Chapter 255: The One Who Tames the Beast

Jonathan didn't say a word. After a long moment, he suddenly pulled Sierra into his arms, holding her so tightly she could barely breathe. It was a long time before his low, restrained voice sounded by her ear. “Sierra…”

That was all he said. Just her name. Sierra had no idea how much her earlier words had affected Jonathan. For a split second, he thought that even if the sky came crashing down, he would never let her go. Two people in need of saving held onto each other, refusing to let go.

A car sped past, and the driver instinctively glanced at the vehicle parked on the side of the road. Even though he couldn’t see anything inside, Shane had a gut feeling he knew who was in that car. He lifted his eyelids lazily and said, “Look into that car’s registration.”

In the private dining room of the restaurant, Mateo and the others had already showered and changed, looking completely refreshed—no trace of their earlier mess. But despite their composed appearances, they were still a little nervous. It had been years since they’d seen Jonathan this furious. None of them knew if he had cooled off yet.

Just as they were wondering, the door to the private room opened, and Jonathan walked in with Sierra. They instinctively turned to look at him—his face showed no trace of anger. On the contrary, he seemed to be in a really good mood. Their emotions became…complicated.

They had taken such a brutal beating, and it hadn’t improved Jonathan’s mood at all. But the moment Sierra showed up, this bastard just went back to normal? If they had known this earlier, why the hell did they willingly step up to get their asses kicked? They should’ve just called her!

Sierra noticed their odd expressions. Then, her gaze swept over their faces, spotting faint injuries here and there. Surprised, she asked, “What happened to you guys?”

The group collectively turned to look at Jonathan with eyes full of silent resentment and accusation. But none of them dared to actually voice their complaints. Jonathan cleared his throat and said, “It’s been a while since I trained. We just sparred a little.”

“Hah!” Draven let out a sharp, sarcastic laugh. “Sparred? More like a one-sided beatdown. And the worst part? They couldn’t even refuse.”

Sierra seemed to pick up on what really happened. She turned to Jonathan. He met her gaze, unfazed, and said flatly, “It was just sparring. They were no match for me.”

“Who could ever be a match for you?” Mateo muttered. “I’m a technical fighter, okay? A technical fighter.”

Jonathan shot back, “I’m a scientist too.”

Mateo immediately shut up. Fine. He surrendered this round.

Sierra glanced at the group, then let her gaze settle on Stone. If she remembered correctly, he was in the military. Sensing her stare, Stone pursed his lips before simply admitting, “Yeah. I couldn’t beat him either.”

Sierra’s eyes curved into a smile, genuinely surprised and delighted as she turned to Jonathan. “Jonathan, you’re amazing!”

Though her voice was soft, the guys in the room had sharp ears. They heard it loud and clear.

Mateo started coughing violently. “Sierra, that’s just cruel.”

Draven adjusted his glasses and smirked. “So this is what people mean by having front-row seats to someone else’s love life? Good to know.”

The atmosphere in the room completely shifted. The earlier tension was gone, replaced by lighthearted banter. And as the meal went on, Maddox and the others subtly reassessed Sierra’s position in Jonathan’s life. Jonathan himself might not have realized it, but they could all see it clearly—his attention never strayed from Sierra. He kept picking out her favorite dishes, peeling crab for her with his own hands.

In all their years of friendship, when had they ever seen Jonathan do something like this for anyone? Hell, Jonathan couldn’t even be bothered to peel crabs for himself. And yet, when it came to Sierra, he had infinite patience. More than that, his usual hostility had completely disappeared. It was like the violent, ruthless man from earlier wasn’t even the same person.

They all watched in stunned silence. Halfway through the meal, Jonathan and Maddox stepped outside for a smoke. As soon as they left, Mateo leaned in and whispered, “Sierra, thank God you’re here. Otherwise, we’d all be dead by now.”

Sierra glanced at him and asked, “Do you know why he was so angry?”