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 home yet. 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, I 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 some random 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 time in 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 same thing. 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 time he 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 time she 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 time more gently. “Ellen? I’m Briar Jennings. I’m a friend of your brother’s. He asked me to check in on you
Finally, after nearly two minutes, a quiet, nervous voice came from 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 come in,” 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 become the 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 came back 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. “Come sit. 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 come for something specific?” she asked softly.
She wanted to ask when her brother would come to 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
I CO Ou
remaining 600 thousand dollars was her payment.
