Finding Ace (Book 3)

Chapter 1. Divorce

Aria

Ace and Benny disappeared a year ago, and there had been no sign of them. They went to China to deal with some trade, and the plane never resurfaced. The pilots reported that the plane was going down, but the plane's tracker wasn't working, and it couldn't be located.

The house was quiet and dark. A lamp on my desk gave me just enough light to do my paperwork. The sun wouldn't rise for a couple of more hours.

The study door swung open. Austin paused when he saw me at the desk, and he let out a loud yawn. "You look dead on your feet," Austin muttered.

My eyes felt as if they weighed a ton each. It wasn't without difficulty that I raised my head to meet Austin's gaze. "I feel dead," I whispered.

Austin grimaced but didn't speak.

I looked back down at my papers slowly so that my head wouldn't fall to the desk. "There is a lead I want to follow up on," I said and yawned.

"Come on, Aria. I want to find them as bad as you do, okay? But we do have kids we have to see once in a while," Austin said. Austin sat down on the couch in front of me.

"What do you expect me to do, Austin? Give up on finding them? If it was Kalia, would you just say to hell with it?" My voice came out harsher than I meant it to.

Austin straightened up, pointed a finger in my direction, and glowered at me. "Now that isn't fair, Aria. Don't you dare put that shit on me. I'm his brother, don't forget that. I hate this as bad as you fucking do."

Honestly, I knew Austin missed Ace. Austin helped me the most. Austin helped me search for Benny and Ace, and he kept me sane through the situation. We all missed Ace and Benny. It had been hell to get along without them. Benny was our genius. Benny took care of technical problems, and he could hack into anything­ — not to mention he could build lethal weapons. Ace was streetwise, strong, fast, and brave.

"You're right. I'm sorry. It just feels like everyone wants me to give up on finding them," I muttered darkly. My stomach turned at the thought of never seeing Ace and Benny again.

"They just want you to be here too, Aria. Even when you are here, you're not here. Do you get me? Your kids need you. We all need you," Austin said.

Austin wasn't the type to get emotional, but over the past year, that is about all he had been.

My mouth opened to speak, but the door of the study swung open.

Kalia stormed into the study. Even though the room was dark, the anger in her features was evident. Kalia's face reddened. "I can't do this anymore!"

Is that smoke coming out of her ears? — I thought sarcastically to myself. It took all I had to keep my expression blank.

Kalia had turned into a complete bitch after Ace and Benny disappeared. Kalia only cared about herself. She became careless, angry, and insensitive. Maybe I simply didn't know her true colors until I had to live with her.

Austin and I stared at her and waited for her to speak.

Kalia stopped in front of Austin and had her back turned to me. "Austin, we have to get our own place. I can't stay in this fucking mansion!" Kalia shrieked.

"Kalia, what is the problem? Maybe I can help," I offered. Bailey and Austin were the only two that were aware of my distaste for Kalia. At one point in time, I adored Kalia, but she had been unbearable to live with the past year. Most of her anger seemed to be directed at me, and I had no idea why — Austin refused to tell me the reason.