Chapter 1625

[ 639 words ]

“I’m on my way,” Claire said, rubbing her aching eyes.

She was already deeply sleep-deprived. Since getting back two days ago, she’d only had one decent night of rest.

Tonight, she hadn’t hit the mattress until past midnight, meaning she was operating on barely two hours of sleep.

She slipped out of bed like a ghost. The three girls camped out in her living room snored softly, completely oblivious to her departure.

Claire hadn’t planned on waking Rory and Jace next door either.

But the second she stepped into the hallway, Jace was already waiting.

“How did you know I was leaving?”

Claire stared at him in disbelief.

Even with cameras, was he literally standing guard by the door all night?

Even if he had seen her leave on a monitor, he shouldn’t have been fully dressed and waiting this quickly.

“Your bedroom light flicked on. At this hour, that usually means an emergency. I got dressed and waited.”

Claire couldn’t help but shoot him a thumbs-up.

“You’re genuinely incredible.”

Jace rubbed the back of his neck. “I didn’t wake Rory, though. She’s still recovering from her injuries…”

He didn’t need to finish; Claire completely understood.

“That’s perfectly fine. Let Rory rest.”

“No one’s going to expect us to be moving around at this hour anyway.”

Besides, wasn’t Quinton Graves from The Daybreak Syndicate critically injured?

With Solenia tightening all border controls, no foreign operative was insane enough to try smuggling themselves into the country right now.

“I also called for backup,” Jace added, referring to the security detail Edison had provided.

Since Edison was footing the bill for them, Jace figured there was no reason to let them sleep on the clock.

Besides, they were trusted allies.

Yvonne and Chloe were highly trained bodyguards. Neither was on Rory’s lethal

level individually, but together, they were a solid defense.

More importantly, since they were women, they could stick closer to Claire in certain situations where Jace couldn’t.

Yvonne and Chloe were already geared up and waiting.

They moved quickly and efficiently, packing light for speed.

Truthfully, they still felt immense guilt over Claire’s previous kidnapping.

When the James family assassins showed up, the two bodyguards assumed they were getting fired.

To their surprise, Claire had kept them on the payroll.

Since Claire spent most of her time segurely on campus, they rarely had the chance to prove their worth.

Gontent

Tonight was a rare opportunity to redeem themselves, and they were determined to

be flawless.

Edison was paying them a wildly lucrative salary.

Their base pay was several thousand dollars a month.

Not to mention heavy performance bonuses.

On top of full medical coverage and hazard pay if they ever took a bullet.

With a boss this generous, their financial futures were completely secured.

Due to the recent heightened threat level, Edison had tossed ano massive bonus the way just to guarantee they ran rotating night watches.

Losing sleep was a small price to pay when the compensation was this incredible.

Yvonne and Chloe were more than happy to do the job.

They had taken this gig because they needed the cash. Who wouldn’t want to hustle for a massive payout?

“Yvonne, Chloe, I’m so sorry for dragging you out,” Claire said politely.

“It’s no trouble at all.” It was impossible to dislike a client like her.

A stunning, respectful young boss was a dream to work for.

“I’ll pull the car around,” Jace announced.

They took the elevator straight to the underground garage, with Jace slipping into the driver’s seat.

Claire slid into the back with Chloe, while Yvonne took shotgun.

The midnight drive to the hospital was smooth and silent.

A medical liaison was already waiting for them by the emergency entrance.

Hanson looked like a ghost; he hadn’t slept properly in days.

The Harding family had pulled every string imaginable to save Hillary.

Dr. Sterling Senior was overseas acting as the medical envoy for top government officials.

The Hardings had dragged in every

single physician who knew even a fraction of Sterling’s Thirteen

Needles, but none of them

possessed the skill to execute the technique without Dr. Sterling Senior’s direct supervision.

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