Chapter 176

+25 BONUS

"That really scared me," Demi said, her voice sending my heart racing. "What happened? Take a breath and tell me everything."

"Some guys showed up at the amusement park looking for Mr. Hart. A whole group of them, covered in tattoos—scary-looking."

Hearing that actually relaxed me a bit. At least it wasn't another serious accident. From her description, it sounded like punks trying to start trouble with Hayden. Even though Demi was clearly frightened, and the guys sounded intimidating, I wasn't worried. Hayden could handle himself. That unshakable faith in him… it even confused me sometimes. But deep down, I knew no one could hurt him.

"Have they done anything yet?" I asked.

"No, not yet. They haven't found Mr. Hart, but they're asking around. It won't be long before they find him," Demi said, her voice shaky. "What should we do? Should we call the police?"

I thought for a second. "Go find Mr. Hart and ask him what he wants to do. Let him decide whether to call the police." I had no idea what these guys wanted with Hayden, so it was better to let him handle it.

"Okay," Demi said, pausing. "Keira, are you coming?"

"Of course!" I didn't hesitate. There was no way I was sitting this out. Plus, I suspected this might be connected to Jace. He'd stormed out earlier, furious, threatening to make my employer pay. If Hayden got caught in that mess, I wouldn't be surprised.

I hung up, grabbed my bag, and headed for the door. Passing Ron's office, he emerged and saw me with my bag.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

I was waiting for Jace to answer, so I didn't immediately respond.

"Ms. Kay, I'm talking to you. Where are you going?" Ron repeated.

Before I could answer, Jace's voice filled the phone. "What now? Changed your mind already?"

"Did you send people to the amusement park?" I asked, wasting no time.

Jace scoffed. "What are you talking about? What people?"

His answer stopped me in my tracks. For all his faults, Jace was usually direct—except for that incident with Tanya. If this was his doing, if he was using Hayden to get back at me, he wouldn't be playing dumb. So, whatever was happening at the amusement park had nothing to do with Jace.

But then who were these guys, and why were they after Hayden?

"Jace, you better not be lying, and you better stay away from Hayden," I warned before hanging up.

Jace called back almost immediately, but I ignored it.

I drove straight to the amusement park, my mind racing. There, I saw exactly what Demi described: Hayden surrounded by a group of burly, tattooed men. They were clearly trouble.

Demi grabbed my sleeve, her voice shaky. "Mr. Hart didn't want me to call the police, but I'm freaking out. Should we call them now?"

Instead of answering, I stepped forward to assess the situation. One of the men addressed Hayden. "If you want to keep breathing, you better stay in your lane. You know what's at stake."

Hayden's expression didn't waver. "What's the problem? Did someone get nervous and send you guys to do their dirty work?"

"Don't play dumb," the bald man—clearly the leader—snapped, his shiny head gleaming in the sunlight like a mirror. "You should know your place by now."

"If I've done something, I've already considered the consequences," Hayden said calmly, yet with a chilling weight. "If you want to stop me, you'll have to kill me. And I'm not backing down. Bring it on." Goosebumps prickled my skin.