Top of Your Ambitions

Acacia stomped her way toward her best friend, who looks to be deep into conversation with Jack and Dale. All three turned when they noticed her approaching and they instantly knew that Rian is about to get an angry lecture over this particular matter. Rian stared at the other two, gulping at them before nodding solemnly at her.

“You come with me right now.” She muttered, pointing her index finger out at Rian.

“Hey, Ace, try to bring him back in one piece, yeah? We really do not want to go through all this trouble to find us a new drummer.” Jack remarked from behind Rian.

Rian flicked his band mate off one last time before following Ace to the side of the room. It is a bit quieter on the side since everyone else is in the middle or at the bar. He gulped at her, knowing exactly why he is here and why his best friend is angry.

“Why the hell are you here, Rian? Why is Breck here? I thought you were going to make sure she stays home, not show up to an adult party.” Ace started rambling.

The drummer opened his mouth to protest only for her to hold her hand up in interruption.

“How did you guys even get in here, anyway?”

Rian scratched at the back of his head sheepishly.

“Dale gave Breck a pair of invites, and I’m her plus one.”

“And how did she manage to convince you to escort her here? How much of a pushover can you be, Dawson?”

He shot his best friend an apologetic look, knowing damn well she won’t stay mad at him forever. She is just a bit pissed off at the moment, letting her protective nature kick in a bit.

“Look, Breck really needs this. Ever since the death of Taylor, she’s been drowning herself with work to ignore her grief. She deserves to go out and have some fun.” Rian is always looking out for Breck’s interests.

Just three months ago, Breck’s girlfriend, Taylor was murdered in the locker room of a tennis club. She solved the murder and the perpetrator actually turned out to be a man that she cheated on Ace’s sister with. Breck was drowned in her grief in the past few months, and this is the first time that Breck is going out to push all that fact in the back of her mind.

Maybe that Lockheart girl can help her with that as much as Ace hates that idea.

“You’re right, Ri. You’re always right when it comes to Breck… she might as well be your sister.” Ace sighed in defeat, dropping her hands to her sides dramatically.

Rian’s expression softened as he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. She stared at him in return, refusing to let the fact faze her. Actually, she is so used to it that she started caring less and less about how much she means to her younger sister.

“Hey, you put the roof over her head and you look out for her. You are a damn good sister; hardworking and all.” Rian comforted.

She grinned at him. The two shared glances for a brief moment with permanent smiles on their faces until Rian caught something behind her. His eyes widened and his smile just got a bit bigger than it was. Ace didn’t even turn around to see what is going on.

“Holy shit, is that Bruno Mars?” Rian whispered in shock.

Rolling her eyes, Ace gestured for him to make his pursuit.

“Go, Ri, I’ll be fine.”

The drummer thanked her, leaning over to give her a quick kiss on the cheek before he ran off after the renowned singer. Ace chuckled to herself and decided to find Alex. She left him alone with Beckett and Tomas, which is very heartless of her. It is time for her to make amends.

At this point, music from the stage at the front filled the room and she noticed that a previous hotshot singer had left the stage, leaving the next singer to take over. She looked over the stage briefly and noticed that Devyn Crackhill, chart-topping country singer, has taken the stage. She only knew the singer because she is good friends with Liezel. Shaking her head, Ace decided to make it her point to find Alex.

During her scan for the brunette singer, she identified Ryland Lockheart sitting by himself at the bar. He downed a shot that he looked much too young to be allowed to take; he is a Lockheart, he gets what he wants. Her lips pursed in observation as she tried to think of reasons why she does not trust him. There is something about his appearance that makes her curious.

He does not care for social events, he does not care for his family; the only thing he gave a damn about was his late mother, who killed herself two years ago. Ace remembered when the news of the former Mrs. Lockheart broke out, it was the headline of every news. She overdosed on something Ace cannot remember on the top of her head.

“Are you curious about that one over there?” A new voice emerged beside her.

Ace turned to the source of the voice with her detective instincts, only for her to stare at the man apologetically after she realized that she is in a party environment. The man is wearing a pair of hipster glasses, has dark curly hair and something about his attire sets him apart from the rest of the men at the party. His tuxedo looks battered and unfitted, but she is not one to judge. Not everyone can afford expensive outfits, certainly not her.

Alex covered the expenses of the attire services for her.

“Hi?” Ace is confused.

“Oh, sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Maxwell Radford, I am a freelance photographer, and I actually snuck in here for a job.” The guy said bluntly.

Ace laughed.

“You know I am a cop right? You just told a cop how you got here, are you honestly asking to be arrested?”

Maxwell chuckled, dimples very obvious on his features.

“I’ve done my research on you Acacia Kovacs, you are a homicide cop and I haven’t killed anybody here; you wouldn’t arrest me.”

“You’ve done your research on me? Why? Do you want something from me?” Ace asked, a bit suspicious.

He is just a freelance photographer but he snuck into this party with information about her occupation; if she is not suspicious, then she is not a proper cop.

“Actually, I think you want something from me.” Maxwell said.

“Oh yeah?”

“You kept eyeing that Ryland Lockheart over there, I have the dirt on him.”

Ace perked up in interest.

“You do?”

Maybe this guy isn’t too bad.

“I had this job from a private investigator to follow Ryland in secrecy. And I took a bunch of pictures you really need to see.”

The detective has no idea why this random photographer is coming here, offering to unveil everything he has on a man to her. She hasn’t done anything to him. He must have a purpose; he must be benefiting from this.

“May I ask why?”

“I fear for Loki’s life with that scumbag around and I was hoping you, Detective Kovacs, would do your research on him and make sure no harm comes to Loki.” Maxwell looked genuine enough, there was a tint of sorrow in his eyes as he said that.

Ace is more curious than ever; Maxwell predicted her presence and he just trusted his instincts that Ace would follow hers when Ryland makes his appearance. He is a lot smarter than a photographer should be.

“What is Loki Lockheart to you?”

“He is my mentor; he is the reason why I have a roof over my head. Now is not the time to speak of it.”

“You’re right, where are the pictures? What are they showing?” Ace asked.

Maxwell pursed his lips, shaking his head.

“I can’t do it here, it’s too dangerous. Can I drop by somewhere in the next few days and give them to you?”

The detective pondered over the fact. She is unsure if she can trust this guy; he looks harmless. He actually looks helpful, but she does not want to meet up with him alone in an area of his choice. However, she is curious about this Ryland Lockheart and she likes Loki enough to want to look out for his safety and help him keep his company intact.

“Alright, drop by the precinct tomorrow afternoon. You tell no one about this, okay?”

The photographer nodded, and Ace assumes that he knows where her precinct is since he has done immense research on her. But she isn’t a private investigator; she is a homicide cop so why is he recruiting for her help?

Before she took action to ask, she felt a hand grab at her upper elbow. She is suddenly yanked back by force and using her instincts as a cop, she twisted the angle of the grip on her, forcing the offender to hiss and let go of her quickly.

Ace took the time to turn to the person, only for her eyes to widen briefly at the sight of Zack staring at his abused hand. He looked up at her with a glare but beckoned for her to follow him up the elevator in the halls. She raised an eyebrow at him but followed nonetheless.

When they made it to the fifth floor, Zack walked off and went into an office on the left side. The door is unlocked, to her surprise, and she wondered why Zack, of all people, is bringing her here. After Acacia walked into the office, Zack stared at her with a snarl playing at his lips.

“What the hell do you think you are doing, Ace?” He asked angrily, but in his usual quiet voice.

Ace is confused.

“What are you talking about?”

Zack shook his head with a bitter, sarcastic smile on his face.

“You bringing Alex as your date to the party? What is the point of that? Are you trying to break Beckett’s heart? Are you taking advantage of Alex’s broken heart for your own personal gain?”

The blonde stared at her ex-boyfriend in disbelief. She cannot believe that Zack would ever think that of her; she isn’t that cruel. But worst of all, she cannot believe that Zack would ever imply that she is attracted to Alex. He is definitely not her type, and she is furious with him at this moment, well, kind of.

However, Ace can detect an underlying reason why he is bringing this subject up. He is trying to accuse her, but he is furious with her for a completely different reason. She knows him so well, that the implication of his words and his face is nearly an open book to her. Zack is trying to find reasons to blame her for bringing Alex to the party.

“If you are jealous, Zack, why don’t you just say so? Otherwise, you wouldn’t have to accuse me of betraying my friend by trying to hook up with her ex. How shallow do you think I am?” Ace asked with equal anger.

Zack’s face darkened slightly. She grinned at him, almost sarcastically, knowing that she put him on the spot.

I am damn right, she thought to herself.

“You would do that to Wallace, that I know.” Zack said timidly.

Acacia shrugged.

“Wallace is no friend of mine.”

“But you would.”

She sighed in exhaustion.

“What do you want me to say, Zack?”

Zack threw his hands up in the air, dropping them to his sides roughly. He rolled his eyes at her and started to turn from her.

“Zack, what the hell do you want from me?” She demanded.

Her voice is so edgy, with absolute authority, as if she is trying to break him during interrogation. She is trying to break him, indeed.

“I want you to tell me if you would sabotage Wallace just to get me back.”

So bold, Ace blinked at him in shock. Zack has never been so forward; he’s usually held back in his silence, keeping his opinions to himself as often as he can. But now, he actually is demanding something from her, something way too personal for the two of them.

“Does it matter how I answer it?” She questioned.

Zack sighed in defeat.

“You’re right.”

There was a silence formed between the two as they stared each other down. In the silence, the faint sound from the party downstairs got louder, even if it is five floors down below. It can only mean one thing.

“Ten!”

“Nine!”

Ace shook her head at Zack, tired of having these pointless arguments with him. It seems like he cannot stop finding reasons to pick at her, to blame her for something. All the things he is accusing her of are implausible.

“Five!”

“Four!”

“I’m out of here.” She muttered to him, pushing past him to head for the door.

“Three!”

“Two!”

Zack sighed again.

“Ace…”

“One!”

“HAPPY NEW YEAR!”

Ace is suddenly yanked back by his rough grip on her. Before she could hold her composure and keep her stance, his lips are suddenly on hers. She is so overwhelmed by the shock that she just stood in her position for the first five seconds.

After she finally realized what is happening, she slowly wrapped her hands around his buff body and returned the interaction between their lips. Her back is suddenly against a wall and his lips pressed against hers harder than ever. Through this kiss, she can feel his yearning for her; through all of the anger and the accusatory remarks, he is using them as a shield to protect himself from falling into this again.

He is too easy for her to read. And it is a good thing because she knows that he wants her just as much as she wants him. She knows why he is holding himself back, masking this fiery passion with anger. Somewhere deep inside, he still blames her for what happened, but it does not change the way he feels about her and she is aware of that 100%.

“Zack? Oh my god…”

Zack pulled away from the kiss immediately, as if he was yanked off. His eyebrows furrowed when he turned to Wallace, who is standing by the door, nearly in hysterics at what she just encountered.

“Wallace…”

Shaking her head, Wallace turned from the room rapidly and disappeared from Acacia’s view. The blonde tried her best not to break out into a satisfied grin, and succeeded especially after Zack turned to her with another one of his accusatory glares.

“You did this!” He hissed at her before running off after his girlfriend.

No dumbass, you did. Ace scoffed.

Notes

*Dramatic sigh*

So what'd you guys think? I mean this chapter is one of my favorites to write, especially the bottom half between Ace and Zack.