“Guys like him don’t. Not unless they have to.”
My stomach twists.
“I remember that night,” I say quietly. “Pieces of it.”
My arms tighten around myself.
“I remember him being there. Calm. Talking. Like it was nothing.”
My voice cracks.
“I thought he was helping.”
“He was,” Ace says. “Just not you.”
The truth hits hard.
“I don’t understand how someone does that,” I whisper.
“They protect what matters to them,” he says.
“Themselves.”
“Yeah.”
Silence stretches again.
“He’s not going to stop,” I say.
“No.”
Fear curls deep in my chest.
“What else is he going to try to take?”
Ace steps closer.
“He’s not taking anything else.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I do.”
My breath catches.
“You can’t promise that.”
“No. But I can promise you won’t face it alone.”
Something inside me softens.
“I don’t want you pulled into this,” I say. “He’s not just anyone.”
“I know exactly who he is,” Ace says.
“And I don’t care.”
“You should.”
