12. Sadie
Sadie
I feel Jace stiffen beside me the second Brooke points toward the window.
His whole body goes rigid under my arm, muscles locking like he’s been hit.
One second he’s the easy charming man who’s been keeping his hand on my waist all afternoon, and the next he’s something else entirely.
Hard. Still. Focused on the older man in the blue shirt.
My first instinct is to protect him the way he’s been protecting me.
I turn slightly, press my palm flat against his chest right over his heart.
The fabric of his shirt is warm from the sun and the solid beat underneath is fast, too fast. I tilt my head up and keep my voice quiet so the women don’t hear.
"Jace? Is everything okay?"
He doesn’t answer at first. His eyes stay locked on the man by the window. Then he leans down, close enough that his breath brushes the shell of my ear when he whispers. The words are so quiet only I can hear them.
"Victor’s my father."
Whoa. I blink, trying to make sense of it. The man we’ve been asking about all day, the one with rumors and money and a new restaurant, is Jace's missing father. The one he and his brothers have been searching for.
Before I can respond, the older man turns and walks toward the back exit. He doesn’t look our way. He moves with purpose, phone already at his ear, and disappears through a side door that leads to the private dock area.
Jace's hand tightens on my waist once, hard, then he’s moving. "We have to go. Now."
I grab my bag without thinking. "Brooke, Melissa, we have to run. Family emergency. Thank you for today."
They look confused but nod. Melissa is still half focused on the bartender anyway.
We’re out the door and onto the boardwalk before they can ask questions.
The sun’s bright on the water, yachts rocking gently in their slips, the sound of rigging clinking in the breeze.
Jace keeps me close as we hurry toward the parking lot, his stride long and urgent.
I have to jog a little to keep up, but I don’t complain.
His face is pale beneath the tan, his eyes scanning every car and boat with a desperation he can’t hide.
We reach the Jeep. He opens my door, practically lifts me in, then rounds to the driver side so fast the tires crunch on gravel when he starts the engine.
We pull out of the lot and onto the road that curves away from the marina.
Victor's car, a sleek black sedan, is already turning onto the main road ahead of us. By the time we reach the intersection it’s gone, swallowed by traffic.
Jace slams a hand on the steering wheel once, the sound sharp in the small space.
"Damn it. He’s gone."
I reach over and rest my hand on his forearm. His skin’s hot, the muscle corded tight. "We’ll find him again. You saw him. That’s something."
He nods once, jaw clenched, but he doesn’t look at me.
His eyes stay on the road as he drives us back toward the safe house.
The wind whips through the open top, but the usual easy energy between us is gone, replaced by something heavier.
I keep my hand on his arm the whole way, grounding him the only way I know how right now.
When we pull into the driveway he kills the engine but doesn’t move.
He pulls out his phone instead, hits a number, and puts it on speaker. The call connects after two rings.
"Crewe," a deep voice answers. "Talk."
Jace's voice comes out rough. "I saw him. Dad. He’s here. In Sunbreak Harbor. Goes by Victor now. He’s got a restaurant at the marina."
There’s a long beat of silence on the other end. Then Crewe exhales hard. "You’re sure?"
"I’m sure. Same profile, same mannerisms, same everything. He left before I could get to him."
"Son of a..." Crewe's voice cracks with shock. "Hold on. I’m patching in the others."
The line clicks and beeps. Three more voices join, overlapping at first.
"Colt here. What the hell’s going on?"
"Somebody better start talking."
"Mack. Crewe, you dragged me out of a meeting for this?"
Crewe cuts through. "Jace saw Dad. Alive. In Sunbreak Harbor. Goes by Victor. Has a restaurant at the marina."
The line explodes with questions. Colt swears. Banks demands details. Mack goes quiet then asks the practical one. "Did he see you?"
"No," Jace says. His free hand grips the steering wheel, knuckles tight, as he fights to keep himself together. "He left before he noticed us. We tried to follow but he was already gone."
I listen, heart aching for all of them. These men have been living with this hole in their family for years. And now the answer is here, in the same town where I’m supposed to be hiding from my sister's problems. The universe has a twisted sense of humor.
I clear my throat so they know I’m on the line too.
"This is Sadie. I was with him when he saw Victor. There’s a big concert at the High Tide Pavilion in two days.
Victor’s on the guest list. Brooke and Melissa mentioned it yesterday.
He’s a sponsor or something. We could go.
Confront him there. In public but controlled. "
Silence again, then Crewe speaks. "The teacher’s got good instincts. Jace?"
Jace looks at me for the first time since the restaurant. His eyes are stormy but there’s something else there too. Trust. "Yeah. We go to the concert. We confront him. End of discussion."
The brothers agree quickly after that. Plans are made. Colt will fly in. Banks will handle logistics. Mack will dig into Victor's new identity. Crewe stays on the line with Jace a minute longer after the others drop off.
"You okay?" Crewe asks quietly.
Jace's jaw works. "I will be. Once I have answers."
"Bring the girl. She seems solid."
“There’s been a few other things.”
“Oh yeah?” Crewe asks.
“Screen door open when we got home, and at the beach there was this guy with a camera.” Jace describes the man he saw to his brother. Crewe says he’ll look into it, and then the call ends.
Jace stares at the phone for a long moment before tucking it away. We sit in the Jeep with the engine off, the only sounds the distant ocean and the faint creak of the cooling metal. I want to say something, anything, but the words feel too small for what happened.
We walk into the safe house together. Jace heads straight for the living room and starts pacing.
Back and forth in front of the couch, hands running through his hair, shoulders tight.
He looks different. The fun-loving arrogant charm is gone, replaced by something raw and shaken.
My chest hurts watching him. This man who’s been so steady for me, who’s made me laugh and blush and break my own rules, is unraveling in front of me and I hate it.
I set my bag down and step into his path on the next pass. He stops short, eyes finding mine. I reach up and press both hands to his chest again, the same way I did at the restaurant. His heart’s still beating too fast.
"Jace," I say softly. "What can I do to help?"
For a second he looks at me. Then his hands come up and cover mine on his chest. He pulls me closer, until there’s barely space between us. His voice is raspy and threadbare when he answers.
"This."
He leans down and kisses me.
The kiss isn’t gentle. It’s full of the shock and the tension that’s been building since the beach.
His mouth is warm and insistent, one hand sliding to the back of my neck while the other stays over mine on his chest. I kiss him back without hesitation, rising on my toes to meet him, my fingers curling into his shirt.
The world narrows to the press of his body against mine, the way his breath catches when I part my lips, the solid strength of him that feels like safety even when everything else is falling apart.
When we finally break apart he rests his forehead against mine, breathing hard. His eyes are still stormy but the edge of panic has softened.
"You," he says quietly. "You’re what I need right now, Sadie. Just you."
I don’t have a clever comeback or a rule to hide behind.
I hold on tighter and let him pull me into another kiss, slower this time, with the kind of patience that tells me he’s been waiting.
The safe house is quiet around us. The ocean keeps rolling outside.
And for the first time since we arrived in Sunbreak Harbor, I stop worrying about what comes next and let myself feel exactly where I am.
Right here. With him. And I’m not going anywhere.