Chapter 685

Thinking back, something about today felt… off. I hadn’t been to Draco Lux in days, but the second I show up, Xander’s there, and chaos breaks loose? Yeah, no way that’s a coincidence. Someone had to be pulling strings.

I spotted the guy from earlier—my ashtray victim—lingering in the parking lot. Stepping in front of him, I snapped, “Talk. Who sent you to start this mess?”

His face was still smeared with blood. It might’ve freaked me out once, but these days? Not so much. Guess I’d grown tougher than I realized.

“I—I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he stammered, though his panicked eyes said otherwise.

Look, violence isn’t ideal, but let’s be real—it gets results. One ashtray to the face, and suddenly this guy had a whole new attitude.

I glanced around the dim parking lot, a chuckle slipping out. He flinched. “Ms. Kay, please—don’t make this harder than it has to be.”

“It’s not hard. You tell me the truth, I leave. Easy, right?” I said, fixing my gaze on him.

His panic bubbled up. “I can’t. If I do, I’m a dead man.”

Classic. He wasn’t scared of me—yet—but he was definitely scared of someone.

I smirked. “Okay, how about this? I’ll name names, and you just nod or shake your head. Sound fair?”

“Ms. Kay…”

“Johnston family,” I said casually, watching every micro-flinch. The way he froze was all the confirmation I needed.

I gave him a second, then tossed out another name. “Jace Johnston?”

Bingo. His face drained of color.

“Please,” he begged, stumbling over his words. “Don’t go after Mr. Johnston. If you do… I’m done for!”

I didn’t bother answering, just turned and walked away, letting him stew. In the reflection of a car mirror, I saw him fumble for his phone, his fingers trembling as he called someone—probably Jace.

Typical Jace. Always pulling the strings, not just to humiliate Xander, but to shove it in my face. Like, ‘Look how pathetic he is. He’s no Hayden.’ It wasn’t subtle—he wanted me to drop the last tiny shred of hope I still had. To finally let Hayden go.

Seriously, how much time and effort had he wasted on this petty little scheme? Just the thought made my blood boil.

Before I could dwell on it, a low rumble broke through the quiet. Headlights flicked on, bright and blinding, aimed straight at me.

Oh, crap.

I turned to move, but something yanked me back hard. Next thing I knew, I was hitting the ground, rolling over like we were in some action movie.

The car roared past, its engine fading into the distance. When I finally blinked the stars out of my eyes, I looked up at the person who’d just tackled me out of the way.

“Hayden…” His name slipped out before I could stop myself, but I swallowed it back just as fast.

It wasn’t Hayden. It was Xander.

What the actual-?

Still sprawled on top of him, I stared, trying to process why he of all people had just saved me. I mean, this guy hated my guts.

He shoved me off him with a grunt, stood up, and dusted himself off like nothing had happened. Then, without a word, he held out his hand.

“Thanks,” I mumbled as I stood, trying to keep my cool.

“Where’s your car?” he asked.

I blinked, still trying to settle my nerves. When I didn’t answer fast enough, he sighed. “We’re going to the hospital.”

Wait—was he hurt? He’d definitely taken the brunt of that fall. “Are you okay?” I asked.

Instead of answering, he just held out his hand, fingers twitching impatiently. “Keys.”

I handed them over, too rattled to argue. He beeped the car and started walking, only to stop and grab my arm when I didn’t move fast enough.

Before I knew it, I was in the passenger seat, and he was behind the wheel.

Once I’d pulled myself together, I blurted out, “Why did you save me?”