Page 114 of Ace of Spades

Hey. Need an artist. Emergency. Are you free?

Theo texts back almost immediately.

Theo

For you? Always. Where and when?

I bite my lip, heart stuttering.

Oh boy… Levi was right.

I have to be careful around his son.

Theo shows up twenty minutes later, a worn sketchbook tucked under his arm and a mischievous grin on his face.

"You rang?"

I meet him halfway across the floor, smiling, but keeping a little more space between us than I usually would.

His smile falters, just a little. Like he notices a shift between us.

I catch Levi watching from across the shop too, his mouth tight and unreadable.

I wave Theo toward Joey and the jacked-up tank.

"You think you can save us?" I ask lightly.

Theo flips open his sketchbook, showing us a quick, rough design he must’ve drawn before making the drive over.

It’s perfect.

Sleek. Aggressive. Beautiful. Exactly what we need. And probably way easier for Joey to execute while keeping the integrity of the build.

Joey lets out a breath.

"Dude," he says, clapping Theo on the back. "You’re a lifesaver. But–” Joey gasps. “You should come with us. You should come with us to Houston!”

Theo shrugs, but his cheeks pinken slightly under the praise. He glances at me again, and this time, I see it.

I see what Levi meant.

There’s something raw in Theo’s eyes. Something that looks a hell of a lot likehope.I should know it. I recognize it in his father’s eyes when he looks at me like that.

it guts me.

Because I already know… that hope’s going to die. Not today. And probably not tomorrow. But eventually.

Because my heart’s already spoken for. And it’s not his to hold.

“If you can make it work,” I say to Theo.

“I already told you,” he says, nudging my shoulder. “For you. Always.”

Well, shit.

“How about for SKC?” I say, trying bring the focus back on what this is all for.

For what it’s worth, Theo agrees to help. Throwing himself into the paintwork alongside Joey with an easy energy that lifts the whole shop.

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