Chapter 38
Ace
The shift happens in a blink.
One second—
Stillness.
The next—
Violence.
Daniel moves first.
Gun coming up.
Eyes wild.
“Tessa—DOWN!” I bark.
I grab her, pulling her hard to the side as the first shot cracks through the clearing.
Gunfire erupts.
Trigger and Beast engage instantly, flanking wide, cutting off escape.
Blaze drops back, tracking, feeding movement through comms.
But I don’t hear any of it.
Not really.
Because all I see—
Is him.
And the way he keeps trying to get to her.
Tessa
The world explodes around me.
Sound—
Gunfire.
Shouting.
Branches snapping.
Ace’s arm is around me, pulling, guiding, shielding—
But I don’t freeze.
Not this time.
I see Daniel.
The way he moves.
Erratic.
Desperate.
Focused on me.
That’s his weakness.
And for the first time—
I understand it.
“Ace,” I say, grabbing his arm.
“I need two seconds.”
He looks at me like I’ve lost my mind.
“No—”
“Trust me.”
A beat.
Just one.
Then—
He nods.
Barely.
But it’s enough.
Ace
I don’t like it.
Not even a little.
But I trust her.
So I move.
I shift left, drawing Daniel’s attention.
Firing once—
Twice—
Driving him back.
“Come on!” I shout. “You want her? You go through me!”
It works.
Of course it does.
Daniel turns fully toward me.
Rage taking over.
He fires wildly.
Sloppy.
Uncontrolled.
Good.
That’s what we need.
Tessa
He’s not looking at me anymore.
He’s looking at Ace.
That’s my opening.
I move.
Low.
Fast.
Circling just enough to come into his peripheral—
“Daniel!”
He turns.
Instinct.
Always toward me.
That’s when I see it.
Clear as day.
The hesitation.
The crack.
“You don’t want to do this,” I say, stepping closer.
Behind me, I feel Ace tense—
Ready to pull me back.
But I keep going.
Because this—
This is where it ends.
“Yes, I do,” Daniel says, but his voice isn’t steady anymore.
“You don’t,” I say softly. “You’re just angry.”
“They took you from me!”
“I was never yours.”
That hits.
Hard.
I see it land.
See the way his grip shifts.
The way his aim falters—
Just slightly.
“You don’t have to keep doing this,” I say. “You can stop.”
For a second—
It almost works.
His arm lowers.
His breathing slows.
His eyes—
Clear.
Just a little.
“Tessa…” he says.
And I think—
I think he might actually—
Then his gaze flicks past me.
To Ace.
And everything snaps back.
Ace
I see it happen.
The exact moment he loses it again.
“No!” Daniel roars, lifting the gun.
Aiming straight at her.
I don’t think.
I move.
Fast.
Closing the distance in a heartbeat—
Gun up—
Trigger pulled—
One shot.
Clean.
Final.
Daniel jerks as the bullet hits center mass.
The gun falls from his hand.
He stumbles back—
Eyes wide.
Like he didn’t expect it to end this way.
Like he thought—
He was untouchable.
Then—
He drops.
Tessa
Silence.
Real silence this time.
No gunfire.
No shouting.
Just—
The sound of my own breathing.
Daniel lies on the ground.
Not moving.
Not speaking.
Not looking at me anymore.
It’s over.
It’s finally—
Over.
My knees feel weak.
The adrenaline drains out all at once.
And I sway—
Just slightly—
Before strong arms catch me.
Ace.
Of course.
“I’ve got you,” he says, his voice softer now.
Careful.
Like I might break.
“I’m okay,” I whisper.
But I don’t pull away.
Not this time.
I lean into him.
Let him hold me.
Because I need it.
Because I want it.
Because after everything—
He’s the one thing that feels steady.
Ace
I hold her close.
One hand at the back of her head.
The other wrapped tight around her.
She’s shaking now.
Adrenaline crash.
Shock.
Relief.
All of it hitting at once.
“You did good,” I murmur. “You did really good.”
She exhales against me.
“I thought…” she starts, then stops.
“I know,” I say.
I press my forehead to hers.
“It's over.”
This time—
I mean it.
Trigger approaches slowly.
“All clear.”
Beast nods once.
“No movement.”
Blaze lowers the tablet.
“He’s gone.”
Yeah.
He is.
I look down at her again.
At the woman who didn’t run.
Didn’t break.
Who stood in the middle of hell and faced it head-on.
And chose me.
Every time.
“You staying?” I ask quietly.
Her eyes lift to mine.
Soft.
Certain.
“Yeah,” she says.
No hesitation.
No doubt.
“Yeah, I am.”