Chapter 134 Distaste
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“Gentlemen, you’re being loud.” Ethan gave the two men nearby a flat look as he spoke.
“Sorry, wait–are you… the oldest Brock?” The tall, scrawny one blinked at him like he couldn’t believe it.
“I’m Ethan,” he said.
“You came to this?” The guy rubbed his hands together, trying not to look nervous.
Ethan raised a brow. “Am I not supposed to?”
“No, I mean—of course you can! Just didn’t expect to see you at Ava Morren’s debut. You’re not usually into this kind of stuff.” The guy laughed, scratching the back of his neck.
The shorter man didn’t say a word. He’d never seen Ethan before, but he’d heard enough to know who he was. Now, standing in front of him, he couldn’t even open his mouth.
Ethan stepped closer. “I heard what you said about Ms. Morren. Trash talk like that about a woman’s name? That’s slander. That’s a crime.”
The tall one broke into a cold sweat. He never thought a bit of trashy gossip would get them busted by Ethan himself.
“S–Sorry!”
“I’m not the one you owe that to. Try Ms. Morren. If I were you, I’d be way too embarrassed to stick around.”
Was that him saying they had no shame?
“You’re not gonna report us, right? We were just messing around! It was stupid, yeah. We… just remembered we’ve got somewhere to be. We’ll leave right now.”
Ethan didn’t say a word. His expression was ice–cold.
The shorter guy tugged at his friend’s arm. “We’re sorry, Mr. Brock. We were out of line about Ms. Morren. We’re heading out.”
He pulled his friend toward the exit. His friend complained, “Wait, we’re just leaving? We didn’t even get to see her!”
“Shut
up
and walk!”
Ethan didn’t turn away until they were out of sight. His stare stayed locked on the door, and
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Chapter 134 Distaste
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Finished
even though his face was calm, fury simmered behind his eyes.
Those two losers? Dreaming about Ava? Disgusting.
He looked back at the ballroom. The place was packed. People clustered in little groups, chatting and sipping drinks.
Ethan clenched his jaw and forced the anger in his chest to settle down. “Ethan…” Ryan came up beside him. “It’s crowded tonight. Recognize a bunch of them.”
Ethan kept his voice low. “Mason and the others back yet?”
“Almost. I think. No idea if those three even pulled it off.”
In a narrow alley, Mason, Laurent, and Keith kept out of sight.
Keith’s fingers flew across his handheld. “Done. Hack’s complete. Every drone’s now running our program. Smooth as hell.”
Blue light from the screen washed over Keith’s face, warping his features. The main screen was full of moving code. Another showed tight clusters of red dots–drone signals, all rerouted.
Mason took a slow drag from his cigarette. Then, he looked at Keith. “You’re supposed to be a lab rat. Didn’t peg you as a hacker too.”
“You’re a genius. Me? Academia never agreed with me.”
Mason cracked a grin. He was joking, but his face held zero shame. A little deeper into the alley, a bunch of men in designer suits were knocked out cold. Judging by their outfits, they’d been on their way to the Morren family’s banquet.
Laurent checked his watch. “We should head back.”
Keith packed up quick. “All good. Let’s move.”
The three of them strolled out of the alley without a second thought. The old streetlight above them flickered, then died completely. The air held a faint trace of blood, but the breeze took care of it fast.
Back at the venue, Ryan paced the floor. His face twisted with growing irritation. “What’s taking them so d*mn long?”
He shoved a hand through his hair. “I’m going out there.”
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“No. They’re back.”
Sure enough, the trio had just walked into the ballroom.
Ryan crossed his arms and muttered, “They didn’t even let me help. What the hell.”
They didn’t care who was watching. They walked straight up to the Brock brothers. Without a word, they exchanged glances.
Ethan asked, “All set?”
Mason gave a lazy smile. “You have so little faith in us.”
Ethan looked down at Mason’s suit. Not a wrinkle.
Yet, as Mason got closer, Ethan caught a faint whiff of blood. “Go change. You reek. Don’t bring that smell near her.”
Mason sniffed his sleeve. “D*mn. You got a bloodhound’s nose or what? I don’t smell anything.”
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