Page 3 of Babe

“Hey, kid,” he rasped.

“Don’t hey me,” I sneered, furious now that I was seeing his face. “You fucking told them? I told you that in confidence. You?—”

He held up his hand, and I snapped my jaw shut. “I can’t get custody of you, Ace. I’m a fucking felon. So, I did what I could to keep you close. You can hate me for that all you want, but what’s done is done, and even if I could do it all over, I wouldn’t. Because you’re here. You’re safe now. And you’re with me.”

My throat closed up unexpectedly, and surprising both of us, especially since Jax knew I couldn’t stand being touched, I dropped my bag and rushed forward, crashing into him and wrapping him in a tight hug. He folded his arms around me, squeezing me to him.

And that was that. Jax and I were okay. As long as he was with me, I could handle everything else. Because he hadn’t abandoned me.

Everyone else? Well… they could kiss my fucking ass.

CHAPTER ONE

Ace

Aknock sounded on my door, jerking me out of my headspace. Sighing, I dropped my Apple pencil onto the mattress, turning my head to look toward the door. “What?” I called, annoyed. I’d finally gotten in the zone to finish this damn complicated piece of artwork one of Shaw’s clients wanted tattooed, and not even fifteen minutes into drawing, someone was yanking me out of my zone.

This was why I did most of my work at InkLore, Shaw’s tattoo parlor. No one bothered me there because Shaw didn’t allow it. But I’d gotten up too late to ride with anyone, and I was too damn lazy to drive myself.

The door opened, revealing Cameron. His dark hair was pulled back into a small bun at the back of his skull, and it looked like he’d gotten his beard trimmed this morning. Without the beard, Cameron had a baby face. Ever since I’d mentioned it, he’d kept his beard grown out but neat. Besides, judging by the moaning coming from his and Abbie’s apartment last night, I didn’t think Abbie minded his beard.

Probably made riding Cameron’s face a hell of a lot of fun.

I scrunched my nose in distaste at the thought. Yeah… never going down that road again. Gag.

“What’s wrong with your face?” Cameron asked, frowning at me.

“Fuck you,” I muttered, pushing myself into a sitting position. “What do you want?”

“Need your help,” he said, stepping further into the room. “You cool with me shutting the door?” When I nodded, he quietly pushed the door shut behind him with a barely audible click. I cocked my head to the side the slightest bit, wondering what the fuck was going on. Cameron was secretive, but he was never secretive like this—like he didn’t want anyone else overhearing our discussion.

“You good?” I asked, legit concerned.

He reached up, yanking his bun down before fixing it back into place, something he only did when he was agitated or stressed. It was rare for Cameron to get worked up. He was always so… detached. From everyone. He had a quick temper. No remorse for the shit he did. He was a cold-blooded killer.

And he was married to a cop—go fucking figure. Shaw had ripped him a new one for eloping to the courthouse on a random Wednesday a few weeks ago, but Cameron had given zero fucks. I’d wanted to be angry, but I was more hurt than anything. I somehow kept it under wraps though, especially when I saw how happy Abbie was.

She’d been through hell. She deserved every bit of happiness she got. I would never forget the horror in her eyes or the bruises covering her skin when Cameron rescued her from the trafficking ring we were trying to dismantle.

It’d made me sick to my stomach to see her like that.

“Carmen is becoming an issue,” he told me, referring to the deputy chief of police. She was responsible for Abbie being kidnapped and Trent, her partner at the time, being murdered. I knew Cameron had been itching for revenge, but he’d been patient.

Guessed his patience had run out.

“Becoming an issue… I thought she already was an issue?” I asked.

Cameron scowled at me. “Stop being a brat for like two seconds, Ace.” I rolled my eyes. “She tried sending Abbie out on another ‘call’,” he put air quotes around the word, “but Abbie called me. I went to the site before her—found an unmarked black SUV.”

“Unmarked—as in, the police force?” I asked.

Cameron nodded. “They left when I rolled up. Plate was missing. Looked like Jeffrey Richards was driving.” He was another officer on our radar. “I want to bring it to the table, but if there’s not a unanimous vote for taking them out, I’m going to do this on my own.”

I scoffed, shaking my head. “Like hell you are. I’ll help.”

He flashed me a quick grin. “I figured you would.”

I grabbed my tablet and Apple pencil again, looking back down at my drawing. “Talk to Shaw. Bring it to the table. But you have my vote. The quicker we eliminate some of these fuckers…” I trailed off, erasing a line and correcting it, “the quicker the ring comes down and we can get our hands on Johnny Dorman.” Johnny Dorman was the major player. Sure, there were congressmen, police officers, and even some local officials involved in this shit show, but Dorman was the key to ending it all.