My chest tightened. "Alright, what time tomorrow?" I asked."Not sure yet. Just keep your phone close," Hayden paused, then, more casually, "Have you eaten?""Yeah, I ate with Jace," I replied, totally innocent, no hidden meaning behind it.There wasn't any reason for him to think otherwise. After all, he's the one who had Jace looking after me.Sure enough, Hayden didn't make a big deal of it. He just moved on. "What did Jace say about Steve?""He said he's working on getting me in to see him, but nothing beyond that," I replied, keeping it simple."Jace knows Steve's teammates pretty well. He might be able to get some leads from them," Hayden added. I didn't say anything, and he didn't push it.Silence settled between us. It felt strange—this had never happened during our calls before.I broke it, glancing out the window. "It's raining here. Like, really hard.""I can hear it," Hayden said, and that's when I realized—I'd had my phone facing up the whole time. He wasn't even
[Contact me as soon as possible.]That was Cedric's reply.I quickly typed back, [Okay,] but as soon as I hit send, something felt... off.He said "as soon as possible", and it hit me with this weird sense of urgency. Why was it so pressing?I tried sending another message: [If it's more convenient, you can send me photos or any documents you have.]No response. It was like my message just disappeared into the void.That's how it always went with this police officer—dude was elusive. Unless he reached out first, it was nearly impossible to get a hold of him.Thinking about my parents' accident, that unsettled feeling only grew darker.That night, I couldn't sleep.I didn't know if it was the unfamiliar place or all the stuff swirling in my head, but I tossed and turned for hours.The next morning, Jace noticed instantly. "Rough night?" he asked."I'm fine," I snapped, way too defensive.It was pride talking—that breakup kind of pride where you don't want anyone, especially
Hayden didn't push the conversation further. He must've sensed that I was still upset.When I finally saw Steve, he was in a prison jumpsuit, his once stylish hair shaved down to almost nothing. I'd never seen him like that before. It almost brought tears to my eyes.Steve had clawed his way up to success, earning a spot in Jace's circle purely on his own. But now, everything he worked for could be destroyed."Steve," I called softly.He looked up and smiled. "What are you doing here?"That smile—same as always, like nothing could break him. No matter what, Steve always had a bright smile for me, like his world was all sunshine.I couldn't speak for a moment, and he laughed. "What? Do I look so bad you don't even wanna talk to me?"I shook my head. Jace said Steve had been in a bad place, but here he was, still smiling like nothing was wrong. But I knew better. He was putting on a show, hiding his pain for my sake."You'll always be handsome," I teased, playing along.He let o
As I stepped out of the holding room, Steve's desperate shouts were still ringing in my ears.Jace wasn't wrong—Steve's emotions were a mess. One second he was frantic, the next totally defeated. But his last words stuck with me the most: "Rea, I can't stay here. I'm innocent."It broke my heart.The moment I stepped outside, Jace was already heading my way. He took one look at me and reached out, steadying me. "You look pale. Did Steve say something?"Thinking about Steve's warning, I said, "Let's get in the car. I'll explain on the way."Steve had told me to leave as soon as possible, and I got why—Quartz Cue probably had eyes on us. He was scared someone would see me, and I'd be next in line for trouble.Jace rushed me into the car, handing me a bottle of water. "Take a second."I ignored the water and said, "Steve says he's being framed." I ran through everything Steve had told me, ending with, "He said these people are ruthless. We might not be safe here either—"Before I
With a final shudder, the car came to a halt, and the world fell into this suffocating silence.It was so still, it felt like time itself had stopped.For a second, I didn't even realize I was still alive. When I tried to move, nothing happened. My body just... refused.I tried harder and heard a faint groan. "Don't... move..."Everything was still dark. Not because it was night, but because my eyes were covered—blood? Dirt? I had no idea."Jace," I called."I'm... here," Jace's voice came from right in front of me, but it was weak and fading."Get off me, I can't breathe," I muttered, trying to wriggle out, not even registering how hurt he might be.Jace shifted, just enough for me to pull my face away from his chest. That's when I saw the mess—the car was wrecked, crushed beyond recognition. The driver wasn't moving, blood everywhere.Panic flooded my chest. "Jace! Jace!" I shouted, my heart racing as I looked at him.His face was smeared with blood.This was bad. Jace was
A car crash. The thing I feared the most. And now, it was happening to me.Despair hit hard—like what my parents must have felt. No, theirs had to be worse. They didn't survive.My mind spiraled, but Hayden's voice pulled me back. "Kiki, hang on. Help's on the way. I'm coming too." He kept repeating it, pushing me to try getting out.I tugged at the door, again and again, but it wouldn't move."Stop... it hurts," Jace groaned beside me.I froze, afraid to even breathe."Kiki, why aren't you talking? Are you okay?" Hayden's voice crackled through the phone, worried."I'm fine," I answered, forcing myself to speak as quietly as possible, not wanting to alarm Jace any more than he already was."Check if the car's on fire or if you smell gas," Hayden said, his voice tight.My stomach dropped. If the car was leaking gas, we were done for.I shifted, trying to look forward, but as soon as I moved, the car jolted and everything spun again."Ah!" I screamed, grabbing for anything.
Since we broke up, I hadn't been this close to him. I hadn't even really looked at him.And now, here he was, right in front of me, badly hurt.The crash came flooding back, and it hit me—he'd shielded me, using his body to protect mine. That's why he was in such rough shape."Jace, talk to me," I begged, my voice shaky. If I stopped, he'd just drift away."What... do you want me to say?" he mumbled."Anything. Tell me what you've been thinking since we broke up. Talk about Tanya, even. Or where you've been these last few weeks," I blurted, desperate to keep him awake.He went quiet, and I panicked, thinking he'd passed out. But then, his voice, barely a whisper: "Rea, I really do love you."I froze, staring at his pale, blood-smeared face. I couldn't say anything."You were the only girl I ever really liked. Since I met you, no one else... even felt like a woman to me."His words came slowly, each one hitting harder than the last. "There were women—business trips, some even t
We were rescued.One of the people helping us was the same driver who had taken me to visit Steve in the holding room. I knew he worked for Hayden.The car was so wrecked they had to cut through the metal to get Jace and the driver out. They even found both my phone and Jace's in the debris."Huh, this one's still connected," one of the rescuers said, handing me a phone.But it wasn't mine—it was Jace's.I'd used it earlier to call Hayden. Had he really stayed on the line the whole time?I took the phone, stunned. As I glanced down, the call ended right in front of me. It had lasted 67 minutes and 12 seconds.Hayden had never hung up. Had he overheard everything Jace and I talked about?Then again, I wasn't sure what exactly we'd said. Nothing too important, right?Before I could think about it, they rushed us into an ambulance and took us to the hospital. We all went through a series of checks.I only had minor scrapes, but Jace and the driver were in serious condition. Jace