Betrayed, Then Back For Blood

Chapter 16

Ashton sounded so genuine—and even a little humble that Briar couldn't bring herself to turn him down. After a

moment, she nodded. “I'll do what i

can.”

“Thank you,” Ashton sald, clearly relieved. He gave her a small, respectful nod.

After dinner, Ashton offered to drive her home, but Briar shook her head. “I've got something else to do. I'm not

going hyet. Let's just say goodbye here.”

Ashton paused by his car. “It’s gonna be tough finding a cab around here this late. If you don’t mind, | can still

give you a ride.”

Briar looked around and saw he was right. The place was too upscale-everyone either drove themselves or had a

driver. Cabs were few and far between, and most were already taken. “Alright, thanks,” she said and walked with

him to the car.

Brandon, Ashton’s bodyguard, was waiting. He opened the back door for them and greeted them with a nod. “Mr.

Wade. Miss Jennings.”

Ashton motioned for Briar to get in first, then slid in after her.

Once Brandon got behind the wheel, he asked, “Should

drop Miss Jennings off first?”

Ashton glanced at Briar, and she gave Brandon an address.

Brandon didn’t ask questions. He typed it into the GPS and started driving.

Ashton didn’t ask why Briar was heading to srandom neighborhood late at night, and Briar didn’t ask why

Brandon was driving instead of him. But she saw it. There was something tucked into Brandon's waistband-and

from the shape, it looked a lot like a gun.

They were headed to an old apartment complex on the outskirts of the city-a far cry from the downtown lights.

Briar had promised Sam she'd help him out with something there.

It definitely wasn’t the kind of place a girl like Briar usually went, and it was her first tin the area. When they

pulled up to the entrance, she looked out the window and told Brandon to park outside. She would walk in alone.

“Ashton, can you wait a bit? I'm just meeting a friend. I'll be quick,” she said, glancing at him.

Ashton nodded. “Take your time.”

He watched her head into the dimly lit complex, her steps steady and confident.

Brandon raised an eyebrow. “Does Miss Jennings really have friends living in a run-down place like this?”

Ashton didn’t answer. He was wondering the sthing. She’d only been back in the country a few days, yet

there were so many sides to her he hadn't figured out.

Every the saw her, it felt like she was hiding something new.

or completely

Most of the people living in this old apartment complex were seniors. It was only 9 PM, but the place was dead

quiet.

The buildings were just five stories high, and only a few of the streetlights actually worked.

Briar followed Sam's directions through the dark. When she reached building 44 and saw that most of the

windows were either cracked or broken, she frowned.

‘How can he let a teenage girl live in a dump like this? Sam's being way too careless,’ she thought.

Chapter 16

It was a hot night, and by the tshe climbed up to the fifth floor, her back was damp with sweat.

The stairwell was stuffy and smelled like mold. The lights on the top floor were out. Briar used her phone

flashlight to find apartment 502, then kno on the door..

Over a minute passed, but no one answered, and there were no sounds from inside.

Briar waited a bit and knocked again, this tmore gently. “Ellen? I’m Briar Jennings. I'm a friend of your

brother's. He askedto check in on you

Finally, after nearly two minutes, a quiet, nervous voice cfrom behind the door. “My brother sent you?”

“Yes,” Briar replied. “Didn't he call you about it?”

The door cracked open just a little, and a pair of wide, anxious eyes peeked out. In the dim light, they looked

almost tearful.

Briar had always had a soft spot for pretty faces. She gave Ellen a warm smile. “Hey, Ellen.”

“Hi. Please cin,” Ellen said, relaxing when she saw Briar was alone. She opened the door wider and let Briar

in.

Briar stepped inside and took a quick look around. The place was tiny-just a worn-out one-bedroom. Everything

looked decades old. The furniture was chipped and faded. There wasn’t even an air conditioner, just a creaky old

fan in the corner trying its best.

“Miss Jennings, please have a seat. Lonly have water-hope that’s okay,” Ellen said, flipping on the main light. It

brightened the room a little, but not

much.

There was no coffee in the house-she simply couldn't afford it.

Since being kicked out by her adoptive parents and moving in alone, making sure she didn’t go hungry had

becthe only priority. There was no room in the budget for anything else.

“Water's fine. Thanks,” Briar said, sitting down without the slightest sign of discomfort. She wasn’t the type to

turn up her nose at someone's situation.

To her, the sad part wasn’t the shabby apartment-it was the fact that a high school girl was living here alone.

Ellen hurried into the little kitchen and cback with a glass of water, The cup was plain, the kind one could

see at a cheap diner, but it was spotless.

Briar took a sip and gave Ellen a reassuring nod. “Csit. You don’t have to be so nervous.”

“Okay.” Ellen sat down stiffly with her hands in her lap. Her shoulder-length hair slipped into her face, and she

tucked it behind her ear. “Miss Jennings, did my brother ask you to cfor something specific?” she asked

softly.

She wanted to ask when her brother would cto see her, but she didn’t know how to bring it up. Even though

she was shy and unsure, she was happy. Just knowing she had a real brother out there gave her hope.

“He's overseas and can’t make it back right now,” Briar said gently, watching her face. “You know that, right?”

Ellen was very timid and innocent. Sam said she was only two years younger than Briar-sixteen this year-and

currently a junior at Shoneport High School.

Her right leg had a slight disability from birth, not very noticeable if she walked slowly. Sam had told Briar all

this.

lings had been

Ellen's life hadn't been easy, Her parents had died when she was little. At one year old, she and her four-year-

old brother, Sam, were sent to an orphanage. A year later, Ellen was adopted by a local couple. Not long after, a

foreign family adopted Sam and took him abroad. separated for over a decade.

Sam had spent years trying to find her. He only managed to track her down a few days ago. But he couldn't

leave his work overseas, so when he found out she was living alone and barely getting by, he asked Briar to

check in on her and help out for now.

Of course, Briar wasn't doing this out of pure kindness-Sam had wired 1.6 million dollars to her. 1 million dollars

was for Ellen’s living expenses. The

Chapter 16

1 CO Ou

remaining 600 thousand dollars was her payment.

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