"Want me toe with you?" Lue rubbed her nose, grabbing her jacket to stand up. A little excitement was just what she needed to clear her head after all that


    drinking.


    "Yes, yes,” the waiter urged, not recognizing Juniper and assuming she was just some random girl. "With Mr. Langley there, it might be easier to negotiate a settlement."


    "A settlement?” Lue scoffed. "I''m not going to negotiate. I''m going to watch the show."


    The waiter stared, confused. "Huh?"


    "No need," Juniper said firmly, ncing at the pile of snacks. "Stay here and pack everything up. I want to leave the second I get back."


    “Fine,” Lue pouted, obediently sitting back down.


    A few minutester, Juniper was escorted to a nearby room. It was filled with men in ck suits. Seated on the main sofa was a middle-aged man smoking a cigar.


    "You''re the one who broke my son''s ribs?" Victor Garner asked, exhaling a cloud of smoke, his entire being radiating menace.


    "Where are they?” Juniper asked, her hands in her pockets as she scanned the room, not seeing Miranda or her husband.


    "Worry about your own neck before you worry about others," Victor sneered.


    As for that couple... they''d apparently tried to make a run for it at the entrance. His men were probably dragging them back as they spoke. He wasn''t going to let anyone who hurt his son get away.


    Soon, the door opened again, and Miranda and Hayden were brought inside.


    "Ms. Payne, are you okay?" Miranda cried out, rushing to Juniper''s side the moment she saw her surrounded by the suited men. “Did these bastards hurt you?"


    "No," Juniper shook her head, her tense nerves rxing as she saw that Miranda and her husband were unharmed. "Are you two alright?"


    Miranda blinked, realizing the girl was worried about them. So beautiful, and so kind!


    "We''re fine, we''re fine!" she said, a huge smile spreading across her face, her affection for the young woman growing by the second.


    "What do you want?" Hayden spoke up, his deep-set eyes sharp and piercing under the brim of his cap. His long, ck coat made him seem even taller and more imposing.


    "What do I want?" Victor repeated, his tone condescending. "My son is in surgery right now. Don''t you think you owe me an exnation?”


    P


    "Hah." A flicker of rage ignited in Hayden''s eyes, his low voiceced with frost, "Your son was harassing my wife, and this young woman bravely stepped in. If anyone should be talking to the police it''s that little punk of yours. And you have the nerve to demand an exnation from us?"


    "So what if he harassed her?" Victor mmed his hand on the table as he stood up, extinguishing his cigar.


    He''d already looked into them. The upants of one room were some yboy named Langley and what he assumed was his sugar baby. Nothing to worry about. The couple was a nk te first-timers at the club with no records, probably just some family with a little money.


    In all of Era City, there were only a handful of people who would dare to touch


    him. For these nobodies to hurt his son? They had a death wish!


    "My son could burn this whole city down and walk away without a scratch," Victor boasted, his arrogance swelling with his anger. “You''ll pay for hurting him. It''s a price you can''t afford."


    “Enough talk,” Juniper cut in, ncing at the time. It was almost ten. Shanley would be getting worried. "I''m the one who hit him. I''ll take full responsibility. Let them go."


    "What are you talking about?"


    Miranda frowned, gripping Juniper''s


    hand tightly, deeply moved. "You did


    this to save me. How could I let you


    leave alone? Don''t worry well all get Out of this just fine."