Chapter 32
Ace
Idon’t like how close he is.
Two miles disappears fast.
“Movement,” Trigger calls.
Blaze already has the feed up. “Black truck. Same plates.”
I lean in just enough to confirm.
Yeah.
It’s him.
My jaw tightens.
“Alright,” I say, voice calm even though everything in me is coiling tight. “We’re not waiting.”
Tessa steps closer to me.
“I’m not leaving.”
I look at her.
Really look.
There’s no fear in her now. Not the kind that makes someone run.
This is different.
This is someone who’s already survived hell—and decided she’s not going back.
“Then you stay on me,” I say.
She nods once.
No hesitation.
Good.
We move.
Tight formation. Clean. Controlled.
Beast cracks the door, scanning.
“Clear.”
It won’t stay that way.
I feel it before I hear it.
Then—
The engine roars.
Too loud.
Too fast.
“He’s not slowing,” Trigger says.
Of course he isn’t.
“Inside,” I snap, grabbing Tessa and pulling her back just as the truck tears into view.
It doesn’t brake.
Doesn’t hesitate.
It slams into the barrier with a violent crunch—metal twisting, snapping—
Then keeps coming.
The impact rattles the entire house.
Glass trembles.
The walls shake.
Tessa’s breath catches behind me—but she doesn’t pull away.
Doesn’t fight me.
Doesn’t run.
She stays exactly where I put her.
The engine cuts.
Silence crashes down just as hard.
Heavy.
Wrong.
Every instinct I have is screaming.
Then—
The driver’s door creaks open.
And Daniel Reynolds steps out.
I barely recognize him.
Gone is the controlled, calculated man we were tracking.
This—
This is something else.
His clothes are disheveled. His movements sharp. Unpredictable.
His eyes—
His eyes lock onto Tessa like she’s the only thing in the world that matters.
Like nothing else exists.
Like nothing else ever will.
Something cold settles in my chest.
Because I’ve seen that look before.
Men like that don’t walk away.
They don’t negotiate.
They don’t stop.
“Stay behind me,” I say, my voice low, deadly calm.
I shift just enough to block her completely.
But I already know—
This isn’t ending clean.
Not with him.
Not like this.
Daniel takes one step forward.
Then another.
And when he speaks—
His voice is cracked.
Unstable.
Obsessed.
“Tessa…”
My grip tightens at my side.
Yeah.
This ends now.
One way or another.