Ace Of Spades (Complete Raw First Draft, Unedited)

Eight: Certainty

There was a knock at the door, and I tensed, freezing up.  Debbie had told me that she wouldn't let anyone in here, so I almost bolted when I saw Ace slip around the door.

I stared at him, and he stared back at me, his back pressed against the door.

"You can't be in here," I stuttered, backing up as far as I could, searching frantically for an escape.

He was blocking the only door in and out of the room, so the only other way out was through the window.  I could try to dart around him, but he was twice my size, and I knew he wouldn't let me passed without a fight that I could never win.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he promised, his deep voice sounding way too loud in the small space we occupied.  "I just want to talk."

"Please go," I begged, my voice trembling, but he stood firmly, not budging, and I inched toward the window, watching him, waiting for him to leap across the room and throw me on the bed, or the floor and beat me, or worse.

But he didn't make a move.  He kept his distance from me, and I hesitated.

"You need to give back the money," he said firmly, but there was no malice in his eyes.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I lied, but my voice shook, and I knew I'd given myself away.

"I think you do," he told me, folding his arms across his broad chest.  "Bonnie isn't going to just let this drop.  It's a lot of money you stole from her."

It was a lot of money, I knew.  I couldn't believe my luck when I'd found it, carefully hidden away.  But I'd been greedy.  If I hadn't taken the whole lot, Bonnie might not have noticed that it was even missing, and I could have been long gone from here before she did.

"If I give it back, are you going to hurt me?"

He seemed taken aback by my question, frowning as he shook his head, his sandy coloured hair falling into his eyes.  He brushed it away.

"Why would I want to hurt you?" 

"Because I stole from you," I responded.

His smile was kind, but I didn't buy it.

"Look, don't worry about that," he said.  "Just give back the money, and we'll forget it even happened, alright?"

I hesitated for another moment, weighing up my options.  It's not like I was really in a position to refuse.  I'd all but admitted that I'd taken the money, and I was scared that if I continued trying to deny it, he'd beat me till I did what he told me to do.  Even if he didn't, Bonnie probably would, and I wouldn't put it past their friend, Clyde, to, as well.

"Okay," I said quietly, and Ace smiled at me again.

I reached across and pulled down the blind, shrouding the room in shadows, then climbed up onto the windowsill, with some difficulty.

Ace was watching me, a confused expression plastered across his face, until he noticed the plastic ziplock bag of cash that I'd rolled up in the blind.  I pulled out the wad of cash, counting out the nine hundred I'd stolen last night, and jumped down again.  I'd have to find a new hiding spot for my money now.

"Here," I thrust it at him, snatching my hand back quickly as he took it.

"Where'd you get the rest?"  He asked suspiciously, and I knew that he thought I'd stolen it, as well. 

I folded my arms over my chest, trying to look defiant, but I knew it didn't work because he only smirked and stared me down.

"I earned it."

"Doing what?"

I wrapped my arms around myself again, trying to shield myself from him.  I felt naked, standing there as he scrutinised me.  I'd given him the damned money, why couldn't he just leave me alone?

"Stuff," I answered, my voice cracking.

His expression changed suddenly, and realisation dawned on his face.  His eyes seemed to soften for a moment.

"You've been fucking the guys here for money?"

"No," I said, a little too quickly, far too defensively, but I could tell he didn't believe me.

I didn't owe him an explanation.  That was my money, I'd earned it, and it didn't matter how.  I couldn't let on to him that I was doing that, though.  He was watching me, too intensely, probably remembering the way he'd saved me last night, wanting me to pay back the debt I owed him...

"I'll tell Bonnie she's to leave you alone, okay?"  He said, breaking through my thoughts, bringing ne back to the present.

Wait, he was leaving?  Just like that?

"Okay?"  I didn't mean for it to sound like a question. 

Why did I have to question him?  Why couldn't I just accept that that was the last I'd hear about it, like he'd told me it would be once I returned the stolen money?

It was simple; things never worked out that easily for me.  There were always consequences for my actions, and I didn't believe for a second that Bonnie and Clyde and Ace were finished with me.

***

Debbie came in a few minutes after Ace left with an icepack which she handed to me.

I carefully held it to my eye, not that I thought it would prevent the bruising.  She shouldn't have wasted the effort, I had gotten good at covering bruises.  I was definitely going to have a fat lip, though.  There wasn't much I could do about that, unfortunately.

"What were you thinking, stealing from them, honey?"  Debbie sighed, sitting down on the bed beside me.

"I didn't know she'd do that," I muttered.  "I was just there last night, and I saw it, and... I don't know."

"Bonnie isn't the sort of girl who just leaves things like money lying around, baby," Debbie looked at me sternly and I stared at my lap.  "You were snooping, weren't you?"

"They helped me last night," I explained.  "I wanted to know who they were, if they were genuinely wanting to help me, or..."

"Are you in some sort of trouble, sweetie?"

I quickly shook my head, knowing that my voice would betray me if I spoke.

"You know, we can protect you, baby."  Debbie gently placed her hand on my knee but I flinched.  "If someone's trying to hurt you, the club can help you out."

"Why would you do that?"  I managed, my voice coming out raspy and soft.

"If you're one of ours, then we're going to look after you, alright?"

I finally looked up at Debbie and saw the certainty in her eyes.  Would she still be so certain if she knew what kind of trouble I was in?  Or would she throw me out just as quickly?  The thing that I was certain about was, if she or anyone else did manage to get tangled up in this mess with me, then it wouldn't end well for them, either.

I decided to say nothing.  Instead, I just smiled.

"But," Debbie continued, looking at me pointedly.  "If you're going to be one of ours, then you don't steal from the club, and you don't steal from our friends.  It could get you killed, alright, baby?"

I nodded, clamping my mouth shut.  After today, I was never going to steal from someone again.