Red

C H A P T E R F O R T Y N I N E

The cold night air stole my body heat, I flipped the heating on full and shuffled back into the leather. In my rear view mirror Grace slept peacefully. The only solace to the situation was that she was unaware.

Ace on the other hand, fought my men poorly. Letting his emotions rein over his control. He wasn’t thinking clearly, he wasn’t fighting his best. But they didn’t care. They didn’t need to kill Ace, not right now. They just needed to stall him. Give me enough time to get Grace to the safe house.

“We lost him ma’am.” Brussels timid voice spoke in my ear.

My eyes fleeted to the wing mirrors, behind me the roads were clear. The night was silent and still. Snow trickled from the sky like ash from a dangerous eruption. I couldn’t think of anything more perfect.

“What do you mean, you lost him?” I snapped in a hushed whisper. They had one fucking job. Idiots.

“Found him, following him. Ma’am, he’s on your trail, take the country roads.”

I pressed my foot on the gas, speeding the car on these icy roads didn’t sit well with me but Ace couldn’t find us. So I made a sharp left and followed the narrow winding roads.

“Ma’am he’s turned left too, he’s right on you. He seems to know where you’re going.”

“Shit!” I banged my hand on the steering wheel and then nervously glanced at Grace. She was undisturbed.

“How the fuck does he know where I’m going?” I kept my eyes on my wing mirror, with all the twists and turns of this road he wasn’t yet in my view but I prepared my gun anyway.

“Did he bug her car?” Angelos voice asked. “Ma’am we’ve just turned up the road, we’ll shoot him dead on first contact.”

“No, don’t shoot him.” I was flooring my engine, I couldn’t go any faster even if I wanted to and there wasn’t a turn off for miles.

“Fuck! He’s ruining everything!” I yelled out.

“Ma’am we think he bugged your car, you might need to go on foot.” Brussels suggested.

I glanced back at Grace, she was too heavy to carry for long periods of time and she would slow me down. But then again, Ace wouldn’t shoot at me with his daughter in my arms.

“He’s close to you Ma’am.” The voices in my ear kept talking. “He won’t lose you from his sights.”

I checked my mirrors again, I could headlights in the distance and Grace sleeping in my backseat. She looked so innocent, her little pink lips pressed together, her bunny tucked beneath her arm, her hair feathered across her, - her bunny.

I started laughing. “Jesus Christ, it’s her bunny. That smart mother fucker put a tracker in her bunny because she never leaves the fucking thing alone.”

“Toss it.” My men demanded.

“She loves it.”

“You need to toss it now Ma’am.”

I leaned over the backseat and grabbed it from her. With one hand on the steering wheel and the other on her bunny I tore into the fabric and dipped my fingers inside, grabbing out a small bullet-sized tracker.

I threw it out of my window as far as I could and then swivelled my wheel into one of the fields, switching off all my head lights.

My tires sunk into the grass, had it been a normal day I probably would’ve got stuck in the mud but the ground was frozen and the grass was hard so I sailed right through and watched Aces headlights disappear into the distance.

So Mr Bunny needed a few stitches but at least we were away from Ace and his rash decisions. Grace was safe and if everything went to plan then she could be reunited with her other father sooner rather than later.

I continued my journey, taking the narrow winding roads. The urgent need to drive more carefully was so strong with Grace in the car. Eventually I got to the safe house, driving through the maze of grounds.

When I lifted Gracie into my arms she instinctively wrapped her hands around me and buried her head into the crook of my neck.

She smelt like Ace and it made me feel so fucking guilty but I pushed past that feeling, determined to keep my plan in motion.

“Ma’am, welcome back.” One of our armed guards greeted me at the door.

“Morgan, bump up security all round and prepare for an attack.” I didn’t stop, I just kept walking up the grand staircase to my bedroom. I settled Grace down on my bed and stood back finally allowing myself to breathe.

She looked lost, my bed was huge and her body was small. But she seemed peaceful, sleeping soundly and her little chest moved up and down quietly. I brushed the strawberry blonde hair away from her face softly and pressed the back of my hand against her cheek, checking she wasn’t cold.

Satisfied, I went into the en-suite - keeping the door open and removed my makeup. Then I sat on the toilet lid and stitched up her dumb bunny. I commended my efforts mentally, all those years of sewing up wounds practically made me a seamstress.

I pulled my cell from the back pocket of my jeans and dialled for Brussels.

“Update me.” I ordered impatiently when he picked up. I heard the passing of cars and the honking of horns.

“I followed him to the end of the country roads. He stopped and got out of his car, admitting defeat on loosing you.”

“What did he do?”

“He cried ma’am.” I froze.

“He cried?” I questioned slowly.

“He balled himself up on the floor and broke down.”

“Shit.” I muttered.

“Then he picked himself up, got back into his car and we followed him to his apartment where he’s rallied up his men. It would seem he has most of his men at his apartment.”

“So he’s planning an attack.”

“Yea ma’am, we expect Ace is dishing out his orders currently.”

I bit into my lower lip, usually I loved this. The execution of a plan well done. When everything falls together and you’ve won out over your enemy, bagged the kill. But this time I just felt sorry for Ace, this would break him, it had probably already broken him.

“One more thing ma’am, Nikolai knows we have the package and he too is planning an attack.” I tapped my nails on my sink unit, trying desperately to ignore these feelings of guilt and betrayal.

“My fury is with Ace not Nikolai. Ace will pay with his life but I want the girl back safely with her other father after Aces death. Order protection on her from Nikolai.”

“Yes ma’am.”

I flicked off my shoes and returned to my bedroom where Grace hadn’t moved a muscle. I stripped off my clothes and dressed in something more comfortable, just an old T-shirt and shorts then I slipped in the bed beside her, tucking her special bunny safely under her arm.

Her delicate lashes fluttered across her cheeks and her little button nose twitched. I smiled to myself, she looked like Ace, Daria too. A perfect mix of them both.

She had a little cheek dimple like Ace, his eyes too when they were open. Her lips was more like Darias, full and pouty. She was a beautiful little girl.

“You’re safe here.” I whispered. “I won’t let anyone hurt you or take you. I will protect you with my life, I promise.” She didn’t even stir.

I closed my eyes and sunk lower into my pillow.