Ste fell silent. Looking back now, she realized Foreman''s story was full of holes. He imed he never saw Joshua, but Joshua had been lying right there in the heart of the fire. There was no way he could have missed him. She couldn''t understand why Foreman hated Joshua so much enough to want him dead. This wasn''t the Foreman she thought she knew.


    Harold ced a calming hand on Jake''s arm. "Ms. Cameron," he said to Ste, his voice softening, "I know Foreman has done a lot for you. But no matter how much you owed him, you shouldn''t have had to repay that debt with Joshua''s life. If you had, how would you be any different from Haynes, who made you suffer for what happened with Rachel?"


    Ste nodded slowly. "I understand."


    Harold''s expression rxed. "This time," he exined, "Joshua''s n was to draw Gibson''s attention while we moved in to disarm the explosives. Gibson hadid traps everywhere, intent on killing both Joshua and Keen."


    Gibson had never nned on letting Keen go. Killing Joshua was his primary goal, but killing Keen was his way of making Ste suffer the same loss he had. Sometimes, destroying what someone loves is a more profound revenge than simply killing them.


    Jake added, "We also discovered that Gibson had positioned snipers to watch the warehouse. Their orders were to shoot anyone who made it out alive."


    After the first shot, Harold and Jake had pinpointed the sniper''s location and neutralized him before he could fire again. That first shot was the one that had hit Foreman.<fn558d> This update is avable on FιndNovel</fn558d>


    With a clearer picture of what had happened, Ste returned to her vigil outside the operating room.


    Once she was out of earshot, Jake turned to Harold. "Why did you tell her all that?"


    "We work for Mr. Gardner," Harold replied. "We can''t reveal his identity without his permission. But he''s sacrificed so much for Ste. It''s


    time she knew at least some of the truth."


    At that moment, the benefit of Joshua''s hidden identity was starkly clear. As long as his enemies didn''t know who he was, they couldn''te after him while he was vulnerable.


    "You''re right," Jake conceded. "Whatever happens, we have to make sure Mr. Gardner is protected while he recovers. We can''t let anything else happen."


    ***


    After learning that Keen was out of danger, Foreman left the hospital He had no intention of checking on Joshua If Joshua died, he deserved it. If he lived, he was just lucky.


    His true purpose for leaving was to see someone else. Whether Joshua lived or


    died, he had to deal with Gibson before anyone else had the chance.


    Gibson was being held in a secure underground cell, currently watched over by Foreman''s men With Ste and taynespletely focused ong Joshua and Keen, Foreman Slipped away to see him.


    At the sound of footsteps, Gibson barely cracked open his eyes before closing them again. "You a friend of his?"


    Gibson had been well-prepared to kill Joshua, but he had underestimated his opponent. Joshua had anticipated his every move.