Chapter 43
Ace
Idon’t like this.
Not even a little.
“Local,” Trigger mutters from the doorway. “That narrows it down… and makes it worse.”
Yeah.
It does.
Because outside threats?
You track them. Hunt them. Eliminate them.
But local?
That means someone knows the roads.
Knows the routines.
Knows us.
“Show me,” I say to Blaze.
He turns the laptop, pulling up a map of Eagle River.
Dots blink across it.
Different locations.
Different timestamps.
“All these transactions routed through a ghost network,” Blaze explains. “But the origin points?”
He taps the screen.
“They all bounce through here.”
I lean in.
A familiar street.
Too familiar.
My jaw tightens.
“That’s the main strip,” I say.
Blaze nods. “Yeah.”
Trigger steps closer. “Businesses?”
“Some,” Blaze says. “But not all. Could be someone piggybacking off public access points. Could be a private line masked as something else.”
Beast crosses his arms. “Translation?”
Blaze exhales. “Whoever this is? They’ve been hiding in plain sight.”
Silence settles over the room.
Heavy.
Because we all know what that means.
“They’ve been watching,” I say.
“Yeah,” Blaze confirms. “For a while.”
I don’t have to look to know where my mind goes next.
Her.
“Tessa—”
“I’m coming.”
I turn.
She’s already grabbing her jacket.
Flowers still in her hand.
Stubborn as hell.
I step toward her. “We don’t know what we’re walking into.”
“I know,” she says. “That’s why I’m not sitting this out.”
My jaw tightens.
“Your shop’s on that street,” Blaze adds carefully.
That lands.
Hard.
Her hand stills for just a second.
Then tightens around the stems.
“I know,” she says quietly.
Yeah.
She does.
The drive into town feels different.
Everything does now.
Every building.
Every person walking down the sidewalk.
Every car parked along the street.
Because now I know—
It could be anyone.
Ace drives.
Focused.
Silent.
One hand on the wheel.
The other resting just close enough to me that I feel it.
Like he’s still keeping track.
Still making sure I’m there.
“You okay?” he asks without looking at me.
“Yeah.”
A beat.
Then—
“Liar.”
I glance at him.
“You always this direct?”
“Only when it matters.”
I huff softly.
But he’s not wrong.
My stomach is tight.
My pulse steady—but faster than normal.
Not fear.
Not exactly.
More like—
Awareness.
The kind that never really leaves once you’ve learned it.
“We go in, we assess, we don’t split,” Ace says. “You stay with me.”
“I will.”
No argument this time.
Because I understand now.
This isn’t control.
This is survival.
The town looks the same.
That’s the strange part.
People walking.
Cars passing.
Someone laughing outside the café.
Like nothing has changed.
But everything has.
We park just down the street from my shop.
My chest tightens when I see it.
The sign.
The windows.
The little display I left behind.
Flowers arranged just the way I always do them.
Careful.
Balanced.
Alive.
“I haven’t been back since…” I trail off.
Ace nods once. “We go together.”
Always.
Together.
Ace
I scan the street before we even move.
Left.
Right.
Windows.
Reflections.
Nothing obvious.
That doesn’t mean anything.
“Trigger, Beast—perimeter,” I say quietly.
“On it.”
Blaze stays in the SUV, already pulling up feeds, tapping into whatever he can access nearby.
“Tessa,” I say.
She looks at me.
Steady.
Ready.
I nod once.
We move.
Tessa
The bell above the door chimes when we step inside.
Familiar.
Soft.
Normal.
It almost makes this worse.
The shop smells like flowers.
Fresh stems.
Greenery.
A hint of lavender from the display near the counter.
For a second—
It feels like nothing ever happened.
Like I just stepped out for a minute and came back.
My chest tightens.
“I missed this,” I whisper.
Ace doesn’t say anything.
He just watches me.
Letting me have the moment.
Then—
Something catches my eye.
The counter.
I step closer.
Frowning.
“What?” Ace asks instantly.
“This wasn’t here before,” I say.
A small arrangement sits near the register.
Wildflowers.
Yellow.
White.
Purple.
Just like the ones I picked this morning.
My stomach drops.
“No,” I whisper.
I didn’t make this.
I would remember.
I reach for it slowly.
Careful.
Something feels off.
Wrong.
Ace’s hand closes around my wrist before I touch it.
“Don’t.”
I look at him.
“It’s just flowers—”
“No,” he says, voice sharp now. “It’s not.”
Blaze’s voice crackles through the comm.
“Ace—hold—don’t touch anything.”
Too late.
My pulse spikes.
“Why?” I ask.
Blaze’s voice is tight.
“Because someone accessed the shop’s back system about twenty minutes ago.”
Silence.
Cold.
Sharp.
My heart starts pounding.
“They were here,” I whisper.
Ace’s grip tightens slightly.
“Yeah.”
And then—
The phone on the counter rings.
Loud.
Sharp.
Cutting through everything.
I freeze.
So does Ace.
The ringing echoes in the small space.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Ace slowly reaches for it.
Answers.
Silence on the other end.
Then—
A voice.
Calm.
Cold.
Watching.
“You should’ve stayed away.”
My blood turns to ice.
Ace doesn’t speak.
Doesn’t react.
Just listens.
The voice continues—
“You’re closer than you think.”
The line goes dead.