bChapter 216 /b

    “Help!”

    Suddenly, a high–pitched scream rang out, making Brandon immediately put away his phone and rush to Briar’s side, using his bulk to shield her.

    He thought the bodyguards had found a chance to turn the tables on his men.

    However, when Brandon saw what was really happening, his mouth twitched uncontrobly.

    Armed with nothing but a military knife and shielded by Briar’s remarkably urate gunfire, Sasha managed to slip out of theb and make her way right back to Hayden’s side.

    Now, that military knife was pressed against Hayden’s neck, forcing his bodyguards ito /ihold their fire, terrified that they might hit Hayden by mistake.

    Brandon nced at Sasha’s sharp moves and icy stare, then at Briar’s calm face. No matter ihow /ihe looked at it, ithe /itwo had the same vibe.

    So Brandon asked uncertainly, “Miss Jennings, is she… one of your subordinates?”

    Briar nodded without hesitation. “Yeah, after I found out who was behind my kidnapping, I had Sasha get close to Hayden on purpose.”

    Brandon could only give her a thumbs–up. “That’s so like you, Miss Jennings. Truly impressive.”

    +33

    With that kind of cunning and those tricks up her sleeve, if anyone was dumb enough to mess with Briar again, and she teamed up with Ashton, who was equally scheming, that poor soul might as well start digging their own grave.

    The bodyguards didn’t dare to step forward, but they couldn’t back away either So the three sides were stuck in a strange but stable standoff.

    It was Sasha who finally broke the deadlock.

    “Briar, how do you want me to kill him?” she asked.

    She traced the military knife back and forth across Hayden’s neck, her tone as casual as if she were just talking about ughtering poultry.

    Before Briar could even respond, Hayden was already freaking out. “No, please, don’t kill me. I have money. Take whatever you want, just please don’t

    kill me.”

    Now, Hayden was seriously regretting everything. He thought, ‘Why did I ever have to mess with Briar? Wasn’t getting my legs brokenst time lesson enough?

    He’d thought Briar was just some shallow chick who used her looks to climb up. He might be scared to fight back against Ashton, but he had no qualms aboutying a hand on Briar.

    So he went ahead and secretly nned that kidnapping. Sure, he expected some payback, but he thought it would just be Ashton putting the squeeze on the Garza family’s business in Shoneport.

    Losing a bit of money iwas /ino big deal. All the Garza family’s businesses would be his sooner orter anyway. A little loss was nothing to him.

    The Garza family had plenty of money, so he didn’t are.

    However, things wentpletely off the rails. After Briar was kidnapped, the first person to figure out that Hayden was the mastermind behind it wasn’t Ashton’s people but Geoff.

    Geoff took Hayden’s phone and then shipped Hayden straight off to Qathana, thinking that Hayden would be safe hiding out in the undergroundb

    here.

    But before Hayden could even catch his breath, Briar stormed in with her men, ready to tear the ce apart.

    10:18 Sat, 23 Aug

    And most humiliatingly, the girl he’d randomly picked to keep him entertained turned out to be one of Briar’s people, too.

    She’d only messaged him right before he left for the airport, and he’d just agreed to bring her along on a whim.

    Hayden thought, ‘How could Briar be so sure I’d agree and bring the girl with me? What if I’d said no, or ignored her messagepletely?‘

    ?.,55%b￠ /b

    No matter how much Hayden tried to figure it out, it was pointless. He was already caught, his bodyguards had blown their best shot at fighting back, and he still ended up in Ashton and Briar’s hands.

    And worst of all, Briar had gone for his legs again. This time, they were definitely done for.

    Faced with the fierce attacks from Brandon’s men, the bodyguards had no choice but to surrender. They were just working for a paycheck. There was no way they were going to risk their lives for their boss.

    If they couldn’t win, then they just stopped fighting.

    Getting caught by Ashton didn’t mean death. At worst, they’d get roughed up a few times, then be let go.

    As for whether their current boss lived or died, that was none of their concern.

    If the Garzas wanted to settle scores, they’d only go after Ashton and Briar. It had nothing to do with them.

    “He’s all yours. How do you want to finish him off?” Briar strolled toward Hayden. Her tone was gentle, but every word made Hayden’s blood run cold.

    ‘What does she mean? Is she really going to kill me?‘ Hayden thought.

    “Briar, don’t push it too far. If I die, the Garza family will make you pay,” Hayden blustered from his wheelchair, but his legs were so numb with pain that his threats sounded more like begging.

    If it weren’t for the knife at his throat and the fear that if he passed out, he might never wake up again, someone as pampered as Hayden would’ve already copsed by now.

    What pissed him off the most was the bodyguards Geoff had shelled out a fortune to hire. With their so–called skills, they had the nerve to charge 150

    thousand dors.

    As soon as they saw Brandon and his men storming in, guns zing, they folded like a house of cards.

    ‘Weren’t you guys supposed to be professional bodyguards?‘ Hayden cursed inwardly. ‘Weren’t you supposed to keep me safe in Qathana with you around? All of it is total bullshit! They were even more scared than I am.‘

    “I’ll kill you if I feel like it. The Garza family is just a third–rate wannabe rich n. Do you think I’ll be scared of your family’s revenge?” Briar towered over Hayden, looking down at him like he was nothing but a joke.

    The floor under Hayden’s legs was already stained with a huge pool of blood. If he didn’t get help soon, not even God could save his legs.

    “No, you can’t kill me. I can help you find theb,” Hayden said.

    Sasha pressed the knife in, slicing a fresh line of blood across his neck. b“/bSave the crap. I already know exactly where the Garza family’sb is, so you can stop pretending to be useful. Just sit tight and wait to die.”

    “Murder is a crime. You wouldn’t dare kill me.” Hayden turned to Brandon, desperation in his eyes. “Brandon, please save me. I can’t die.”

    Brandon just looked down, ignoring himpletely. “Oh, Ashton just texted me. Let me check.”

    He could feel the tension in the air, and he knew better than to open his mouth. No way was he about to bring trouble on himself,

    Even though Briar was still smiling, the chill around her was getting thicker by the second. He wasn’t about to mess with her right now.

    Besides, Ashton sent him here to protect Briar. As long as she was safe, she could do whatever she wanted for all he cared.

    10:18 Sat, 23 Aug ?

    55%

    And murder being a crime? Please, what a joke! This was Qathana, where people dropped dead in shootouts every single day. Even if Hayden died, no one would even bat an eye.

    The bodyguards were hauled off by Brandon’s men, leaving Hayden all alone, pathetic, powerless, andpletely abandoned. In the end, he finally realized there was no way he’d be catching a break from Briar today.

    After all his stammering and begging failed, he finally clung to hisst hope. “Briar, you can’t kill me. I mean it. I know how your mother died back then. Please don’t kill me.”

    10:19 Sat, 23 Aug

    bChapter /bb217 /b