Chapter 16 — Ace

I fumed for the rest of the day. Josiah, on the other hand, acted like nothing was amiss. Either the kiss hadn’t bothered him, or he was a far better actor than I gave him credit for.

“I still have a lot of questions for you,” Josiah said as we got into his car.

I stared at a splotch of dirt on the windshield.

He gunned the engine and pulled out of the parking lot. “You owe me for having my private investigator muddy your tracks.”

It was interesting how the angle of the glass had made the mud run down a little before it dried. It changed the shape from a circle to an upside down teardrop.

“I thought you’d be better at hiding evidence,” he said, “but I guess your reputation isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be.”

“I’d like to see you do better,” I snapped.

Josiah smirked at me through the mirror. “Knew that’d get a rise out of you. What’s wrong with you today? You’re moodier than my mother when she’s sober.”

I glared at a passing tree like it was the source of all my problems.

“Is it about what happened this morning?”

I struggled to keep my face blank, but something gave it away.

Josiah shook his head. “I had no idea you were such a romantic. I mean, I get that I’m a good kisser, but—”

“Nothing about that was good.”

Which wasn’t exactly true. As much as I hated to admit, a part of me had also enjoyed it. There was no denying I liked guys, but I wanted to think I still had standards.

“That hurts me, ghetto boy. If you’re not struggling over your unrequited feelings for me, which no one would blame you for, what has you in such a bad mood?”

I didn’t want to explain it. I wasn’t sure if I even knew how to explain it.

“You promised you would answer all my questions, didn’t you?” Josiah reminded.

I resisted the urge to punch him. “Shut up and drive.”

For once, he did as I told him and didn’t say a word until we entered the manor. Servants flocked to him like birds, attentive to his every need. When Josiah mentioned that it was chilly in the room, a butler pressed a woolen pullover into his arms as a maid ran off to adjust the thermostat.

“They must have heard about the murders,” he said, once we were in his room. “They’re normally not so fussy.”

“I thought you liked the attention,” I said. “If you asked, I’m sure a pretty maid would be glad to come in here to stroke your ego, not that it needs it.”

Josiah gave me a dirty look. “What kind of person do you think I am?”

“Do you really want the answer?”

“Yeah. Come on, ghetto boy, hit me with it. Don’t hold back.”

“You can’t get mad,” I said.

“I promise I won’t.”

“Alright.” I crossed my arms. “I think you’re an arrogant pinhead who thinks he’s hot stuff just because he can throw around a football. And you pick on others to distract yourself from the fact that you depend on your father’s money to build up your reputation. Plus, you…”

I trailed off when I saw his face. “Look, I-I’m sorry.” The apology tasted bitter in my mouth. “Don’t take it personally. I didn’t mean—”

A force slammed into my body. The next thing I knew, I was flat on the ground with my hands pinned above my head and a weight on my chest.

“There’s more to the game than tossing around a ball,” Josiah said. “There’s also endurance, strategy, and tackling. You’ll find I’m good at that last one.”

“Get off, Josiah,” I gasped. “You’re crushing me.”

“But it’s quite comfortable here. We should continue our conversation from earlier. Remind me again. What did you call me? An egotistical pinhead?”

I twisted free. “You promised not to get mad.”

“I’m just messing around, horseplay, like friends do,” he said.

I edged toward the bathroom. “I wasn’t aware we were friends.”

“We’re not.”

He dove for me again. I bolted for the bathroom and slammed the door behind me, fumbling with the lock. It clicked into place. Josiah cursed on the other side.

Thankfully, he cooled down by nightfall so I didn’t have to sleep next to the toilet. Josiah did, however, turn the thermostat down low and leave me without a blanket.

He found it amusing the next day when I couldn’t stop sneezing. He found it less amusing when the noise kept him up all night.

“Why are you complaining?” I snapped. “It’s your fault I’m sick.”

Josiah raised an eyebrow. “I wasn’t aware that I had the ability to morph into a virus and infect you.”

“No, but you can make me sleep on the ground when the air conditioning was turned down to thirty-five degrees.” I punctuated the sentence with a sneeze that made Josiah laugh again.

That night, he gave me a few blankets and made the room a bearable temperature. Whether that was out of the goodness of his heart or because he was sick of me sneezing all the time remained to be seen.

With homework and football to distract him, Josiah forgot about questioning me until the weekend. As we drove to his house every day, I got the feeling that someone was following us, but there was no one there when I looked back.

On Saturday, Josiah had a servant bring up a tray of cookies before he spread out on the ground with several textbooks.

“Why is the Underground out for your blood?” he asked as he sketched a hyperbola on graph paper. “Spades used to bring in a lot of money.”

“The new Underground leader didn’t take a liking to me, especially after I saw something I shouldn’t have,” I said. “He doesn’t like loose ends.”

“What did you see?”

“If I told you, you’d become a loose end he’d have to tie up too.”

Josiah rolled his eyes. “He’ll never find out. Besides, if he kills me, he’ll lose my father as a client.”

I glanced over my shoulder. “You can’t tell anyone else.”

“Aww, I’m flattered you’re trusting me with this.” Josiah made two lines across his chest with his finger. “Cross my heart.”

I bit my lip. “He’s working with the EAGLE director. I saw them meeting once. The director gets arrests to convince the public to funnel more resources to his department, and my boss gets a convenient way to get rid of challengers.”

“It has to be more than that. Otherwise, they wouldn’t work together in secret, not when the stakes are this high.”

“If you’re so smart, why don’t you explain it?” I said.

“In business, you only chance investments where the benefits outweigh the risks. If these two men are smart, and I’m assuming they have to be if they climbed the ranks this high, then they understand that rule.”

“What else could they get out of it?”

“I don’t know. You’re the one with ties to the Underground.”

“Former ties,” I corrected. “And I find it hard to believe that your family never associated with the Underground either.”

“That’s different.”

“It’s just as illegal.”

Josiah snorted. “There’s a significant difference between killing a person and—”

“Paying an assassin to do it,” I finished. “Yes, the first option requires you to grow a spine.”

He flicked a pencil at my head. “That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

I was about to reply when my phone buzzed with a text from Genevieve. A huge smile spread across my face.

Josiah looked surprised. “I’ve never seen you this happy before. It’s a little scary.”

I let out a giddy laugh. “David’s okay! He was discharged from the hospital an hour ago. I need to go see him.”

“How do you plan on doing that? Castle Hills doesn’t allow taxis.”

“Who takes you back from the airport?”

“We have chauffeurs,” Josiah said in a tone that implied it should have been obvious.

“Not everyone has that kind of money. I’ll walk to the nearest bus stop.”

“The one that’s fifteen miles away? It’ll be easier if I drive you. I need a break from schoolwork.”

“That…would be nice.”

Especially since I wouldn’t have to walk alone in the ghetto after dark. The Underground was no longer my haven.

The moment she saw me, Genevieve pulled me into a bone-crushing hug. “Thank you so much for your help, Ace. I don’t care who you had to threaten or kill—”

She broke off when she noticed Josiah standing on the path. “That’s a joke. Ace wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

“He’s certainly hurt worse,” Josiah said.

Genevieve frowned.

“He knows, Gen,” I explained. “And you need to work on your lying skills.”

She laughed. “You’re one to talk. You couldn’t keep a secret to save your life.”

“Gemstone, quit making the kid stand out in the cold.” David’s voice came from inside the house.

It was a relief to hear it clear and strong again.

Genevieve ushered us both inside. The scent of brownies filled my nose. I followed it to the kitchen like a bloodhound. David sat at the table, eating one in small bites. Being in the hospital must have killed his appetite.

I reached for a brownie.

“Wait.” Josiah grabbed my arm. “I don’t think you’ll want to eat those. They smell like weed.”

I dropped the brownie like it was scalding.

David sized up Josiah. “You’ve got a good nose. And you’re right. Gen made pot brownies to celebrate me getting out of the hospital.”

Genevieve came into the kitchen. “Sorry, kiddo. If I had known you were coming, I would have baked normal ones.”

We made a round of introductions before David waved me over.

“How much do you trust Josiah, Ace of Spades?” he whispered. “There’s sensitive information I need to tell you. Can he stick around?”

I glanced at Josiah. Seeing as he’d already gotten involved by hiding me in his house, it wouldn’t hurt to tell him more. Besides, he would wheedle information out of me regardless.

“Yeah,” I told David. “He can stay.”

“I need you to be sure. We could all be killed if he ratted us out.”

“I’m certain.”

“Gemstone,” David said louder. “You’ve combed the house for bugs, right?”

Her eyes flashed with concern. “I do it every week. What’s wrong?”

“I never told you guys how I ended up injured, did I?”

I shook my head. “How?”

David rubbed his jaw with a wince. “I got jumped by Underground hitmen after I caught the EAGLE director meeting with two men, not too far from here.”

Genevieve shook her head. “That makes no sense. Why would the Underground protect an agency out to destroy it?”

“I know what I saw. The EAGLE director appears often enough on the news.”

“Was one of the men tall and thin?” I asked. “With black hair and green eyes?”

David nodded.

I sighed. “That’ll be Seth.”

Genevieve blinked. “Who’s that?”

“The leader of the Underground.”

David shook his head. “No wonder he sent people after me. If word got out—”

“You mean when word gets out,” Genevieve corrected. “There’s no way we’re keeping quiet if our leader’s collaborating with EAGLE.”

“It would be best to wait,” he said. “We don’t know how many people are involved.”

That was a scary thought.

“What about the other guy?” I asked. “You said there were three people.”

David squinted as he tried to remember. “He was on the older side. Shorter than average, plump too, with salt and pepper hair. The strange part is, I swear I’ve seen him before.”

Josiah spoke up, “Did this man have a strange fondness for maroon sweater vests?”

“He was wearing one that night.”

“You know him, Josiah?” I said.

He looked at me like I was stupid. “His name’s Horace Whitaker, an eminent politician and a close family friend of mine.”

Genevieve snapped her fingers. “I’ve heard of him. He’s running for President this year as an independent.”

“If he won, he could manipulate the laws to benefit both of his collaborators,” Josiah said. “That’s the piece we were missing. That’s the reward well worth the risk.”

David swore and pounded his fist on the table. “What have we gotten ourselves into?”