Wayne, clearly in the loop, nced at Hayden before saying, “Mr. Hart will handle this. His personal


    stuff won’t mess with his work. Our security team also dropped the ball today, so we can’t me


    him entirely.”


    Jace’s face turned an rming shade of purple, like he couldn’t believe Wayne was backing


    Hayden and ignoring his authority.


    “I’m in charge of the park now, so I’ll deal with it,” Wayne added, basically telling Jace to stay in his


    lane.


    Jace looked ready to explode. If anyone else had said that, they’d be fired on the spot. But it was


    Wayne- his brother–so he had to hold back.


    “Fine,” Jace spat through gritted teeth. “But if this happens again, both of you will pay for it.”


    He stormed off.


    As soon as he was gone, I let out a long breath of relief.


    Wayne turned to Hayden. “You’ll need to submit a report about what happened. I’ll handle the but


    you or yourpany will cover the costs.”


    His tone was firm but fair, keeping personal feelings out of it.


    Hayden, never one to dodge responsibility, just replied, “Alright.”


    rk repairs,


    Wayne nodded and walked off. He didn’t look my way, but I knew that if it weren’t for me, he


    wouldn’t have taken Hayden’s side.


    Wayne’s feelings for me were clear but carefully held back. The fact that he stood up to Jace for my


    sake made me feel both guilty and unsure how to repay him.


    ading out.


    With everything settled, I didn’t have a reason to stay. I shot Hayden a quick nce before heading


    But just as I pulled out of the parking lot, Jace’s car swerved in front of me, cutting me off. He


    jumped out, stormed over, and yanked open my door, sliding into the passenger seat.


    “Drive,” he ordered.


    I had no clue what his deal was. “If you’ve got something to say, just say it. I don’t have time for


    this.”


    “I said, drive!” Jace barked, tugging at his cor, clearly on edge.


    He looked pissed, like really pissed, and pushing him any further definitely wasn’t a good idea. I


    tightened my grip on the wheel. “Fine. Where to?”


    “Just drive!” he shouted again.


    Seeing no point in arguing, I pressed on the gas and took off. He didn’t give me a destination, so I


    figured I’d head toward the Johnston residence.


    A few minutes in, Jace realized where we were headed, “Who said I wanted to go home?”


    You didn’t say you didn’t,” I shot back.


    “Rea, are you trying to drive me crazy? Did you even see Hayden? He’s not as harmless as he


    looks. He’s


    mixed up with dangerous people–the kind who don’t hesitate to mess with RiverwaveCorp’s


    property. Do you have any idea what they might do next?” Jace wasn’t one to talk this much at


    once.


    I got what he was trying to say: he didn’t want me getting too close to Hayden, worried that


    Hayden’s enemies mighte after me too..


    “Mr. Johnston, do you remember that girl who had a thing for you? The one who locked me in a


    hospital morgue, trying to scare me off? She said if I didn’t leave you, I’d end up as one of the


    bodies. And yet, after I got out, I still stayed. I didn’t walk away.”


    Jace’s expression darkened even more at my words.


    “I’m not someone who scares easily. I’m definitely not the type to run off the moment things get


    messy,” I said, locking eyes with him, my voice steady.


    “Rea, don’t be so damn ungrateful!” Jace snapped, ripping off his tie and wrapping it around his


    wrist.


    This belongs to N?velDrama.Org: ?.


    “We don’t owe each other anything anymore. Whether I live, die, or get tied up, it’s none of your


    business. You’ve got other people to worry about.”


    Just as I finished, my phone buzzed. The screen lit up on the car’s disy, showing a message


    Tanya:


    from


    [Keira, I’m waiting for you.]


    There was a location link attached.