The Ace's Queen

Chapter 1

Ace POV

I close my eyes as the screams of that man touch my ears. My jaw is clenched as I remind myself that he is a criminal and a killer. So are you. My inner voice reminds me. My hand's fist and I take a deep breath, the sick metallic smell of blood immediately fills my nose and I cough. My eyes open and I catch the disapproving look Mason gives me. I ignore him and step into the cell, keeping my face carefully blank of any internal conflict.

I raise my hand to stop my man, the man looks up at me and sneers at me even though his face is swollen and bloody. I look at him coldly and say "This can go on and on, I assure you these men don't get tired. You can make this easy for you and just tell us the information."

The man laughs, it's a sick laugh, and I feel a chill go down my spine. I narrow my eyes at him as I resist the urge to shiver. He coughs out blood and spits at my feet. My jaw clenches as the blood drops fly on my white pants and stain them. It's a show of blatant disrespect and I nod at one of my men.

He punches the man straight in his face and there's a sickening crunch as his nose breaks. He screams and curses at me. I keep my face impassive and wait till he's calmed down a little bit.

"So?" I ask him after he's done screaming. He stops his sniffing and glares at me, then he grins, my jaw aches from how tight I'm clenching it. "Little prince charming, why don't you hit me yourself, and then I will tell you exactly what you want to hear." His voice is nasally and he wheezes a lot when he says this. He won't say anything at all. He'd rather die, he's a seasoned man of the mafia after all. But it's the nickname that makes me wary of him.

He keeps grinning at me and I see my men exchanging looks. "Get out, all of you," I command. I extend my hand and one of them puts a whip in my hand as they go out.

As the door is closed, I smile a slow smile at the man. "You made a mistake," I say slowly circling him. I hear his breath hitch; he didn't expect me to do it.

I kneel in front of him and lean into his ear, "Now you'll know why you shouldn't have done that." I whisper and I see him swallow.

I stand up and crack the whip on the floor, he flinches at the sharp sound. In the next hit, the whip lands on his back so hard that he falls down face first and my wrist hurts from the pressure. He screams again.

"Count. If you lose count, we'll start again." I tell him and he flinches. He sits back up and I clench my jaw.

I land strike upon strike on him and whenever he loses count, I repeat the process.

It feels like hours, his back is in bloody ribbons, my hands ache from the pressure and my breath is sharp, my body is lined with sweat. I feel nauseous from the rancid smell of blood and sweat. He screams "Stop, please. Please stop!" and sobs heavily. His breath is coming out in gasps and he heaves, I wrinkle my nose in disgust as he pukes all over the floor and step away so it doesn't accidentally fly over me.

I wait patiently for him to stop puking; he just slumps over the floor after he's done, lying in his filth.

I walk around him, carefully avoiding the puke, and turn him over with my shoes. He opens his eyes and looks at me as he winces because of his pain. "Just kill me" he whispers. I barely hear him so I kneel "What?" I ask.

"Just... Please just kill me. If I tell you anything, he will kill my wife and my son. Please." He whispers, there is fear in his voice, fear, and defeat. He has accepted his fate.

I feel conflicted, I know I need the information, but I also believe his wife and son are innocent. I inhale sharply as I come to a decision "I will extend my protection to them if you give me the information." I promise. He meets my eyes "I believe you, but you can't. You can't do anything." He says slowly and closes his eyes.

I know what I have to do now, I know there is no other option, but I swallow thickly. Bile climbs up my throat and I count to ten till I feel myself calm a little. I remove a knife from my shoes and look at the man once, he looks beat and broken, breaths coming in pants and lying in his filth.

I lie to myself telling myself that I'm relieving him of his pain. I raise the knife and his eyes open. My breath hitches as he locks eyes with me. I stab him in the throat, easy and quick. Blood flies from his mouth and from his wound I close my eyes as the blood splashes on my clothes and my face. The warm metallic liquid makes me flinch. I open my eyes to find his lifeless eyes still locked on mine. I shiver and immediately get up.

I quickly get out of the cell; my men are waiting outside. Mason locks eyes with me and raises his brows in question I shake my head and he swears in anger. "Go get cleaned up we'll clear this up." He says and I nod.

I walk out of there feeling the blood dry on my face and my shirt stick to me from the blood. I clench my fists tightly so I don't scrub my body in the middle of the hallway. I quickly exit from the basement and go upstairs. I feel the eyes of my men on me, and see them nod in acknowledgment from the corner of my eyes but I cannot bring myself to look at them. I increase my pace, make my way to the family's side of the estate, and stop in my tracks.

There standing before me is my sister, Kaede. Her eyes sweep over me from head to toe and then they finally lock with mine. She stays there for a minute, then she takes a deep breath and walks away without a word. My hands tremble and my voice cracks when I attempt to call after her. "Kaede..." she stops when she hears my voice. "Get yourself cleaned up before Ivy comes back home brother." She says and resumes walking away from me.

I sigh and hurry to my room. I close the door immediately and get in the shower. I turn the heat till it is scalding and strip under the shower. I throw my bloody clothes in the trash and just stand there watching the blood wash down the drain. I feel the bile crawling up my throat and I rush to the toilet heaving. I puke heavily and hot tears stream down from my eyes. I flush down the toilet and get back in the shower feeling dirty.

I stand in the scalding, punishing heat of the shower and scrub myself till every inch of my skin is stinging and raw. I use the body wash and inhale till I can only smell the pine of the body wash and not the pungent smell of blood and vomit.

After what feels like hours, I finally turn the knob and get out of the shower feeling heavy and tired. I dry myself and brush my teeth unable to look in the mirror and see the monster that is me. After I'm done, I walk to my closet and get dressed without actually seeing what I'm wearing. I brush my wet hair away from my face and wear my watch, my rings and shrug on my suit jacket. I look in the mirror as I'm wearing my tie and school my features into nonchalance.

I walk out of my room and go to my office. Mason is waiting outside. I motion him in after I get in and he sits opposite me. He's watching me carefully and I ignore him as I take a look at the paperwork on my table. I open one file and start reading its content. He clears his throat and I look up at him.

"Are you okay?" he asks slowly. I shrug "Is there anything you want to say?" I ask him. He exhales loudly and slumps back in his seat "What should we do now?" he asks. I lean back in my chair as well and rest my hands on the table and close my eyes as I think.

I open my desk drawer and remove the letter the man had brought with him. I open the letter and read it again and again, not knowing what to do.

Dear Ace Knight,

This is to request a dinner meeting with you. If yes, send my man back to me alive.

Lucius Celentano.

The letter was short and to the point. He wanted me to send his man alive back to him if it was a yes. But I killed his man, which means I refused to meet up with Lucius Celentano.

I look back up at Mason "Now, we wait."