25. Jace
Jace
We are set up at the end of the pavilion, away from the main lights and the thickening crowd where the music still plays in the background.
Sloane's team has taken over the small folding table Mack pulled from somewhere, their laptops and radios spread across it like they’re running a full operation instead of a rescue in the middle of a concert.
My brothers are scattered around the perimeter, keeping watch while we wait for intel.
Billy stands near me, his arms crossed, his eyes scanning the dunes like he expects trouble at any second.
Crewe’s on his phone, coordinating with someone on the other end.
Colt leans against a post, trying to look casual but his jaw is tight.
Banks and Mack are quiet, but I can feel the tension rolling off them in waves.
My phone vibrates in my hand. Sloane's name lights up the screen. I answer before the first ring finishes.
"Jace. We located the van. It matches the description from the security footage. They took her to an abandoned house on the outskirts, about ten minutes from here. My team’s moving in now.
Minimal resistance so far. We’ve got eyes on three heat signatures inside.
Two chained to the wall and one being moved into position. We’re going in quiet."
The relief hits me hard, but it’s mixed with something sharper.
Minimal resistance. That doesn’t sound right.
These are the same people who’ve been hunting my family for years, who forced my father into hiding and grabbed two of my brothers without a trace.
Now they take Sadie in the middle of a crowded concert and hole up in a place with almost no security?
It feels off. Too easy. Like they wanted us to find them.
"Copy that," I say, my voice steady even as my mind races. "We’re on our way. Do not engage until we get there. I want to be the one to bring her out."
Sloane pauses for a beat. "Understood. But move fast. The longer we wait, the more time they’ve got to prepare."
I end the call and look at my brothers. "They found the van. Abandoned house on the outskirts. Sloane's team is moving in. Minimal resistance. Nash, Sin, and Sadie are inside. We’re going now."
Crewe nods once, already moving. "Let's go. We take the back roads. No lights. We don’t want to tip them off if they’re watching."
We pile into two black SUVs that Sloane's guys brought. I ride with Crewe and Billy, the engine humming low as we pull away from the pavilion. The concert lights fade behind us, replaced by the dark stretch of coastal road. The ocean’s a dark line on our left, waves rolling in a steady rhythm that I can almost feel through the tires.
My hands grip the seat in front of me, knuckles white.
Sadie’s out there. Last night at the safe house she rode me as if she owned me, her body moving with that playful confidence, her voice breathless as she told me how good it felt.
I kissed her before we left for the concert.
Now she’s in danger because of me. Because of this family mess that keeps pulling people in.
Billy sits beside me in the back, his presence solid and familiar in a way that still shocks me.
We found him. After all these years. And now we’re racing to rescue the woman who’s become more important to me than I ever planned.
He glances over, his voice low. "We’ll get her back.
And your brothers. This ends tonight if we play it right. "
I nod, but my mind’s already on the why. Why take Sadie at the concert? Why make it so easy to find them? It feels as if it’s a trap. Like they took her specifically to draw us in. But why? What do they gain by pulling the whole family together in one place?
The SUVs slow as we approach the abandoned house.
It sits back from the road, dark and sagging, windows broken or boarded.
Sloane's team’s already surrounded it, their dark figures moving in shadows.
Crewe kills the lights on our vehicle and we roll to a stop.
My heart thrashes wildly in my chest, but I force myself to stay focused.
We move as one, slipping through the tall grass toward the back of the house.
Sloane meets us at the side door, his voice a whisper. "They didn’t put up much of a fight. Two guys inside. We took them down quick. The three hostages are chained in the main room. No other threats detected. It was almost too clean."
Too clean. The words echo in my head as we breach the door.
The interior is dim, lit by a single lantern on a table.
And there, chained to the far wall, are Nash and Sin.
Both look bruised but alive, their heads lifting as we enter.
And next to them, chained the same way, is Sadie.
Her pink dress is rumpled, her hair falling loose around her face, but her eyes are open and alert.
Relief crashes through me so hard I almost stagger.
We move fast. Crewe and Colt work on freeing Nash and Sin while I go straight to Sadie.
My hands shake as I unlock the chains around her wrists.
The metal’s cold and heavy, biting into her skin where it’s rubbed raw.
She looks up at me as the last chain falls away, and the fear in her eyes mixes with something warmer when she sees me.
"Jace," she whispers, her voice hoarse. "You found us."
I pull her into my arms the second she’s free, holding her tight against my chest. She feels solid and real, her body trembling slightly from the adrenaline or the cold or both. "I’ve got you," I murmur against her hair. "We’re getting out of here. All of us."
Nash and Sin are freed quickly, both of them standing on shaky legs but grinning despite everything.
The reunion is brief but intense. Hugs and claps on the back, low words of relief.
Billy steps forward last, his eyes sweeping over his two missing sons like he can’t quite believe they’re here.
The shock on their faces when they see him is raw and real.
They thought he was gone. We all did. And now he’s standing in an abandoned house on the outskirts of town, helping rescue them from the same people who forced him away years ago.
Sloane's team sweeps the rest of the house while we move everyone outside. It’s too easy. No traps. No backup. Just two guys who went down without much of a fight and three hostages left almost unguarded. As we load into the SUVs, I pull Sloane aside.
"This was too clean," I say quietly. "They took Sadie in the middle of a crowded concert and then left her and my brothers here with almost no security. It feels like they wanted us to find them. Like they took her specifically to draw us in. But why?"
Sloane's expression is grim as he checks his radio. "I don’t know yet. But we’ll find out.
My team’s pulling everything we can from the van and the house.
We’ll set up a full debrief back at the safe house.
For now, get everyone out of here. The lockdown at the concert is still in effect. We’ll coordinate from the office."
We drive back in silence at first, my rescued brothers in one vehicle with Billy, Sadie and I in another with Crewe.
She sits close to me in the back seat, her head resting against my shoulder.
I keep my arm around her, my fingers tracing small patterns on her arm.
The fear I felt when I realized she was gone is still fading, replaced by a fierce protectiveness.
She was taken because of me. Because she got pulled into this world of secrets and danger when all she wanted was to help her sister.
But she’s here now, safe, and I’m not letting her out of my sight again.
The road stretches ahead under the dark sky, the ocean a dark line to our left.
The SUVs move steadily, the low hum of the engines filling the quiet.
Crewe drives with his usual focus, his eyes on the road ahead.
I glance out the window at the passing dunes, the way the moonlight catches on the water in brief flashes.
Sadie’s warmth against my side is the only thing keeping the tension in my chest from spiking again.
We got her back. We got Nash and Sin back.
Billy’s with us. The rescue was too easy, though.
It keeps nagging at me. They took Sadie to draw us in, but why?
What do they gain by having the whole family in one place?
I tighten my arm around her slightly, my thumb brushing over the fabric of her sleeve.
She shifts closer, her breathing even now.
The concert lights are long behind us, the music faded into memory.
Up ahead, the other SUV carries my brothers and Billy.
I can barely make out their silhouettes through the rear window.
Nash and Sin are finally safe. Billy’s back after all these years.
It should feel like a victory. Instead, the ease of the rescue sits wrong in my gut. Like the real play is still coming.
The first sign of trouble is the headlights.
Bright and sudden in the side mirror, coming up fast from behind.
Too fast. I turn my head as the vehicle slams into the side of our SUV.
The impact jars through my body, metal crunching and tires screeching against the pavement.
Sadie gasps beside me, her body pressing into mine from the force.
Crewe swerves, fighting to keep control, but the other vehicle hits again, harder this time.
Glass shatters somewhere. The world tilts for a second as we skid.
I reach for Sadie instinctively, pulling her closer as the SUV spins.
Adrenaline floods my veins. This isn’t random.
This is deliberate. The second SUV ahead takes a hit too, swerving wildly before correcting.
Through the chaos I catch glimpses of figures moving in the other vehicle.
They’re not stopping. They’re herding us, forcing us off the road toward the dunes.
Crewe curses under his breath, his hands white-knuckled on the wheel.
We lurch to a stop in the sand, the engine still running but the world suddenly too quiet after the screech of tires and metal.
I push the door open, adrenaline flooding my system.
Sadie’s right behind me, her hand finding mine as we stumble out onto the uneven ground.
The other SUV has stopped a short distance ahead, its lights cutting through the dark.
Figures are already moving around it. My brothers. Billy.
Then I see it. Another vehicle, dark and unmarked, pulling up fast beside the lead SUV.
Doors open. More figures spill out. They move with purpose, heading straight for Billy.
He’s standing near the front of the vehicle, his expression hard even in the dim light.
Crewe and the others are shouting, moving to intercept, but it’s too late.
The figures grab him, dragging him toward their vehicle with brutal efficiency.
Billy fights, his voice carrying over the night air, but there are too many of them.
I start forward, pulling Sadie with me, but Crewe grabs my arm. "Jace, wait. They’re armed. We can’t rush this."
The vehicle with Billy inside peels away into the night, tires kicking up sand as it disappears down the road. The whole thing takes less than a minute. One second Billy’s there, standing with his sons after years of being gone. The next he’s gone again. Taken. Just like that.
We stand in the sand, the SUVs damaged and the night suddenly too still.
My brothers are shouting, checking on each other, but the shock is clear on every face.
Sadie’s hand is still in mine, her grip tight.
I can feel her trembling slightly, or maybe that’s me.
Billy was here. We rescued Nash and Sin.
We got Sadie back. And now he’s gone again, snatched in the middle of what should’ve been the end of this nightmare.
Crewe’s already on his phone, calling Sloane, his voice clipped and urgent.
Colt’s checking the vehicles, his usual charm replaced by raw anger.
Banks and Mack stand near the lead SUV, their expressions stunned.
Nash and Sin are leaning against the side, still weak from captivity but alert now, their eyes wide with the same disbelief I feel.
I pull Sadie closer, my arm around her shoulders.
The protectiveness from earlier surges stronger.
She was taken tonight. Billy was taken tonight.
This was never about the rescue being easy.
It was about drawing us out, getting us all in one place, and then striking when we thought it was over.
Vanguard Helix played us. They let us find the house.
They let us think we won. And now they’ve got my father.
The ocean rolls in the distance, waves breaking against the shore with their steady rhythm.
The road is empty now except for us and the damaged SUVs.
My mind races with questions. Why take my father now?
What do they want with him after all these years?
The answers feel out of reach, but one thing is clear. This isn’t over. Not by a long shot.
I look at my brothers, at my father’s empty spot near the lead vehicle, at Sadie standing strong beside me despite everything.
The shock is written on every face. Billy’s alive.
We had him. And now he’s gone again, taken in a calculated move that leaves us all reeling.
The night air feels colder suddenly. The victory of the rescue tastes bitter.
We came for Nash and Sin and Sadie. We got them.
But the real target was Billy all along, and we walked right into it.
Crewe ends his call and turns to us, his expression grim. "Sloane’s sending backup. We need to get off this road and back to the safe house. They won’t stop with Billy. We need a new plan. Now."
I nod, my hand still holding Sadie’s. The fear for her hasn’t left, but it’s sharpened into something harder.
Determination. Anger. We’ll rescue Billy.
We’ll find out why they did this. And we’ll end this threat once and for all.
But right now, standing in the sand with the damaged vehicles and the empty space where my father stood minutes ago, all I can feel is the shock rippling through all of us.
Billy was kidnapped. And this time, we were right there when it happened.
Vanguard Helix played us perfectly. And the game is far from over.