My stomach drops slightly at that. “That truck.”
“I know,” he says, cutting me off gently but firmly. “I’ve got eyes on it.”
And that matters more than he’s saying out loud.
Hadley shifts closer to my side, looking between us, picking up on the tension even if she doesn’t understand the words.
“You’re scaring her,” I murmur.
His gaze softens just a fraction as it drops to her, then lifts back to me. “I’m trying to keep you both safe.”
That lands harder than anything else.
Because now it’s not just a feeling.
It’s real.
And standing this close to him, with the noise of the rodeo still pulsing around us and something darker moving just beneath it, I feel that pull again, the one I’ve been trying to ignore since the moment I saw him yesterday.
Stronger now.
Because danger has a way of stripping everything else away.
Leaving only what matters.
And right now…
He's the only thing that feels solid.
“Jace…” I start, not even sure what I’m about to say.
He steps closer, just enough that I feel the heat of him, the tension in his body held tight like a line ready to snap.
“We’ll talk,” he says quietly. “Just not here.”
My breath catches slightly, because I hear what he’s not saying.
I nod again, slower this time.
Because whatever this is between us…
it’s about to collide with everything else.
“Mom?” Hadley’s voice pulls me back just enough to remember she’s still right here between us. She is watching everything with eyes that are far too aware for her age tonight.
I force myself to breathe, to pull something steady back into place. “Hey,” I say, crouching slightly so I’m closer to her level. “Why don’t you go find Aunt Piper? She's right over there, remember?”
She hesitates, glancing between me and Jace, clearly picking up on the shift even if she doesn’t understand it. “You’re coming?”
“In a minute,” I tell her gently. “I just need to talk to him.”
Her gaze lingers on me for a second longer, then she nods, trusting me, even now. “Okay.”
Jace watches her go, his expression tightening just slightly until she disappears into the crowd, and the second she’s out of reach, the space between us changes.
The noise is still there.
“What aren’t you telling me?” I ask, my voice quieter now, but steadier.
