Betrayed, Then Back For Blood

Briar’s breath caught in her throat, a mix of surprise from the kiss and fury bubbling within her. ‘Did this man

just. play dirty?‘ she seethed.

Briar spat through gritted teeth, glaring at Ashton. If her hands hadn't been tied and her legs pinned down, she

would have flipped him over and taught him a lesson right then and there. But all her fury condensed into a

single

biting remark. “Shameless, aren't you?”

Ashton grinned in satisfaction. “I'm kissing my love. Why should | be ashamed?”

Briar was so frustrated by his mischievous behavior that she nearly laughed out loud. She didn’t feel like arguing

with him. “Letgo. I'm leaving.”

Her instincts urged her to leave before something unpredictable occurred. However, Ashton was determined not

to let her slip away now that things were getting intense. Still, he propped himself up on one elbow, raising his

upper body slightly to prevent her from noticing any specific reactions-he didn’t want her to see.

From his perspective, Ashton could take in every detail of Briar's face-her trembling lashes, flushed skin, gently

upturned nose, and those slightly parted red lips he couldn't get enough of. Ignoring the flicker of shyness and

irritation in her eyes, he was certain she was just as lost in the lingering heat as he was, neither of them ready to

let

go.

“Are you angry?” Ashton asked in a husky voice.

Briar rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Nope, I'm not that petty. It was just a kiss, whatever.” Honestly, she

enjoyed it too. “Get off me. We're alone in bed-what if things get a little too heated?” Briar tried to sound

assertive, but she couldn't bring herself to meet Ashton’s gaze, which made her words lose much of their impact.

‘Not mad? Good. As for things getting out of control,” Ashton mused, locking eyes with her. With a serious

expression, he said, “Well, we're both professionals when it comes to handling firearms. Do you think we'd be

afraid of a little misfire?”

His remark so flustered Briar that she began coughing hard, her neck turning bright red. It felt as though she had

just been hit by a truck. ‘Is he planning to let loose tonight and throw all shaside?’ she thought,

exasperated.

She was entirely sure they were nothing like the ones he had in mind. Ashton moved to the side, pulling Briar

into his arms. He softly patted her back and said, “Hey, don’t worry. | won't tease you anymore.”

He genuinely cared for her and didn’t want to push her too hard. He constantly reminded himself, ‘She's still

young. | can’t rush things. | need to take it slow and guide her gently.”

Briar didn’t utter a word. She gazed at him with her misty, crystal-clear eyes, her dark irises shimmering like

ripples on a deep lake. The way she looked at him almost caused Ashton to lose all self-control right then and

there.

But Ashton kept his promise and didn’t tease her anymore. Instead, he leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on

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13:22 Thu, 21 Aug

Chapter 185

0000 34% .

her forehead. “Briar, if you keep looking atlike that and acting all sweet, | swear I'm going to have to pull the

trigger.”

Briar shot him a look. “Ashton, how did | not realize until now that your shamelessness is so profound that not

even a cannon could penetrate it?”

Once again faced with her disdain, Ashton’s arms paused for a brief moment, but he hugged her tighter as if

nothing had happened. “If | cared about saving face, | would never be with you. Briar, | think I'm getting a bit

sleepy. Will you helpfall asleep?”

Briar flashed him a completely natural smile, pretending she hadn't noticed he was putting on the charming act

again. “Alright, just close your eyes and sleep.” She even forgot how close and cozy they were in that moment.

+13

Ashton wasn’t going to point it out. Without another word, he just closed his eyes, still holding her close. He

really

must've been exhausted, because it didn’t take long before he fell asleep.

Briar quietly slipped from his arms and sat up. After a glance at his peaceful, sleeping face, she walked to the

desk

by the bay window, sat down, and powered up Ashton’s work laptop. As if second nature, she entered the

password and logged into Hacker Alliance's internal network.

Not long after, Ashton’s phone on the nightstand lit up with a new email notification. However, since he had set

it to silent for the night, he completely missed the chance to see the message right away. Briar erased all traces

of her login to the Hacker Alliance site, shut the laptop, and quietly slipped away.

It wasn’t until the next morning that Ashton saw the new email. His relaxed demeanor changed instantly. He

immediately called Connor. “Connor, when you placed the order with the Hacker Alliance last night, did you

specify who was supposed to handle it?”

Connor was packing up breakfast and driving to Moonspring Estate when Ashton spoke, making his hand pause

on the wheel. “No, | didn’t. However, | offered 30 million dollars and set a three-day deadline. Why? Did

someone from the Hacker Alliance take the money and hand it off to srookie?”

Ashton interrupted him, saying, “The person who took our order is one of the elders of the Hacker Alliance-the

Legendary Hacker Bree.”

On the other end of the line, Connor slammed on the brakes, nearly bursting with excitement. “Mr. Wade, did you

just mention the Legendary Hacker Bree? Wasn't he the one who stopped taking jobs a long tago? Did our

30 million dollars bring him out of retirement? Or is the Hacker Alliance so desperate for business lately that they

need a big nlike him to attract clients?”

Ashton thought, ‘The Hacker Alliance/is desperate for business? Not a chance.’ The vast amount of intricate

intelligence concerning international rankings alone would allow the Hacker Alliance to reap significant rewards.

“Mr. Wade, did that big shot find any information about Miss Jennings?” Connor realized he had said something

foolish and quickly changed the subject.

Ashton’s expression turned serious as he read the email on his computer. “Yes...” Connor wanted to ask

something

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Chapter 185

further, but Ashton had already ended the call, leaving Connor reeling from the last line of the email.

34%

[Reasons for the erasure of Briar's records: 1. The cause of Rosalia’s death remains unknown. 2. Briar started

investigating her mother’s death, and at the age of five, she endured numerous assassination attempts. By age

ten, she entered the underground boxing rings in Qathana, learning to fight to survive.]

That single line struck Ashton with a deep, aching weight. She had faced assassination attempts at just five

years old, learned to survive by ten, and now, at eighteen, she had returned to Dasmieca with unwavering

resolve to uncover the factual circumstances surrounding her mother’s death.

‘No wonder an eighteen-year-old like her seemed so far ahead of her peers-skilled with motorcycles, the elusive

Speed Queen Bree, connected to mercenaries like lan, and deadly accurate with a rifle,” Ashton thought.

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