Chapter 615: Is All the Danger Over?
Jasmine gave Ethan a long, helpless smile.
Finally, the crowd they were mingling with drifted away, and Jasmine let out a big sigh of relief.
"Jasmine, am I really that irresistible? You've been eyeing me all night," Ethan teased, raising an eyebrow.
Jasmine laughed. "If I wasn't here keeping an eye on you, there'd be plenty of women trying to eat you alive."
Jasmine was freaked out; those women looked at Ethan like he was a piece of meat.
A guy who was hot, smart, and loaded? Total danger zone.
Ethan grinned. "You're the only one I want."
Jasmine rolled her eyes.
Ethan's phone buzzed; it was Raymond.
"Yo, what's up?"
"I'm at the warehouse. Mark's a tough nut to crack. We've been working him over all night, and he hasn't spilled a thing," Raymond's voice was low. "But he's definitely hiding something. No regular guy could hold out this long. He's protecting Claire like crazy, cutting out all the dirt on her from the video, but it's not 'cause he's in love with her."
"There's gotta be someone pulling his strings," Ethan muttered.
Maybe Howard had been a target all along.
There was always a bigger fish. Howard thought he was the puppet master, not realizing he was the puppet.
From Mark cozying up to Howard to Claire and Howard's first meet, it was probably all part of someone's plan.
"Don't wait for all the pieces. Report Howard to the police now," Ethan said, frowning.
He was worried the longer they waited, the messier things could get.
"Got it, I'll hand it over to the cops right away."
After hanging up, Ethan took Jasmine's hand. "Richard and the crew are here; we should bounce."
Jasmine nodded.
If they could just get through tonight, Howard would be in cuffs by tomorrow.
Once the cops nabbed him, it’d be game over.
Jasmine looked at Ethan with determination. No matter what, she’d stick by him.
"Scared?" Ethan asked.
Jasmine shook her head. "Not with you around."
They walked out of the hotel hand in hand. Richard opened the car door, ushering them in.
The car was built like a tank, not easy to flip.
Nolan and Edgar were there too, worried about Jasmine’s safety, ready to escort them home.
"Where's Edward?" Jasmine asked, curious.
"Edward's thorough; he's waiting at your place," Nolan smiled. "Hop in."
Ethan looked at Jasmine, serious. "Jasmine, go with Nolan. We'll split up."
Jasmine clung to Ethan's hand, shaking her head. "No way."
She was scared; she wanted to stay with Ethan.
"Come on, if you go with Nolan, I'll be less worried. This way, if something goes down, I can handle myself first. Otherwise, I'll be stressing about you too," Ethan squeezed her hand.
Jasmine looked down and nodded after a bit. "Okay, I'll go with Nolan."
"Don't worry. I got this," Richard tried to reassure her.
Jasmine looked surprised. "Wait, you got your memory back?"
Richard coughed and quickly said, "Everyone says you're my sister."
Jasmine gave him a skeptical look. "Richard, stay sharp."
Richard nodded.
After Jasmine hopped into Nolan's car, Ethan slid into his own ride.
Richard and Ethan took the front, with Nolan and Edgar tailing them.
"Howard wouldn't make a move now, would he?" Edgar asked, a bit uneasy.
Nolan, driving, snorted. "Guys like him, when they're cornered, they'll do anything."
Jasmine kept her eyes glued to the car ahead; Ethan was in there.
"Why do they always go for car accidents?" Edgar wondered out loud.
"Think about it. If I came to your house and offed you, could I get away with it?" Nolan shot Edgar a look.
"No way, there'd be fingerprints, cameras everywhere, you would be caught," Edgar said, feeling smug.
"But if I hit you with a car, I could say I panicked, or the car lost control, or I was drunk. If I didn't run, I'd only do a few years," Nolan's voice was icy.
So, those creeps preferred to hire hitmen to run their targets off the road.
Edgar took a deep breath. "That's messed up."
Human nature got real ugly when folks were desperate.
The drive from the hotel to home was pretty smooth, no weird stuff.
They were almost at the neighborhood when a truck slammed into Ethan's car.
"Ethan!" Jasmine screamed, shaking all over.
Nolan hit the brakes hard. "Jasmine! Stay put."
Nolan, Edgar, and the bodyguards rushed to check on Ethan after the car got smashed into a wall by the truck, trapping Ethan and Richard.
Two guys jumped out of the truck. One pulled a gun on Ethan. Richard shielded him, making the gunmen—Sophia's guys—hesitate and bolt.
Ethan and Richard were rattled but had gambled right.
"Yup, they're Sophia's goons," Richard said, fuming.
"Sophia's got a bunch of mercenaries. These guys aren't scared of dying; they live for cash and will do anything for it," Ethan leaned back, wincing. "Pretty sure my arm's busted."
Richard kicked the passenger door hard, but the truck was blocking it, and it wouldn't budge.
"Edward called the cops ahead of time. They were lying in wait and already nabbed the two attackers. They had guns," a bodyguard rushed over to tell Nolan.
Nolan nodded. Edward was sharp. He knew they wouldn't strike in public, so he waited at the residence and called the cops early.
"Ethan." Jasmine didn't want to cause a scene. After the cops arrived, she got out of the car, her legs like jelly, and collapsed.
Her vision blurred, and she felt sick, probably from the stress.
"Jasmine, it's okay now." Edgar helped her up. After the police moved the truck and secured the scene, they got Ethan and Richard out.
The paramedics quickly put Ethan on a stretcher.
Ethan didn't want Jasmine to worry, so he grinned at Edward through the pain. "Edward, you even called an ambulance."
Edward, holding Jasmine up with one hand, sighed. "I didn't want to freak Jasmine out."
Jasmine covered her mouth, trying not to cry, and laughed.
Was it finally over?
Suddenly, Jasmine couldn't hold it in and ran to the side to puke.
Ethan, panicked, jumped off the stretcher, and the doctors couldn't hold him down.
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