"If it goes sideways, they won’t stop hunting for me until I'm dead." Jace turns away from the window and runs a hand through his hair. "And that puts you at risk. Anyone associated with me becomes a target, and I can’t guarantee your safety if Barone decides to come after everyone connected to my betrayal."
I don't like what he's saying. I can see where this conversation's heading. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying maybe we shouldn't be together for a while." He won’t meet my eyes. "Until the heat's off us. You should gosomewhere safe with Hannah and Hamilton, let the attorney handle the case against Bryan, and stay far away from me until this settles."
What he's suggesting is ludicrous. He can't just push me away like this. I won't allow it. "You want me to leave? After everything we've been through together?"
"I want you to stay alive, Bean." I hate that he's using a nickname for me when he's trying to push me away. "The Mob doesn’t forget betrayal. They'll hunt me for years if necessary, and anyone I care about becomes leverage they can use against me."
"So your solution is to push me away?" Anger replaces the hurt, and I feel my hands clenching into fists at my sides. "To pretend that what we have means nothing?"
"It's not like I want to do this." Jace's voice hardens. "You’ll end up dead before you can even turn in your evidence… And you don't need me anymore."
"I do need you," I say desperately. "I’m not letting you push me away, Jace."
"Look, I made a choice that put us both in danger." He crosses his arms over his chest, closing himself off from me. "And now I'm trying to mitigate that danger by removing myself from your life before Barone's people track me down and use you as leverage. This isn’t about pushing you away unfairly. This is about being realistic about the threats we face."
"No," I spit, shaking my head. "No, you don’t get to decide this on your own. We're in this together, and I'm not leaving your side because you think it's safer for me. I knew the risks when I chose to trust you, and those risks haven't changed just because the finish line is closer."
"You aren't listening to me." Frustration makes his voice sharp. "If Barone's people find me, they'll torture me for information about where I hid the evidence. And when torture doesn’t work, they'll threaten to hurt the people I care about. That means they'll come after you to make me talk, and I can’t protect you if I’m already dead."
The sound of footsteps approaching our door makes the decision for us. Jace grabs my arm and pulls me toward the bathroom. On the way, we snag the cash and our bags while car doors outside slam and I hear gruff voices snapping off orders.
"We gotta get out of here," he grumbles as he dons his coat.
"Where?" I hiss, realizing all those phones are locked in his truck.
"Out the window…" He glances back as someone pounds on the door. "I'll follow."
I climb onto the toilet and push the window open, grateful that it's large enough for a person to fit through. The cold air rushes in, and I pull myself up and through the opening, landing in the dirt behind the motel with less grace than I'd prefer. Jace appears a moment later, dropping down beside me just as we hear the sound of the motel room door being kicked in.
"Run." He grabs my hand, and we sprint across the field behind the motel, heading for the tree line that offers cover. Behind us I hear shouting and the sound of men giving chase, but we don’t slow down or look back. We have seconds at most before they spot us, and our only chance at survival is reaching Jace's truck before they can cut us off.
The field seems endless, frozen grass crunching under our boots as we run. My lungs burn from the cold air and the exertion,but fear pushes me faster than I thought possible. Jace pulls me along when I start to lag, his grip on my hand the only thing keeping me moving forward.
We reach the trees and crash through undergrowth that tears at our clothes and skin. The darkness under the canopy is disorienting, but Jace navigates like a pro.
When we emerge on a residential street two blocks from the motel, I can see his truck parked exactly where he said it would be. It feels like relief, but this isn't over yet. He's right. They're going to keep chasing us.
"Get in." He unlocks the doors and we throw ourselves inside, and the engine roars to life before I have my seatbelt fastened. Jace pulls away from the curb with tires squealing, and I look back to see figures emerging from the trees behind us.
"They're following us." My voice sounds distant to my own ears, adrenaline making everything feel surreal and disconnected. "They know what kind of car you're driving."
"I know." Jace's hands are white-knuckled on the steering wheel as he accelerates through residential streets. "But we have a head start, and I know these neighborhoods better than they do. We lose them in the next few minutes or we don’t lose them at all."
He takes a corner so fast that I'm thrown against the door despite the seatbelt, and then we're racing down a narrow alley between industrial buildings. The truck scrapes against brick on both sides, but Jace doesn’t slow down. We emerge onto a main road and he merges into traffic, weaving between cars recklessly, but we're putting distance between us and the men who’ve come hunting. Fuck if I'm not pissed at him for suggesting I"m betteroff without him, because I'm not letting him get rid of me that easily.
25
JACE
The truck roars through residential streets as I try to ditch Barone's men, and my heart hammers in my chest. I take random turns through neighborhoods to ensure nobody's following as Sabine sits rigidly in the passenger seat with a glare on her face, and I can feel the tension radiating from her body.
"You're not going to push me away." She's pissed and I don't blame her, but it's my only choice. I know what those men are going to do to me when they find me. I don't want her used as leverage against me or anyone else ever again.
"Yes." I don't see the point in denying it now. "Because being with me almost got you killed. Can't you fucking see that? What just happened is one small example. They're not gonna stop, Sabine. Barone knows who I am and that I left you alive."
"We almost died because we're fighting against powerful people who want us dead." She's shouting though I'm sitting two feet from her. "Not because we're together. Separating does notmake either of us safer. it just means we face those threats alone instead of as a team."
