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Stop texting me.

My fingers twitched and I had to resist the urge to message him back out of spite. I wanted to protect Noah, and if that meant distancing myself from him then…so be it. He’d get his wish. I’d leave him alone for as long as possible. Even if it fucking killed me.

I didn’t expect the pain in my heart to throb so much at that decision. I put my cell in my pocket, because if I kept looking at it any longer, I’d text him again.

After Noah left, Jace retreated to his office like a recluse crawling back under a stone. He hadn’t said a word to me, but I knew better than to leave the stairs. He wasn’t done with me yet.

The door to the office cracked open.

“Get your ass in here,” Jace hissed from inside.

I stood, heading down the rest of the stairs to his door. I entered, noting that Jace was behind his desk, back facing me. He had lit a cigar, the plum of smoke creating a fog in the room.

I was still only in a towel, but my body had already dried from the amount of time that had passed. I awkwardly adjusted myself in the seat in front of him and waited.

Part of me was feeling a sense of regret. Maybe I should have told Noah how I felt. What if I didn’t get the chance to, now?

“Clear your schedule.”

Jace’s voice disrupted my train of thought.

“Sir?” I questioned.

“Make sure your schedule is clear for the next two weeks. You’ll be meeting with Lana, my planner and her photographer. There’s some billboards that are going to be redone with your name and face on it.”

I couldn’t prevent the confusion from clouding my face.

“You’re putting me on the billboards for Pinnacle?”

So, he wasn’t going to kill me?

“That’s right. We need you while your face looks pretty.” His eyes snapped to mine, “Then afterwards, you’ll be paying the blood price for your insolence.”

The hair on my arms rose.

“You are going to kill me,” I stated, trying to grasp the truth of his words.

Jace made a sound of frustration in the back of his throat. Annoyance. Like I was a fly he needed to swat.

“No, granted, killing you would be easier. Unfortunately, I’ve invested too much time into you. Too much fucking energy. Literal years of raising you—a fucking waste.”

Jace took the cigar up to his lips. He inhaled deeply, and started a low pace around the desk corner, closer to where I sat.

“I won’t be dealing with the embarrassment you seek to bring to our organization. And hell, it all makes sense now—why you didn’t kill the older brother. You’re fucking the enemy.”

My jaw clenched as he grew closer. His presence loomed over me from behind.

“You’re a disgrace to the Thorne name.”

I let out a long measured breath, fingers curling upwards into my palms. I couldn’t allow him to get under my skin.

“And your little escapade downtown. Didn’t you know? You and that brat made the news. Every person with TikTok is watching you strike a camera man with that Hansen piece of shit in the back of our car. Just how stupid are you?”

I tensed.

Jace laughed aloud. “But now I understand how to get what this family needs. We can use your sick obsession to our advantage.”

He paused.