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

    Briar spat through gritted teeth, ring 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 I be ashamed?”

    Briar was so frustrated by his mischievous behavior that she nearlyughed out iloud/i. She didn’t feel like arguing with him. “Let me go. I’m leaving.”

    Her instincts urged her to leave before something unpredictable urred. 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 tremblingshes, 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 olligo. /li/ol

    “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 ites 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 nning to let loose tonight and throw all shame aside?‘ 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. I 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. I can’t rush things. I 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 deepke. 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 ced a gentle kiss on

    13:22 Thu, 21 Aug

    ? b??? /b34% .

    her forehead. “Briar, if you keep looking at me like that and acting all sweet, I swear I’m going to have to pull the trigger.”

    Briar shot him a look. “Ashton, how did I not realize until now that your shamelessness is so profound that not even a cannon could prate 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 I cared about saving face, I would never be with you. Briar, I think I’m getting a bit sleepy. Will you help me fall asleep?”

    Briar shed him apletely 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 icozy /ithey were in that moment.

    b+13 /b

    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 nce at his peaceful, sleeping face, she walked to the desk

    by the bay window, sat down, and powered up Ashton’s workptop. As if second nature, she entered the password and logged into Hacker Alliance’s internalwork.

    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, hepletely missed the chance to see the message right away. Briar erased all traces of her login to the Hacker Alliance site, shut theptop, and quietly slipped away.

    It wasn’t until the next morning that Ashton saw the new email. His rxed demeanor changed instantly. He immediately called Connor. “Connor, when you ced the order with the Hacker Alliancest 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, I didn’t. However, I offered 30 million dors and set a three–day deadline. Why? Did someone from the Hacker Alliance take the money and hand it off to some rookie?”

    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 mmed 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 time ago? Did our 30 million dors bring him out of retirement? Or is the Hacker Alliance so desperate for businesstely that they need a big name like 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 hisputer. “Yes…” Connor wanted to ask something

    213

    13:22 Thu, 21 Aug A

    further, but Ashton had already ended the call, leaving Connor reeling from thest 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 liken, and deadly urate with a rifle,‘ Ashton thought.