CHAPTER 45

The Missing Puzzle Piece

The message came at dawn. A single phrase scrawled on the back of a torn playing card, slipped under the door of our safe house.

One last shot. Meet us.

Riley saw it before I did. She didn't say anything, just held it between her fingers like it was a live wire. Her expression was unreadable, but I knew her well enough by now to recognize hesitation when I saw it.

I took the card from her, running my thumb over the rough edges. The Resistance.

"They finally decided to crawl out of the shadows," I muttered.

Riley crossed her arms. "You think it's real?"

I glanced at her. "They wouldn't have reached out if they didn't need me."

Her lips pressed together. "Or they're setting you up."

"Could be." I flicked the card onto the table. "But if they are, they just made a mistake."

She studied me, tension thrumming in the air between us. I could see the battle waging in her eyes—trust, doubt, maybe even guilt. I still wasn't sure where we stood after last night.

Did I trust her?

I wasn't sure.

But The Resistance was offering something I couldn't ignore.

A chance to end this.

For good.

The meeting point was a burned-out warehouse on the edge of the city.

I scanned the perimeter as we approached, every nerve wired tight. The air smelled like rust and damp concrete, the remnants of old fires clinging to the walls. The place had been abandoned for years, but tonight, it was very much alive.

Figures moved in the shadows—silent, watching. Armed.

The Resistance.

A man stepped forward. Tall, built like a brawler, with sharp, assessing eyes. "Nathan."

I tilted my head. "Been a while, Davis."

Davis hadn't changed much. Same steel-cut demeanor. Same barely-there scar along his temple from a fight neither of us had won. He had always been more of a blunt-force weapon than a strategist, but he got things done.

He nodded at Riley. "She yours?"

Riley's jaw clenched. "I belong to myself."

Davis smirked. "I like her."

I wasn't in the mood for games. "What do you want?"

Davis's smirk faded. "The same thing you do. The Oath gone."

"And?"

His expression hardened. "And we need you to do it."

I exhaled slowly. Of course they did.

"Why now?" I asked. "You've been hiding for months."

Davis's gaze darkened. "Because we didn't have a way in before."

"And now you do?"

His jaw tightened. "Now we have someone on the inside."

That got my attention. I exchanged a glance with Riley, who was already bracing for bad news.

"Who?" she asked.

Davis hesitated.

Then—

"Julian."

The name hit like a gunshot.

Riley stiffened beside me. My own pulse went ice cold.

Julian.

The ghost I couldn't outrun.

I kept my face blank. "You're lying."

Davis shook his head. "No. He reached out. Said he's done playing games."

I laughed—sharp, bitter. "Julian doesn't 'play games.' He is the game."

Davis didn't flinch. "And you're the only one who can beat him."

I ran a hand through my hair, my chest tight. Julian never switched sides. If he was offering something, it wasn't for free.

Riley was already shaking her head. "Nathan, don't."

I looked at her.

Her eyes burned. Not with anger. Not even with betrayal.

With something worse.

Fear.

"You don't have to do this," she said. "We can find another way."

Davis scoffed. "There is no other way."

Riley turned on him. "You don't get to decide that."

I tuned them out, my mind spinning.

Julian had called to me before. Left his cryptic messages. Hinted at things I wasn't ready to face.

You erased your past for a reason.

Now, he was offering answers.

But at what cost?

I clenched my fists. The Oath had taken too much from me. From all of us.

If this was the final shot—my final shot—then I wasn't going to waste it.

I looked at Davis. "Where?"

Riley inhaled sharply. "Nathan—"

I didn't take my eyes off Davis.

"When and where?" I repeated.

Davis's expression stayed unreadable. But I saw the approval flicker in his gaze.

"Tomorrow," he said. "I'll send the coordinates."

Riley exhaled sharply, stepping back like I had just thrown a punch. She turned away, pacing. Her whole body was wound tight, like a storm was brewing inside her.

I wanted to say something.

But what was there to say?

She had already made her deal.

Now, I was making mine.

Davis extended his hand. "Welcome back to the fight."

I didn't shake it.

Didn't move.

Because deep down, in the part of me that still hadn't fully healed, I knew—

This wasn't just a fight.

This was the endgame.

And I had just agreed to play.