The tag didn\u2019t just sit in her hand\u2014<\/p>\n
it pulled<\/em> something out of him.<\/p>\n Jace Carter<\/span><\/span> stared at it, the burned metal catching the dim diner light. The edges were warped, blackened\u2026 but the engraving was still there.<\/p>\n E. CARTER<\/strong><\/p>\n His chest tightened.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere did you get this?\u201d he asked, voice lower now. Controlled\u2014but barely.<\/p>\n The girl didn\u2019t flinch.<\/p>\n \u201cHe gave it to me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Behind him, the other bikers shifted slightly. No jokes. No comments. Just attention.<\/p>\n Because Eli Carter wasn\u2019t a name you said lightly.<\/p>\n Jace finally looked up at her fully. \u201cWhat\u2019s your name, kid?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c\u2026Mara.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMara,\u201d he repeated, like anchoring himself. \u201cWhen did you see him?\u201d<\/p>\n She hesitated.<\/p>\n \u201cLast night.\u201d<\/p>\n That hit wrong.<\/p>\n Jace\u2019s expression hardened. \u201cThat\u2019s not possible.\u201d<\/p>\n Mara stepped closer, placing the tag gently on the table in front of him.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was hurt,\u201d she said. \u201cReally bad. He said I had to find you before they did.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey?\u201d one of the bikers behind Jace asked.<\/p>\n Mara\u2019s eyes flicked toward the windows, then back.<\/p>\n \u201cThe men who burned the place,\u201d she whispered.<\/p>\n The room went still.<\/p>\n Jace\u2019s hand closed around the tag slowly.<\/p>\n Burned.<\/p>\n Broken.<\/p>\n Just like the story he\u2019d been told.<\/p>\n Eli died in a fire.<\/p>\n No body.<\/p>\n Just ashes and silence.<\/p>\n He had believed it\u2014<\/p>\n because there was nothing else to hold onto.<\/p>\n Until now.<\/p>\n Jace stood up abruptly, chair scraping hard against the floor.<\/p>\n \u201cStart talking,\u201d he said, not harsh\u2014but urgent. \u201cEverything.\u201d<\/p>\n Mara nodded quickly.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was a house,\u201d she began. \u201cFar from the road. I was there with my mom\u2026 and some other people. We weren\u2019t allowed to leave.\u201d<\/p>\n Jace\u2019s jaw tightened.<\/p>\n \u201cEli was there too,\u201d she continued. \u201cThey kept him locked in a room. But he got out last night when something went wrong. There was smoke everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n Fire.<\/p>\n Again.<\/p>\n \u201cHe found me,\u201d Mara said. \u201cHe told me to run. Said I had to find you. Said you\u2019d understand.\u201d<\/p>\n Jace swallowed hard.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat else did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n Mara looked down, thinking.<\/p>\n \u201cHe said\u2026 \u2018tell Jace the raven still flies.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n That broke through.<\/p>\n Not just words\u2014<\/p>\n a memory.<\/p>\n Something only Eli would say.<\/p>\n Jace closed his eyes for a second.<\/p>\n Just one.<\/p>\n Then they snapped open again, sharper than before.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s alive,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n No one argued.<\/p>\n Because now\u2014<\/p>\n they believed it too.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere is this place?\u201d another biker asked.<\/p>\n Mara shook her head. \u201cI don\u2019t know exactly. But I remember a water tower\u2026 and a broken sign with a red star on it.\u201d<\/p>\n Jace turned slightly, already thinking.<\/p>\n \u201cI know that road,\u201d he muttered.<\/p>\n Of course he did.<\/p>\n Places like that didn\u2019t change.<\/p>\n They just waited.<\/p>\n He grabbed his jacket, pulling it on in one smooth motion.<\/p>\n \u201cWe ride,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Simple.<\/p>\n Final.<\/p>\n Mara grabbed his sleeve before he could move.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ll be looking for me,\u201d she said. \u201cEli said they wouldn\u2019t stop.\u201d<\/p>\n Jace looked down at her.<\/p>\n For a second, something softened.<\/p>\n Then it hardened into something stronger.<\/p>\n \u201cThey won\u2019t get the chance,\u201d he replied.<\/p>\n Outside, engines roared to life one by one, the sound cutting through Maple Ridge\u2019s quiet lie.<\/p>\n Jace slipped Eli\u2019s burned tag into his pocket.<\/p>\n Right over his heart.<\/p>\n Because this wasn\u2019t just about finding someone.<\/p>\n This was about bringing his brother back\u2014<\/p>\n or burning down whatever tried to keep him.<\/p>\n And somewhere out there\u2026<\/p>\n A man who should\u2019ve been dead<\/p>\n was still fighting to be found.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The tag didn\u2019t just sit in her hand\u2014 it pulled something out of him. Jace Carter stared at it, the burned metal catching the dim diner light. The edges were warped, blackened\u2026 but the engraving was still there. E. CARTER His chest tightened. \u201cWhere did you get this?\u201d he asked, voice lower now. Controlled\u2014but barely. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":1491,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1490","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trending-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1490","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1490"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1490\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1491"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1490"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1490"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storytimes.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1490"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}