Jace opened his mouth to respond, to spit something sharp and cold—
But all that came out was a strangled moan. And then Elias grabbed his jaw, kissed him hard, and thrust deeper. Jace was trembling beneath him. Elias drove into him with slow, brutal precision, one hand gripping his hip, the other tangled in his hair, holding him close—foreheads brushing, lips barely apart, breath shared like a secret. The heat was unbearable. Elias filled him completely, body sliding over his, skin to skin. Their moans tangled in the air, sweat clinging to both of them like a second skin. Jace's fingers clawed at Elias’s back, leaving red marks in their wake. “Say it,” Elias whispered, his voice thick, hoarse. “Say you want this.” Jace shook his head, eyes wild, lips parted with every gasp. “You already know I do,” he choked out. “So fuck me harder.” Elias’s mouth crashed down on his again, bruising and desperate. He slammed into Jace harder now, faster—his body losing rhythm to instinct. Jace arched under him, the pleasure making him ache, burn, shatter. Their mouths never stopped—biting, gasping, chasing breath. “You feel this?” Elias growled into his throat. “This is what you need. What you were made for.” Jace couldn’t reply. Couldn’t think. Only feel. Each thrust hit deep, electric, Elias’s hand wrapped tight around Jace’s cock now, stroking him in time with every movement inside him. “Cum for me,” Elias said. Jace bucked, his whole body stiffening, thighs shaking as pleasure ripped through him—white-hot and blinding. He cried out, raw and hoarse, Elias holding him through it, never stopping. Seconds later, Elias buried himself deep and groaned, biting into Jace’s shoulder as he came—body shuddering, grip bruising, breath breaking apart against his skin. For a long moment, the only sound in the room was their breathing. Elias collapsed beside him, arm still draped over Jace’s waist, their bodies tangled. Neither spoke. Jace’s chest rose and fell in uneven waves. His body hummed, spent and sensitive. But inside his head, everything was chaos. Why did it feel like this? Why did it mean something when it shouldn’t? He slid away from Elias slowly, sitting up on the edge of the bed, back to him. The sheets were a mess. His skin still burned where Elias had touched him. “You should sleep,” Elias said, voice rough, casual. “I’m not staying the night,” Jace replied, standing up, walking toward the bathroom without looking back. He needed a shower. A way to rinse off this feeling. The truth. Himself. Twenty minutes later, Jace stepped out of the bathroom fully dressed. Elias was sprawled across the bed, bare chest rising slowly, his eyes closed. Jace paused at the door. Watching him sleep felt dangerous. Like maybe Elias wasn’t the monster he’d built up in his head. And that was the real threat. He turned to leave. That’s when Elias’s phone lit up on the nightstand. A message popped up on the screen. Jace wasn’t going to look—but then his eyes caught something familiar in the preview. “Did he ask about 2009 yet?” Jace froze. Every nerve in his body went cold. The screen dimmed again, but the words kept flashing in his mind like a warning bell. He reached out and grabbed the phone. No passcode. His heart pounded as he swiped it open and clicked the thread. There were only two messages. Unknown: You’re playing with fire. Unknown: Did he ask about 2009 yet? “2009…” The year his parents died. His throat closed up. He looked over his shoulder. Elias was still asleep, lips parted, one arm across his stomach. Jace clutched the phone, pulse racing. Why would Elias get a message like that? What the hell happened in 2009? Was there more to the story? More to Elias? Before he could think twice, he took a picture of the messages, sent it to himself, then placed the phone back exactly where it had been. Then he left the room, quietly, heart thundering, mind spinning. Whatever happened in 2009, Elias knew something. And Jace was going to find out.Justin’s voice rasped through the silence. “Fine,” Justin coughed, a spray of blood flecking his lips. “You want Victor Crane? I will give you Victor Crane.” His head lolled to the side, but his words gained strength with every syllable. “Back in 2009, there was a file. Legal correspondence. Everything Victor wanted buried, everything that tied him to your parents’ death it’s in there. Orders, payments and the evidence you have been chasing. He thought he was the only one that had the file but I kept a copy for security purposes.” Jace’s breath caught. His heart thudded painfully in his chest. This....this was what he had been searching for. “Where?” Lorenzo’s voice cut through like a blade, calm but dangerous. Justin gave a faint, bitter laugh. “Somewhere only I could keep it safe. You think I would just leave it in some desk drawer? No. It’s in a locker Safety deposit in the Bank downtown. The key’s mine. I have kept it hidden for years.” Jace stepped forward, his pulse racing
Trigger Warning: Graphic Violence, Torture, Emotional Trauma The air in the abandoned building was heavy and thick with the stink of burnt flesh, sweat, and fear. Jace’s stomach knotted with every sound that came out of Justin’s throat every scream, every grunt, every stubborn silence that followed. He had lost count of how many times Lorenzo had pressed that iron to Justin’s skin. But Lorenzo had not. Forty-seven minutes. That’s how long the cycle had gone on heat, burn, scream, silence. And Justin still had not said a word about Victor Crane. Jace could not understand it. If it were him, if he were strapped to that chair, with every inch of his skin branded like cattle, he would have broken long ago. But Justin, this man who had destroyed everything sat there trembling, bloodied and scorched but still refused to break. Lorenzo, however, looked almost amused. A thin sheen of sweat glistened on his temples, but his smile had not wavered once. He crouched in front of Justin, eyes
Trigger Warning: Graphic Violence, Torture, Emotional Trauma ~~~ Jace stood rigid, and every nerve in his body strung tight as a bowstring. His eyes locked on Justin. Justin was still slumped in the chair, head rolling forward, water dripping down his chin. Lorenzo’s men, towering and faceless in the dim light, obeyed their boss’s sharp command. A second bucket of water splashed over Justin, and this time, he jolted upright, sputtering and gasping. His chest heaved, his bound wrists straining against the ropes that cut into his skin. “Lift him,” Lorenzo ordered. The guards hauled Justin and the chair upright, slamming the wooden legs against the concrete floor. Justin coughed, shaking his head like a wet dog, his eyes glassy but alive. Lorenzo stepped closer, his sharp suit almost mocking against the ruin of the place. His voice was calm, but the menace under it was unmistakable. “Justin, I’m done playing games with you. Tell me what you know about Victor Crane. Why did he giv
Trigger Warning: Violence, physical assault, emotional trauma The room reeked of damp concrete and iron. It was the kind of place that swallowed sound and suffocated hope. A single bulb swung from the cracked ceiling, its weak light throwing warped shadows across Justin’s drenched figure. His eyes, once hazy from being jolted awake, were now sharp, calculating. And when his gaze finally locked on Jace, his lips curled into a sneer. “I do not know this freak.” The words sliced through the air. Jace froze, his chest heaving. That mocking tone and the casual dismissal lit a fuse inside him. Lorenzo tightened his grip on Jace’s arm, anchoring him. His presence was steady and solid as if he knew, even before Jace did, that a storm of rage was about to erupt. “Well,” Lorenzo drawled, his voice calm but laced with steel, “this freak happens to be the son of the family you killed years ago.” Justin tilted his head, confusion flickering before amusement curved his mouth. “I have kil
The moment the heavy office door slammed shut behind them, Jace felt Lorenzo’s grip tighten on his wrist like iron shackles. His pulse skittered in panic, but his body moved anyway, dragged along the gleaming hallway of Crane Corp. Lorenzo did not speak as they walked. He did not slow down. He did not glance at the startled employees who parted in silence as his towering men cleared the path. Jace kept his head down, refusing to let anyone read the discomfort that rattled inside him. It was not until they stepped outside into the blinding daylight and were shoved into the backseat of a sleek black car that the haze lifted.The door clicked shut and silence fell.The car started moving. Jace sat stiffly, pressed against the leather seat, eyes fixed on the blur of skyscrapers sliding past the tinted windows.But his mind was not here, it was still fixed at the drama that just happened in Elias’s office.He saw Elias’s face again, that flash of disbelief, that tightening of his jaw when
The afternoon hum of Crane Corp shifted the moment they walked in. Heavy boots on polished stone, conversation dying in a dozen throats. Heads turned as Lorenzo and his men moved like a dark tide through the lobby, five broad-shouldered silhouettes in expensive coats and Lorenzo at the center with a grin that never met his eyes. Wherever he looked, people made room. Jace felt the room tilt. He was at his desk when the first ripple of recognition hit him, a dozen coworkers glancing between him and the intruders. He straightened before he thought to, suddenly aware of how small his office felt, how thin the partition between him and other people in the room had become. Lorenzo’s gaze found him with surgical speed. The man’s smile widened, predatory and casual all at once. He took three long strides and stopped in the doorway of Jace’s division as if he owned the building. “Bunny,” Lorenzo called out his voice deep. The voice made two assistants blanch. Serena, Elias’s efficient and