I cross my legs and lean further back into the comfortable limo seats. Ace literally went and ordered a limousine to drive us out to where the gun was hidden. As much as I hated that Ace was getting his way, I didn't exactly want to die either, so ya know.
This may even top some of the excruciating road tips I've had with Alex. Ace sat across from me and Elijah sat next to me, pressed as far as possible into his side of the car. He hadn't spoken to me or even so much as glanced at me since our fight. To say it was awkward would have been a major understatement, not to mention my skimpy attire. Alex had hidden the gun in a restaurant, yep you hear me correctly, a restaurant, and a rather fancy one at that so Ace found me an outfit to fit the attire. He had sent one of his men down to the cell with the dress and shoes and even a hairbrush. Alex immediately asked a billion questions but I ignored him for the rest of the day. The satin dress was extremely short and a deep marron color with a low back and spaghetti straps. I wore shiny black shoes to go with it.
A restaurant seems like a rather strange place to hide an item of such importance, but there was a load of storage units and safes on the second floor.
I had considered jumping out of the car while we were driving and trying to make a run for it, but with the speed that this guy was driving, I'm not sure I would make it.
Ace grabs my wrist as I move to exit the car, pulling me down in front of him. "I will warn you now not to try anything. I am not afraid to kill you in front of all these people," he whispers, looking out the window to where a line waited outside the restaurant. I nod my head and huff, following Elijah onto the sidewalk. Elijah almost immediately clasps his hand around my wrist, not even bothering to look at me. I let him, knowing full-well that I wasn't strong enough to rip my arm out, not to mention causing a scene in front of all these people probably wasn't on Ace's priority list.
Ace walks around us and we follow him to the front of the line. Ace simply had to gesture to the bouncer at the door and he let us in. I guess being a mob boss has its perks. We walk into the restaurant and I lead them to the other side of the fancy room to where a small elevator was. We squish inside and press the button for the second floor.
The awkward silence that filled the elevator was almost unbearable and I did my best not to burst out laughing. Elijah still has his iron-grip on my wrist and I could tell he was uncomfortable.
The elevator door swings open and we pile out. I make my way to a set of safes and enter in the four-digit pin. The door clicks and I open it up. Inside was the gun, along with a few piles of cash and multiple sorts of drugs. I grab the gun, gripping it tightly in my hand and turned around to face them.
I hold it out to Ace and pull it away seconds before he was about to grab it. "What happens to me now?" I question, glancing between them. We had never actually come to a verdict on that one...
"We will discuss it over dinner," Ace states, reaching over and taking the gun out of my hands. He marvels at it, weighing it carefully in his hands. A smirk pulls at the corner of his lips as he places the gun inside his jacket pocket.
"Shall we?"
We head back into the restaurant and a waiter leads us to a table. Now that we weren't in that speeding car, I could escape, that is if they weren't going to let me go freely. To make things easier, Elijah sits beside Ace across the table from me.
"So am I free to go, or...? Because quite frankly, having dinner with you two is the last thing I want to be doing right about now," I grumble, crossing my arms over my chest. Ace chuckles, scouring through a menu. "Eat something, mon amour," he replies bluntly, not taking his eyes off the menu. I roll my eyes and pick up a menu.
"Bonjour, que puis je vous offrir ce soir?"(Hello, what can I offer you tonight?) The waiter asks us.
"I'll have the couscous salad and the caviar dish," Ace lulls, looking up to meet my eyes. "Saffron risotto," I mumble to the waiter. Elijah orders some strange French thing I had never heard of before and Ace gets a bottle of expensive-sounding champagne.
The waiter takes off and leaves us all sitting in an awkward silence. Here I am, having dinner with two of my least favorite people. Ace leans back into his chair, smirk still on his face. "So you want my forgiveness?" He asks slowly, raising an eyebrow. I almost choke on my laughter. "I'm sorry, your forgiveness? No, see I just want my freedom," I state in amusement. Ace's smirk remained intact. "But there lies the problem, people who have done me wrong die. They don't get freedom. Which is why we have a problem."
I scoff and rub my temples. Now would be a brilliant time to think up an escape plan. "Done you wrong? Bitch, you hunted me down, threatened my loved ones and then tortured me for months. We are even-Stevens. I mean, seriously dude, you need a psychologist or something cos you have some serious issues," I finish with a laugh. Elijah sat quietly with his eyes on the table, but I could see his lips turn up in a smile at my words.
"You blew up my warehouse, killed my men, destroyed my drugs, snitched on me to the police and then continued to wound everyone of my men that you saw. Not to mention shooting Elijah here and being a down-right pain in the ass the whole time you were with us." I smile at the memory of me shooting Elijah. The fucker deserved it.
"A pain in the ass, huh? Well maybe if you didn't hold me hostage, torture me and assign your men to fucking rape me, then I wouldn't have been such a hassle," I spit at him in disgust. Elijah's jaw tenses and Ace rolls his eyes.
"Touché. Lucky for you that the lockdown alarm went off before they could have too much fun. How did you escape, anyway?" He is such a disgrace of a man, I really despise him.
"Shattered my thumb with a gun to get out of the cuffs and then went through the forest behind the building," I explain coldly, glancing around the room at all the different people and couples. To my surprise, a few were staring straight at me, a rather large group of men at that. On one of their wrists was a familiar gang tattoo. They were members of the Unione corse, a large street gang based here in Marseille. The last time I checked, they were Ace's rivals. I purse my lips and glance back at the Ace and Elijah.
"You really are brilliant," Ace trails off, staring at me. I flick a strand of hair over my shoulder and wink. "Oh, I know."
It wasn't long before our food arrived. Elijah just sat there and picked at it. The men a few tables across from us were still watching us intensely. "Join us," Ace suddenly states. Both Elijah and I choke on our food. He was the first to speak. "What?" He demands, dropping his fork. Ace turns to him and chuckles. "Well wouldn't you rather be on her side then against her?" Ace murmurs to him, probably expecting me not to hear.
"You're joking, right?" I scoff, placing down my fork as well. He shrugs and grins. "Not at all, my darling. You see, you started it when you blew up my warehouse. You owe me. With us you won't have to worry about anything, you will be protected. You join my gang and we will call it even from there," Ace goes on.
Elijah open and closes his mouth a few times, looking for words, but settled for a simple sigh. I spot the men from a few tables over standing up as they begin to make their way over.
My mind was whirling. I had two options; to join Ace's gang and stop having to run and fight him all the time, and warn them about who was creeping up over their shoulders, or I could stall for a few more seconds and escape while these guys cause a ruckus.
I hate Ace. I am going for option two. I grab my champagne glass and down the contents as the men gain closer. The man that had gotten closest to us held a gun in his hand. Fuck it, am I right?
"Suck my dick," I sneer, swiftly sliding off the bench just as the other men arrive. I snatch the bottle of champagne off the table and back up a few steps. A man places a hand on Ace's shoulder and subtly presses the gun into the back of his neck. Elijah was up within seconds, shooting two guys and then holding the gun to the other mans head. Well... That progressed fast. I send a snarky wink to Ace and grin the the men behind him before strolling away from the scene. People around me were screaming and crying and rushing around frantically. I quickly make my way towards the exit, pushing through distraught couples, checking over my shoulder ever few seconds to make sure I wasn't being followed.
I burst out the door, goosebumps rising on my skin from the brisk night air. I lightly jog down the sidewalk, away from the restaurant, making an effort to not trip over my own feet in these heels.
This is it.
Freedom.
Once again.
. . .
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