chapter1209

By the time Foreman and his men arrived, the scene was pure chaos.

He saw Leonard, alright-battered and broken.

He could have finished Leonard right then and there. But when he saw Leonard's men scrambling in another direction, he knew they were after Joshua.

After a moment's hesitation, Foreman made his choice: he would go after Joshua. Leonard was a broken man; killing him would be child's play. Joshua, however, was a different story. He was by Stella's side day in and day out, and Foreman had come to despise him even more than Leonard. He was a thorn in Foreman's side, an obstacle that had to be removed.

Joshua had made a quick retreat. The explosion had thrown the Lerman family into disarray, and with Leonard unconscious, his men were leaderless. They never even got close to catching him. Foreman and his team had slipped in during the confusion, but they'd lost Joshua's trail as well.

Just as Foreman was about to give up the chase, he spotted them-impossibly- in the Lerman family's garden.

Foreman stared in disbelief. After raising all that hell, shouldn't Joshua be halfway across the state by now? But the madman hadn't fled. Instead, he was in the middle of the enemy's garden, picking a flower. *What kind of sane person does that?*

What infuriated Foreman the most was that he had tipped Leonard off, given him time to prepare. And still, Leonard hadn't managed to lay a single scratch on Joshua. The man had walked into the lion's den, and Leonard couldn't even finish the job. *Useless,* he thought.

Without a second thought, Foreman raised his weapon and fired. The gunshot drew the attention of Leonard's men, so he couldn't linger. He saw his bullet hit its mark before melting back into the shadows, leaving him uncertain of Joshua's ultimate fate.

For the past two days, Stella's phone

had been pinging at the hospital. She rarely used it for anything but work so Foreman had no way finding out what was going on. So this morning, he'd called herunder the pretext of business, asking to see her. Stella had told him that Joshua was in the hospital and she couldn't leave his side. s

Bodyguards got injured; it was part of the job. Foreman had his own. But it suddenly dawned on him that in all the time he'd known him, Joshua had almost never been hurt.

When Foreman reached the hospital room, he was surprised to find Stella wasn't there. Joshua was alone, lying still and silent in the bed, apparently fast asleep.

In a vase on the nightstand sat a single, vibrant rose. Foreman's expression.darkened. He recognized

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it instantly. It was the same one Joshua had plucked from the garden. The reason it had stuck in his memory was Shadbeen

the most beautiful bloom in the entire garden, the kind you couldn't forget even if you tried. s

His gaze shifted from the rose to Joshua's sleeping form, and a cold fury settled in

his eyes. The man was infuriatingly lucky. He'd survived Leonard's ambush, and

now it seemed Foreman's own bullet hadn't been enough to kill him either.

He knew Stella better than anyone. Joshua had been hurt on a mission for her, which meant she would be overwhelmed with guilt and would personally nurse him back to health It's exactly what she'd done for him, once upon a time. Once Joshua recovered, his stock with Stella

would rise even higher. Getting rid of him then would be nearly

impossible. s

At that thought, raw killing intent flashed in Foreman's eyes. He moved slowly, deliberately, toward the bed.

Just as he reached the bedside, the man in the bed-the man who was supposed

to be asleep-opened his eyes. Joshua's gaze met Foreman's, and a slow,

knowing smile spread across his lips.

"You really want to kill me, don't you?"