Chapter 12

Dusk arrived dull and slow, as though it too had not slept. From the balcony of the penthouse suite where he’d spent the night, Jace watched the light break through layers of fog and glass towers. His body was restless, his head buzzing with the aftertaste of liquor and the memory of Sky’s laughter curling through the dark. She had clung to him until dawn, draining what little patience he had left, her touch both a balm and an irritation.

He’d given her more than enough, a night of indulgence to silence her questions, but it had cost him sleep. Even as her perfume still clung to his skin, sweet and oppressive, he felt nothing but a bone-deep weariness and a gnawing dread of what awaited him. The hospital. The wife. His family

He adjusted the cuffs of the navy tuxedo he’d chosen, sleek, precise, not a thread out of place. A black tie knotted at his throat, his signature dark shades veiling the red around his eyes. It was the outfit he reserved fo