Till Death - Ace Merrill (BOOK 2)

Strike one.

Everyone's attention instantly perked up as Oceane leapt up off Ace's lap.

Billy quickly flew off the sofa as he raced to the door. The others almost tripped over each other as they half stumbled out the front door.

Looking down they saw a ladder and a pile of broken glass.

Ace's head snapped up as he almost pushed Charlie and Hugo aside to race back in.

Oceane felt her arms reach out as they clung to Austin and Eyeball by her side.

The others raced after Ace as suddenly the largest shout was heard.

Further crashes were heard as Austin and Eyeball had managed to catch Oceane from dropping.

The scream she let out almost burst their ear drums as Hugo came down the stairs first. He gave Austin the same look as Austin and Eyeball tried getting Oceane back inside.

Hugo almost leapt on the phone as he quickly made the call.

The other cobras all came flying down the stairs as they bundled into the living room.

Oceane was already crying and yanking out at Austin and Eyeball by her side as Hugo struggled to talk on the phone.

Charlie held out a sheet of paper to Austin.

"It was on the bed." He attempted to say over Oceane's cries and mini screams.

Austin took it and looked down at the words.

Strike one.

"What the fuck?!" Austin snapped up at him.

The others all shrugged as Hugo finally hung up and turned to them.

"Who'd you call?" Billy attempted to ask.

"The only man who can stop that." Hugo answered as he looked down at Oceane.

"Her dad." Eyeball mumbled as he winced slightly, feeling Oceane's nails digging into him.

Hugo nodded. "And you know what that means?"

Austin couldn't hide the smirk. "The boys are back in town."

Hugo nodded. "The boys are back in town."

"Even Mr Happy?" Charlie asked as he looked between them.

Hugo shook his head slowly. "Salvatore's on a very different..." he paused.

"Job?" Austin offered up.

Hugo nodded quickly.

Oceane finally pushed herself off Austin and Eyeball and almost dropped to the floor.

Charlie and Jack instantly went out to grab her but Hugo quickly held them back, shaking his head.

Oceane attempted to crawl out the living room as she slowly forced her way to the stairs.

"He'll kill her." Jack pleaded up at Hugo.

Hugo shook his head. "She'd sooner kill him. She's a mother." He spoke firmly as Oceane crawled up the stairs towards the loud crashes and bangs.

Eyeball stood up and shook his head. "I can't let her go up there."

Austin stood up and stopped Eyeball from leaving.

"You don't know him like we do!" Eyeball snapped. "She goes up there, he'll fucking kill her in this mood! He doesn't realise his own fucking strength!" He snapped.

Austin shook his head. "You make one move to her and I'll drop you." He threatened.

Vince shook his head slowly as he looked past Austin. "She's at the top step. Seriously get her out of there. He won't be able to stop himself." He pleaded.

Austin and Hugo remained firm as they all saw Oceane slowly crawl into the bedroom, out of view.

The cobras all shut their eyes tightly, waiting to hear the crashes and smashes turn into a female scream.

But it didn't come.

One by one their eyes slowly opened as they looked around confused.

"There's no danger for her there, so our presence isn't required." Austin repeated the words he had told Jordan back when Oceane went off to Ace again.

The crashes, smashes and bangs stopped as they still somewhat expected a scream.

But it didn't come.

Nothing did.

"What the hell?" Eyeball whispered out in disbelief.

The silence from upstairs filled the house as Hugo walked over to the coffee table, pulling a lighter from his pocket he lit the candle in the middle of the table as he silently looked at the others, his finger pointing down at the flame.

"What's strike one?" Charlie finally asked as he held up the page.

"Baseball reference," Austin replied as he took the page.

"Any of you play baseball?" He asked as he looked around at the cobras.

They all fell silent, their many many games of baseball with other people's mailboxes flashing through their head.

"We played a version of it yes." Jack mumbled as he scratched the back of his neck nervously.

"So you know the strike system?" Hugo asked, ignoring their obvious nerves regarding baseball. "Strike one, strike two, strike three you're out."

They all nodded slowly.

"Something tells me the next strike is gonna be bigger than taking AJ." Fuzzy mumbled as he got a nervous feeling in his stomach.

"Hope you guys have been brushing up on protocols and training." Austin mumbled. "Shits about to get crazy difficult."

*****

Ace and Oceane lay flat on their backs on the bed. Both stared up at the ceiling, which already had some dents from Ace's temper earlier.

Their hands lay interlocked together in between them.

"Ace..."

"Yeah Stell?"

"Get our son back..." she pleaded quietly with him.

Ace didn't reply. They both rolled on their sides facing the other as he pulled her into his chest. His arms completely wrapped around her as hers draped around his waist, clutching at his shirt.

Her head buried into his neck as she shut her eyes tightly, praying to wake up from this painful nightmare.

"I promise." He finally whispered as he kissed the top of her head and looked up, resting his chin on her.

The candle sat on the beside remained flickering as he squinted at it slightly. It had survived his temper.

Everything else in the room had been smashed to bits, even the bed took a beating. But the candle remained burning.

"I love you Hero." He whispered as he clutched her tighter.

"I love you too Leander." She whispered back as he felt her grip on his shirt tighten as she tried to pull herself closer into his arms.