"See? I told you he couldn't be trusted," Ace muttered as Mandy brought the car to a stop in front of the Rockworths. David and Brooke weren't alone—they'd brought two tall, menacing men who looked more like hired muscle than family friends.
Mandy sighed, rolling her eyes. "Stop worrying. That asshole probably brought them because he was scared I'd bring Dan along," she said, stepping out of the car. Ace followed her without hesitation with his jaw tight and his eyes scanning the surroundings warily.
"David," Mandy called out, a sarcastic lilt to her voice as she approached them. "I didn't think you'd need two bodyguards just to meet me. I'm flattered, really." She smirked, but before she could say another word, a blur shot past her.
Ace moved like a coiled spring, his fists landing with precision. His first punch caught one of the tall men square in the throat, leaving him choking and stumbling. The second barely had time to react before Ace drove a solid gut punch into him, following up with a brutal knee to the face as he doubled over. With fluid efficiency, Ace turned back to the first man, who was gasping for air, and delivered a sharp kick to the groin that sent him crumpling to the ground.
As both men writhed in pain, Ace bent down and disarmed them, pulling the handguns tucked into their waistbands. Without so much as a glance at the fallen men, he turned his attention to David, Brooke, and Mandy, who were staring at him in stunned silence. Calmly, Ace disassembled the guns piece by piece, letting the parts and ammo clatter to the ground, their metallic echoes breaking the eerie quiet of the desolate bridge.
Satisfied, he hopped onto the hood of Brooke's pristine G-Wagon, leaning back as if he were settling in for a casual conversation. "Please," he said, gesturing with a casual wave of his hand, "continue."
Mandy blinked, momentarily speechless, before regaining her composure. Meanwhile, David and Brooke looked too shaken to speak, but their pale face and trembling legs spoke everything that need to be said.
Ace, meanwhile, was stone-faced, hiding the adrenaline coursing through him. His doubts about the meeting had been confirmed when Dame Wasp, through their shared senses, reported earlier that David's goons were armed. Ace's father's words echoed in his mind: Out here, you don't wait for trouble to escalate—you deal with it before it becomes a tragedy.
And Ace had done just that, ensuring the situation was under his control before it even began.
Noticing Brooke subtly reach for her phone, Ace's voice turned sharp, almost daring, as he said, "Go ahead. Call the cops. Make sure to tell them to bring an ambulance while they're at it."
David's head snapped toward his daughter. His glare was a mix of fury and warning as he lunged forward, yanking her purse from her grip and tossing it to the ground with a thud. Then, turning his steely gaze to Mandy, trying to regain some control over the situation, David demanded, "What's the meaning of this?"
Mandy's expression hardened. Her tone was steady, her eyes holding his without a trace of fear. "You tell me," she shot back. "Didn't we agree to meet alone? So why did you bring two armed men with you?"
Her voice carried an authority that hadn't been there earlier. Before, she'd been feigning—not letting David savor the fear in her eyes. But now, with Ace by her side, she nothing to fear. The risk of the plan has been apparent to her. She wasn't naive to think David would play nice. If he was capable of that then they wouldn't be here.
However, Mandy was confident David wouldn't dare harm her—not with the detonator she held over his carefully constructed plans for his precious daughter's bright future. Still, she wasn't foolish enough to trust human nature especially when they had their backs backed up against a wall. People could be unpredictable, and desperation had a way of making even the most rational individuals dangerous. Knowing Ace had her back provided comfort and confidence to her.
She was suprised to find that Ace wasn't just strong—he was skilled. Mandy had brushed off Dan's privious claims that Ace knew his way around firearms better than even his brother. But after watching him disassemble the men's handguns with practiced ease, she realized Dan hadn't been exaggerating.
David exhaled slowly, his voice lowering as he tried to sound reasonable. "They were here for my protection. I didn't think you'd trust me enough to come here alone without Dan accompanying you."
Mandy's lips twitched in a faint, humorless smile. "If you were that scared of Dan," she countered, her tone cutting, "you could've asked me to meet in a crowded place—or even at the sheriff's office. But you didn't, did you?"
Her words hung in the air like a challenge, her gaze pinning him. "Admit it—you never intended to play fair."
David's jaw tightened, but before he could respond, Mandy pulled out her phone. Her voice was cool, almost dismissive, as she said into the receiver, "Boys, head home. I've got this under control."
Just as Brooke and David exchanged wary glances, trying to figure out who Mandy was talking to, the distant roar of engines broke the silence. The rumble of ATVs and dirt bikes echoed from the woods, growing louder before gradually fading into the distance.
"Idiot! You ruined my whole plan," she snapped, her eyes blazing as she rounded on Ace. Mandy's sharp voice cut through the tension, pulling the father and daughter duo's focus back.
Ace, who had been sitting casually on the G-Wagon's hood, froze mid-smirk but he shrugged it off. He knew Mandy had been counting on David to pull some stunt—something reckless enough to secure the absolute proof she needed to see him and Brooke locked away for good. And she hadn't hesitated to put herself—and Ace—in harm's way to get it.
Ace liked to think she chose him for this because Danny wasn't tough enough for the job. However, he had a feeling it was most likely because she was still mad at him for opposing her Orchard B&B venture.
He had no clue what had sparked this bitter feud between the Landers and the Rockworths. Whatever it was, it was enough to push even level-headed Mandy to risk everything.
Reckless as it seemed, Ace trusted her judgment. He always had. So, he planned to follow her lead but when he learned that David's goons were armed the situation had spiraled too far, and Ace couldn't just stand by and watch as things tipped into tragedy.
"Mandy," Ace said, his voice steady but tinged with frustration. "You don't have to put yourself in harm's way to deal with trash like him." He crossed his arms, his tone softening. "I had my friend dig up some dirt on David. Let's just say he found some pretty interesting stuff. I sent it to your email. Use it. Do what you were planning—just without putting your neck on the line."
With that, he slid back onto the hood of the G-Wagon, resting against the windshield with a deliberate ease. Hands clasped behind his head, he stared up at the fading clouds as if the situation were no more than an inconvenience. But the slight furrow in his brow betrayed the weight of his thoughts.