Free Kace (Allen Securities) by Madison Stevens

head out of his ass, they could make it official when he married Meg.
    Kace sighed. This easy promotion gig was turning out to be far more complicated than he ever wanted. Involving his family was only a small chunk of the problem, with Jessica being the biggest chunk. He didn’t even know where he was going with all this, but the idea of not going anywhere with it had him nearly sick. As odd as it seemed, it was more a risk not to see where things went.
    “Where’s Jessica?” Finn narrowed his eyes at him, and for the first time, Kace wondered what exactly he felt for her.
    “Her sister was up and came by,” Kace said.
    Finn’s mouth formed a thin line. “Her sister shouldn’t have to be up,” he snapped. “And what were you even doing here this late?”
    He knew someone was going to ask. Kace sighed.
    “We fell asleep,” he said simply.
    Finn continued to stare, clearly not believing what he had said.
    “If you two are finished pissing on stuff, I’d like to get this shit over with, so I can go home.” Liam was already hunched over the window ledge, examining the ground and ground level window.
    “Whatever,” Kace said and walked into the dark alley. A light flickered at the end of the alley, near the back of the building, but it wasn’t enough light to make much of anything out.
    He was surprised when Finn followed behind him quietly.
    “Find anything?” Finn rumbled to Liam.
    Liam looked up from his spot on the ground.
    “Doesn’t look like forced entry.” He pointed to the lock at the top.
    Kace frowned, as that didn’t make sense. “I locked this window the other night. I’m certain of it.”
    Liam and Finn exchanged a look.
    “Looks like you were right,” Liam said.
    “Right about what?” Kace crossed his arms and leaned against the cold brick. He hated being out of the loop, especially when that loop could get him killed.
    “Not only have we been coming up short on booze, but someone is skimming the accounts. It’s still not certain if they are related. The skimming is far more sophisticated than the theft. I tend to think that if they are the same group, it’s not being done by the same person,” Finn said.
    “On top of all that,” Liam stood and continued, “it looks like some of this is an inside job.”
    It did make sense. Otherwise, they would have to assume these people were smarter than they appeared, and nothing from the break-ins indicated that was the case.
    “So do you have any leads?” Kace asked. He watched Finn as he spoke.
    “The little waitress,” Finn said flatly.
    It wasn’t a surprise she was a suspect. She had been cagy since Kace started watching the place, but taking into consideration her situation, it wasn’t all that shocking he thought otherwise.
    “It’s not her,” he said.
    Finn smiled. “Jessica convince you she’s not in on this?”
    Kace frowned and stepped around the trash bin. “No. More like her boyfriend did.”
    Silence filled the alley as Finn’s mood shifted to something far more deadly. “What do you mean?”
    His voice cut through the air despite how quiet it was actually spoken. Kace could see why so many feared him.
    “She came in with bruises, and apparently, this wasn’t the first time,” he said. “Jessica has been monitoring the situation, and they talked tonight.”
    Finn’s fists clenched at his side. “And why didn’t she come to tell me this?”
    Kace glanced from Finn’s fists to his hard face. “Maybe she didn’t think you’d have the best reaction.”
    Finn threw his arms up. “And what reaction should I have when I hear that a little woman like that is being beaten?”
    “A legal one,” Kace said flatly.
    Finn laughed bitterly and stepped onto the sidewalk outside the alley. The light from the club lit his face. “You know the problem with your solution? They take a guy like that in, and if she’s lucky, he gets six months in. That gets reduced the two for good behavior.” Finn sneered. “Then