Chapter 336
Xander glanced down at the dog lying on the ground.
“Darn girl,” he muttered under his breath. Was she treating him like some kind of fool?
“Yeah, we’ve been running around quite a bit,” Shawn admitted, slightly out of breath.
That girl, Stella, what on earth did Ronald feed her? She actually knew how to play the reverse psychology card and buy herself some time.
Xander turned abruptly. “We have to catch up.”
Avery chimed in, “She’s still sticking to the back roads.”
“So we’re really going to chase her on foot?” Shawn complained, clearly exasperated.
Xander ignored him and started moving forward with purpose.
Shawn grumbled to himself, frustrated, “This girl really wants to wear our legs out, huh?”
Xander shot him a glance, his eyes cold as ice.
“Alright, alright, just venting here.”
Why was Xander still so protective of Stella when she didn’t even seem to care about him at all? Shawn couldn’t help but feel a headache coming on as he thought about Xander’s feelings for her. After all, it was Ronald he had to contend with for this girl.
“Don’t you even resent her a bit? We’ve still got Yorick back in Portis City,” Shawn mentioned, trying to reason with Xander.
Apart from Ronald, Stella had been engaged to Yorick for two years.
Xander paused, fists clenched. The air around him seemed to drop several degrees.
“Yorick’s a nobody,” Xander spat, then continued striding away, leaving Shawn to catch up.
Shawn’s mouth twitched in disbelief. Compared to Xander and Ronald, Yorick indeed was insignificant.
Watching Xander’s retreating back, Shawn groaned, “My legs are gonna give out.”
That girl! If Xander managed to bring her back, she’s gonna face some real consequences.
As Avery passed by, he offered, “She’s using the path close to the highway this time.”
Shawn perked up. Did this mean they could finally use the car?
Stella was careful not to use the phone’s flashlight too much; the phone she’d found in the study was running low on battery. She needed to conserve what little power she had left.
The moonlight was just enough to illuminate the path, and thankfully, her eyesight was sharp. She let out a soft sigh. Her legs were tired, but she couldn’t afford to stop.
The path she took ran parallel to the highway, giving her a place to hid if Xander caught up with her.
Her phone buzzed with a call from an unknown number. Without hesitation, she hung up.Seeing the number, she knew it had to be Xander tracking her.
Quickly, she sent her location to Ronald. She knew this might reveal her location, but she also knew Ronald was somewhere in Patrina. He needed a rough idea of where she was.
The phone buzzed again.
It was Ronald this time. Stella answered, “Hey.”
1/2
15.20 m
Chapter 33
“I’m almost there.”
“Okay.”
She spotted headlights approaching in the distance, but at the same time, another set of lights appeared from behind.
Front and back!
Xander and Ronald?
No way! Hadn’t she led Xander off her trail? Did he somehow catch up with the dog?
If Xander and Ronald ran into each other, things could turn ugly fast.
Stella ducked into a nearby bush and quickly dialed Ronald’s number. He picked up almost immediately.
“I’m about a kilometer from your location.” ”
Stella’s heart skipped a beat.
“That’s really close,” she whispered.
“Xander might be on my tail. If you didn’t bring enough backup, you should…” Before she could finish, the sound of screeching brakes interrupted her.
Stella’s breath caught in her throat. She whispered urgently into the phone, “Did you just brake?”
“No.”
Stella’s heart sank. “Oh no, this is bad.”
If it wasn’t Ronald, it had to be Xander.
“I’ll hide first.”
She didn’t dare speak further, quickly hanging up and turning off her phone’s screen. Holding her breath, she remained hidden in the bushes.
Through the dense foliage, she saw a car door open nearby.
Several tall, imposing bodyguards stepped out.
Shawn was the first to emerge, followed by Xander, who flicked a cigarette from his fingers.
In the darkness, standing in the glow of the headlights, Xander’s tall, commanding figure seemed both cool and imposing.
Especially those long legs of his–they added to his unyielding, menacing presence.
