Don't Be a Tease, Mr. Blackwood
Chapter 172: Deep-seated Resentment for Her
Be that as it may, Officer Young didn’t want this getting back to Leon Grant. He reminded Jaden, "You’d better be careful. Keep your mouth shut."
Jaden couldn’t swallow his anger and turned on Ethan Austin. "Why hasn’t this bodyguard been fired yet?"
Ethan said nothing.
Nina Halloway retorted, "Ethan’s been working very hard lately. Why should he be fired?"
"It was his carelessness that got you kidnapped in the first place. Don’t be so quick to forget."
"Ethan knows he made a mistake."
"A leopard can’t change its spots."
Jaden’s tone was aggressive and sharp.
Ethan held his tongue, refusing to stoop to Jaden’s level.
A brief silence fell over the hospital room.
Soon, Alaric Blackwood, who had been quiet the whole time, spoke up, teasing Jaden. "Since you know you’re the Masked Man’s target, why not offer yourself up as bait? Help the police catch him. What do you say?"
Jaden jolted, so enraged by Alaric Blackwood’s words that he nearly died on the spot.
"Bro, how much do you hate me?"
’He actually wants me to be bait for a psycho serial killer.’
’The guy’s a psycho.’
’He’s dangerous!’
’One wrong move and I’m dead meat.’
"Jaden’s got the courage of a mouse. I say we forget it," Evan Ford said, finding the idea inappropriate. He recalled Jaden sitting in the elevator, his face deathly pale, looking scared out of his wits. "He got tased by the Masked Man today," Evan added grimly. "He was almost fried."
Nina Halloway’s heart sank. She looked over at Jaden. "Did you get examined?"
"I did."
"What did the doctor say?"
"Nothing serious."
"Where did the Masked Man tase you?"
Nina Halloway got up, moved closer to the hospital bed, and reached her hand toward Jaden.
As he watched her hand reach slowly toward him, Jaden felt a strange sense of revulsion. The thought that this psycho killer was targeting him entirely because of Nina Halloway made him instinctively recoil from her.
"Let me see."
Before Nina Halloway’s outstretched hand could touch him, it was suddenly slapped away with great force.
SMACK!
A red mark appeared on the back of her hand. On her fair, delicate skin, the spot instantly began to swell, visible to the naked eye.
Nina Halloway winced in pain and froze, staring at Jaden in utter shock.
She hadn’t expected such a violent reaction.
"Don’t touch me. We’ve broken up. You need to respect some boundaries."
Jaden had barely finished his warning when he took a punch to the face.
Ethan had thrown the punch.
He laughed in fury. "You’re just a bodyguard. You dare to lay a hand on me?"
"You laid a hand on my boss, so don’t expect me to be polite."
"You—"
Infuriated, Jaden threw off his blanket, ready to brawl with Ethan.
Seeing this, Evan Ford stepped forward to stop them.
Alaric Blackwood also walked over, helping Evan Ford press Jaden back onto the bed.
"Why are you stopping me?"
"That kid hit me first, are you blind?"
...
He howled, his eyes glaring crimson like a madman as he struggled with all his might.
Alaric Blackwood held him down forcefully, a tearing pain shooting through the wound on his back.
His brows furrowed, he pressed the call button by the headboard. A doctor was summoned and gave Jaden a sedative.
After Jaden’s emotions stabilized and he gradually fell asleep, Alaric Blackwood breathed a sigh of relief.
He was in so much pain he broke out in a cold sweat.
Just then, the bodyguards Jaden had arranged arrived. Two entered the room, while two others stood guard outside the door.
Officer Young glanced thoughtfully at the downcast Nina Halloway, thought for a moment, and decided to tell her why he had called her here.
"Miss Halloway, the Masked Man killed Sean Wright for your sake, and he attempted to kidnap Jaden because he was a scumbag to you. I believe the Masked Man is hiding somewhere close to you. He has an almost pathological obsession with you."
A sense of unease settled in Nina Halloway’s heart.
’Why does this sound like he’s describing Leon Grant?’
Officer Young’s phone chimed. He had received a message from a colleague.
After reading the message, he sighed. "We went through the surveillance footage from Jaden’s apartment and identified the car the Masked Man used to enter and leave the building. Unfortunately, it had cloned plates. The car was driven to the suburbs, far from any surveillance cameras, so we can’t track it any further."
"Also, Leon Grant is definitely a suspect. We’ll have people keeping him under surveillance. Miss Halloway, you need to be careful. If possible, please continue to stay in contact with Leon Grant. If you find any proof of his guilt, our people will arrest him immediately."
Nina Halloway nodded.
Even though this was somewhat dangerous, she had to cooperate with the police. Sean Wright had already lost his life because of her—a precious human life—and she felt responsible for it.
The matter between her and Sean Wright had been privately resolved five years ago. She truly never imagined that after all these years, Sean Wright would meet such a devastating end because of her.
"Also, Sean Wright’s family has come to the station to cause a scene several times..."
"I can compensate them."
"Alright, I’ll find some time to talk with them."
Officer Young and his two colleagues left first.
The hospital room grew quiet.
Nina Halloway stared at the unconscious Jaden on the bed, gently rubbing the back of her swollen red hand. He had used so much force, and she could feel the deep resentment he held for her.
Even though they couldn’t be lovers or husband and wife anymore, she didn’t want Jaden to get hurt in any way because of her.
’I need to be more careful when lives are at stake.’
She looked at Alaric Blackwood. "Could you arrange for a few bodyguards to protect Jaden secretly?"
Alaric Blackwood nodded.
Noticing he didn’t look well, Nina Halloway asked worriedly, "Are you sick?"
"No."
"Why are you sweating so much?"
Seeing her walk toward him, Alaric Blackwood immediately gave Ethan a look, signaling him to take her away.
Nina Halloway had only taken two steps forward when a pair of strong arms scooped her up.
Ethan had swept her up into his arms.
"Put on your mask and hat. We’re going back."
With that, Ethan strode toward the door.
With one arm supporting her legs, he hooked the doorknob with his free hand, pulled the door open, and stepped out sideways, still carrying her.
"Should we go too?" Evan Ford asked Alaric Blackwood.
"Let’s go."
...
Back at the old residence, Alaric Blackwood went straight to his room upstairs and collapsed onto the soft, large bed.
He took out his phone, hesitated for a moment, and then made a video call to Sophie Shaw.
Soon, the call connected.
Sophie Shaw’s flushed face appeared on the screen. She was holding a can of beer and made a toasting gesture to the camera.
"Hubby, cheers."
Alaric Blackwood stared, speechless.
’Is her fever gone?’
’And she’s run off to her friend’s place to drink.’
"Who said you could drink?"
Sophie Shaw pressed her face close to the phone, her nearly beet-red face almost filling the entire screen. "I’m not allowed to drink?"
"You had a fever yesterday..."
"That was yesterday, wasn’t it?"
Alaric was at a loss for words.
’One day without supervision and she’s already running wild.’
The thought of him staying at the old residence for a week—leaving Sophie to her own devices for seven whole days—made him wonder what kind of trouble she would get into.
He even worried that she’d wake up and go to the office without eating breakfast...
’We definitely need a housekeeper, just in case.’
"Let’s hire a housekeeper," he said.
Sophie Shaw’s eyes lit up. "Really?"
"Mhm, really."
"That’s great!"
She put down her beer and looked at Alaric Blackwood on the screen. "Let’s ask Lawson to come back. I really like her."