Ace: The Rebellion MC, page 1
Ace
The Rebellion Series
Nicola Jane
Copyright © 2019 (original) Ace by Nicola Jane
Copyright © 2023 (Updated) Ace by Nicola Jane
All rights reserved.
No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.K. copyright law.
Meet The Team
Cover design: Francessca Wingfield -Wingfield Designs
Editor: Rebecca Vazquez, Dark Syde Books
Formatting: Nicola Miller
Spelling Note
Please note, this author resides in the United Kingdom and is using British English. Therefore, some words may be viewed as incorrect or spelled incorrectly, however, they are not.
Trigger Warning
I don’t feel this book needs a trigger warning. If you read Mafia/MC romance, you already know what to expect. But for the people out there who require one, consider yourself warned. This book isn’t for the faint-hearted.
Acknowledgments
Although this is one of my first MC books, it still gets a lot of love. So, thank you to my readers who continue to follow my journey and read whatever I write, old and new.
Trigger Warning
As with all my books, this story comes with a trigger warning. It contains violence, sex, alpha males, terrible language and kidnap and assault scenes (Although the author does not go into detail)
Contents
Playlist
1. Chapter One
2. Chapter Two
3. Chapter Three
4. Chapter Four
5. Chapter Five
6. Chapter Six
7. Chapter Seven
8. Chapter Eight
9. Chapter Nine
10. Chapter Ten
11. Chapter Eleven
12. Chapter Twelve
13. Chapter Thirteen
14. Chapter Fourteen
15. Chapter Fifteen
16. Chapter Sixteen
17. Chapter Seventeen
18. Chapter Eighteen
19. Chapter Nineteen
20. Chapter Twenty
21. Chapter Twenty-One
22. Chapter Twenty-Two
A note from me to you
Playlist
A Drop In The Ocean – Ron Pope
Give Me Love – Ed Sheeran
Love You From a Distance – Ashley Kutcher
Thinking ‘Bout Love – Wild Rivers
Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number – Aaliyah
Just a Friend to You – Meghan Trainor
The Heart Wants What It Wants – Selena Gomez
Almost Is Never Enough – Ariana Grande ft. Nathan Sykes
Half Of You – Grace Carter
Forever Young – Audra Mae
(I Can’t Help) Falling In Love With You – UB40
Chapter One
ACE
The guy shifts under my heavy boot as I press down on his windpipe. “It’s simple really.” I sigh, lighting my cigarette and inhaling. “You keep your hands to yourself and show respect. Which part did you not get?”
He coughs violently, reaching for my boot and tapping like he’s in a wrestling match. “Please,” he croaks, desperately trying to refill his lungs.
“Come on, Pres, we’re wasting time.” Scar pats my shoulder.
“I’m a little busy,” I growl.
“The wedding starts in ten minutes. Lucy will have your balls if we’re late.”
At the mention of my daughter’s name, I feel instant happiness and lift my boot from the guy’s neck. He scrabbles to his feet, gasping. I grip his shirt collar and haul him to me so I can look him in the eyes. “Stay away from Angel,” I warn. “You two are finished. Pack your shit up today and be gone by the time I drop her home tonight.” He nods, and I shove him away from me like the dirty shitbag he is.
“Get me to my girl,” I say, smiling at Scar.
“What’s the deal with you and Angel anyway, Pres? Are you claiming her?” he asks as we head over to our bikes.
I laugh. I’ve never claimed an old lady, and I have no intention of doing it now. “Nah, she needed my help. She turned up at the club last night all beat up and shit.”
“She’s a club whore, Pres, what does it matter?”
I stop walking and glare at Scar. “Watch your mouth, brother. Club whore, old lady, cook, cleaner . . . who gives a fuck? Men don’t beat up on women, and in my club, everyone is important.”
Scar gives a quick nod before throwing a leg over his bike. I don’t ask much from my guys at the Rebellion MC, just that they show respect for one another and look out for everyone, and that includes the club whores.
We drive straight to the church where my daughter, Lucy, is marrying Matteo Corallo, also known as Tag. He’s a good man, an MMA fighter and crime boss with Mafia connections that run deep. He can look after my girl, and seeing as she’s only been back in my life for a year, it gives me peace to know she’s happy.
We park the bikes and head towards the groups of people gathering outside. I shake hands with a few of the associates from various Mafia families. Since the death of their Capo, Conner Martinez, we’ve been doing more and more business together. Conner’s son, and Tag’s friend, Anton, is now heading up the organisation, and let’s just say, I trust him a hell of a lot more than I did his father.
I head inside and take a seat in the back pew with the rest of the Rebellion. When Lucy announced her marriage to Tag, I didn’t expect an invite, mainly because her mother, Sylvia, hates me.
I met her when I was sixteen. I was a cocky, womanizing teenager, and she was a rich bitch. I had the world at my feet, or so I thought, jumping from one woman’s bed to the next. But when she announced she was pregnant, she floored me. Nevertheless, I offered to do the right thing, but she turned her snooty nose up at me, telling me her parents would never approve. She was destined to marry a rich man, and from what Lucy tells me, she did just that. I spent a long time after that thinking I wasn’t good enough, that I was scum because of my lifestyle.
Sylvia let me have contact with Lucy for the first year, just occasionally, whenever she could sneak away from her parents. But eventually, she met another guy and told me I couldn’t see Lucy again. I walked away without a fight, the biggest regret I’ve ever had. Getting Lucy back is a blessing, and I’ll never let her out of my life again.
My son, Hulk, slides along the pew. “I hate churches. Am I the only one who feels like I’m gonna get struck down at the doorway?”
I laugh. “Even God can’t strike me down today. I’m the happiest man alive right now.”
Hulk rolls his eyes. “Married to the Mafia, what’s to be happy about?”
“You like Tag, so shut the fuck up.”
He smirks. “I like the money the club makes from him.”
People begin to stand, so we follow their lead. The music begins to play, and I straighten my kutte. Lucy insisted we wear them, saying we should never hide who we are.
I inhale sharply as she steps into the church. She looks stunning, like an angel floating down the aisle. Next to her stands her stepfather. I don’t begrudge him the right to walk my girl down the aisle because, as Lucy explained, he raised her since she was ten years old, and I’m happy just to be here to see this whole thing happen.
Lucy catches my eye, and I give her a small wave. She halts her step and then unhooks her arms from her stepfather. I hear her whisper an apology before asking him to wait for one second. She holds out her hand to me. “Why are you sitting back here?” she asks, grabbing my hand firmly in hers.
“I’m just fine back here,” I explain, but she shakes her head.
“No, you and Hulk belong at the front.” I look back at Hulk, who scowls at me. He pretends he hates Lucy, but I know he’s warming to her.
I let her lead us down the aisle with everyone staring wide-eyed. She makes the guests in the second row shuffle along the pew until there’s enough room for me and Hulk to squeeze in. She kisses us both on the cheek and then marches back towards her stepfather, uttering words of apology to the guests. My wide smile falters when I notice that Sylvia is glaring at me from the row in front. Hulk finds the whole thing hilarious and nudges me, grinning. I flip him off, making sure it’s behind the pew so Sylvia can’t see.
The ceremony is over quickly. We have Tag to thank for that because he didn’t want to get married in a church. His original plan was to whisk Lucy away to the Caribbean, but she said her mother would never forgive her. The one thing we all agreed on was that the party was just as important as the ceremony. Lucy asked if we could host it at the clubhouse, much to Sylvia’s disgust, and as we walk round the back of the clubhouse, I know I made the right decision to hire the large white marquee.
A waiter stands at the entrance, a tray of full Champagne glasses balanced carefully. I went all out on this, despite Lucy wanting to organise it herself. She is a wedding planner after all. But I didn’t want Sylvia to think I couldn’t afford to pay for my daughter’s wedding, and I knew Lucy would go cheap, worrying about the cost. In the end, Sylvia paid for the church, and I took care of the party.
The marquee fills up with guests and I overhear the occasional comment about the flower centrepieces on each table and the twinkling fairy lights placed around the tent. I don’t know what they expected from a biker wedding, but class was the only way I was gonna go with Sylvia and her husband looking down their noses at me.
“Sylvia.”
“The marquee is lovely.”
“Thank you. I wanted the best for Lucy.”
“Well, the best isn’t a marquee, but I understand that Lucy wanted to include you. It was important to her.”
“I told her she could have a castle if she wanted. She asked to have it here.” I feel annoyed by her judgemental tone, but before we can get into a full-blown argument, Lucy throws her arms around me and kisses my cheek. “I love it, Dad. It’s exactly what I pictured,” she gushes, and I give Sylvia an ‘I told you so’ look.
MAE
Relaxing back into my chair, I’ve eaten far too much, and I feel sick and sluggish. A good nap is needed to recover from this. My dress is not the kind of forgiving material required for a wedding, but it is perfect for the endless pictures we’ve had taken, as it holds everything in and enhances my curves. Piper hands me a glass of Champagne, which I place straight on the table. I hate the stuff and only ever drink it to be polite or when a toast is raised.
“Ace did good,” says Piper, and I agree. For a badass scary biker, the guy sure did pull off this party.
I stare at him across the dance floor. His broad shoulders, bulging biceps, tattoos, speckles of grey in his hair, and the bright blue of his eyes all give me thoughts that I definitely shouldn’t be thinking about the club’s President. “Earth to Mae,” says Piper, waving her hand in front of my dazed face. “Are you dreaming about Scar?” she asks, screwing up her face.
“No.” I sigh, realising that Ace is chatting with Scar, so he would be the obvious guess.
“Good, because I hear bad things about that man.”
“Just like I hear bad things about Hulk, yet you still dream about him.” I smirk, my tone teasing.
Piper scowls at me. She’s fancied Lucy’s brother since she was a teenager, way before Lucy came into our lives. Hulk uses her over and over, but she can never seem to tell him no. “I use him purely for sex,” she snaps.
“He uses you purely for sex. You love him.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Number one rule, never . . .” she begins, and we both laugh and complete the sentence together, “fall in love with a biker.”
A shadow falls over our table and I look up into the eyes of Ace. My insides do a flip, and I subconsciously suck in my stomach. It’s not that I’m fat, but I’m not the super slim size of Piper or Lucy. Ace holds out a whiskey on the rocks to me, and I take it gratefully. “Thanks, Pres.” I smile at how he knows me too well.
“You girls enjoying the night?”
“It’s been amazing from start to finish,” gushes Piper. “Oh, there’s Nova, I’ll be back.” And then she rushes off, leaving me alone with Ace.
He lowers his huge body into the vacated seat and his eyes pierce me. “You look amazing today, Mae,” he says, and those damn butterflies in my stomach take flight again.
“You don’t look too bad yahself, Ace.” I smile, adding a wink. “How was it seeing Lucy’s mum?” I know he was nervous about seeing her again. “I thought she was going to combust when Lucy moved you up front in the church.”
He laughs, and his whole face smiles when he does that. “It was okay, just as I expected. She made some comment about Lucy choosing the club over something fancy, but yah know what, Lucy’s had a great day and that’s all I wanted.”
“Lucy isn’t like her mum. She didn’t want a big fancy wedding. If her own mother doesn’t know that, it doesn’t say much about their relationship,” I point out.
“Why doesn’t Sylvia see it like we do? Lucy was blown away with the marquee, but Sylvia made some comment about Lucy only agreeing to it to include me. Her comments are so condescending.” He sighs.
“Seeing her again was the hardest part, but you got through it. Did you catch up with Angel’s boyfriend?” I ask, keeping my tone light. The problem with me and Ace is we talk. He comes to me if he’s worried or stressed because he says he finds me easy to talk to, and honestly, I like our secret chats. But then, when he gets jealous or he meets a new woman, he tells me all about that too, and that’s not so much fun.
“He met the boot.” He smirks. “Piece of shit.”
“Speak of the devil,” I mutter as Angel spots us and saunters over. If her skirt was any shorter, I’d get a view of her vagina for sure. I hate to admit it, but even with bruises, she’s beautiful. Angel’s boyfriend likes to get handy with his fists when he’s had a drink, last night was one time too many for Ace, who’s been sleeping with Angel for a few months. He finally stepped in, but I don’t know what this kind of declaration means. Maybe he’ll claim Angel and break my heart.
“Hey, Pres,” she practically purrs.
“Angel.” Ace grins, taking her fingers in his. “Let me know when you’re ready to go, and I’ll drop you home.”
She lowers, almost shoving her cleavage in his face. Running her manicured red nails along his inner thigh, she whispers something into his ear. Ace closes his eyes and grins wide. “I’ll look forward to it,” he says and smirks. As she walks away, swaying her arse for extra measure, his eyes are glued to her, and I’m once again reminded of how he prefers his women super skinny with fake boobs, rubber lips, and arse implants.
“You may as well lay claim to her, Ace,” I mutter, and he arches a brow. “Well, you beat up her ex, you drive her home, you pay for her plastic surgery . . . she’s practically your wife.”
“I prefer the single life, Mae, you know that,” he says, throwing back his drink. “And I don’t pay for her surgery. Who said I do?”
“She did. Said your words were ‘you fuck her, and you want her to look her best’.”
Ace laughs. “She said that? I’ll slap her backside later.” He grins, and I hold back the vomit in my mouth. The thought of him smacking her oversized fake arse pisses me off.
Ace pulls a small, silver hip flask from his inside pocket and unscrews the cap. He’s about to put it to his mouth when I snatch it from his grasp and drink it myself. He watches with amusement when I wince at the strong flavour as it burns my insides. “What the hell is that?” I gasp.
“You’ll regret that in about half an hour. It’s strong,” he laughs, “you’re supposed to sip a small amount, savour the woody taste.”
I hand it back and decide to get my own drink from the bar. I need to forget the images of Ace and Angel together.
I’m halfway through a bottle of wine and aware that I look like a bitter drunk watching everyone have fun. The hardest thing about being in love with a powerful older man, who also happens to be your best friend’s dad, is that you can’t tell anyone why you’re so miserable. I pour myself another glass and watch Ace and Angel holding hands as they leave. Sure looks like he’s claiming her to me . . . and to everyone else in the room.
Chapter Two
ACE
Angel steps off my bike outside her house and then runs her hand up my chest, unfastening the top button on my shirt. “Are you coming inside?” she purrs, running her tongue along her plumped lower lip.
“I guess I should check that your ex isn’t inside waiting for you.” I grin, tapping her backside.
I step through the door of her house, and she turns, throwing herself at me. I catch her, and she wraps her legs around my waist and tugs at my hair. “I need you now,” she whispers, kissing me hard. I kick the door closed. I hate to be dominated, preferring my women gentle and submissive, not aggressive and pushy. But Angel has something about her that I just can’t seem to stay away from, and she refuses to be tamed.
I hold her against the wall and place my hand around her throat. Her barely-there dress has risen up over her thighs and her panties are exposed. I rub my erection against her. “You need me, you’d better get on those knees and show me how bad,” I growl, sliding her body down mine, lowering her feet to the ground.
