Chapter 54
Ace
“Ihid it.”
Everything shifts.
Right here.
Right now.
We’re not chasing shadows anymore.
We’re chasing something real.
“Where?” I ask.
No pressure.
Just focus.
Because if she shuts down—
We lose it.
“I don’t know,” she says.
Then shakes her head.
“No… that’s not right.”
Good.
She’s thinking.
“I wouldn’t have kept it on me,” she says. “I would’ve put it somewhere safe.”
“Somewhere no one would look,” I add.
Her pulse picks up.
She’s close.
“Start with what you knew,” I say. “Your routines.”
She closes her eyes.
Thinking.
“Home?” Trigger offers.
“No. Too obvious.”
“Work?” Beast adds.
“Maybe…”
Then—
Her breath catches.
“There it is,” I murmur.
“My old locker,” she says.
That hits.
“I had one in the back,” she continues. “I kept personal things there.”
I lean in slightly.
“You think it’s still there?”
“I think so. I brought it with me when I moved to Eagle River.”
That’s enough.
“Then we check it.”
Because now?
We have direction.
We move fast.
Take the guy with us.
Not leaving him behind.
He’s still useful.
The ride back is different.
Tighter.
Focused.
She’s quiet beside me.
Processing.
Holding it together.
Barely.
“You good?” I ask.
“Yeah.”
A beat.
“You’re doing good,” I tell her.
Because she is.
Even if she doesn’t feel it.
We pull up to the shop.
Everything looks the same.
But it’s not.
Not anymore.
Because now—
This place might be holding the truth.
We clear it fast.
No threats.
No movement.
Good.
“For now,” I mutter.
I nod toward the back.
“Tessa. Lead the way.”
She moves into the storage area.
I stay right behind her.
Close.
Ready.
The lockers line the wall.
Old.
Unchanged.
She slows.
Counts.
Then stops.
“There,” she says.
I step in closer.
“You remember the combination?”
She nods.
Her hand trembles slightly as she turns it.
Click.
The lock opens.
She pulls the door.
It creaks.
Inside—
Dark.
Empty—
Except for one thing.
A small, worn pouch.
Exactly where she left it.
And whatever’s inside?
That’s what all of this has been about.