The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Before Anna could even speak, she saw a motorcycle racing towards them from behind, the rider

wielding a baseball bat. As it closed in, the bat smashed against the rear car window with a vicious

swing.

Anna shielded herself with her arm and yelled, “Hit the gas, now!”

Kenneth snapped to attention and floored the accelerator, speeding forward.

The car was a top-of-the-line sports model, yet to their astonishment, the motorcycle clung to their tail,

relentlessly hammering at the window.

Although Aaron had learned a bit of self-defense from Mark, he was no match for actual combat. He

could only huddle behind his school bag, yelling at Kenneth, “Can’t you go any faster?!”

“This is as fast as she goes, dammit!” Kenneth was more terrified of the glass shards flying towards

them than anything else; they could ruin his good looks!

Anna tried to open the door to fight back, but it was so badly bent it would not budge.

With a powerful kick, she shattered the car door window, steadied herself by grabbing the grab handle,

and leaned out. Her lithe body delivered a kick that sent the pursuing motorcyclist tumbling into the

roadside greenery, bike and all.

Kenneth was dumbstruck for a moment. “You could’ve just told me to retract the roof; this is a

convertible!”

Anna’s lips twitched with irritation, unable to comprehend how their team leader could have such an

idiotic brother.

Aaron cursed and said, “Well, aren’t you going to open it now?”

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“Forget it,” Anna said, leaning forward to push Kenneth’s head to the side while she grabbed the

steering wheel. “Just drive!”

Kenneth, reacting instinctively, slammed on the gas, and Anna executed a smooth right-hand drift.

They had just rounded the corner when they heard the sound of another motorcycle crashing at the

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bend they’d left, with someone on the ground.

“Damn, how many more are there?” Kenneth had not even seen the other motorcycle in pursuit.

Anna, too annoyed to reply, turned to Aaron. “Send Ms. Vivienne our location!”

Aaron quickly took out his phone and called Vivienne, informing her of their situation and location.

The line was as chaotic as their own surroundings. “Handle it yourselves. Meet at the foot of Heaven’s

Gate Mountain in 6 miles!” Vivienne hung up without another word.

Heaven’s Gate Mountain was a landmark in Rivenwood, situated well beyond the city’s outer ring.

And that was precisely where she was headed now.

“Vivienne, take a left and pick me up,” Percival commanded as he opened her car door and nimbly

hopped out.

Knowing exactly what to do, Vivienne spun the steering wheel sharply to the left, skidding the car

around to stop right beside Percival.

By then, Percival had already kicked two pursuers off their motorcycles and climbed into the car.

There was a brief silence. Gripping the handle tightly, Percival’s face was dark with anger.

No gun. It was a terrible feeling.

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He had been suspended from duty, his gun and badge confiscated. Faced with this sudden attack,

there was no time to notify the Vanguard Agency.

He finally got a moment to call Thomas, instructing him to rendezvous at Heaven’s Gate Mountain

without bringing any team members.

Vivienne glanced at the wreckage of several motorcycles behind them.

Just ten minutes earlier, on their way to meet Anna, several motorcycles had suddenly appeared, riders

brandishing bats and charging at them.

This had been a premeditated ambush, not a tail. Otherwise, neither she nor Percival would have

missed it.

The real question was how these ambushers knew where to find them, especially when she had only

learned of the location herself at the last minute.

Vivienne’s piercing gaze flashed with icy determination.

There was a traitor within the Nine Mystics Society!

Only a handful of people knew her real-time whereabouts: Anna, Matthew, and the man she had

summoned near.

After their last botched operation at Eastlake Bay, she had suspected a leak.

At first, she thought it might be someone from the Vanguard Agency, but now it seemed like the Nine

Mystics Society had its own share of trouble.

The Nine Mystics Society was her creation; she had never anticipated betrayal!

She had trusted every member of the Nine Mystics Society implicitly. Who could it be?

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Matthew’s call came in just then, and the sound of an explosion was audible on the other end.

“Vivienne, we’ve been ambushed. Several are hurt. How’s your situation?”

“Take care of yourself.”

“Alright. I’ve sent Master Miller to your location. I’ll handle this mess and head over.”

After hanging up, Vivienne tossed her phone to Percival. “Matthew’s in trouble, too.”

Percival opened the phone and located Quincy’s secure contact details.

Quincy responded quickly. [No idea. I was following the real-time location, too.]

Percival was certain there were no trackers on him or Vivienne, and their phones were not bugged.

That meant the leak had to be with Anna’s group.

He immediately messaged Anna, [Turn off all communication devices!]

He followed up with a string of codes, intelligible only to Anna.

Upon receiving the message, Anna instructed Aaron and Kenneth to shut off their phones and then

pulled up a location on the car’s navigation system. “Head here.”

Kenneth was bewildered, utterly confused by what was happening.

“I thought we were headed to Heaven’s Gate Mountain!”

Aaron and Anna snapped in unison, “Just go where you’re told!”

Rubbing his head in confusion, Kenneth stopped asking questions.

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For the rest of the journey, Anna fended off their pursuers, but the road eventually cleared.

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She slumped into the back seat, breathing raggedly in the cramped space.Books Chapters Are Daily

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It was only then that Kenneth found the chance to ask, “Who are these people after? Us or you?”

He was a scion of the Ellington family, no stranger to the odd kidnapping or hostage crisis, but this

spectacle was on a whole other level. To the uninformed, it might have seemed like a Hollywood

blockbuster in the making!

Anna pulled back her untamed locks into a tight ponytail, her black-framed glasses lost at some point,

revealing her bright, sparkling eyes.

“I haven’t got a clue,” she admitted.

Kenneth glanced in the rear-view mirror, and his heart skipped a beat, nearly causing him to swerve off

the road!

Aaron, gripping the handle, asked, “Are you sure you’ve got this?”

Kenneth refocused on the road, “Sure, I’ve got this. Totally got this!”

The ‘totally got this’ Kenneth finally managed to steer their car to the designated rendezvous point half

an hour later.

Back at Heaven’s Gate Mountain, the aroma of a barbecue street fair wafted through the air.

Vivienne and Percival had arrived twenty-five minutes earlier and were already indulging in their fair

share of grilled delights.

Anna’s face was a mask of exasperation upon witnessing the scene.

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She had imagined that Vivienne and Percival would at least be catching their breath, if not as

disheveled as she was.

Instead, the pair seemed utterly unaffected by the day’s events, happily snacking away!

After spotting the trio disembarking from the vehicle, Vivienne generously offered a lamb skewer.

“You’ve had a rough one. Have a bite!”

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