drugged, and nearly raped.” Anger rises in me threatening to consume my thoughts as the memory of finding her with Macallan floods me. The rage of thinking she was willingly giving herself to him, only to find out he’d fucking drugged her and was taking advantage of her, of my Scarlett.

“What the fuck, I thought your uncle said that shit didn’t happen there?” he asks, clearly angry himself at the deal we once made with Wesley. “He swore he never forced his girls to do anything.”

“It was Macallan.” I say, not explaining further. He eyes me quizzically waiting for an explanation. Then speaks when I don’t give him one.

“Okay, what the fuck are you talking about, Ace?”

“Macallan bought her, took her to a room, drugged her with The Devil’s Kiss, and when I walked in after seeing her being taken back there, found him with his mouth and hands all over her fucking body.” I slam my pitcher of beer down on the table, the glass shattering with the force of the impact, beer spilling all over the pool table.

The redhead moves quickly over to us, dropping on her hands and knees, picking up the shards of broken glass, and drying up the beer puddled on the floor. She reaches up trying to wipe the beer that spilled on the crotch of my jeans, but I’m quick to fucking grab her wrist pulling her up to face me.

“Don’t even think about it, doll,” I sneer, as she quickly dries her hands on the sides of her apron. “Now get lost,” I add, and she’s quick to clean herself up with a panicked look leaving us immediately.

“Well shit, I’m surprised you didn’t kill the fucker?” Bass says, but I’m not sure if he’s joking. “Wait, you didn’t kill him, did you? I mean he did fucking disappear.” If only I’d gotten the chance to.

“No, I didn’t kill him, although I should have. But I asked Wesley to get rid of him. It’s why he’s gone. Apparently, it’s bad for business to be caught handling his girls that way, without his permission.”

“Either that or he was jealous Macallan got to touch your girl. You know Wes has a fucking hard-on for her, it’s only fucking obvious.” I could strangle Bass for his fucking inappropriate comments, not caring at all if he’s my best friend.

“Fuck off, Bass,” I shout, pissed off at his insinuation, my hands fisted at my sides.

He raises his hands, backing away as he apologizes, “All right, but I still don’t get what you want us to do?”

Here it goes, the moment I’ve been dreading. I know he’ll be on my side but once this comes out, there is no going back. “Tomorrow, we need to crack down on who exactly it is that’s spreading information about The Gallows. I had two girls come up to me today at school. Two of them asked about the club my family owned and how they can get in to work there.”

He looks over at me, a knowing look taking over his face. “It must be how Damon Drake found us. I’m sure he followed us, but he had to have heard rumors to even know where to begin.”

I nod. “Exactly, so we need to crack down on who it is that’s talking. It’s not only bad for business, but it shows a weakness we can’t afford to have.”

Bass laughs to himself, shaking his head as he grabs a bottle of bourbon from the bar behind us, and brings it to his lips, not bothering to pour himself a glass. “They already think there’s shit going on between us, a flaw in our reign. I mean fuck, Ace, you’ve been MIA the last few months, ever since the girl came around, you’ve slacked off on your Horsemen duties. You’re barely even at the academy, and when you are, you’re oblivious to what’s been going on. People talk, there are rumors of an uprising. People are still pissed about those fucking punks and Scarlett being here. We can’t afford to show any kind of shift in our order. Especially not now.”

I drop my pool stick on the table beside him, moving over to him until we’re standing face to face. I place a hand upon his shoulder, his gaze moving from the table to mine. “Which is why I need you guys to show our strength now more than ever.”

“What does that even mean?” he asks, his tone now more serious than earlier.

“I need to step down for a while, not publicly but behind the scenes. I’ve got bigger problems than some fucking petty high school kids with nothing better to do than talk shit. There’s some serious shit going on between Wesley and Scarlett. He keeps fucking threatening her and I’m afraid of what he’s capable of doing.” I admit it for the first time out loud, but the look on Bass’s face reveals this is nothing new to him. He feels it too.

“So, what are you going to do about it?” he asks, a hint of worry in his tone. “You can’t go against him, Ace, it’s too fucking dangerous.” I know he won’t immediately understand why I must do what I’m going to do, but if anyone will back me up, it’s going to be him .

“She’s just, I can’t lose her, man. I’m falling for her,” I admit, clearly stunning Sebastian as he stares blankly at me.

“Ace,” he says, shaking his head somberly.

“No, listen. I don’t know when or how it happened, but it did. And I know it won’t be easy, but there’s no going back for me. Everything about her frustrates me, pisses me the fuck off, and fuck if she doesn’t drive me crazy with her defiant behavior and fuck you attitude. But I can’t function when I’m not around her, not to mention the thought of her being in danger irks me beyond measure.”

“Fuck, man. You got it bad,” he says, playfully patting me on the back as he smirks at me.

“No shit,” I say, laughing for the first time today. “But he can’t know. He’ll do anything to stop it.”

“So then what are you going to do if he does?” I step around him grabbing the pool stick and leaning forward aiming for my ball. I hit the mark looking back up toward Bass as he watches me intently waiting for my response.

“I’m going to bring him down for everything he’s ever done. Everything about this world, his world, is wrong, and if I can destroy it, I can destroy him. Then she will be safe.”

Bass stands stunned by my admission, worry clouding his gray eyes as his scowl deepens, his thick, dark brows creasing in the middle of his face. “You’re talking about going against the devil, Ace. Do you know what that means?”

I nod, moving over to meet him. “Yes, I’m going to need my brother at my side.”