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His mom called every day, but she didn’t make any mention of coming to see him. She believed in him, she’d said, and everything was gonna work out. She was praying for him. That was the kicker. Jace had been praying, too, and if God was listening, it certainly wasn’t to him. Maybe his mother would have better luck.
And then there was the Twelve.
The letter had arrived a week ago today, addressed to Jace Gordon c/o Robert Gordon. He knew by the telltale grey color of the envelope that it was from Marcus Lane, and he had a feeling it was bad news. He was right:
“You are currently in violation of article six of the covenant, which clearly states that members must not be under investigation by police for a crime greater than a misdemeanor. As such, we regret to inform you that your membership in the Talented Twelve has been revoked.”
He hadn’t even shown his father yet. What would be the point? The man had never taken any interest in his grades, and Jace suspected he only cared about the Twelve to the extent that it got his son out of his hair sometimes and kept him on the straight and narrow.
It didn’t matter now, though.
Jace scanned the office again. Where on earth could those keys be? And then it came to him.
He crept down the hall and heard the shower running. He had plenty of time. Debra was home today. She took the longest showers ever.
Their bedroom was cluttered, but he had an unimpeded path to the nightstand on his father’s side of the bed.
Jazz was on the bed watching him. She almost seemed suspicious. Jace chalked that up to his mind playing tricks on him. He rubbed Jazz’s back and turned back to the nightstand, slowly opening the drawer in anticipation. And there it was.
Jace grabbed the key and slammed the door shut in his excitement. After shooting a glance at the family room to make sure his father was still in his chair, Jace hurried down to the basement and straight to the safe.
Bobby Gordon was a responsible gun owner. He had taken all the necessary precautions, or so he thought. He kept the nine-millimeter locked safely away, only to be used in emergencies. And he had taken Jace to the shooting range to ensure that, should the need arise, Jace would know how to defend himself. The only stone Bobby left unturned was his son’s state of mind.
His heartbeat quickened as the safe door swung open.Am I really gonna do this?He found his courage wavering a little and willed himself to keep moving.Do it, Jace. He deserves this.
The gun was cold in his hand, and he could see why gun lovers collected them. There was a certain weight to the thing that hinted at the seriousness with which it should be handled. People aren’t that forthcoming. People always hide who they really are, and what they really want to do, but this beautiful piece of steel had only one motive, and there was no guesswork about it. He loaded it and clicked one into the chamber.
He walked slowly up the steps with the gun held straight out in front of him like he was on the SWAT team. He chuckled to himself. When else would he get to do something like this?
Here we go.
Bobby must have heard his footsteps, because as soon as Jace rounded the corner, his father was already staring in his direction. His eyes widened when he saw the gun, and his hands went up.
“What are you doing?” he said.
Jace sat on the couch like it was a regular day, but he kept the gun trained on his father. “I wanna talk to you.”
Bobby swallowed and kept his eyes on the gun. “Why do you have my gun?”
“Because, man. That’s just where I’m at right now.”
“What do you wanna talk about?”
“Nyleah.”
“What about her?”
Jace scratched his head with his free hand. “I just keep going over it and going over it in my head, and there’s one thing I can’t figure out. Why were you there that night?”
Bobby frowned and spread his hands. “To pick you up. Why else would I be there?”
“But I didn’t ask you for a ride.”
Bobby stared at his son without blinking. “I…yes, you did. You were drinking that night, that’s why you don’t remember.”
“Did I call you, or text you?”
“Jace, it’s been almost a year. I can’t remember back that far.”
