Chapter 49
Ace
The greenhouse sits just outside town.
Far enough to stay private.
Close enough to stay hidden in plain sight.
I don’t like that.
“Place gives me a bad feeling,” Trigger mutters.
“Good,” I say. “Means you’re paying attention.”
Blaze leans forward. “No business hours. Minimal online presence. Cash-heavy.”
“Translation?” Beast asks.
“Whoever runs it doesn’t want to be found.”
Perfect.
Exactly where we need to be.
I slow as the structure comes into view.
Glass. Steel. Long.
Too many angles.
Too many reflections.
Too many places to hide.
“Too many exits,” Trigger says.
“Too many places to watch from,” Beast adds.
Yeah.
All of it.
Tessa studies it from beside me.
Quiet.
Focused.
Not intimidated.
“Someone’s here,” she says.
I glance at her. “You feel it?”
She nods.
“I don’t think they left.”
Good.
“Then we’re not chasing ghosts,” I say.
We move in on foot.
Tighter formation this time.
No room for mistakes.
I reach the door first.
Pause.
Listen.
Nothing.
No voices. No movement.
But that doesn’t mean empty.
I push the door open.
Warm air hits immediately.
Heavy. Humid.
The scent of flowers is stronger than her shop.
Too strong.
Too controlled.
We step inside.
Rows of plants stretch in every direction.
Perfectly arranged.
Precise.
Manufactured.
“This place is controlled,” Tessa says quietly.
“Stay close to me.”
“I will,” she says.
We move through the rows.
Slow.
Measured.
Every shadow checked.
Every angle cleared.
Something about this place—
It’s wrong.
Then—
A voice.
Calm.
Close.
“I was wondering when you’d figure it out.”
I spin.
Weapon up.
He steps out from behind a row of white flowers.
Clean.
Put together.
Controlled.
Nothing like Daniel.
This one is different.
This one is dangerous in a way Daniel never was.
His gaze lands on Tessa.
Not me.
Her.
My grip tightens.
“You’ve been busy,” he says.
“You did all this?” she asks.
He smiles slightly. “Not all. But enough.”
I step forward.
“Step away from her.”
He doesn’t move.
Doesn’t flinch.
Instead—
He studies me.
“You must be Ace,” he says. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
That sets something off in me.
“Funny,” I say. “I’ve heard nothing about you.”
“That’s the point.”
Yeah.
Figured.
“You’re behind it,” Tessa says.
“Behind what?” he asks lightly.
“Daniel. The messages. The shop.”
He considers that.
“Daniel was useful,” he says. “But unstable.”
“You used him.”
“I directed him.”
Same thing.
Worse.
I shift slightly.
Positioning.
Angles.
Distance.
“Why her?” I ask.
Because that’s what matters.
His gaze returns to her.
“Because she matters.”
My grip tightens.
“To who?”
A pause.
Then—
“To the wrong people.”
Not an answer.
A warning.
Tessa steps forward slightly.
I tense.
But I don’t stop her.
“What does that mean?” she asks.
He watches her carefully.
“You were never supposed to disappear the way you did.”
A chill runs through me.
“Prison wasn’t your ending,” he adds. “It was a mistake.”
“What?” she breathes.
“Mine.”
Everything in me goes still.
Because that means—
This didn’t start with Daniel.
This goes back further.
A lot further.
And somehow—
It all leads to him.