Ace of Spades

1.TessPulling up to the rod-iron black gates of the Deck Fortress, I feel like I am slowly pulling up to my version of hell on earth. Hi Satan, how are you today? The thought enters my mind causing me to smile despite the onslaught of panic and anxiety. Instead of Satan being a big red guy with horns and pointy fork, my Satan has exquisite looks, dark blue eyes, and a killer smile. Pretty positive torturing souls is what they have in common, though, and now I come back to him with more to lose than before.Yet here I am, hoping that Satan lets me enter hell. Things have changed over the years, but the intimidation I feel is the same. After taking a deep breath, I mentally run through my plan again. Step one is to get here safely; step two is to gain entry, and that’s all I have so far. Other than begging the man I once was madly in love with to save our daughter.I packed up so quickly to get here, only grabbing the essentials and any important documents linking us to our life. I gl

3.Ace3 Months laterGrowing up with my parents was hell until you wrapped your head around their methods of madness. It indeed was madness. When we were six, we all had to get a pet to take care of; mine was a black husky. A year and a half later, I was made to kill Frankie; they threatened the one thing I loved more. My siblings. I knew what they were capable of. We have been isolated, beaten, and starved all before age 10. The teen years were spent teaching us how to maximize pain in others and mastering combat and weapons.They used the love we had for each other to motivate us. If we refused, they would make us watch as they hurt the sibling closest to us. My case was King. We would do anything to prevent each other from being harmed. We were bred to be unfeeling, yet it created a bond between us.When Tess entered my life, she turned into a bright spot—becoming my addiction. I wasn’t sure how l could keep her hidden from my mother. She was something that I was unwilling to part

5AceRage overwhelms me as I knock my papers and computer monitors onto the floor. My hands were shaking. I couldn’t remember the last time my hands even trembled a little, let alone full-on shakes. I pour a bourbon straight up and don’t even feel it as I drain the glass. Then realized that if she was my daughter, I didn’t want to meet her after drowning my rage in a glass. I launch the glass against the wall, and when it connects and shatters into shards on the floor, the door opens, and King walks in.“Quite the reunion?” I glare in his direction, which is the only response he gets from me. “Queenie got the kid's sample without her knowledge, by the way.”“I want the results within the hour,” I state, pointing at him becoming louder than I meant to. The rage I felt was boiling under the surface; I was barely holding it together. I was supposed to be the level-headed one or at least one of them. Honestly, I feel as unpredictable as Joker right now, and that’s not a good thing.“It w

7.AceI wasn’t used to having to wait; I wanted to immediately run out of the room and talk to my siblings. I didn’t want to leave Winnie without saying goodnight. Fuck, I have a cute kid. I know Tess and I have many things to cover, but I feel there is much more to the story that we both don’t know. We must focus on the threat and then get my family in order. They were never going to be taken from me ever again.I texted the team when I read Winnie her book to tell them I had news. Now I walk down the halls of the Deck Fortress with purpose. I am dreading the extermination. We tried almost three years ago and failed. I didn’t think this was how that bitch would come after us. I figured we would have more time before she got enough resources to come after us. Hell, maybe she didn’t think Tess would return, or maybe that’s exactly her plan.I worry about Queenie’s headspace after I tell her whom we are going after. It took us so long to get her back, I was dreading losing her, but I w

Ace9I feel a little hand tap on my face and slowly open my eyes, thinking I could get used to this. “Daddy! You had a sleepover with momma?” She said, putting her hands on her hips and looking at me with betrayal on her face.“You want to have a sleepover with us tonight?” I asked her, not wanting her to be mad at me. I will have to fuck Tess in here before bringing her back to our bed. Sex bed and sleeping bed, I could get used to that.Her eyes light up like Christmas morning. “Really?” She said, doing a happy dance, “you promise?” She holds her pinky up to mine, and I wrap mine around hers.“Promise. Now let’s get breakfast and let your mom sleep.” Which is what we proceeded to do. Well, I called the kitchen to have Belgian waffles with all the fixings brought up for my girls—I had just finished brewing a pot of coffee when they knocked on the door with the food.“Whoa! We get room service here?” She asked me, looking like I hung the moon. Making me stand a little taller and love