Top of Your Ambitions

“I think I have an idea of how to get rid of the handcuffs.” Ace shot up from her position on the floor.

Her abrupt actions forced Zack up with her. He sighed at her in exhaustion, shooting her an irritated look.

“What?”

“I’m going to pick at the locks.”

Zack raised his dark colored eyebrow.

“You know how to pick locks?”

“Zack, why do you think Jack can pick locks?”

The bassist grinned in amusement, shaking his head.

“You taught Jack?

She nodded.

“Do you know how many lives you’ve ruined for that?”

Zack recalled many times where Jack broke into the loft in the middle of the night to ransack their food supplies. Rian and Zack used to be so irritated when they find Jack chomping on an energy bar or a bowl of cereal in their kitchen. Eventually, they got used to it.

“Yeah, well, I did it for him as a favor.” Ace said nonchalantly.

He scoffed.

“Yeah, one of the many favors…”

“Are you still on that, Zack?” The blonde started unbuttoning her coat.

“Yes, it bothers me that Jack is the first man you’ve ever loved. He is the person you lost your virginity to!” He pointed an index finger at her.

The blonde rolled her eyes once more just as she completely unbuttoned her coat.

“Zack, I didn’t love him and I sure as hell did not lose my virginity to him.”

He gaped at her in shock.

“What?”

“I lost my virginity in eighth grade.”

“To who?”

“You’re going to be very shocked.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Don’t tell Dale though…”

It is now Zack’s turn to roll his eyes.

“You already fucked her current boyfriend, can’t possibly get any worse than that.”

“Actually it can…” Ace trailed off awkwardly.

With that, Zack already knows where she is going at. He knows exactly whom she is referring to.

“You lost your virginity to Raphael Lockheart, didn’t you?”

“Yeah. Surprisingly, I’m actually proud to admit that…”

“Are you out of your freaking mind? He’s like…”

“Dead?”

“Whatever… wait, what are you doing? It’s fucking freezing in here!” He gestured toward her opened coat.

Acacia sighed loudly and started unbuttoning her blouse.

“I am not having sex with you, Ace.” Zack declared.

“No, I’m trying to get to my bra.”

“Err… why?”

“Okay, so I have to get the wires out of the bottom and use it to pick at the lock on our handcuff.” She explained as her two fingers finished off the last button.

Zack stared at her chest when her red lacy bra is in view. Gulping, he awkwardly turned away from her.

“I need a favor.”

“Well, not dressed like that!”

“Zack, you need to help me get the wire out!”

He shook his head.

“Zack!”

“Do it yourself. God gave you hands for a reason!”

“I don’t know if you noticed, but I only have one hand and I cannot pull it out. The fabric of the bra needs to be broken so I have an opening to pull it out of.”

The bassist turned to the blonde, throwing his free hand up dramatically. He glared at her face and worked hard not to let them wander anywhere lower.

“What do you want me to do, Ace?”

“I want you to use your teeth to break the bottom fabric of my bra.”

“Ace?”

“I’m serious! Do you want to be handcuffed to me until we die?” She breathed out while she shivered.

Rolling his eyes in defeat, Zack moved closer to her.

“Where am I sinking my teeth into?”

Ace pointed at the area below where her lower left breast would be. He awkwardly shifted his position so that his face is in level with the red lacy material. It is very strange for him to be doing this right now. They are broken up, and they shouldn’t even be intimately touching.

Placing his teeth upon her breast is not a way to avoid intimacy.

“You better not be enjoying this…” Zack muttered.

She scoffed.

“If anyone’s going to enjoy this, it’s definitely going to be you.”

Zack did not return the comment, getting right to his task. He placed his teeth on the fabric, internally scolding himself as his bottom lip touched her skin. His front teeth gnawed at the bottom side of her bra, working desperately to tear the fabric apart.

Despite the discomfort on both parties, Zack finally managed to get the job done by ripping open the fabric tube on the lower portion of her bra. He sighed in relief as he spat out the fabric and got up from his position.

“Great.” Ace used her left hand and pulled out a thin piece of wire from the opening.

After pulling it out completely, she examined the material and nodded at it proudly. Zack studied her as she twisted the object in unimaginable ways. He noticed that she is shivering in the cold with white frost coming out from her mouth every time she let out a breath. She is freezing; he can tell.

She finished adjusting the wires and stuck the end of it inside the hole in between the handcuff. Zack watched her pick at it several times, mainly impressed that she even knew how to do it. Detectives aren’t supposed to learn how to do it; they didn’t need the skill set. Criminals do, however.

“When and why did you learn?” He asked.

“Thought it convenient in case I accidentally handcuffed myself and lost the keys.”

“In what occasion would that happen?”

“I don’t know. But a buddy at the academy went to locksmith school and taught me.”

A loud click rang throughout the room and both parties sighed in relief as the handcuff dropped from their hands and onto the floor.

“Fuck yes!”

With her free hands, Ace quickly resorted to buttoning up both her white blouse and her dark colored coat. Her whole body shook in the cold, both arms hugging around herself for warmth.

Zack sat down on the floor against the wall. He glanced at her for a few moments before beckoning for her to come over. The blonde obliged, slowly making her way over. Just as she sat down beside him, he took off his coat and wrapped it around her body.

“Zack…”

“You need it a lot more than I do.”

Ace studied him. He is wearing a dark crewneck top above; it is definitely not enough to shield him from the cold. She cannot believe that he is willing to risk his own life for her. She did not believe she is worth it.

“You’re going to freeze.”

“I work out so I’m less inclined to die from the cold than you.”

She smirked at him and wrapped the coat around her body.

“You just channeled your inner Jack.”

Zack’s eyebrows shot up quickly, expectantly.

“In what planet is Jack Barakat actually being associated with chivalry?”

Ace scoffed, shaking her head profusely.

“No, I mean Jack from Titanic!”

“Come here.” Zack held out his arms and gestured toward it with his eyes.

Hesitantly but willingly, Ace placed her head on his chest and let him wrap both arms around her frame. Surprisingly, she feels slightly warmer in his embrace. Body heat really isn’t a myth.

“So if I’m Jack from Titanic, does that make you Rose?”

“Well, in this case, Wallace would be your Rose. I’m probably the iceberg that sank your ship.”

Zack stopped at the mention of his girlfriend’s name.

“Ace.”

“You want me to tell you what’s been going on with Wallace?”

She turned to look up at him, wrapping an arm around his waist.

“We’re going to die anyways, so why not right?” She chuckled.

Smiling down at her, he nodded.

Wallace cannot kill her when she is already dead. One good thing about dying is that it allowed her to do something she’s wanted to do. She can finally reveal Wallace’s true identity to Zack.

“Wallace Poulsen is a fabricated name.”

“What do you mean?”

“Okay, so she is born in Brooklyn; her real name is Layla Harper.”

“Harper?” His face scrunched up in discomfort.

Zack expected something strange to come up from Wallace’s past since she doesn’t talk about it at all. She never talked about her parents or her family. He never asked her why because she would get uncomfortable and angry every time he pried at her life. Now it is starting to make sense.

“Harper? You mean that guy… that pig David is…”

“David Harper is her brother.”

“Wait, so Harper tried to frame Dan Potter or whatever that dude’s name is, because he hurt his sister… Dan Potter has a history with Wallace. That is why you guys have been secretive, solving the case together. That is why Iverson showed up at her apartment. She kept this from me… she’s linked to criminals.” Zack whispered.

He shook his head.

“Layla Harper was married to Daniel Potter. They married when they were eighteen. He filed for divorce before he joined the navy. She was broken after he was gone, so she decided to start fresh and move to Baltimore.”

“Why Baltimore?”

Zack still cannot believe that Wallace hid her entire past from him. She was married and he didn’t even know. He is her boyfriend; he is supposed to know.

“Okay, so her mom actually had an affair with Conrad Lockheart during his first marriage. He had a massive argument with his beloved wife and had an affair with Christine Harper. Wallace is actually…”

“Conrad’s daughter, Loki’s half sister…”

“Yes. And one more thing…”

“Oh my god, Acacia, why would you keep this from me?” Zack pressed his face against the crook of her neck.

She can tell that he is stressed out right now. However, he is not as surprised as she thought he would be whenever he found out. Zack already expected for something like this to happen.

“Wallace mainly didn’t want you to know of her past identity because she killed a man when she was fourteen. David Harper tried to cover for her. He loved his sister very much and would do anything to protect her.”

Zack removed his face from her neck dramatically, gaze hardening on her.

“I’m dating a murderer? Ace, you let me date a murderer?”

“Hey, it’s not my fault you picked her up at some bar after we broke up!”

He laughed bitterly, nodding in agreement.

“Fair enough.”

“But she killed her step father because he tried to rape and hurt her. Do not look at her like she is a monster. She is not, as much as I hate admitting it. Wallace Poulsen is an alias, an escape for her from her past life. She’s suffered through her life and wanted nothing to do with it. Telling you about her past would mean for her to accept the fact that her past actually is a part of her. She wants to think otherwise.”

Zack sighed.

“How and when did you learn to understand her so well?”

“I don’t know, actually. I’ve actually hated her for the longest time.”

His expression softened, hazel eyes furrowing at the sight of her. She identified so many different emotions in his eyes at this moment and it scared her. As a detective, she’s learned to detach herself from her emotions if she wanted to. It is easy for her to seem unaffected by Zack and his or her emotions. The look on his face has too much of an affect in her. She cannot bring herself to build a wall around herself from it.

“Is it because of me?” He whispered.

“Why else, Zack?”

“I’m sorry for what I did.”

“Me too, Zack.”

He used his frozen hand to brush a few strands of her blonde hair away from her face and smiled at her sadly.

“You didn’t do anything wrong, Acacia.”

“I did. I should’ve married you. I wanted to.” She admitted.

Zack has been avoiding this topic for the longest time, they both have. Their lack of will and ability to confront each other with major relationship problems prevented them from having closure in their relationship. Neither of them ever figured out what went wrong in their relationship. During their brief breakup, Zack found someone new and that signified the end of their life together.

“Ace, why did you reject my proposal?”

“Honestly?”

“The truth, please.”

Sighing, Ace moved in closer against him. She is still freezing and feels her whole body give up on her. In addition, she has to waste her energy on expressing emotions to him.

“I’m not good enough.”

“Good enough for what, Ace?”

“Good enough for you.”

“Acacia Janelle Kovacs, I have never in my entire existence ever thought that you weren’t good enough for me. You’ve always been more than that!” He continued to look at her sadly.

Fortunately, she did not identify any looks of sympathy. She hates those.

“Zack, you are a rock star! You actually make more than enough money! I am a cop, living on cop salary! How would someone like you stoop so low and marry me? How would someone like you be willing to spend the rest of your life with me?”

“Stop, Ace. Just stop saying that! That is a bullshit reason. I cannot believe that was the reason why we are not married right now!”

Growling in frustration, she broke away from him and stared him down bitterly.

“The reason why we are not married now is because you fell in love with Wallace Poulsen!”

Zack nodded in agreement and turned from her.

“But you want to know something?”

Ace didn’t respond.

“If there is one person I am going to freeze to death with, I am so damn glad it is you, Ace.”

She managed a smile and pulled her knees against her chest.

“Me too, Zack.”

What she didn’t tell him is: he is the only person she would willingly die with.

Notes

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