bChapter 210 /b

    b“/bIt’s my fault. I should’ve gotten here sooner,” Ashton said, holding Briar close, his hand gently soothing her back.

    After making sure she wasn’t hurt, he coaxed her gently, “Are you hurt?”

    Briar shook her head and said, “No, I fought back. I even just lightly kicked them out of the car. All three of them tried to squeeze into the backseat at once. It was so scary. I had no idea what they were trying to do…” She whimpered, putting on a pitiful act.

    The three kidnappers were dumbfounded. ‘Just a gentle kick? You sure about that?‘ the kidnappers thought in disbelief.

    Ashton’s face darkened, and the same with Hamish and Reece behind him. Briar was too innocent and had no idea why three grown men squeezed into

    the backseat with her.

    But as men themselves, they knew all too well about men’s innate depravity. They could guess what those three had in mind for Briar.

    There was no need for Ashton to give any orders. Brandon immediately grabbed the tattooed kidnapper, lifted him off the ground, and growled with murderous intent, “You’re all dead!”

    The three kidnappers were on the verge of tears. Although they had guts and nerves, no way they would reveal the real reason.

    It was because they noticed how skilled Briar was, and out of fear that something might go wrong halfway through, they decided to gang up to subdue her. But their men’s pride was on the line–no way they would ever say that out loud.

    Brandon wouldn’t give them a chance to talk either. He waved his men over and had the three dragged away, ready to teach them a real lesson back at

    the base.

    The subordinates were furious, too. ‘Miss Jennings is still so young; how could they even bring themselves toy a hand on her?

    ‘Uh… But of course, Ashton’s not included. It’s just an older guy dating a younger girl, and it’s with Miss Jennings’s consent, which is totally above board they thought.

    On the way to get the car, the subordinates didn’t hold back, giving the kidnappers a good beating. Their screams echoed nonstop, but honestly, no one felt the slightest bit sorry for them.

    Briar buried her face in Ashton’s chest, hugging his waist. She looked a little down, but her face, which was hidden in Ashton’s arms, lit up with a grin she couldn’t hide.

    They still couldn’t obtain the name of the mastermind behind the kidnapping, but with Ashton’s methods, those three wouldn’t be able to hold out for long. Soon they would spill everything.

    In the end, it turned out Briar had overestimated the three of them. They didn’t even make it to the destination. Inside the car, they were already crying and begging to confess everything.

    They had simply been beaten too badly in the car on the way. There was no escape, no way to dodge, but pain and misery.

    They were brought to the residence near Ashton’spany. When Briar stepped out of the car under Ashton’s protection, the three kidnappers were already in tears, begging and pleading as they obediently followed Brandon into the small, dark room in the basement.

    Ashton guided Briar to the couch in the living room, then got her a ss of milk. “Have some milk; it’ll help calm your nerves,” he said.

    Briar nodded and drank the milk without a fuss. Seeing Ashton still looking so tense, she secretly wondered if she had put bon /btoo much of an act and ended up scaring him.

    “Ashton, I actually…” Briar said, but Ashton cut her off.

    “Sorry,” he said, his tone full of guilt. “Sorry, this happened because I let my guard down. I promise, I iwon’t /iever let you be bin /bbdanger /blike bthis /bagain

    b10:04 /bFri 22 bAug /b

    bChapter /bb210 /b

    bBriar /bfelt beven /bmore guilty. This whole thing had nothing to do with Ashton. She had allowed herself to be kidnapped on bpurpose /bto flush out whoever was behind it. It had nothing to do with Ashton, but it had scared him out of his wits.

    Briar slid onto Ashton’sp, looping her arms around his neck. “How is it your fault? It has nothing to do with you; it’s my problem. I was just trying to beat them at their own game to catch the real culprit… Mm?”

    But before she could finish, Ashton cut her off again. This time, he sealed her lips with his gentle and soothing kiss, holding Briar tightly in his barras/b.

    After a long moment, Ashton finally let her go. “You don’t need to exin. I knew it all,” he said.

    Briar blinked in surprise. “You knew it? You knew I got myself caught on purpose?” she asked. Ashton nodded.

    “And you even knew I was faking my tears and ying the victim on purpose?” Briar continued.

    Ashton nodded again and said, “I knew you were faking your tears, but you weren’t ying victim. Anyone would feel scared and helpless in a situation

    like that.”

    Briar felt a little embarrassed. “Then why did you just

    me keep pretending?” Briar asked.

    ‘Ashton knew the whole time, yet he never exposed me. Did he need to be so thoughtful?‘ Briar thought.

    “I’m your man. Isn’t it only natural for you to me?”

    Ashton said matter–of–factly. “Besides, you’re bso /badorable when you do that!”

    What Ashton didn’t say was that he let her act spoiled because he felt guilty. Deep down, he knew this whole mess was his fault. Just because Briar was skilled and capable didn’t mean he could ck off on protecting her.

    ‘Today, it was just three ordinary thugs who tried to kidnap her, so she was fine and managed to escape unscathed.

    ‘But what if they were from those top–ranked international mercenary organizations? Would Briar really be that lucky? Would she still be able to slip away before anyone could get to her?

    ‘Today, someone had the guts to kidnap her. Tomorrow, someone will be willing to push things further. If that happens, Briar will be living in the same kind of danger I face every day.

    ‘I can handle living being a target, but no way I’ll let my girl be dragged into this kind of life,‘ Ashton thought.

    “Ashton, we managed to get them to talk,” Hamish and Reece said as they came up from the basement, both of them wearing weird looks on their faces.

    Ashton frowned, letting them in, and asked, “What happened?”

    Hamish and Reece exchanged a nce. Finally, Reece flopped down on the couch with a grin and said, “Take a wild guess. Who do you think was behind hiring these three wimps to kidnap Briar?”

    Hamish waggled a finger. “Here’s a hint. We all saw this person not too long ago.”

    Briar had already suspected something when she was dealing with the kidnappers, and now, with Hamish and Reece’s hints, her suspicions were confirmed.

    Briar and Ashton said in unison, “Hayden!”

    Hamish snapped his fingers and said, “Bingo! You igot /iit right.”

    Reece asked, “Bet you didn’t expect it to be himb?/b”

    Ashton nodded. “I really didn’t expect that. Since when did the Garzas dare to reach their hands this far?”

    Hamish let out a couple ofughs. “My guess is, Hayden probably did this behind his familyi. /iording to those three wimpsb, /bbafter /bthey snatched Briar, they kept trying to call Hayden but just couldn’t get through to him.”

    10:04 Frib, /b22 Aug

    Briar nodded. “That’s right. I heard them too, in the backseat. They kept calling their hirer, but even when the call went through, nobody ever picked up.”

    Ashton waved a man over. “Keep tabs on the Garzas‘ every single move, and alert all the train stations and airports. No one from the Garza family leaves Shoneport unless I give consent.“Garzas

    The subordinate nodded and said, “Got it, Mr. Wade. I’ll get on it right away.”

    If this is all Hayden’s doing by himself, the Ga first to save his life,‘ Ashton thought.

    would definitely realize the consequences once I find out. They’d try to sneak him out of Shoneport

    bAD /b