24. Tessa
Tessa
Ididn’t expect it to happen that fast.
But by morning—
Everything exploded.
My phone started buzzing before the sun was fully up. Not one call. Not two.
Dozens.
Messages stacked on top of each other. Missed calls. Notifications. Emails.
I stared at the screen for a long second, my stomach tightening.
“It’s out,” I whispered.
Ace was already moving, grabbing his phone, scanning something on the screen.
“Yeah,” he said. “It’s out.”
My heart started pounding.
Not fear.
Not exactly.
Something bigger.
I opened one of the messages.
A link.
I clicked it.
And there it was.
My name.
Front and center.
INNOCENT WOMAN IMPRISONED SIX YEARS—NEW FOOTAGE REVEALS TRUTH, IMPLICATES COUNTY SHERIFF WHO IS ALSO THE DEAD GIRL'S UNCLE
My breath caught.
“Oh my God…”
I scrolled.
The video was there.
The still frame.
The breakdown.
Everything Sarah said she would do—
She did it.
And she did it right.
“This is…” I whispered.
“Big,” Ace finished.
I looked up at him.
“This is everywhere.”
“Yeah.”
My pulse kicked harder.
Because there was no taking this back.
No hiding.
No pretending it didn’t exist.
The truth was out.
For everyone to see.
My phone rang again.
I almost ignored it.
But something made me answer.
“Hello?”
Silence.
Then—
“Tessa?”
My chest tightened instantly.
I knew that voice.
Even after all this time.
“Mom.”
The word felt strange.
Foreign.
There was a shaky breath on the other end.
“I… I saw it,” she said.
Of course she did.
Everyone did.
I didn’t say anything.
Didn’t know what to say.
“I didn’t know,” she continued. “Tessa, I didn’t know…”
My jaw tightened.
“I told you,” I said quietly.
Silence.
Heavy.
Painful.
“I thought…” her voice broke. “I thought you were just trying to—”
“To save myself?” I finished.
Another silence.
Then—
“Yes.”
The honesty of it hit harder than I expected.
Not because it was new.
Because it wasn’t.
“I wasn’t,” I said.
“I see that now.”
I closed my eyes briefly.
Seven years too late.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
My chest tightened.
But it didn’t break me.
Not this time.
“I can’t do this right now,” I said.
“I understand,” she said quickly. “I just… I needed you to know… I’m sorry.”
I swallowed hard.
“Okay.”
It wasn’t forgiveness.
Not yet.
But it was something.
“I’ll call you later,” she said.
“Maybe.”
I hung up before she could say anything else.
My hand trembled slightly as I lowered the phone.
Ace was watching me.
“You okay?” he asked.
I let out a slow breath.
“I don’t know.”
Honest.
Raw.
Real.
“She believed it,” I said quietly. “All of it.”
“I know.”
“And now she believes me.”
“Yeah.”
I shook my head slightly.
“That doesn’t fix anything. She never answered a letter she never wrote to me. I was all alone in a prison, and my mother ignored me.”
“No, it doesn’t fix anything,” he agreed. “Maybe it’s a start.”
Maybe.
Maybe it was, I didn’t think so.
Another knock hit the door.
Firm.
Not hesitant.
Ace’s entire posture shifted instantly.
Alert.
Controlled.
Protective.
“I’ll get it,” he said.
I didn’t argue.
Didn’t try to stop him.
Because now—
I understood.
This wasn’t normal.
This was what happened when the truth made powerful people nervous.
Ace opened the door.
And suddenly—
The space filled.
Blaze stepped in first, laptop already in hand.
Behind him—
Beast.
Broad. Solid. Quiet.
And then Trigger.
Sharp eyes. Focused. Watching everything.
The room felt smaller instantly.
Safer.
And somehow—
More dangerous at the same time.
“We’ve got eyes on the street,” Blaze said without preamble. “Traffic’s heavier than usual. Couple of unfamiliar vehicles circling.”
My stomach dropped.
“They’re already watching?” I asked.
“Wouldn’t be surprised,” Trigger said. “Story like this? You just painted a target on your back.”
I swallowed hard.
Right.
Of course I did.
Ace stepped closer to me.
Not touching.
But there.
Always there.
“We’ve got you covered,” Beast said simply.
His voice was calm.
Certain.
You have an awesome shop,” Trigger said. I’ll order twelve white roses and two bunches of wildflowers to take home to Rylie,” he said, grinning.
Like this was just another day for him.
I looked between them.
All of them.
“You guys don’t have to—”
“Yeah,” Blaze cut in. “We do.”
I blinked.
“Why?”
He gave me a look.
“Because that’s what we do.”
Simple.
Like it wasn’t even a question.
Something in my chest shifted.
Because this—
This was what I’d been afraid of before.
The danger.
The attention.
The chaos that followed men like them.
And now—
I was standing in the middle of it.
Not running.
Not hiding.
Still here.
“Okay,” I said quietly.
Ace glanced at me.
“You good with this?”
I took a breath.
Then nodded.
“Yeah.”
Because for the first time—
I understood something I hadn’t before.
It wasn’t just danger that followed them.
It was protection too.
Loyalty.
People who didn’t walk away when things got hard.
Blaze was already setting up at the table in the corner.
“I’m tracking everything online,” he said. “Story’s spreading fast. National outlets are picking it up.”
My heart skipped.
“National?”
“Yeah,” he said. “And the comments…”
He paused.
“Let’s just say public opinion’s not on Reynolds’ side right now.”
Good.
Let him feel it.
For once.
Trigger moved toward the window, scanning outside.
“Two cars just passed again,” he said.
“Same ones?” Ace asked.
“Yeah.”
My stomach twisted.
“This is real,” I whispered.
“Yeah,” Ace said. “It is.”
I wrapped my arms around myself, but it wasn’t fear driving it this time.
It was awareness.
Understanding.
This was the world they lived in.
The one I’d avoided.
The one I said I didn’t want.
And now—
I was part of it.
My phone buzzed again.
Another message.
I hesitated.
Then opened it.
Unknown number.
Just one line.
You should have taken the deal.
A chill ran down my spine.
I lifted my gaze to Ace.
“I think he’s done asking nicely,” I said.
Ace’s expression hardened.
“Good,” he replied.
My pulse jumped.
“Good?”
“Yeah,” he said. “Means he’s running out of options.”
I stared at him for a second.
Then—
Slowly—
I nodded.
Because I saw it now.
Felt it.
For the first time—
Daniel Reynolds wasn’t in control.
And I wasn’t the girl he could bury in a prison anymore.