The air shifts. He’s testing me again.
“No.”
He nods, pleased.
“Good.” He stands, moving around the desk to stand in front of me. “Keep your team close. Distrust makes men sloppy. I need you sharp.”
“Understood.” I turn to leave, but Gideon’s voice stops me.
“Jace.”
I turn and face him. His eyes track me with that slow study, like he’s evaluating a weapon he just finished sharpening. Hell, he probably is.
“There’s something else. A matter of...trust.”
He presses a button on his desk.
One of the monitors shifts to a live feed of a cargo port—cranes towering, floodlights cutting through the fog, shipping containers stackedhigh.
“Our supplier from the East is arriving tomorrow night. He’s bringing in a rather significant shipment.”
I nod.
“This shipment is the backbone of our next phase. The Guild won’t survive it.”
“Understood.”
“The supplier has only trusted me. For years, he refused to speak with anyone else. But I’m sending you.”
I blink. His gaze sharpens, searching my face for the slightest crack.
“You’ve earned it. Your performance on tonight’s mission… the precision, the decisiveness…” He claps his hands together. “Finally.”
“Thank you.”
“Oh, you’re welcome.” His smile grows. “Live up to it.”
He walks back to the screens, tapping a container on the feed.
“You’ll go in my place, negotiate face-to-face, and oversee the entire transfer. This is no simple assignment. This is a demonstration. A show of faith.” He turns his head, eyes glinting.
“You’re ready to take on more. It’s time you became involved in the business you’ll one day inherit.”
“Yes, father. I’m honored.”
He nods, satisfied, “I knew you would be.” He sits back in his chair and waves his hand dismissively.
With every step, the darkness in my chest expands.
22 FOUR AND A HALF
Noah
Ihear the front door of our dorm close just after midnight. I grab my tablet and tap into our cameras.
I can’t see his face, but I’d know him anywhere. Jace walks out the back gate, disappearing into the night where I know he has a motorcycle hidden.
I’m already awake. Not because I don’t sleep. But because he doesn’t, and when Jace doesn’t sleep, the rest of us learn not to either. I watch him head toward the main road. Dark clothes. Hood up. He thinks no one notices.
