Chapter 81
Bang.
The sound ripped through the air, louder than thunder, sharper than any sound.
Jace’s heart stopped. He squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for pain, waiting for the hot burn of a bullet tearing through him.
But nothing came.
Just silence.
A second passed. Then another. His breath came out in a shudder. He opened his eyes, and his world collapsed.
Someone was standing in front of him, blocking his view. For a split second, all he saw was a familiar silhouette– the dark hair, the solid shoulders, the protective stance. Then, the body jerked once and crumpled to the ground.
“Elias!”
The scream tore out of Jace like it was dragged from the pit of his soul.
He strained against the ropes, wrists burning as he fought to get free. “Elias! No... no, no!” His voice cracked. “Somebody help! Please!”
The ropes bit deeper into his skin, carving lines of fire into his flesh. He could feel the fibres cutting through his wrists, the warm blood slicking his hands, but he did not stop.
Elias was sprawled on the floor, eyes fluttering, a dark pool spreading beneath him, his blood staining the cracked concrete. The bullet had hit him in the chest, just left of his heart.
“Elias, please... stay with me— ” Jace’s voice broke into a sob. “Don’t you dare leave me like this.”
But Victor only laughed. The cruel, rasping sound filled the air. “How poetic,” he sneered, stepping forward, gun still in hand. “The son takes a bullet for his lover. Touching, really.”
“Go to hell,” Jace spat, rage cutting through his grief.
Victor cocked the gun again, pointing it straight at Jace’s head. “I will be right behind you.”
Before Jace could move, before he could even blink, someone else did.
Aiden lunged from behind Victor, grabbing his wrist. The two men struggled, grunting while the gun jerked wildly between them.
“Stop!” Jace shouted, his voice hoarse. “Aiden, don’t— ”
The shot went off.
The sound was deafening in the enclosed space. Both men froze. For a heartbeat, no one moved. Then Aiden staggered backwards, hand pressed to his stomach. His eyes widened in disbelief as blood soaked through his shirt.
“Aiden!” Jace’s voice cracked again. “Oh my God— ”
Aiden fell to his knees, eyes locking with Jace’s. “I am sorry,” he whispered, his voice trembling with guilt. “I should have told you everything sooner…”
Victor stumbled backwards, still clutching the gun, panting hard. “You stupid— ”
But the words died on his tongue as the warehouse doors burst open.
A flood of armed police stormed in, flashlights slicing through the dimness. “Drop your weapon, Victor Crane!” a commanding voice shouted. “Hands where we can see them!”
Victor froze, surrounded on all sides. For a moment, the man who had once seemed untouchable looked small, pathetic, even. His lip curled, and he raised the gun as if considering one last act of defiance.
“Drop it!”
Dozens of barrels aimed his way. Victor’s jaw clenched. Then, slowly, he lowered the gun and let it clatter to the floor.
“Get him!” One officer barked. Two troopers rushed forward, tackling Victor and pinning him to the ground. The once-feared patriarch of Crane Corp was forced onto his knees, handcuffed, his expression twisted in fury and disbelief.
Other officers fanned out.
“Secure the perimeter!”
“Over here... we have got victims!”
Two of them ran to Jace, cutting through the ropes binding him to the chair. The fibres snapped apart, and Jace collapsed forward, hands shaking violently.
He barely noticed the pain in his wrists, the burn of torn skin. His eyes went straight to Elias.
“Help him!” Jace shouted, pointing frantically. “He’s losing too much blood!”
“Medics are on the way!”
They lifted Elias onto a stretcher, moving quickly but carefully. Jace crawled toward him, refusing to stay still. “I am going with him!”
“Sir, we need to check your wounds first— ”
“I don’t care!” Jace snapped, his voice breaking. “Please... just let me go with him.”
Another officer placed a hand on his shoulder, steady but kind. “You can go. We will take care of your brother and the woman we found in the next room. They are safe now.”
Jace froze. “Noah…? And Elias’s mother?”
“They are alive,” the officer said gently. “Weak, but alive. We have already radioed for two more ambulances. They will be in good hands.”
Relief hit him so hard it made his vision blur.
He nodded shakily, his throat tightening. “Thank you,” he whispered, barely audible.
He turned back to Elias as the medics wheeled him toward the waiting ambulance. Jace followed, stumbling a little, his legs barely holding him up. The cold night air hit him like a slap, but he barely felt it.
Elias was pale, his lips tinged with blue, but he was breathing very shallow, faint, but there. Jace climbed into the ambulance beside him, grabbing his hand, pressing it tight against his chest.
“Stay with me, Elias,” he whispered, his voice trembling. “You are not allowed to die, you hear me? Please.”
Elias’s fingers twitched weakly in response. It was not much but it was enough.
The doors slammed shut behind them, and the sirens wailed to life, slicing through the silence of the night. The city lights blurred past as they sped toward the hospital.
Jace sat there, covered in Elias’s blood, his own wrists raw and burning. A thousand thoughts crashed through his mind the look on Victor’s face when the police burst in, Aiden’s final apology, the sight of Noah safe again. But all of it faded into the background.
All that mattered was the man lying on the stretcher beside him.
Jace brushed a hand across Elias’s forehead, his voice cracking with quiet desperation. “Why did you have to come after me,” he murmured, tears slipping down his face. “You never listen… you stupid... stupid idiot.”
The heart monitor beeped faintly. Each sound was a lifeline.
The paramedic leaned over. “He is stable for now, but we need to keep pressure on the wound. We are five minutes out.”
Jace nodded numbly, keeping his hand pressed to Elias’s, his thumb tracing slow, trembling circles over his knuckles. “Hold on for me,” he whispered. “Please. Just hold on.”