Chapter 34
Ace
“Clear!” Trigger calls.
“East side down,” Beast confirms.
Blaze’s voice crackles through the comms. “No more movement on thermal—”
“Hold,” I cut in.
Because something feels off.
Too quiet.
Too easy.
I don’t lower my weapon.
Don’t relax.
Don’t breathe.
“Tessa, stay—”
“I’m here,” she says behind me, her voice steady, but I can hear the adrenaline under it.
Good.
She’s holding it together.
I shift forward—
Eyes locked on Daniel.
Still on his knees.
Still breathing.
Blood running down his arm, dripping into the dirt.
His head hangs for a second like he’s done.
Finished.
Then—
He laughs.
Low.
Broken.
Every muscle in my body tightens.
“Something’s wrong,” I mutter.
“You think?” Trigger snaps from the side, moving in slow, controlled steps.
We close the distance.
Careful.
Measured.
I don’t take my eyes off him.
Not for a second.
“Hands,” I order.
Daniel lifts them slowly.
Too slowly.
Like he’s dragging the moment out.
Like he wants us closer.
I step in—
One more pace.
And that’s when I see it.
The blood.
Too much of it.
But not from the shot.
From something else—
Something tucked against his side.
“Back—!” I start.
Too late.
Daniel moves.
Fast.
Faster than he should be able to.
His hand jerks—
A small device hits the ground between us.
Flash.
Smoke explodes outward—
Blinding.
Burning.
“MOVE!” I shout, grabbing Tessa and yanking her back as chaos erupts again.
Gunfire snaps—
Blind shots.
Disoriented.
“Where is he?!” Beast growls.
“Lost visual!” Trigger shouts.
The smoke thickens, swallowing everything.
“Thermal’s scrambled!” Blaze curses through the comms. “I can’t see him—he’s gone—”
Gone.
No.
No, he’s not—
I shove through the smoke, ignoring the burn in my lungs, scanning, searching—
Nothing.
No body.
No movement.
No Daniel.
“Damn it!” I slam my fist into the side of the truck, rage slicing through me.
He was right there.
Right there.
And now—
“He’s gone,” Trigger says, voice tight with frustration.
I turn slowly.
Every instinct in me still screaming.
Every nerve lit up.
Because this isn’t over.
Not even close.
“He planned that,” Beast mutters. “Whole thing was a setup.”
Yeah.
I know.
I drag a hand down my face, trying to rein it in—
Trying to lock it back down—
But then I hear it.
“Tessa?”
Her voice.
Soft.
Too soft.
I spin.
She’s standing a few feet back.
Still exactly where I left her.
But now—
She’s shaking.
The adrenaline’s crashing.
The reality hitting.
And that—
That hits me harder than anything else tonight.
I cross the distance in two strides.
Hands on her shoulders.
“Tess—hey—look at me.”
Her eyes lift to mine.
Wide.
Glassier now.
“He got away,” she whispers.
Yeah.
He did.
And I hate that she knows what that means.
“It’s not your fault,” I say immediately.
Her head shakes. “He came for me—”
“And we stopped him,” I cut in, firm. “We’re still standing. You’re still here. That’s what matters.”
Her breath stutters.
Like she’s trying to hold it together.
Trying not to break.
I soften just enough—
Just for her.
“He’s not getting to you,” I say, quieter now. “Not ever.”
That does it.
Something in her cracks.
Not panic.
Not fear.
Something deeper.
She steps into me.
Not hesitant.
Not unsure.
She just—
Chooses me.
Her hands fist in my shirt as she presses into my chest, and I don’t even think—
I pull her in.
Hard.
One arm around her back, the other cradling her head, holding her like if I let go—
She might disappear.
“You’re okay,” I murmur against her hair. “I’ve got you.”
Her breath is uneven against me.
Her heart racing.
Mine isn’t any better.
Because the truth is—
I almost lost her.
That thought alone—
It wrecks me.
She pulls back just enough to look up at me.
And there’s something in her eyes now.
Not just fear.
Not just adrenaline.
Something else.
Something that’s been building between us—
Breaking loose.
“Ace…” she whispers.
And that’s it.
That’s all it takes.
I don’t think.
Don’t hesitate.
I kiss her.
Hard.
Like I’ve been holding it back for too long.
Like I don’t know if I’ll get another chance.
Her hands grip tighter.
She kisses me back just as fiercely, just as desperate—
And it’s not soft.
It’s not careful.
It’s everything we’ve been holding in.
Fear.
Relief.
Need.
All of it crashing together at once.
I back her up a step without breaking the kiss—
Then another—
Until her back hits the wall just inside the doorway.
My hands slide to her waist, pulling her closer, needing to feel that she’s real—
That she’s here—
That I didn’t lose her tonight.
“Ace—” she breathes against my mouth.
I don’t stop.
Can’t.
Not when she’s right here.
Not when she’s choosing me.
Not when everything in me is still running hot from the fight.
My forehead presses to hers for a second—
Both of us breathing hard—
Right on the edge of something more.
Something deeper.
Something we’re not coming back from.
Then—
“Uh… hate to ruin the moment,” Blaze’s voice cuts in from the living room, “but we’ve got a problem.”
I go still.
Every instinct snapping right back into place.
Tessa exhales softly, her fingers still curled in my shirt.
“Tell me,” I say, not taking my eyes off her just yet.
Blaze doesn’t hesitate.
“That wasn’t just a distraction,” he says. “Daniel accessed something before he ran.”
Cold slides down my spine.
“What kind of something?” I ask.
A beat.
Then—
“Your systems,” Blaze says. “Our locations. Safehouses.”
My blood turns to ice.
Because that means—
This just got a whole lot worse.