Falling For The Billionaire I Was Hired To Protect

River didn't speak after the name dropped from Noah's mouth. He just stood there. Frozen and completely still. Except for the slight twitch of his jaw. Jace could feel the shift in the room. Like someone had knocked the air out of it, out of them. Noah didn't dare move. Jace's eyes stayed on River. "River... did you hear him?" River blinked, slow. Then he turned his head slightly, his voice quiet, too quiet. "I heard him." And that was all. He walked out of the apartment without a word. Jace followed him down the creaking stairwell. Neither of them said anything until they were outside. The wind was cooler now. The streets were almost empty. A dog barked somewhere in the distance. A car honked two blocks away. Still, River said nothing. He didn't look at Jace. Didn't get in the car. Just stood there under a flickering streetlamp with his hands shoved into his jacket pockets like he was holding something inside, something heavy and wild and breaking. Jace waited. Then softly, "River..." River's voice was hoarse when it finally came. "He left when I was sixteen. Heaid he was going on a mission. My mom didn't ask questions. She never did and then he never came back." Jace stood beside him, not too close. Just near enough that River could feel someone was there. "I thought he was dead," River said. "For a long time or hiding. I told myself it didn't matter." "But it did," Jace said quietly. River let out a breath that sounded like it hurt. "It did. I joined the military after him. Stupid, right? I told myself I wasn't doing it because of him. But I was. I wanted to prove I was better, stronger and different." Jace turned to look at him. "And then your unit got burned." River gave a tight nod. "And now I find out... it might've been his fault. That he was working with Crane. That he...." He broke off. Jace saw him look down at the pavement, like he was trying to glue himself back together. "You don't have to talk about this now," Jace said softly. "We can just stand here. If that's what you need." River laughed, but there was no humor in it. "What I need is a time machine." Jace smiled faintly. "If I had one, I'd use it first." River finally looked at him then. Really looked. There was something in his eyes, raw, wounded, but open. A part of him that had been locked up for years... cracking. "I thought I buried this," he said. "The anger, the questions. The dreams that made me wake up with blood on my tongue." Jace stepped a little closer. "You didn't bury it. You carried it." River looked down at his hands. "Yeah. I guess I did." The ride back to the penthouse was quiet. Jace didn't speak. River stared out the window like he was searching for something, maybe the past, maybe a version of himself that never had to know this truth. When they got upstairs, Sasha wasn't home. The silence in the penthouse felt different now. Not cold. Not empty. Just... quiet. Jace poured water and handed a glass to River. They sat on the couch in the semi-dark, the city's lights glowing behind the windows like distant stars. River didn't drink. He just held the glass between his palms and stared at the floor. Jace finally broke the silence. "What kind of man was he?" River blinked. "My father?" Jace nodded. River thought about it for a long time. "He was quiet. Sharp. I never saw him cry, not even when my sister died. He used to take me out to the range. Showed me how to shoot before I learned how to shave." Jace didn't interrupt. River continued, voice slower now. "He had this... cold calm. Like nothing could touch him. When he left, I thought maybe he was running from something. But now..." Jace leaned forward. "Now you think he was hiding something." River's jaw clenched. "Yeah." Jace exhaled. "You know, I always imagined my father as a giant. Untouchable, but now I realize he was just a man and maybe a scared one." River looked at him. "Do you ever wish you asked him more questions?" "All the time." They sat like that for a while. Not speaking. Just... sitting. Sharing the same silence. At one point, Jace leaned back on the couch, letting his head rest against the cushion. He was tired,not just in his body, but in his soul. River remained still. Eventually, Jace asked, "Do you think he knew?" River looked over. "My dad," Jace clarified. "Do you think he knew someone would come after him?" River nodded once. "Yeah. I think he knew. I think that's why he left the file with Noah. Why he left a trail. He was trying to protect something." "Maybe me," Jace whispered. River didn't answer. But his eyes said it all. The room was darker now.Jace leaned against the window, the glass cold under his hand. Outside, the city pulsed with lights, unaware of the storm tightening around him. River stood a few feet away, his arms crossed, eyes on the skyline. But Jace could tell he wasn't really seeing it. He was somewhere else, somewhere deeper and darker. They'd been quiet for a while now. Not because they didn't have anything to say, but because too much had already been said. Some silences were heavy with understanding. This one was. "I never wanted to know any of this," River said suddenly. Jace looked over. "Then why did you stay?" River didn't answer at first. Then he turned to face Jace, voice low and honest. "Because you're not like them. The people I used to protect? They hid behind walls. Money. Power. You hide behind silence. But it's not the same. You're not trying to escape the world... you're trying to survive it." Jace swallowed. Something tugged hard in his chest. He didn't know what to say to that. So he didn't say anything. River stepped closer, close enough for Jace to hear his breathing. Then, softly, "Whatever's coming... we'll face it. Together." Jace looked at him. Really looked at him. There was something terrifying and comforting in the promise of that sentence. Together. He nodded once. That was all he could give tonight. River moved to the couch and sat, stretching out his legs with a quiet sigh. Jace stayed by the window a while longer, watching the way the city never stopped moving. Eventually, he walked to his desk. Picked up the flash drive Noah had given him. He didn't plug it in yet. He just held it. Held it like it was the only thing tying the past to the present. He turned it slowly in his fingers and whispered, to no one in particular: "Why now?" And from the couch, eyes half-closed, River replied quietly.... "Because someone wants you to see what they buried."