Chapter 32

"So are you just going back home, or are you planning on doing something?" Ace asked.

They had parked close by Meshi, and just watched the people that went by on the street for the next ten minutes. Marco was fretting, but Ace just ignored that. Marco would be fine.

Ace was more worried about getting his hand out of Marco's grasp.

Thatch grinned. "I'll go do some grocery shopping, see what bargains I can find. Then drive about for a bit probably. Shopping always takes a while, so you might be out by the time I'm done!"

Ace snorted. "I may very well be."

Thatch grinned. "Well, guess you better head in. It looks crowded in there."

"It does," Ace agreed.

Tables were filled with people. Sabo said he'd meet him inside at the bar, which if Ace remembered right, was at the far back of the restaurant. Ace unbuckled his seat belt, and climbed out the car, or tried to. The grasp on his hand jerked him to a halt. He glanced back, and huffed. Marco blinked at him, as if nothing was wrong.

"Marco, sweetheart," Ace cooed sweetly. "You have to let go of my hand so I can leave the car."

"I'll never let go yoi." Marco purred, nuzzling his hand.

Marco was bloody well hopeless.

"It's an hour or two!" Thatch scoffed. "Stop suffocating the poor guy."

"He's like a five year old! A clingy one!" Ace complained, tugging at his hand.

He finally managed to slip free, ignoring Marco's whine. It's was making Ace's Omega all delighted, that they had an Alpha that cared so much, but for Ace this was just getting ridiculous and his Omega needed to learn to stop appreciating all this crazy sappiness.

No matter how sweet it was.

Ace laughed, tiredly, shaking his head fondly at Marco. "Thanks for the lift, Thatch. I'll see you soon." He turned to Marco and smiled. "Tonight we can enjoy our nest after I see Sabo, alright? We can do all the cuddling you like."

Marco perked up. His Alpha beaming with joy.

Thatch groaned. "You shouldn't promise those kind of things, Marco will never let you go. Anyway, see you soon, little brother. Enjoy your dinner."

Ace closed the door and headed for the entrance. He couldn't help but glance back every so often, his eyes meeting Marco's, and his Omega whined at him to return to their mate. Ace forced himself to walk inside though. He reminded his other half that their little brother would be here.

That earned a happy coo.

It took a bit to get in, but soon Ace was making his way towards the bar. There was no sign of Sabo yet, but Sabo was kind of absent minded like that. He'd arrive sooner or later.

.::.

Whitebeard paused when his phone rang and sat aside his book. It had been some kind of fantasy story about a ring and lava, one Mihar had recommended to him a few months ago. It was a big, chunky book though, even for him, so it had taken a while to get into it.

He had yet to see the movie, but he knew Ace really enjoyed that one, and had a crush on the Ranger character, much to Marco's joy, who had a shared crush on him too.

He picked up his mobile.

"Hello?"

"We have a problem," Shanks said over the phone. "Where is Ace right now?"

"Ace went to see his brother in East Blue." Whitebeard frowned. "Why? What's wrong?"

"Luffy?"

"No. Sabo."

"Shit. Buggy just told me that Sabo had called him with his new mobile number. That Sabo had lost his phone during Blackbeard's raid on the Revolutionary base attack. He only caught on when he found out money was still coming out his bank, since he's a pay as you go customer."

Whitebeard froze. "Teach has Sabo's phone?"

"You've got to get Ace back now!"

Whitebeard hung up and yelled for Haruta as he began to call Ace. Ace's phone didn't connect, it must have been off. So he called Thatch. Thatch's phone kept ringing and was never picked up.

"Pops?" Haruta raced into the room. "What's wrong?"

"It wasn't Sabo on the phone," Whitebeard spat. "We were tricked!"

Haruta paled. "Who was texting Ace then?"

"Teach."

.::.

"Do you think Ace would be happy if I went into the restaurant early yoi?" Marco asked.

Thatch sighed. "No, he will be pissed. You have to trust him and Sabo."

"I do!" Marco huffed. "I just want to be close by in case something's wrong. Y'know what? Just drop me off here-"

"Seriously? In the middle of a main road?" Thatch scoffed. "Bloody hell, you're hopeless."

"I'm just-"

"Getting used to your Alpha? You're a monster. Lay off the poor kid-"

Marco snorted. "As if you weren't clingy when you and Izo got together yoi."

"Yes, clingy, not latched on to each other like Haruta poured super glue on you and stuck you to Ace. Which she would never do because she wants to see Ace. Yet you hog him, you and your clingy ways. Even worse, Ace encourages it!"

Marco flushed. They were making their mate happy by showing them affection. It was good, they were being a good Alpha to their Omega. Their Omega was happy. The idea made Marco purr.

Thatch groaned. "Oh whoa, you're terrible-"

Pops' ringtone echoed from Marco's mobile, just as Izo's rang from Thatch's. They both stiffened, as Marco answered.

"Pops-"

"Marco, is Ace still with you?"

Marco's heart dropped.

"No, we just dropped him off yoi."

"We've been tricked! It wasn't Sabo texting Ace. It was Teach."

Marco saw red just as Thatch snarled. Thatch spun the wheel, cutting off another car as he sped back down the way they just came from. A loud beep of a horn echoed across the street, but he dismissed it. Marco reached into the compartment and drew out Thatch's gun. He checked it, then passed Thatch his gun before arming himself. Marco sat his mobile down, letting it go on to loud speaker.

His Alpha growled lowly, just as a calm coldness took over Marco. The panic ebbed away, replaced by his icy cunning he used on missions for the gang. He allowed the Phoenix's cool personality to emerge from it's slumber.

This was gang business now. And the personality Marco had crafted during his years of being second in command would keep him calm and in control. He could not afford to go feral now. Not while Ace was in danger.

But afterwards? He could go feral and rip Teach to shreds if he was about. He would be. Marco knew that for sure. Teach would never pass up an opportunity to capture Ace.

They just hadn't realised he'd use Sabo to do it. Which begged the question. What happened to Sabo?

"Have you tried calling Ace?" Thatch asked sharply.

"Yes, but we've had no answer. Thatch, Marco, you need to be careful, if Teach's men are about-"

"I'll run them fucking down," Thatch growled lowly.

"We'll take care of them." Marco checked the guns, making sure they were properly loaded.

"Don't charge into this blindly-"

"We're the only ones in the area right now!" Thatch spat. "And I refuse to let that piece of shit kidnap Ace again. So don't even bother trying to tell me to calm down. I'll ring Teach's fucking neck!"

"We'll grab Ace and go. But if Teach is there we will gun him down if he has Ace yoi," Marco said coldly. "The priority is securing Ace. If we meet any of the enemy-"

"We take them fucking down."

Marco nodded sharply. "Drive straight in. No questions ask. Anybody tries to mess with us we'll gun them down yoi."

"I'll send back up, but they won't make it in time."

"No, if you do that it'll be an all out war yoi." Marco scowled. "And it's too soon. We aren't ready for that yet."

"But we will be someday soon if our talks go well," Pops agreed sharply.

Marco grinned wolfishly.

Teach wouldn't know what hit him. But first they had to focus on the now and get Ace back.

.::.

It was insanely busy. Ace could see the dancers on the floor, swaying to the beat of the music, while in the quieter area of the restaurant people dined. He sipped at his apple juice, because for some reason his Omega had insisted on it. Ace even recoiled whenever there was alcohol about. So Ace accepted his fate, and ordered the fruit juice. It was better to keep his Omega happy after all. Ace didn't want to start feeling down.

Still, drinking fruit juice in a bar felt stupid. He deserved to get a proper alcoholic drink.

Sabo hadn't arrived yet, but Ace had bought him his favourite drink and kept it by his side. He hoped Sabo would arrive soon, because he wanted dinner. Sure he had eaten earlier, but food was always good to have.

"Can I buy you a drink?"

Ace froze. He turned around slowly as the smell of cherry pie brushed across his senses. Teach approached from his right, and as Ace went to back away, he bumped into someone. A hand grasped his arm, and Ace cursed when a knife was pressed against his throat.

Nobody even looked their way. In fact, now that Ace was studying everyone more closely, he could see that they now were deliberately looking away, some more nervously than others.

"Zehahahaha, it's so good to see you again."

"I can't say the same for you, Teach," Ace growled lowly. "How did you know I was even here?"

Teach smirked. "Well, you did say I was 'ruthless' and 'would do anything to achieve my goals' You even told me you freaked out when I attacked Sabo's base."

Ace faltered, and his rage spiked. "That was you on the phone! What did you do to Sabo?"

"Now, now, Ace. This is a restaurant!" Teach admonished. "No need to be so noisy. Shiliew, escort him outside."

"You're not taking me anywhere!" Ace spat.

"Behave yourself, Ace," Teach said. "After all, you have no idea what I've done to Sabo. Remember?"

Ace's heart leapt, and he bit his lip, barely restraining a snarl. He forced himself to settle in Shiliew's grasp, who began to tug him out the restaurant. Teach tossed over some money to the staff, and Ace wanted to scream at the sight. But no. It wasn't their fault. They lived and worked in Teach's territory. They had to obey him. Two vans waited by the pavement outside, Laffitte leaning against the door. Ten more of Teach's minions were crowded about the restaurant, keeping civilians away, but the minions were the small fry. Ace barely recalled their names.

Laffitte nodded. "Hello, Ace. It's good to see you again after all the trouble you have caused us."

Ace tried to squirm when Laffitte began to search him, but Teach threw him a warning look as he approached. Laffitte removed a couple of knives, a dagger, and his gun. Laffitte even pulled out the bottle of scent dampening cream Sam made for him.

"Ah, so that's how he's hiding his scent," Laffitte mused.

"You really did go and mate with Marco," Teach sighed. "Didn't you, Ace? I'm so disappointed. I wanted to be your first and last mate."

"I think I can quite happily choose my own mate," Ace spat.

"Zehahahaha, true," Teach laughed. "But I'll sure as hell make you regret it. Lock him up boys!"

Shiliew began dragging him to the back of the van. Ace thrashed, snarling, but Shiliew's grip didn't waver. The screech of tires startled them, and Ace managed to glance back, squirming in Shiliew's grasp just as gunshots fired. Four of the small fry went down instantly to gunshots. Teach collapsed against the van, blood splattering from his shoulder, just as everyone else began firing back. Thatch's white car sped down the street, running two of Teach's men down.

"Whitebeards!" Laffitte yelled.

Ace grinned. "Marco! Thatch!"

"Thatch and Marco! Fuck, shoot them down, Laffitte, Shiliew, get him in the van! Move!" Teach barked, clutching his shoulder.

"If we kill them now, boss, the Phoenix could never interfere with your mating again-" Shiliew began.

"I'm already fucking shot, you idiot! Now move!"

"Marco!" Ace screamed.

"ACE!"

Shiliew tossed Ace into the back of the van. Ace landed on his feet, as Laffitte slammed the door shut. Ace heard the lock click into place just as he threw himself against the doors. He tried kicking and yanking at them, but nothing worked. The door didn't budge.

He could hear screaming and gunshots. Marco and Thatch could be hurt and Ace couldn't even tell. He couldn't see a thing.

"Let me go! Dammit Teach, just stop. Let me out!" Ace yelled. "Marco! Thatch!"

The van started up, and quickly raced off. Ace struggled with the doors for a bit longer before his Omega side hushed him. Told him to calm down. Ace paused, because usually his Omega side didn't care if he was angry and worked up. It usually joined him, but now it was leaving him feeling sleepy and relaxed.

Ace sat down and leaned against the wall, dozing against it. It felt like a narcolepsy attack was about to hit him, but he had taken his medication for it already. His Omega cooed, telling him to settle, and Ace grew too drowsy to disobey it.

Ace curled up and slept.

.::.

Blood splattered the streets.

Marco yanked his dagger out the last corpse, before eyeing the road Teach's van had disappeared down to. Thatch's car was a wreck, covered in blood and filled with holes from the gun fire.

"Fuck, how did they not once manage to shoot you?" Thatch gasped, clutching his shoulder. "Fuckers got my arm."

"I dodged yoi." Marco frowned, glancing back at the road, before snatching the car keys off Thatch. He could hear police sirens. "Get in the car. I'm driving yoi."

"Are we going after Ace?" Thatch asked, panting.

"I'm getting you safely back home. But after that?" Marco smirked, kicking a corpse. "Well, they lured us here. Can't blame me if I come back. They owe me blood, and they will not keep Ace from me again."

Teach won't be keeping his mate.

Ace was his, and he was Ace's.

Right now though he had to get Thatch to safety. But he'd be back soon.

Very soon if he had his way.

Okay, I think everyone knew this was going to happen after all the comments I've gotten the past couple of weeks xD You all know me well by this point, I'm evil, and keep adding more drama to my stories xD