Ashton finally realized that Br was teasing him on purpose, to mess with him.

    But what could he do?

    Honestly, he was a sucker for her bad girl vibe.

    So Ashton pulled Briar into his arms, holding her close as he chuckled low. “Alright, I won’t stop you, okay? Whoever you want to kill, however your items to do it, go for it. You do the killing, and I’ll keep watch for you. How about it?”

    Briar broke into a bright grin. “Alright, you said it yourself, so next time, don’t go dragging everyone in the city to hunt me down and stopn

    She was talking about thatst time she andn kidnapped Emily and Sawyer.

    “Yeah, I promise,” Ashton repliedzily, his handsome features finally rxing. “I’ll do whatever you say.”

    ma

    Honestly, Ashton didn’t dare stop her this time either. The Garzas had gone way too far. Rosalia wasn’t some scientist or technical genius, so even if they took her brain, it wouldn’t be worth much for research.

    But the Garzas still kept her brain. ‘What were they nning to do with it?! Ashton wondered.

    Back at theb, Ashton had been careful not to say too much, worried that even one wrong word might set Briar off. He hadn’t gone into details with Reece and Hamish, but they all knew that the Garzas’ real goal was to use that brain to control Briar.

    Briar had spent years digging into the truth behind Rosalia’s death. ‘As one of the masterminds back then,’ Ashton thought, ‘the Garzas, or more specifically, their head, Geoff, knew she was on their trail.

    ‘Moving theb to Bersy Ind might have been one way to evade Briar’s investigation.’

    Making sure no one else was watching, Briar tipped ho

    and affectionate. “Now that’s more like it.”

    head up and pressed a kiss to Ashton’s lips, then nuzzled him with her nose yfully, alls

    Ashton loved every second of her sudden affection. His hand slid from her slender waist up to trace her spine, his gaze burning with possessive intensity “So, you’re not mad at me anymore, right?”

    Briar let out a soft whimper. “Mmm.”

    “Good, I’m d you’re not mad,” Ashton said, scooping her up with one arm and carrying her toward the small room. “It’s still early. Let me coax you to sleep for a bit.”

    Briar giggled, curling against his chest. “Seriously, who’s putting who to sleep here?”

    Ashton grinned. “Either way works for me. I’m not picky.”

    With that, the door to the small room mmed shut right in front of the other three.

    Reece, Hamish, and Brandon were utterly stunned.

    At eight in the morning, the private jet touched down at the airport in Dasmieca.

    Morton, who had gotten the heads-up in advance, was already waiting at the exit with his team. When he saw Briar, hand in hand with Ashton, he stepped forward, a rare smile breaking out on his usually stern face. “Mr. Wade, Miss Jennings.”

    Ashton nodded. “None of them slipped away, right?”

    The bush was, when the cures nullend zekitas pbzipit und in any danda hayal edib & en dit sal deter

    Ever since stepping of the ne, firar was practically buzzing with sunuption Morton foured her day licking frestart ng mg

    destroyed.

    “Can we go to the Garza family’s ce first?” Brist asked as the loftowed Ashton toward that car, her fonerg, hot angina

    her velice

    Ashton didn’t answer right away. He gestured for Briar to get in the car first, then turned to his two friends behind fum “Brise and need you guys to keep an eye on a few things for me. I’ll be…”

    “Pretty busy.” Ashton said after a pause, choosing his words carefully.

    Reece waved him off. “Don’t worry about it. Just focus on keeping Briarpany these next few days. We’ll reach out if anything

    “Pretty busy? Reece thought to himself. “Yeah, right. That’s putting it mildly. He’s going to be seriously busy. Like,pletely swamped! Briar is in, if she has a knife right now, she’ll probably hack the Garzas to pieces on the spot, limb from limb, no hesitation

    Ashton nodded, slid into the car, and shut the door. Morton hit the gas immediately, the vehicle peeling away without hesitation.

    Brandon stayed behind. He’d be running around with Reece and Hamish for the next few days, since Ashton probably wouldn’t have time to handle anything else.

    In the car, Briar lounged back in her seat,zily spinning a sharp scalpel between her fingers. She lowered her gaze, her features clear and cold, w aloof sharpness that made her whole presence feel even more dangerous than the de in her hand.

    It was as if she were waiting for a spark to set her off, and that spark was Ashton.

    Ashton knew better than to go against her right now, so he softened his voice, sounding almost overly gentle. “Briar, we’ve been on traz ne for too long. How about we go home and get some real rest for a day, then go and deal with the Garzas? Okay?”

    He even dragged out thest syble, adding a yful little wave to his tone.

    Without waiting for her answer, Ashton let out an exaggerated, sleepy yawn. “I’ve been pampering you this whole trip. How about you return the favor and put me to sleep?”

    Briar just stared at him, lost for words.

    Morton did his best to blend into the background, pretending to be a soulless extra. After all the years he’d spent with Ashton, seeing Ashton act all. cutesy and needy like this was honestly a bit much for him to handle.

    But what blew Morton’s mind was that Briar, who usually had that cold, distant look in her eyes, didn’t even crack a smile at Ashton’s pitiful act, instead, she just nodded and agreed, “Alright, let’s go home. I’ll help you get some sleep.”

    Ashton hadn’t had a proper night’s sleep in days, and the dark circles under his eyes were impossible to miss. No matter how anxious Briar was inside, when faced with that handsome, tired face, she couldn’t bring herself to say no.

    Briar couldn’t help it. She was a total sucker for Ashton’s looks. With a face like that, there was just no way she could ever say no to him.

    Besides,n wasn’t even ready yet, so she decided she might as well let the Garzas enjoy a few more hours of life.

    Chip 12

    at put my load down and insisted on go and brands

    She narrowed her eyes as she looked at Ashton. “Time, I’ll help you steps today, but tomorrow, don’t you dare try to stall me agant

    Ashton nodded eagerly. “Of course. I’m just so tired. I want you to help me catch some sleep, that’s all

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