“We'll be back soon, Iz, just hold on.” Luca's voice comes through but I can't. I rip the earpiece from my ear and push away from the table.
“Iz—”
“I just need some air.” I run out of the room.
I make my way through the house and push open the double doors to the backyard. The cold night air hits me and I gasp. My skin is hot. I stare up at the stars.
Not again. Please not again.
I close my eyes, feeling my feet against the ground. The gentle air on my skin.
Breathe.
I picture Jace in that basement. Chained up with Gideon exacting his anger out on his own flesh and blood. Jace's scars flash through my mind, tearing open and bleeding.
“Jace, just hang on, please,” I whisper into the wind.
31 SECOND THOUGHTS
Lucian
“Do you have a moment?” Jace’s head peeks around my door.
I close my laptop, gesturing for him to come in. I sit back in my seat, folding my hands. It’s about all I can do to keep from punching this kid in the face.
Idiot.
He settles in the seat in front of my desk, mirroring my posture.
“What’s on your mind, Jace?”
“I’ve been thinking about tonight’s op. If Gideon sees through what we’re doing, which is a high possibility, we need to let him take me. We can’t make it too obvious that it’s what we want him to do.”
“Did you talk to the others about this plan?”
“No.”
I rub a hand down my face. Gracie isn’t going to like this.
But who am I to stop him from wanting to get kidnapped?
“We need it to be as realistic as possible. He needs to feel smart. As if he outmaneuvered us, the others need to be focused on the prototype.”
“The others should be apprised of the situation.” I clench and unclench my fist.
“No, they can’t handle it.”
“But you can?” I raise an eyebrow.
Jace’s gaze scans over my face. He looks older than nineteen, almost twenty. But his eyes are different than Gideon’s, which is the only reason I’m letting him stay in my house. The only reason he’s still breathing.
“No, but I’m the only one who needs to,” he answers simply.
The hurt I saw on Gracie’s face from his last plan fills my mind.
“You don’t get to make that call unilaterally. This isn’t a game of sacrifice where you volunteer yourself and expect the rest of us to adapt. You may have been a team lead before due to your upbringing and discipline but I won’t be making that mistake again.”
“It’s not a sacrifice, it's a strategy.” Jace’s jaw works.
