Chapter 714

The two cars collided with a screech so loud it felt straight out of an action movie except it wasn't. This was real, happening right in front of me.

Panic hit me like a brick, but with Xander next to me, I clung to a tiny shred of calm. My hand clutched the seatbelt as I turned to him. "This Wayne's doing? "Could be. Might just be a test.

A test. It clicked instantly. They wanted to see if he was really Hayden.

"What now?" I asked.

"Sit tight. Don't freak out, no matter what," he said.

Uh, yeah, easier said than done.

Something about his words felt... off. "What are you planning?" I asked.

"I'm going to make sure they give up," he replied. Then, he added, "Hold on."

Before I could process, the car jerked violently, slamming me back into the seat. My breath whooshed out as the car screeched to a halt. Xander's door was shoved open.

A crew of guys stormed out of the other car, yanking him out before I could even blink They were beating the crap out of him.

And Xander? He didn't lift a finger to stop them.

I froze. This wasn't adding up. Hayden-Xander-whoever could've dropped them in seconds. Then his words echoed in my head: 'I'm going to make sure they give up. This was his plan. He was letting them do this.

Nope. Not happening. Snapping out of it, I yelled, "Stop! Stop it! Don't hit him!"

My yelling did nothing. They ignored me completely. Heart pounding, I fumbled with my seatbelt, practically falling out of the car as I rushed toward them. I grabbed one guy's arm, desperate to pull him off, but he shoved me down like I weighed nothing. spun around, Hitting the ground stung, but I wasn't about to back down. Scrambling up, I snatched a rock and chucked it at one of the attackers. It smacked him dead-on, and he his glare full of fury..

Before he could charge at me, another guy held him back. They exchanged a look, then glanced at Xander, who was crumpled on the ground, blood pooling around him. Without a word, they turned and sped off in their car.

I ran to Xander, my stomach twisting at the sight of all that blood. My hands hovered, too scared to touch him.

"I'm fine," he rasped, his voice barely a whisper.

Fine? He was bleeding everywhere.

"Are you hurt?" he asked.

I shook my head quickly. "I'm calling the police right now."

"No," he cut me off. "Not the police. Just traffic officers."

I made the call.

While we waited, I crouched next to him, wanting so badly to help him sit up or stop the bleeding, but he wouldn't let me touch him. Instead, he stared at me, his voice soft but steady. "Were you Scared?" How could I not be?

His hand lifted shakily, brushing against my cheek. "You used to be so brave."

My heart skipped. Used to be. He was talking about the past.

Was this it? Was he finally admitting he was Hayden?

This idiot. He couldn't own up to it when things were fine, but now, lying here, beaten and bleeding, he finally let it slip.

I was a mess, caught in a storm of heartbreak and fury. "You used to be so amazing. A few guys like that wouldn't have even touched you before."

To my surprise, he let out a soft laugh.

Somehow, it pulled a faint smile from me too, even as tears blurred my vision.

But the laugh didn't last long, and when it faded, the weight of everything came crashing "back. I couldn't hold it in anymore. All the pain, the longing, the chaos from Hayden's death" to this moment-it spilled out like a dam breaking.

"You idiot," I sobbed, throwing my arms around him. "You absolute bastard. Hayden, you bastard."

"I'm sorry, Kiki," he whispered.

I didn't need his apology. None of it mattered. As long as he was alive, I'd take it.

"Kiki," he said softly, "don't cry. There's something important I need to tell you.

I realized then how hard I was crying.

Yeah, from now on, he was my Hayden again.

I tried to pull myself together. "What is it?"

Hello 715 Hello 715 ""Where did you bury that urn?"

The question blindsided me.

A faint smile tugged at his lips. "Don't worry, I'm not trying to bring up old stuff," he murmured.

He shifted, clearly struggling, like he wanted to get closer. I leaned in, bringing my ear near him. His voice was barely above a whisper, but the weight of his words hit me hard.

"Listen carefully. That urn has a data sync device inside. My phone's synced to it. There's... a lot of critical info in there. If anything ever happens to me, take the device and give it to the authorities."

I froze. The urn... it had been hiding something this huge all along?

It was Yara who gave it to me. Did she know about this, too?

The thought of her made my stomach twist a little. "Why not have Yara deal with this instead of me?" I blurted.

Hayden let out a quiet laugh. "You're jealous right now? Really?"

I huffed, but he kept going. "She and I are just comrades. Nothing romantic, I swear. And besides..."

He took a shaky breath before continuing, "She doesn't know what's inside. She handled the ashes, sure, but that's it."

I frowned. "Then how did you even get the device in there?"

He smirked faintly. "What do you think?"

It didn't take me long to figure it out. "You messed with the urn before it was sealed, didn't you?"

"That's my girl-so sharp," he said with a soft chuckle.

The way he said it so natural, so familiar-was the confirmation I'd been waiting for. He was admitting it. He was Hayden.

A mix of relief and frustration surged through me, and before I knew it, I leaned down and bit him lightly. But when I tasted the faint tang of blood, I froze, guilt washing over me. Instead, I pressed a soft kiss to his cheek and stayed quiet. The ambulance arrived not long after. As they loaded Hayden onto the stretcher, he leaned close. "Don't worry. I'll be fine."

It was supposed to reassure me, but all it did was make the knot in my chest tighten. The second he was out of sight, 1 grated my hand dialed Wayne he started, best I cut him off "It was you, wasn't it?"

"What?" His voice was all fake confusion "Xander was nearly run off the road, then ambushed and beaten. Don't even try to tell me this wasn't your doing," I snapped.

Wayne was silent for a beat before he finally said, "You think I'd do something like that?

"What do you think?" I shot back "Rea, about last night-I was impulsive, okay? I owe you an apology for that. But Xander? I'm grateful to him. He stopped me from doing something I'd regret forever. Why would I want to hurt him?"

His tone was all calm and reasonable, which honestly made me even madder. He apologizing and acting like he had zero beef with Hayden.

I stayed quiet.

"Where is he now?" Wayne finally asked, like he didn't already know.

"In the hospital. Emergency care."

"Is he... seriously hurt?" He still sounded way too clueless.

Thinking about Hayden's whole "let them think I'm weak" plan, I decided to lean in. "Wayne, if anything happens to him, I'll never forgive you."

Then I hung up before he could say another word, staring back at the glowing EMERGENCY sign.

Hayden had told me not to stress, but yeah, sure. Like that was even possible. He'd bled so much. Those guys had gone hard. There was no way he was fine.

Minutes crawled by, my nerves getting worse, until-boom-Wayne and Cole showed up. Like, one after the other, both standing in front of me before I could even blink.

"Rea, I didn't order anyone to go after Xander. I'll prove it to you," Wayne said, still clinging to his story.

Cole chimed in, "I'll have my men look into it too. Anyone messing with someone under my protection? Yeah, that's a problem."

Well, wasn't that a lovely little alliance forming right in front of me.

As Wayne and Cole swapped their little passive-aggressive jabs, the ER doors finally swung open.