22 Four and a Half
Noah
Ihear the front door of our dorm close just after midnight. I grab my tablet and tap into our cameras.
I can’t see his face, but I’d know him anywhere. Jace walks out the back gate, disappearing into the night where I know he has a motorcycle hidden.
I’m already awake. Not because I don’t sleep. But because he doesn’t, and when Jace doesn’t sleep, the rest of us learn not to either. I watch him head toward the main road. Dark clothes. Hood up. He thinks no one notices.
Luca bursts into my room, jaw clenched, hair a mess.
“He left again.”
I get up and grab my jacket. “I saw.” I nod to the tablet.
“We’re following him.” He says it like a command, but his voice cracks at the edges. His emotions are bleeding through. Four and a half months of fear and rage simmering under his skin.
I don’t argue.
Just grab my knives and gun and tuck them away.
It takes us twenty minutes to tail him across the city, weaving through shadows and loading docks. The air smells like rust and salt, the fog hanging thick over the cranes.
Jace walks like he knows exactly where he’s going.
Luca swears under his breath. “Why is he at his dad’s port at this hour?”
I don’t have an answer. But I know we can’t assume anything with Jace anymore.
We track him between stacks of containers until he climbs the steel steps of an observation catwalk overlooking the water. He stops, perfectly still, scanning the dark horizon like he’s waiting for something.
Luca steps out first, not even trying to hide his anger.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
Jace doesn’t jump, doesn’t turn. Doesn’t even flinch.
He just exhales—slow and controlled— before glancing back at us.
“Go home.”
Luca laughs, but there’s no humor in it. “Wrong answer. Try again.”
Jace looks back to the horizon, jaw tightening.
“I don’t have time for this.”
I step beside Luca. “Then make time.”
The waves crash, fog curls around us. Nothing but silence.
“You shouldn’t be here.” Jace finally speaks.
Luca steps forward, chest-to-chest with him. “Well, too bad, so sad. We’re already here so just let us in. You’re beginning to sound like a broken record.”
Jace’s eyes flash but they’re unreadable as always.
“Shut up and stay out of it, Luca.”
“No.” Luca’s body locks up.
The hair on my arms rise. “Jace,” I say carefully, “what are you involved in?”
“Nothing you’re equipped to handle.”
Luca’s voice turns into a growl. “You don’t get to talk to us like that, not after everything.”
“Both of you leave. Now.” He turns away. Luca grabs his arm. Jace yanks so hard that Luca stumbles.
I step between them. “Jace, stop. Talk to us, man.”
He finally looks at me and I feel like he’s seeing nothing. Not me, not Luca. Just obstacles.
“This is bigger than both of you, bigger than the Guild.”
“Jace... are you working with him now?” I ask.
Jace’s stare turns glacial. He turns away without a word. We watch as he disappears into the fog below. And for the first time since Isobel vanished, I feel something cold spread through my chest.
Not fear. Something worse.
The sinking suspicion that we’ve already lost him.
Luca stands frozen on the catwalk long after Jace disappears, fists clenching and releasing like he’s trying to hold on to something slipping through his fingers.
I’m the first one to break the silence. “We can’t just let him go alone.”
Luca turns towards me, eyes blazing. “Damn right we can’t.”
He pulls out his phone, scrolling with shaking hands.
“I’m calling Kellan.”
“Kellan? Luca—”
“Do you have a better idea?” He hits call and puts the phone to his ear.
I listen to the waves crashing below while Luca paces.
“Kel? Yeah, we need you at the east port. Now. Bring Felix. And whatever the hell you have in that weapons locker you pretend you don’t keep under your bed.”
I hear Kellan’s muffled curse through the speaker.
“No time,” Luca snaps. “Chop chop.”
He hangs up and immediately hits another number.
“Felix. Port. Heavy weapons. Jace is doing something stupid.”
Felix says something I can’t make out, but Luca’s reply is clear.
“Then we’ll be stupid together.” He ends the call and shoves the phone into his pocket.
I exhale as adrenaline buzzes beneath my skin. “Luca…what if interrupting this—whatever it is—gets Jace killed? If this is something Gideon ordered him to do—”
Luca spins on me so fast I don’t even have time to flinch. “He’s already in danger. Look at him, look at what’s left of him. He’s disappearing right in front of us.” He runs a hand through his hair, pacing again.
“If we let him go through with this? He won’t come back the same. If he comes back at all.”
His voice drops, softer but rough.
“We have to save him from himself.”
I swallow hard. “And if he doesn’t want to be saved?”
Luca’s jaw sets. “Then we drag his ass out anyway. I’m not losing him, either. Not like this.”
The fog rolls in thicker around the container yard, swallowing containers. The whole port feels eerie and hollow.
“Isobel would want us to try…” Luca looks off into the distance.
I nod and check my watch. “Kellan and Felix should be here in ten minutes.”
“Good,” Luca mutters, looking out toward the docks where Jace disappeared. “We’re going to need every damn second.”
A low engine rev echoes from the service road. A familiar black SUV turns sharply into the lot. Kellan’s driving. Felix is in the passenger seat, loading a rifle I pray we won’t have to use.
The car screeches to a stop.
Kellan jumps out first. “All right, which one of you idiots is gonna tell me why you dragged me out of bed in the middle of the night?”
Felix steps out slower, eyes sharp, already scanning the area. “And why I’m holding a gun.”
Luca points toward the docks.
“Because Jace is down there,” he says, “about to do something incredibly stupid.”
Kellan raises an eyebrow. “Define stupid.”
Before Luca can answer, I speak: “Meeting someone. Alone. At his father’s port. With no backup.”
Felix curses quietly. Kellan’s expression hardens.
Luca grabs a duffel bag out of the SUV—heavy enough to clank—and slings it over his shoulder.
“We’re stopping him,” he says. “Before he crosses whatever line he’s been dancing on.”
Kellan folds his arms. “If he’s working with Gideon, interrupting this deal might get us killed.”
Luca doesn’t hesitate.
“If we don’t interrupt it, we’ll lose Jace for good.”
Felix sighs, shaking his head. “Fuck it. I’m in.”
“Let’s go find him and see whatever he’s gotten himself into.”
Rows of towering containers fade into the fog. The floodlights flicker weakly, leaving long strips of shadow between the aisles. Chains rattle in the wind. Somewhere out on the water, a ship horn groans.
Kellan shoulders his rifle. “This place is a damn maze.”
Luca moves ahead without waiting. “Don’t get lost.”
Felix mutters, “He’s not in his normal mood.”
“I wonder why that is,” I whisper back, the sarcasm soaking my words.
The four of us slip between two rows of containers, boots crunching gravel, breath puffing white in the cold.
My fingers tighten around the grip of my pistol. I really don’t care to be out in the field. I can defend myself due to my training, but I’d much rather be overwatch.
Luca signals us to stop with a raised hand. He crouches next to something. He signals us forward to the right.
“How can you be sure? Could be a dockworker,” Felix whispers.
I come up behind them, looking at the footprint in the dirt.
Luca shakes his head once. “I’ve trained with Jace long enough to know his footprint.”
Luca may be the jokester, but he’s always had eyes like a hawk, seeing all the details.
We move forward in formation. Luca in front, Kellan taking up the rear, Felix scanning the left, and me scanning the right. We move in the shadows, listening for footsteps.
A loud clang echoes in the distance—we all freeze, weapons raised.
No one breathes.
Luca signals us forward.
We creep forward until the rows open into a wide loading area. A low rumble vibrates through the dock. We press ourselves behind a stack of crates and peek around the corner.
A massive cargo vessel glides silently toward the port, ghost-lights flickering along the hull. No radio chatter. No beacon.
Felix whispers, “Who’s that?”
“No idea,” Luca breathes, “But it can’t be good.”
The vessel docks with a heavy, echoing clang as its side presses against the bumpers. A ramp begins lowering with agonizing slowness.
Dozens of boots hit the metal ramp, men in dark coats file down in a disciplined line, not speaking, each carrying crates marked with symbols that look familiar. I grab my phone and hide, dimming the screen and searching.
“Do you know who Jace is meeting with?” Luca squats down next to me.
“I’ve seen the marks before, from Gideon’s files.” My fingers fly across my screen, my eyes searching, “Yes, yes, this is it.”
I scan over the documents, each word making my stomach feel like it’s being filled with lead.
“It’s one of Gideon’s biggest suppliers of weaponry. All the manifests from Alexei Morozov are some sort of industrial machinery parts.”
Luca’s eyes widen and we both go back to watching.
Jace is standing in front of a large truck with a couple of men at his side, taking the crates from Alexei’s men.
A tall man with broad shoulders moves from the boat. I nudge Luca, nodding at the man. I’d seen Alexei’s picture in Gideon’s files. Ex-military. Dark blond hair styled effortlessly. He’s wearing a tailored black overcoat and polished boots.
“Holy shit,” Kellan mutters.
This is international. A level of danger we haven’t touched.
Luca turns to us. “We’re stopping this. I don’t care what Jace thinks he’s doing. I don’t care what Gideon has over him. We end this tonight.”
Kellan and Felix nod. I feel my pulse hammering in my chest.
“What if he fights us?”
Luca stares past me at Jace’s silhouette. He’s not angry now, just broken.
“Then we fight harder. We’re taking Jace back, whether he likes it or not.”
I pull out a case from my back pocket, flipping open the lid to four earpieces. I pass the case around after taking one for myself. Luca smiles and it’s his goofy smile.
“Let’s cause some chaos.” He moves away, melting into the shadows, drawing his beloved twin daggers. Felix heads up the service ladder to give us sniper cover. Kellan moves to the opposite flank, settling behind a stack of steel drums with his rifle already braced.
I keep my eyes on Jace and Alexei. Alexei is talking with Jace. More crates are being offloaded by operatives. Jace looks like his usual self. Stiff and cold. My comm crackles softly as each of them check-in.
“Up on the catwalk, clear shot on the ramp.” Felix’s voice comes in.
“I’m ready to cover Jace.” Kellan comes in next.
“Copy,” Luca affirms.
Alexei gestures to the crates being offloaded. Jace nods once.
“Noah, say the word,” Luca hisses in my ear.
Fuck I wish I had more equipment. More time to prepare.
Jace steps closer to Alexei, and he claps a hand on Jace’s shoulder like they’ve been working together for years.
“This dude seems too at ease; it doesn’t feel right,” Felix says.
“No shit,” Kellan grunts.
“Get ready, no one fires unless I say so.” I feel the hairs on the back of my neck standing. Every nerve in my body is tense.
Because they’re right. Something feels off.
Alexei waves an operative over. Another man approaches with a duffle bag.
Alexei opens it, showing its contents to Jace.
Jace peers in, barely moving. He nods once, and the duffle is zipped.
Jace holds up a sleek metal case, showing it to Alexei.
Alexei nods, and Jace closes the case with a flourish.
What is Jace handing to Alexei? Why?
My heart stops.
Before Jace can move, I whisper.
“Luca, move.”
Luca moves forward like a ghost. I see Jace’s head move the smallest fraction, and I know he’s spotted him.
My chest is tight, instincts screaming—but it’s too late.
Alexei notices the shift. His gaze sweeps the shadows with sudden predatory alertness.
“Now!” The order tears from my throat.
Luca bursts from the shadows like he’s been launched from a cannon, his daggers flashing before it’s embedded in the shoulder of an operative, dropping him in one clean, violent movement.
Felix fires a shot from above, and a body goes down on the ramp.
Kellan takes another out before the man can unholster his weapon.
Chaos detonates across the dock.
Alexei’s operatives scatter, crates crash to the ground. Someone starts shouting commands in Russian. The air fills with muzzle flashes and panicked yelling.
Alexei lunges backward, grabbing the metal case, barking orders. Jace has a gun pulled but he’s not shooting.
Luca is a blur, slicing his way toward the dock’s center toward Jace. I shoot my own shots at anyone who gets too close to Luca.
“JACE!” Luca screams.
My eyes shoot back to Alexei, but before I can fire, Alexei is dragging Jace’s arm like they’re allies, and he’s protecting him. My brain short-circuits.
“NOAH!” Felix shouts in my ear. “They’re pulling him—what the fuck— they’re moving him behind cover!”
Alexei drags Jace behind a stack of crates as bullets ricochet around them. Jace lets him.
He lets him.
No resistance. No struggle. Nothing.
Luca’s face is enraged.
“What the hell is he doing?” He grunts as he takes out another operative.
I take two down with precise shots, but more keep coming. They’re trained and well-coordinated.
Kellan growls through the comm, “Jace is protecting the supplier. Noah, he took off with him. I’m going after them.”
The truth hits me like a gut punch. Hard enough that I nearly drop my gun.
Because I can’t tell if we’re saving Jace, or if we’re attacking him.