Alley POVMy skin felt like it was crawling with bugs, heat was searing through my veins and my breaths were becoming short. I jolted awake clawing at my neck trying desperately to get air. "Shit! Alley, look at me. Clear your thoughts and let it go. Count slowly and let each piece go." Ethan's voice was bouncing around in my head but I couldn't understand the gibberish he kept repeating.Tears were now flooding out my eyes and my hand fisted his shirt. I knew he was yelling at me to do something but all I could think of was why there was no air. My eyes fixated on his lips then his eyes. The fear in them had my heart cracking. I was making him afraid. I closed my eyes and there was my devil. He wasn't a monster and he didn't do those things. He was my protector, my lover, my everything, he was mine and I was his. My chest was rising and falling fast then I sucked in a huge gasp of air. My body fell limp into Ethan and I felt my brother's hand rubbing my back. "Fuck, I told you we
Ace POVI knew it was a bad idea to let her go away with her brother. He always found a way to make her cry and I was getting so tired of it. She spent all weekend in a ball trying to hide her tears. The worst fucking part was she wouldn't talk to me about it.I ran around getting everything she wanted and a dozen roses. I never got a girl roses before but it seemed like something that made girls smile. I honestly have no idea what to do to make her feel better. I walked into our bedroom and she was laying on her stomach watching TV. Definitely not how I thought she would be after promising to make tonight more fun than last night but I didn't care. I didn't just want sex from her. I wanted sex of course but not when she was spiraling into a depression."Flowers? Wow! I think I officially broke the varsity dip shit." She gave me the biggest smile and it froze me in my spot. I was lost in the orbit of Alley. What did she say?"Ace? You ok?" She climbed off the bed grabbing the food t
Alley POVThere is nothing better than waking to those green eyes staring at me, watching me, loving me. I wanted to believe everything he said these past three days about how our life was going to be, but our whole world was shifting tonight. I've never been so afraid of anything than getting through the next few weeks.Monday, I begged him to skip school and he happily obliged. We never laughed so much or had so much sex before. I was determined to feel him every way in every spot before I may never feel him again. He, of course, happily obliged to all those requests too. At night I tried keeping him up as long as possible but he complained he needed his sleep to get him through the next night in the city without me.Tuesday morning, I tried begging him to skip life again but he was too afraid his father would come looking for him. I couldn't tell him that he could be in federal custody in 36 hours so I had to let him go. I did end up skipping school but I dragged Layla with me all
Ace POV"You piece of shit whore! If you can launder drug money you can figure out a way to pay for a school. Get the letter out and for the full amount or I'll slit your throat and find someone that actually knows how to do your job." I slammed the phone then threw it against the wall. Daniel just walked in and was quick enough to dodge it."Fucking Blackwoods and your tempers. What the hell has you so messed up now?""I didn't hit send." I buried my head in my hands. Alley was so fucking destroyed this morning. I didn't want to let her go but I knew I had to. "Ok, well I'm glad we cleared that up. Do you need help?""No! I need you to meet Dante in the city tonight.""Tonight? We have the shipment with Derek tonight.""Change of plans. We are shifting the playing field in order to shift the blame." I shot my eyebrows up and down then went back to my stack of contracts. "I'm not following.""And you don't need to. Just do as your told and all will be fine Daniel."He shifted in hi
Alley POVI ran as fast as could from the house heading straight for the hospital. If they were alive, they would be there. I was supposed to board that plane no matter what but I never had any intention of leaving without my brother. I never once thought in my life that Ace could hurt me, not until I saw the way he looked at me today. I wasn't sure what was going to happen when you broke a devil's heart but I knew I didn't want to find out. My phone buzzed and I nearly dropped it trying to answer.Ethan: Hospital now. I know you didn't get on that plane. Stay away from Ace he is on a rampage and knows you were involved.I fell to my knees in the middle of the road. That's why he hates me. He thinks I set all this up, helped Derek take him down.I didn't even know what I was doing but my screen was calling him. It rang but he didn't answer.Me: I just found out Ace. I would never sell you out or help Derek do any of this. I was trying to protect you and my brother. I told you I wou
Ace POV"I want it shut down or I'll shut each of you down. Do you not understand or should I kill Joe too?" I moved my gun to Joe's head."That's John." My father decided now was a good time to speak."Do I look like I care?""Fine it's done. Will you please just stop killing my men." Stephen was a sweaty mess. Poor fool never had a chance and now I know why my father had him take over the sex trade. Another puppet for him to pull the strings on. "Son, if we shut down the shipments of kids, we will lose billions and possibly start a war.""I already have billions and I would welcome a war right now. The Blackwood name will no longer be associated with rape and abuse to little kids. You want to sell sex, trade whores, go ahead but they better all be of legal age and want to be there. I won't be a tyrant or a dictator to anyone but scumbags like these lowlifes."I waved my gun around the board room of filthy men sitting around a conference table and they all ducked. Idiots! I know how
Alley POVI stayed all week with Ethan in the hospital and still had no word from Derek. Prom night Layla showed up in her dress and brought one for me and a suit jacket for Ethan. We texted Katie to join us but she never even answered Layla back. The three of us had our own little Prom in his hospital bed. As always, like a true pimp, Ethan kept both his dates entertained. They both knew I was in so much pain from both Christian and Derek but they made sure we had a goodnight together and I was thankful for them.I know Layla was worried about Derek too and I'm not sure she even believed what we told her about what Ace did at the club. She knew what vile things happened with Angelo but she couldn't believe Christian could be like him too. She never really like Christian that much but she didn't hate him, not until now. I went to school a few days during the week but I could barely breathe and left early. I didn't know who I was anymore. Everything I felt before was gone. I didn't c
Ace POV"Any word about the girl?" I asked Daniel the second he came into my office. Some kid overdosed on Dante's shit drug the other night and we still had no ID. "Just got off the phone with the ME. It was a girl from your school. Her name was Katelyn McArthur. Did you know her?"Fuck tears were going to spill. Not for me and not for the girl but for Alley. How did this happen?"Is the warehouse cleared?" I asked"Yeah, and Alvarez has a bullet in his other leg now too. That old man will have more bullets than organs in his body pretty soon." Daniel chuckled."He should be dead. I told him to stop selling that shit after the raid went down." I slammed my fist to the table."He claims he did but who gives a shit if he was telling the truth. I rather enjoy torturing that man.""Me too. When are the arrangements?""Arrangements?""Funeral. When is Katie's funeral?" Once I said her name it finally clicked. "Fuck! The loud mouth red head Katie? Alley is going to be destroyed over thi
Ace POV Seventy two. That's how many years I lived this life so far. At eighteen I thought I would be lucky to see thirty and now I've seen so much more. I wish I could say it was all good. That after Alley and I found each other again that everything was just happiness and perfection, but that wasn't life.Our first heartache was losing our daughter when she was seventeen in a car accident. Alley could barely breath for what seemed like years after we buried our child. I would relive all the horrors my father handed me over and over to never have to experience that pain. Our seven other children keep us going though. We had other's depending on us and we had to push through the heartache for them. Show them life was still worth living, despite the hole we all shared.My Nanny passed shortly after our daughter. She battled her lung disease for years and I knew she was in immense pain but she held on. Losing one of her great grandchildren I think pushed her to the end though. She told
Nanny Fuck Face POVI looked down from my balcony from my bedroom window leaning on my cane as all my great grandchildren played in the pool outside. Today was the twin's sixteen birthday and the house was full of friends and family. For six months I stayed with Ace in hiding, waiting patiently to be able to live this life I desired for so long. After my daughter died I gave up thinking life would ever be kind to me. I felt hopeless and weak until that day I stood at Ace's graduation party and saw his undying love for Alley. They were saying goodbye but I knew she was his salvation. The light he needed to keep his soul alive and good. Then I saw my other grandson, a boy I thought that was lost to this family and was thankful for it. The Blackwoods were so deeply rooted in sin I prayed everyday my grandchildren would find a better life than my daughter or I did.I never thought it would turn out like this. I wish I could change my past but I also didn't want to change a single moment
Alley POV"Are you saying my son is a problem. I can assure you he is the least of your worries." Christian's tall muscular frame was backing up a perky little woman against a wall. I rolled my eyes with a sigh. Such a brute, especially when it came to his kids."Calm down there, Varsity dip shit." I pulled his shoulder away from the scared woman. Christian's eyes turned dark on me and I just raised my eyebrows at him. My fingers touched my necklace, one he had made for me on my sixteenth birthday but gave to me years later. He was my forever, our love and bond infinite, and he will be a good boy that listened."This woman said Darien seems distracted. She thinks he's been the one pranking the principal. I want to speak to this so called principal!" His voice softened as he spoke to me, but it still held a demand in his tone. "This woman is his teacher and is harmless. We know our son and I'm sure he has been causing some havoc. Sit and calm yourself." I pushed him down in a small cl
Alley POVMaybe it was the pregnancy hormones or maybe I was really hating Ace right now. So much rage was coursing through my body and I was doing everything in my power not to grab the cake next to me and smash it in that motherfucker's face."What just happened?" Greg asked. He was still playing catch up."Ace faked his death. I'm going to kill him." All the pain I felt the last six months and he was alive? He was just hiding out, lying to all of us to keep us safe. That was bullshit, he was a motherfucker."Whoa! Alley's about to go lethal." Ethan and Daniel were next to me now as I watched Ace kneeling down speaking to Darien and Derek. He did look really hot and how he played with the boys was making my body call to him. No! He pays first."He lied to us." My head shot to Daniel. He knew too."Calm down. Remember you are with child Alley." Daniel had his hands up in the air in surrender."What's happening? I love when Alley goes psycho!" Elise said way too happy at my anger. Lyd
Alley POVSix months later:It has been a hard few months, but Greg was right, I did find happiness again. Losing Ace was just as hard, if not harder, than losing my brother and I would never get over losing either one of them.Daniel and his partner Rowan survived the explosion, but had some scars on their face and arms. I was beyond thankful they made it out alive and thought they just looked more bad ass now. Today Greg, Lydia, Darien, Derek, and myself were driving up to Daniel's summer home in Rhode Island to celebrate his engagement to Elise and his official promotion. Ethan and Layla had the baby girls in tow behind us and I looked back to them in my rear view mirror with a smile. For some reason, I was really, really excited about this weekend trip. We hadn't all spent time together in months and I wanted to be surround by my family for the whole weekend. Daniel already promised a big fire pit out back just for me, it was of course for everyone, but he knew how much I like s
Alley POVIt took Ethan a long time to calm me down and get me on a plane back home. I didn't want to leave without Christian, but Darien was waiting for me at home. I wish I could say it was easier to walk away for my son. I would always choose Darien above Christian, but it didn't mean it made my decision to leave any less harder.I cried in Ethan's chest the whole plane ride home, swearing I would never step foot on one of these again. The second I did get home Darien and Derek were there welcoming me with tears. That did make my sadness a little more bearable. I loved this family so much and I just didn't understand why I couldn't have Christian too. That night Greg stayed with me and we watched movies well past the moon rising. He knew I wasn't sleeping anytime soon and Ethan needed to be with his wife. Layla was doing much better, but she still had her own stuff going on.We didn't speak much and I appreciated how Greg was relentless with the way he cared for me. It reminded m
Daniel POVI paced the hallway outside Ace's hospital bed losing my mind. The switch was supposed to take place already and now I was losing my window. On top of that, once they arrested my boss IA moved in our department. Within a few hours I was assigned as the temporary head of the criminal organization task force and had one sorry ass fucker with a stick up his ass questioning my every move."So, you've worked undercover for seven years with this," a studious prick with four inch thick glasses looked over his paperwork, "ah, Christian Ace Blackwood?""Yes! We discussed this two hours ago. It's not that hard of name to remember either.""I see, yes. I'm just curious if maybe you've been too deep undercover. Seven years is a long time and you seem to have an unhealthy relationship with this murder." The IA agent looked in Ace's room with disgust. He was a murder, but they didn't know his story. He didn't kill randomly and never hurt someone innocent. I can't explain that in any ra
Daniel POV"It's time." I called into Rowan to move in on the people at Déjà vu. "You got everything on our boss we needed." I could hear his amusement over the call. We've been working to take our boss down for over seven years and this was our moment."Every last fucking word." I smiled and hung up.Once I heard about Angelo taking Alley, again, and how Ace was calling a meeting, which included Dmitri I knew how to get my boss. His filth went as deep as you would line his pockets. I feed him the bait that Angelo was desperate and he contacted him to make a deal.Before Ace's little meeting my boss meet Angelo to workout a plan to remove Ace permanently, for a hefty payment of course. Angelo paid him more money then he owned and I got it all on video including the wire transfer.My men moved in already knowing I was running this operation. I saw my boss standing behind Ace with his gun to his head and I knew I had to remove him quickly. He would kill Ace just for the high of taking
Ace POVI stood in front of my wall length mirror adjusting my tie. I haven't looked myself in the eye in a week and I wasn't sure if I liked the man staring back at me. I had my black suit on, black tie, and white shirt. Tonight was about ending as much of the bullshit as possible so I kept it simple. My jet black hair was still a little wet and slicked off to the side. The best feature of my whole body were these eyes and that was because they didn't belong to him. Well one other part of my body but he wasn't getting any attention tonight. I used to see my father in the mirror and fucking hated it more than anything. Despite knowing I was a good looking man I would give anything to change my appearance. To look less like that monster that raised me. Now I say that little boy. A smile tugged at my lips seeing his little face with so much power in it. He was a confident little shit and would grow up to be a man that did what he wanted. No one would keep him back, build him up just