?


    I threw a look at Cole. "I''ll figure out who''s behind this-and they''ll regret it."


    Cole let out a softugh. "First time I''ve heard you talk so tough."


    I shot him a re. “Whether it''s tough talk or not, you''ll find out soon enough. Now go. You''ve done enough.”


    Cole had milked this scene long enough. With Hayden staying perfectly still through the whole act, Cole finally gave in and turned to leave. But not without tossing onest remark over his shoulder.


    "Ms. Kay, he''s just a stand-in. Don''t let yourself get too attached again.


    I didn''t bother responding. Watching him walk out the door, I exhaled slowly. My eyes drifted back to Hayden, lying there so still


    He wasn''t a stand-in. Not for anyone. He was himself-always himself.


    For a long moment, I just stood there, staring at him. Finally, I leaned in and whispered, Hayden, they''re all gone. You can drop the act now." Silence.


    Thinking he was messing with me, I slid my hand under the nket and gave him a light pinch. "Seriously, it''s just me here. No one else."


    Still nothing. My chest tightened, panic creeping in.


    “Hay—”


    Before I could finish, something warm brushed against my lips. My eyes flew wide as I froze in ce.


    Hayden. He nipped at my bottom lip, his voice low and teasing. "If you keep calling my name like that, you''ll blow my cover."


    I pinched him again, harder this time. "Why didn''t you answer sooner?"


    His gaze was steady. "Wanted to see how worried you''d get."


    This bastard.


    Did he have any idea how freaked out I was?


    "I''m sorry," he said, those two words he always used to excuse his reckless stunts. "When I faked my deathst time... were you this scared then too? Or more?"


    More. So much more. I didn''t even have to think about it. The memory of Yara handing me that urn the weight of it, the finality-came crashing back. My world had felt like it


    shattered into a million pieces.


    But instead of saying all that, I pinched him again, hard.


    He hissed through his teeth. "Kiki, that hurts...


    Good. He deserved it. The pain I''d gone through-physical, emotional, everything-was because of him.


    Still, with his head wrapped in bandages and the bloodied drainage tube right there, I couldn''t keep up the fight. Letting out a breath I loosened my grip and asked, suspicion in my tone, “That doctor''s whole exnation... was it fake? And what about the tube? Is it even real?"


    "It''s fake," Hayden admitted casually.


    Not that it shocked me. But those punches and kicks he''d taken earlier? Definitely not fake.


    "You''re quite


    the actor,” I muttered, my tone caught somewhere between bitter and concerned.


    "Sometimes you have to lose the pawn to catch the king."


    That earned him another sharp pinch under the nket.


    My hand rested against his bare skin-no shirt, just him and my endless pinching. After everything he''d endured earlier, now he had to deal with this. Honestly, his whole act was a next-level masterss in "suffering for the n."


    "How long are you nning to keep this up?" I asked. "You can''t just lie here forever."


    "A few days," he said with that maddening calmness.


    My thoughts darted to DracoLux and their shady dealings. "What if something big happens? Aren''t you worried you''ll miss it?"


    "I''ve got people in ce," he said. He''d clearly built up awork while undercover, already prepared for a situation like this.


    That triggered another memory-Demi. Hayden had mentioned she was about to be trafficked into their ck-market schemes. "Damn it. Demi." I bolted upright.


    Hayden seemed to realize it too. His fingers caught mine gently. "At this point, it''s probably toote to stop it."


    Toote or not, I couldn''t sit here.


    Without another word, I pulled away and raced out of the hospital, my heart pounding as I headed for the address Hayden had given me.


    When I arrived, I barely had time to process anything before I spotted a figure in the distance. Her steps were shaky.Belongs ? to N?velDrama.Org.


    mming on the gas, I sped toward her. My car screeched to a halt, but before I could even get out, she crumpled forward, mming heavily against the hood of my car.


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