Chapter 740

I didn’t get my answer. Why? Because I got hauled off by the police. Yep, you heard that right—I was detained.

Now, I’m no legal expert, but I’m pretty sure suspects in an investigation aren’t supposed to end up locked in a cell. Which meant one thing: this had Hayden written all over it. He’d warned me this might happen, so I wasn’t exactly freaking out. If anything, I stayed calm, knowing this was probably his version of “keeping me safe.”

My first visitor? My boss, of course. Ron didn’t waste a second before cracking a joke: “Keira Kay, maybe the police should just take over your paycheck this month.”

Thinking about how little I’d been showing up at work lately, guilt crept in even before Ron made his snarky comment. “Fine. Consider this my verbal resignation. I’ll make it official when I’m out of here.”

Ron waved me off. “I didn’t come here to make you quit. Don’t overthink it.”

I smiled faintly. “I know, but let’s be real—if I were the boss, I’d have fired me weeks ago.”

Ron raised an eyebrow. “You’re power plus–one—how could it be the same?”

There it was. He finally said it outright. And judging by how much Ron probably knew about Hayden-Xander’s real situation, he’d been playing dumb with me all along.

Feeling mischievous, I smirked. “Power plus–one? Oh, you mean Hayden? Yeah, he’s long gone—nothing but ashes now.”

Ron’s expression twitched, barely. “Let’s not pretend, okay? We both know the truth.”

“Truth? What truth?” I said, feigning ignorance.

His face cycled through a whole soap opera of expressions before he leaned in close and mouthed, “Hayden asked me to tell you not to worry. Just stay here for a few days, and it’ll all be fine.”

No kidding. I already knew I’d be stuck here for a bit, but seriously—it was mind-numbing. The last time I got dragged into police drama was thanks to Tanya’s moronic brother. Speaking of Brad, he’d been laying low ever since. Rumor had it, Wayne managed to leash him. The guy was probably working for him now.

Since I had zero plans and Ron was just sitting there, I figured, why not mess with him a little? “So, how’d Hayden spill the tea? Did he pop up in a dream, or do you, like, have a hotline to the afterlife?”

Ron’s lips twitched. “Alright, fine. I shouldn’t have tried to fool you, but Hayden told me to keep my mouth shut. What was I supposed to do?”

The defeated look on his face just fueled my need to keep poking. “Wait, so did Hayden specifically tell you to keep me out of the loop?”

“You and Hayden are back to being all cute and cringe now. Can you chill and stop making my life miserable?”

He had a point. After everything Hayden and I had been through, what even was the point of fighting about this?

Still, since I had Ron cornered, I wasn’t about to let the opportunity slip. “So, spill. How’s Hayden doing now?”

“He’s been discharged.”

“Wait, what? Already? The guy was practically a human punching bag last time I saw him! I wasn’t buying it for a second.”

Ron shrugged. “He’s recovering at home.”

Yeah, right. “Let me guess—‘recovering at home’ means he’s off doing something sketchy, doesn’t it?”

Ron shook his head, but his face? Total giveaway. Liar.

“Ron Shane,” I snapped, “don’t even try to play me. Hayden locked me up here so I wouldn’t get in his way, right? Whatever he’s planning, he doesn’t want me stopping it.”

Sure, he claimed it was to “protect” me, but the timing was too sketchy. I get locked up, and boom—he checks out of the hospital like it’s nothing? Yeah, no. Something was definitely going down.

Ron sighed. “I knew it. You’re too sharp for your own good. Honestly, I shouldn’t have even come. Hayden made me check on you.”

“Then spill. What’s he up to?” My patience was running thin.

He hesitated, then clamped his mouth shut. Finally, he gave in. “Wayne and Cole are smuggling a group of people out of the country; Hayden’s overseeing the whole thing.”

So that was the “cooperation” Hayden mentioned. Guess he really went through with it after all.