bChapter /bb226 /b

    With the Garzas captured, it was only natural that their own safe house was no longer secure.

    On the way back,n didn’t dare squeeze into the same car as Briar. After all, he was indeed in cahoots with Ashton.

    When Ashton’s people reached out to him, they said that as long as he could get the Garzas out before Briar went all out and finished them off, he’d get two–thirds of the bounty.

    He and Briar had a strong bond, sure, but Ashton’s offer was just too generous. There was no way he could turn it down!

    The Garzas were brought back to Ashton’s basement.

    With such a public exit and an equally showy return, anyone paying attention could easily tell it was Ashton’s people who took the

    Garzas away.

    If anything happened to the Garzas after that, all the me would fall on Ashton and have nothing to do with Briar.

    By doing this, Ashton was indirectly protecting Briar, keeping her off the radar of other factions.

    After all, the 30–million–dor bounty Briar put out was just too tempting. There were plenty of people out to kill the Garzas, but the ones backing the Garzas would inevitably set their sights on Briar.

    Ashton thought to himself, ‘Briar can be angry, furious, or sad. She can even take out the Garzas however she likes. But I’ll never let anyone else láy a finger on her.

    ‘All those chases and brushes with death before Briar turned eighteen were already in the past, nothing I can do about them. But now, no one is allowed to threaten her life.‘

    Briar watched the long convoy sweep into the vi, lips twitching despite herself. She understood why Ashton was making such a big show of things, and honestly, she couldn’t help but feel a little moved.

    ‘With Ashton standing so firmly by my side, protecting me no matter what, what else can I say? I’ll ept it,‘ Briar thought.

    “Alright, we’ve brought them back. Now, you can do what you want with them. I won’t interfere,” Ashton said, catching the hint of a smile in Briar’s eyes. He could tell she understood and appreciated what he had done for her.

    Briar nodded. “Okay.”

    She brushed right pastn, ignoring his fawning expression, and headed straight for the basement. The door mmed shut behind her with a bang.

    Both Ashton andn were shocked.

    “Didn’t you retire from this life?” Ashton said dryly.

    Ashton just nodded, a faint smile in his eyes. n of the mercenary world, one of the eight instructors at the DDC Vanguard Mercenary Special Operations Base, codename Sam. You think someone like you is easy to overlook?”

    09:56 Sun, 24 Aug 0

    b71/b%

    What hadn panicking wasn’t that his alternate identity got exposed. It was the fact that Briar had a DDC Vanguard instructor

    cover, too!

    ‘Don’t tell me Ashton’s already figured out Briar’s secret as well?‘ he thought to himself. ‘No, no, calm down, just calm down!‘

    +28)

    Their identities as the instructors at the DDC Vanguard were protected byyers of security as thick as a fortress, and no ordinary person could ever dig that deep.

    Even someone as powerful as Ashton, who ran the border, couldn’t possibly infiltrate the DDC Vanguard Base.

    Moreover, although DDC Vanguard Base imed to have eight instructors, only insiders know that those eight consisted of five standard instructors and three elite instructors.

    Briar, on the other hand, was one of the three elite instructors, a master of every skill imaginable.

    There were only a handful of people in the entire world who knew the identities of these elite instructors.

    So,n thought there was no way Ashton could have learned about Briar’s identity as the instructor.

    Ashton said, “Even though you’ve done a decent job hiding your identity and background, I’m the boss of the Dark Net. It’s not hard for me to find out who you are.”

    He obediently sat back down on the couch, feeling a bit relieved. ‘From what Ashton just said, he probably still doesn’t know about Briar’s identity as the instructor, right? Damn, that was close. I almost let Briar’s secret slip.‘

    Honestly, uncoveringn’s identity as an instructor at the DDC Vanguard Mercenary Special Operations Base was a total fluke.

    When Ashton had Xavion look inton, he only wanted to see whon might have crossed during his days as an international

    mercenary.

    After all,n was going to be hanging around Briar for the long haul, and to keep her safe, Ashton couldn’t afford to take any

    chances.

    But the deeper they dug, the more they realized Jan seemed to have ties to the DDC Vanguard Mercenary Special Operations Base. it was a powerful, shadowy special operations group that coborated with multiple nations, including Dasmieca.

    So, Ashton used his connections in Dasmieca to reach out to the DDC Vanguard’s external liaison, Jabari Cadman, and that was how he confirmedn’s identity.

    But Ashton wasn’t going to telln all the twists and turns that led to this discovery.

    “Don’t worry. Since you’re Briar’s friend, I’m not going to make things difficult for you,” Ashton reassured him. “Just make sure you keep her safe when I’m not around. Don’t let anything happen to her.”

    Oncen had calmed down, he got a little bolder. Raising an eyebrow, he said, “Mr. Wade, now that you know who I am, you should also know that getting me to protect someone doesn’te cheap.”

    Ashton gave him a long, meaningful look. He stared so intently thatn almost wanted to take back his bold words, but then

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    Chapter i226 /i

    KD71%

    Ashton suddenly pulled out a checkbook from the coffee table drawer and wrote out a check for 15 million dors right there.

    “Is this enough?” Ashton asked.

    Ashton nodded in satisfaction. “Good.”

    “Mr. Wade, mind if I go find Briar now?” he asked, grinning.

    “Go ahead,” Ashton said.

    Briar was speechless.

    Briar’s expression flickered slightly as she read the amount on the check. She asked, “You dared to scam him? Careful, or he’ll make you pay for it.”

    Briar’s lips twitched. “You protect me? Are you sure about that?”

    “He does have more money than sense,” Briar muttered, shaking her head helplessly.

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