Chapter 5 One More Look, One More Sin

Three days.

That's how long it had been since Jace disappeared.

No texts. No calls. Not a single damn trace of him.

Ava went to the rooftop.

Nothing.

The bookstore.

Nothing.

She even walked by the tattoo shop again, hoping someone had seen him.

The girl at the counter gave her a look. "He's not the type you find when he doesn't want to be found."

⸻

She was unraveling.

Her body still remembered the way his hands had gripped her hips that night, the way he'd pressed his forehead to hers like he was terrified of losing her even as he held her.

Now? It was like he'd never existed.

⸻

By Thursday, she cracked.

She skipped her afternoon class, left her phone in her dorm, and took the T to South Boston - the part of town that Jace had mentioned only once, quietly, as where he used to "settle scores."

She walked with a hood over her head, her heart pounding harder with every block.

Half of her felt stupid.

The other half felt desperate.

Finally, she reached a corner lot surrounded by graffiti-covered fences and a rusted-out truck.

There were guys outside. Not just guys-men. Rough-looking. Older. One of them had that same scar from the man who visited the bookstore.

She swallowed and stepped forward.

"Excuse me-do you know someone named Jason Rourke?"

They all turned. Silence stretched.

"Depends," one of them muttered. "Who's asking?"

"I'm a... friend."

A new voice cut through the tension. "He don't do friends, sweetheart."

It was the scarred man. He stepped forward, smiling like a blade.

"Tell you what. You want to find Jason? Try the underpass by River Street. Around midnight. But don't say I sent you."

His smile didn't reach his eyes.

She nodded and left, heart in her throat.

⸻

Midnight.

River Street was dead silent, save for a few passing cars.

Ava stood under the bridge, every instinct telling her this was a mistake.

And then-headlights.

A motorcycle. Black.

It pulled up and killed the engine. Jace took off his helmet, hair disheveled, face shadowed.

She didn't even speak. She just hit him.

A flat, open-palmed slap across his chest.

"You left."

"I know."

"You disappeared!"

"I had to."

"Don't you dare give me another poetic reason, Jace. You don't get to kiss me like that and then vanish."

His jaw tightened. "You don't understand-"

"Then make me."

He stepped forward, hands buried in his jacket pockets like he was holding himself together.

"They found me," he said softly. "People from my old life. I didn't want you dragged into it. So I cut it off before it could destroy you."

She stared at him.

Then laughed-cold, sharp, bitter.

"You think disappearing protects me? You think walking away makes it easier? You idiot. I wasn't scared of them. I was scared of you choosing to leave."

Something in him cracked.

He grabbed her face and kissed her-desperately. Roughly. Like the world was ending.

She kissed him back with just as much fire.

When they pulled away, his voice was shaking.

"I love you, Ava."

She blinked.

"What?"

"I love you. I didn't mean to. I didn't plan for any of this. But you showed up, and suddenly the noise stopped. The guilt quieted. The fire in my head... it dimmed when you smiled."

Tears stung her eyes.

"You should've told me."

"I thought I'd ruin you."

"You already did."

She pressed her forehead against his.

"So what now?"

His expression darkened. "Now I run again. They know where I am. If I stay in Boston, they'll come for me. And I won't let them use you to get to me."

"No," she said. "You don't get to make that decision for me."

He looked at her with so much ache, she almost couldn't hold it.

"I'm not your burden," she whispered.

"You're not," he said. "You're the only thing that made me want to stay."

Then, quietly, he handed her something.

A torn page from his notebook. A poem-written in his messy scrawl.

She was soft like spring but strong like war.

And I, a man of ash and smoke, burned just trying to hold her.

When she looked up-he was gone.

Again.

⸻

The next morning...

Ava didn't go to class.

She didn't check her email.

She walked to the bookstore. Just stood there. Alone.

Casey showed up, worried. Ava finally broke. She told her everything. Jace. The kiss. The danger. The heartbreak.

"You fell for the bad boy," Casey said, hugging her tightly.

"No," Ava whispered. "I fell for the broken boy."

⸻

That night...

Sirens screamed across the Charles River.

A warehouse was on fire. News reports said a man had pulled two kids from the flames before vanishing into the shadows.

No ID. No witnesses. No name.

But Ava knew.

She just knew.

Jace had been there.

And he was still trying to do the right thing-even if he wasn't ready to stay.