Chapter 1
**CHAPTER ONE**
JACE POV:
"Fuck—"
I barely got the word out before my head was forced under the water.
Julian's hand was locked around my neck, holding me down inside the large bucket.
I thrashed violently.
Water rushed into my nose. My lungs burned.
And somewhere in the burning, one thought cut through everything else.
*Hayes. The surname. I'd seen it. I should have dug deeper. Should have asked more questions. I just never thought—
Nate laughed from somewhere above me.
"We haven't even started and bro is already drowning."
Julian pulled me up.
I collapsed forward, coughing, dragging air in desperate pulls.
"You had the guts to pull that off, Jace."
I looked up at him.
Julian's face was completely calm.
That was the part that scared me most.
Not Nate's laugh. Not Blake standing quietly by the wall with a wooden stick resting against his shoulder like he'd already decided how this ended.
Julian's calm.
"I swear I didn't know it was your sister."
"Liar."
The punch landed hard in my stomach.
I doubled over.
Julian grabbed me by the hair and shoved my face back into the water before I could recover.
I fought harder this time.
My lungs screamed.
He finally released me.
I hit the floor.
Julian crouched in front of me.
"She was my younger sister."
I looked up at him.
"How dare you."
"Is she awake?"
The words came out before I could stop them.
I was coughing blood and I still needed to know.
"Julian — did she wake up? Is she—"
His kick caught me across the jaw.
My head snapped sideways.
"How dare you say her name."
I stayed down.
"Please listen—"
Nate's boot caught me across the face before I finished the sentence.
I looked up at him.
He stared back, completely unbothered.
"We had a code. None of us touches another guy's family."
I swallowed.
"You broke it."
"I didn't know—"
"You didn't see the surname?"
He grabbed my shirt.
"HAYES."
"I swear I never knew she was related to Julian. I swear it."
Nate shoved me back down and stepped away, already losing interest.
Blake hadn't moved from the wall.
He looked at me the way you look at something you've already written off.
"I found the bank transfer," he said.
Quiet. Flat. Like he was reading from a receipt.
"Money straight to your account."
He tilted his head slightly.
"You took from her."
He didn't raise his voice. He didn't need to.
That was worse.
Julian stood.
"And to think you still owe me a few thousand dollars."
He kicked me in the ribs.
"That's practically suicide."
He crouched, grabbed me by the shirt, and pulled me up.
"You didn't just date her."
He slammed me against the wall.
"You took money from her."
Another shove.
"You knew she was madly in love with you."
I said nothing.
"But you still decided to break up with her."
Julian's jaw tightened.
"And then she almost died because of you."
He struck me across the head with the gun.
I dropped to the floor.
"Because you never cared."
Silence settled.
I slowly lifted my head.
"I only spent two months with her."
My voice was weak.
"Then I broke up with her. I never expected her to feel that deeply."
I looked at the three of them.
A bitter laugh escaped me.
"It's just how we operate."
Nate laughed.
"Does he actually think that's going to work?"
Blake looked at me from the wall.
"I don't give a fuck."
Julian stared at me.
"It doesn't matter."
He raised the gun.
"I'm ending this."
My eyes widened.
"Wait!"
Julian cocked the gun.
"I'm still part of you guys."
I struggled to my knees.
"Give me another chance."
Nate reached into his pocket and pulled out a knife.
"Another chance?"
He looked at me with something close to amusement.
"Or we could settle this a different way."
I stared at the blade.
"Please."
Nate walked toward me.
"I'll do anything."
Blake pushed off the wall and grabbed me from behind.
I tried to pull free.
My hands were shaking too badly to get any grip.
I couldn't even make a fist.
"Get off me."
Nate punched me hard in the stomach.
I groaned.
Blake held me tighter.
Julian kept the gun aimed at my head.
My breathing became frantic.
"I'll do anything," I repeated.
Nate looked at Julian.
Julian lowered the gun.
"Wait."
Blake stopped.
Nate stepped back.
I lay there, confused and barely breathing.
Julian looked at me for a long moment.
"That was what I wanted to hear."
I slowly pushed myself up.
"You said you'd do anything."
I nodded.
"Yes."
"Good."
Julian straightened.
"My sister has been in that coma for two months."
I said nothing.
"The doctor says she'll recover."
His voice hardened.
"But you still broke our rules. You hurt my sister. You hurt me."
He took a breath.
"Killing you is too easy."
I looked at him.
"We've been a group for a long time. Same goals. Same wins. Same losses."
He stepped closer.
"So you're getting another chance."
I swallowed.
"What kind of chance?"
Julian's expression shifted.
"A job."
I frowned.
"Since you're so good at charming girls…"
He paused.
"There is a new student."
I stared at him.
"Just got admitted. Scholarship student. She's been on campus for four days."
Julian's eyes narrowed.
"You have six days."
"For what?"
"To make her fall for you."
I blinked.
"Six days?"
"Six days."
I shook my head.
"That's not really possible."
A kick slammed into my leg.
I grunted.
Nate glared at me.
"Are you negotiating right now?"
I stayed silent.
"You don't negotiate."
Nate leaned closer.
"You either accept the mission…"
He paused.
"…or you die."
Julian checked his phone.
"She should be in the library."
He looked back at me.
"Desk 67."
I stared at him.
"You'd better hurry."
Blake raised his eyebrows.
"So?"
I slowly got to my feet.
"Do you agree…"
Blake glanced at the wooden stick beside him.
"…or do you want another round?"
I wiped the blood from my mouth.
"I agree."
Nate smiled.
"Now that's the Jace I know."
Julian stepped closer.
"Six days."
I looked at him.
"Make her fall madly in love with you."
A beat.
"Make her yours."
“Then….
Julian leaned in close.
He whispered something into my ear.
I didn't move when he finished.
Couldn't.
Whatever I thought this mission was—
it had just become something else entirely.
—---
I don't know how long I stood there before my legs finally moved.
The corridor was empty when I stepped out. Good. I needed it empty.
I kept my head down as I walked through the college hallway.
My hair scattered over my forehead, hiding as much of my face as possible.
The bruises hurt.
Every step hurt.
But the last thing I needed was a crowd of girls asking questions.
I slipped into the campus beauty room.
Three girls immediately looked up.
One gasped.
"Oh my God. What happened to your face, Jace?"
The other two turned.
"What the fuck?"
"Who hurt your pretty face?"
"It's nothing."
I dropped into a chair.
"Just an accident."
One of them narrowed her eyes.
"Don't tell me one of your heartbroken girls finally got revenge."
The others laughed.
"I need makeup. Cover the bruises and cuts."
"As soon as possible."
One girl started gathering her tools.
Another fixed my hair.
The third stared at me through the mirror.
"Jace hasn't even recovered and he's already going for another hunt."
"I pity the girl already"
They laughed again.
I didn't.
Because beneath the makeup, beneath the clean clothes and the carefully fixed hair, I knew exactly what I was walking into.
---
The library doors opened.
The noise dropped immediately.
That familiar shift happened again.
Heads turned.
A few girls blushed.
Someone whispered my name.
I didn't stop walking.
I had no time for any of it.
My eyes moved across the room, cutting through the rows of desks, the stacked shelves, the quiet clusters of students pretending not to stare.
Desk 67.
I found the number on the side panel.
My steps slowed.
Something felt wrong before I could explain why.
A girl was sitting behind the desk.
Her head was down.
I kept walking.
Slower now.
Something in my chest tightened with every step I took toward her.
She hadn't looked up yet.
I stopped a few feet away.
She was wearing glasses.
Her head was still down.
I stood there.
Waiting.
Then she looked up.
And the world stopped.
My hands began to shake before my brain caught up.
My breathing cut short.
Every thought I had about the mission, about Julian, about the six days—
gone.
Because I knew that face.
I knew it in a way that had nothing to do with campus reputation or hallway whispers.
I knew it the way you know something that once mattered more than anything else.
Our eyes met.
For one second, I thought maybe—
Then her expression shifted.
Surprise first.
Then something colder.
Something that settled into her features like she'd been waiting for the chance to wear it in front of me.
Disgust.
I stood there and took it.
Because what else could I do.
She stared at me.
I stared back.
The library noise disappeared completely.
Neither of us moved.
Neither of us spoke.
I felt like I had just seen a ghost.
---
