Chapter 16

Jace snatched up his phone, his fingers shaking so hard that he could barely hold it. With the last shred of awareness, he dialed the number etched into his memory. The international ring tone dragged on. It was long and grating. Back home, it was past midnight. Julian had just finished an urgent report and rubbed at his brow, ready to call it a night, when his phone lit up with Jace's overseas number. His brows pinched instinctively, and an irritability he couldn't place tugged at him. Why was Jace calling at this hour? Julian swiped to answer, but before he could speak, Jace's voice exploded through the line. It was hoarse and broken, reeking of liquor and threaded with a desperate sob. "Julian... Julian!" Julian's chest tightened, and his voice dropped. "Jace? What happened? Are you drunk?" "Julian, I'm done... I'm so damn done!" Jace rasped in a rough and slurred voice, the words tumbling out in broken pieces that barely made sense. "She hates me... She looks down on me... S