bChapter /bb164 /b

Frank’s smile froze, and he quickly said goodbye to Joshua before hurrying over. Feeling guilty, he didn’t get in the car right away. bInstead/bb, /bhe bared dver to the driver’s window and said in an awkward but still polite tone, “Hey there, handsome! Are you waiting for someone?”

Connor shot him a look and uttered, “Quit messing around. Get in already.”

Frank immediately replied, “Got it!”

He quickly and obediently slid into the passenger seat, buckled his seatbelt, and ced his hands neatly on hisp. “Alright, let’s go.”

The car quickly pulled away, leaving the rest of the group standing at the entrance of theb building in silence.

Mason couldn’t hold it in as he eximed, “Damn! Since when did Prince Frankie be such a simp?”

Ted chimed in uncertainly, “Uh… maybe it’s just guys attracting guys?b” /b

The others burst outughing.

Thement was just a joke, but Thomas’s eyes shed with something more profound as he watched the car disappear into the distance, deep bin /b

thought.

‘Guys attracting guys?‘ Thomas wondered.

Lost in thought, Thomas didn’t notice Charle, who patted him on the shoulder and urged, “Thomas, what are you thinking about? Let’s go.b” /b

“Alright,” Thomas said, shoving those little thoughts to the back of his mind. He said goodbye to Joshua along with everyone else and followed them

out.

“Hamish and Reece said they wanted to join us for dinnerter,” Ashton said as he drove. “If you don’t like big groups, I can ask them not toe.”

Briar preferred quiet, and Reece could be a handful at times, but she shook her head, knowing bthe /bthree of them probably had something to discuss. She replied, “There’s no need to, let’s all go. Food’s always better with more people.”

Ashton was relieved he didn’t have to send his buddies away.

Briar skillfully fished a box of choctes out of the drawer, tore it openb, /bpopped one into her mouth, and started munching away while scrolling on her phone.

When they hit a red light and the car slowed to a stop, Ashton nced over at Briar’s chipmunk cheeks and suddenly asked, “Girlfriend, is that chocte

any good?b” /b

Briar was already teamed up with her squad in–game, about to parachute in. She tilted her head slightly, sparing Ashton a bit of attention as she asked, “Huh? You want some?”

As she spoke, she absentmindedly grabbed a piece of chocte and stuffed it into his hand, then went right back to her game.

Ashton was momentarily speechless at her response

‘Man, my girl’s totally immune to romance,‘ he thought.

The light turned green, and Ashton started driving again, fiddling with the piece of chocte Briar had given him, his mina eisewhere.

They ended up at a restaurant owned by the Hamish family, and it was one iof /ithe top five star spots in Shoneport.

As soon as Ashton’s car pulled into the underground parking lot, a valet was already jogging over to guide them. VIPs like them balways /bbhad /bbtheir /bbreserved/b. spots.

b10:50 /bTue, b19 /bbAug /b

As the car stopped, Briar’s game ended right on cue. She nced out the window, slipped her phone into her pocket, and reached bfor /bbthe /bdodo Ara

here?” she asked.

Ashton reached out, his hand closing gently but firmly around her wrist, keeping her in her seat. He said, “Hold on. I need you to do me a favor

Her eyes were soft and dewy, making her look irresistibly cute. She probed, “What kind of favor?”

Ashton opened his palm to reveal the piece of chocte he’d been fiddling with the entire ride. He asked, “Girlfriend, can you help me unwrap bthis/bi?/i”

Briar’s big eyes were full of confusion as she rified, “Are you serious?”

‘He’s got two perfectly good hands. Why can’t he unwrap it himself?‘ she grumbled inwardly.

As she looked into Ashton’s rxed yet attentive gaze, she felt herself give in. She took the chocte from his hand and slowly unwrapped it. It had be a little soft and smudged at the edges from being held for a while, but it was still good. “Here you go,” she said.

“Feed it to me,” Ashton said, not missing a beat as he pushed his luck even further.

Briar looked up, and the light from the parking lot streamed in and illuminated half her face. Her fair skin was glowing when she chuckled, “Boyfriend, you sure are needy today!”

Ashton’s dark eyes never left Briar as he replied, “Girlfriend, your boyfriend’s only asking for this one little thing. Can’t you spoil me just a bit?”

Briar tightened her grip on the chocte but still lifted it to his mouth. “Open iup/i,i” /ishe said.

Ashton went along with it and bit down on the piece of white chocte. But the next moment, his fingers gently cupped Briar’s chinb, /busing ba /blittle trick bto /bcoax her lips open, and slipped half the chocte into her mouth.

At such close range, their lips inevitably brushed together. Even though all she tasted was chocte, Briar felt lightheaded, almost tipsy from the

moment.

It took Ashton a while to finally let go of Briar. By then, her face was a deep, bright red. He stated, “This chocte is way too sweet. I’m bnot /bused to it.”

Briar pursed her lips and shot him a re as she thought, ‘This guy is acting all innocent after getting his way. “You bought me this chocte, so don’t tell me you don’t know how sweet it is?” she asked.

Ashton’s lips curled up into a wicked, flirtatious grin as he replied, “Honestly? I’ve never actually tasted it.”

Briar stared at him in silence.

“Hey, what are you two up to in there?” The window was

suddenly tapped, and Reece’s cool, handsome face appeared.

Briar quickly opened the door and was the first to hop out.

“Hey, Briar!” Hamish, grinning from ear to ear as he followed behind Reece, called out in greeting.

Aside from her slightly flushed cheeksi, /iBriar didn’t look the least bit embarrassed when she greeted, “Hey, Hamish.”

Ashton got out of the car as welli, /iand the four of them headed into the elevator, chatting andughing as they made their way straight to their private floor.

Since Hamish was bringing friends over for dinner, the restaurant manager had gotten the heads–up way ahead of time. food was served right away, and even the wine had already been decanted.

Briar realized that when you ate with this group, the menu was basically just for show, as nobody bothered to order anything.

bas /bthey sat down, the

And sure enough, Briar’s guess was spot on. The three of them did have something to talk about. Barely ten minutes after sitting down, the conversation turned to serious matters.

b10:50 /bTue, b19 /bbAug /b0

Furthermore, the serious discussion surrounded Briar.

“Ashton, my guys intercepted this on the international dar. Take a look,” Hamish said, cing a few photos in front of bAshton/bb, /bSinos Achton vind wearing disposable gloves and busy peeling shrimp for Briar, Hamish thoughtfully swiped through the pictures to Ashton could see them al

Ashton just nced at them, but his face immediately darkened. He questioned, “Did you find out who’s behind bit/bb?/bb” /b

The photos showed a bounty posted on the dar a few days ago. Someone was offering 66 thousand dors to hire a hitman to bgo /bbto /bDasmieca and kidnap a college student named Briar. The notice even included her photo.

The remaining photos were of the IP address and the intermediary who posted the bounty,

“Yeah, we traced it. It’s someone from Dasmieca…” Hamish nced at Briar, who was quietly eating, and so–called sister, Beatrice.”

said tly, “It’s the Jennings familyb, /band bit’s /bher

Ashton kept his eyes fixed on his task, focusing intently on peeling the shrimp without pause. However, both Hamish and Reece sensed an immediate drop in temperature, making the atmosphere around them feel ufortably cold.

b15 /b