Charged with everything we haven’t said.
Everything we just felt.
“You don’t get to shut me out,” I say, softer now. “Not after that.”
His gaze drops—just for a second.
To my mouth.
Then back to my eyes.
That kiss is still there.
Between us.
Unfinished.
Dangerous in a completely different way.
“I’m not shutting you out,” he says.
“It feels like it.”
A beat.
Then—
He exhales slowly.
Like he’s fighting himself.
And losing.
“Fine,” he says. “You want in? Then you listen.”
I don’t back down.
“I am listening.”
He nods once.
Sharp.
“Good. Because this isn’t over,” he says. “Daniel didn’t just run. He repositioned. He’s going to hit again.”
“I know.”
“And next time,” Ace continues, stepping even closer, his voice dropping, “he won’t come through the front.”
A chill runs through me.
Because I believe him.
Every word.
“We move now,” he says. “We control the ground. We don’t let him pick it.”
I swallow.
