Chapter 592

“Haha…” A sinister laugh echoed in response to my question. I knew that laugh. It was Bruno. But why the hell was Jace with him? Could Hernan’s claim about the mastermind actually mean Jace was involved? I’d suspected it before, but now it hit me like a punch. Anger flared, and I demanded coldly, “Where’s Jace? Put him on the phone.”

“Tsk tsk, so fierce. Just like when you play snooker,” Bruno taunted.

I didn’t have the time or patience for games. “Bruno, what do you want?”

“I told you already, didn’t I? Just wanted to play snooker. By the way, your game today was impressive. Very nice,” he sneered.

I should have appreciated the compliment, but coming from him, it made my stomach churn.

“If you want to play, fine. Just put Jace on the phone,” I snapped, my voice sharp. I needed to tell Jace his cheap tricks weren’t going to work anymore. Even if they had him, I wasn’t going back to him.

“Why bother with the phone? Come see him yourself. I’m sure he’d love to see you,” Bruno said, dragging out the pause. Then, he added, “Right, Mr. Johnston?”

“Rea, don’t come here. Don’t worry about me. Call Hayden, get out of the country. Now,” Jace’s voice came through, sounding distant and urgent.

I froze. He wasn’t in on this with Bruno. Bruno had him captive.

Before I could process it, Bruno spoke again, his tone shifting from mockery to something darker. “If you want to see Jace, come to the address I’m sending you. Don’t, and I’ll make sure he takes a little trip to heaven, where he can confess his sins to Jesus for all the ways he’s wronged you.”

“Rea, don’t listen to him. Don’t–” Jace’s voice was suddenly cut off by loud, sickening blows, followed by his pained grunts.

So I’d been wrong. Jace wasn’t the mastermind Hernan had hinted at. Maybe there wasn’t any mastermind at all—just a story Herman had spun to mislead me.

“Bruno, tell them to stop! I’m coming over now!” I shouted into the phone.

“Good. I’ll be waiting for you, beautiful,” Bruno said, then hung up. The sounds of fighting stopped.

As the call ended, my strength drained away, and my hand dropped limply to my side. A message notification buzzed on my phone. It was a location pin.

I stared at it, dazed, but I didn’t go right away. Instead, I dialed Hayden. Jace had told me not to come. If I went, I’d just be another hostage. But I wasn’t about to rush blindly into Bruno’s trap.

Chapter 502

The call rang endlessly, and my frustration grew. Then I realized I didn’t need Hayden specifically—I could call Steve. Just as I was about to hang up, Hayden picked up.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, already knowing it was bad.

“Jace’s been kidnapped by Bruno. He wants me to go to him, and he sent me a location,” I explained, forcing my voice to stay calm.

“Send me the location. Do not go there. Stay put,” Hayden ordered.

A lump formed in my throat. I couldn’t shake the sound of Jace being beaten, and I was scared that if Hayden confronted Bruno, it could make things worse; Bruno might be hurting Jace already.

“Hayden, we’re all set. Everything’s handled here,” Yara’s voice interrupted, clear and confident like she was right beside him.

The words I’d been about to say stuck in my throat, and I went silent.

Hayden’s voice came back. “Don’t worry. I’ll get him out.”