“Not bad, man. You had us sweating,” another said. “But now it’s payback time.”

“We’ve been waiting for this!”

“You… what are you—” Zane barely managed to get the words out before fists started to fly.

The screeching of tires broke through the chaos as Tamara slammed her foot on the brakes.

“Zane!” Hadley flung the car door open, her heart racing in her chest.

From her seat, she’d seen it all—Zane was under attack, and this was no ordinary scuffle.

“Hadley, wait up!” Tamara shouted as she chased after her, grabbing her arm. “You can’t just rush in like that! You’ll get hurt!”

“I know, but…” Hadley’s voice trembled as she pointed at the chaos. “We can’t just stand here!”

“You stay back. Let us handle it,” Tamara replied, her voice calm but firm.

Not wanting Hadley to do anything reckless, Tamara held her firmly while signaling behind her with a quick motion.

Four suited men stepped out of a black vehicle following Hadley. They gave a respectful nod to Hadley and Tamara, and then advanced toward Zane with purpose.

“Appreciate it,” Hadley said gently, nodding with a serious expression.

“Back off!” the bodyguards barked.

“Well, look at that. Backup finally showed up?” one of the attackers sneered.

It didn’t take long before the four bodyguards overpowered the thugs, effortlessly dropping them one by one.

Even as they were losing, the men kept spouting threats.

L?tτ чh?ρτ?r? ιn gɑlοv?l?.сo

“Nobody messes with Mr. Scott’s girl!”

“If you know what’s good for you, steer clear of her!”

“Don’t think this is over!”

“You’ll regret this!”

With one last glare, they turned and disappeared without another word.

“Zane!” Hadley shouted his name again, panic still heavy in her voice.

Tamara finally loosened her grip, allowing Hadley to run to Zane. She dropped to her knees beside him, reaching out with shaky hands. “Can you move? Are you hurt?”

“Yeah… I’m fine…” Zane winced and gave his head a slight shake.

Determined not to let Hadley see how much pain he was in, Zane forced a weak grin. The movement only made the aches worse. “Ouch… Fine?”

His face had taken the worst of it—bruises darkening around his eye, blood trickling from his nose.

“Come on. Let’s get you up!” Hadley urged.

“Yeah, yeah.” Zane nodded weakly.

With gentle hands, Hadley lifted him upright. “We’re heading straight to the hospital. I think Colleen might be working tonight.”

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