Don't Be a Tease, Mr. Blackwood

Chapter 141: Chapter 141: Ethan, Will You Protect Me?

"Miss Halloway, are you all right?" Leon Grant ignored Alaric Blackwood and walked straight to the hospital bed.

Seeing the tear tracks on Nina Halloway’s face, he pulled a white handkerchief from his breast pocket and offered it to her.

"Don’t cry. You won’t be as beautiful with swollen eyes."

Nina Halloway glanced at the handkerchief the man offered. Just as she reached out to take it, Alaric Blackwood grabbed her by the wrist.

Alaric Blackwood pulled a tissue from the bedside table, roughly wiped her face to clear away the tears, and asked Leon Grant with a cold expression, "What are you doing here?"

"I’m the one who called the police for Miss Halloway."

"You’re the fisherman?"

Leon Grant scoffed. "I just happened to be fishing by the river with my grandfather when I heard Miss Halloway shout..."

"Why did you ’just happen’ to be there?"

Alaric Blackwood cut him off. His suspicion, far from diminishing, grew stronger. He felt it was all too much of a coincidence.

More importantly, based on Nina Halloway’s account, he could tell the kidnappers hadn’t intended to seriously harm her. Instead, they had killed that irresponsible wireman. It was hard for him not to suspect Leon Grant.

’That psychotic freak is definitely capable of doing something like this for Nina Halloway.’

"It’s not that I ’just happened’ to be there. I accompany my grandfather to fish there every week. You can look it up if you don’t believe me," Leon Grant explained with a half-smile.

His almond-shaped eyes narrowed as he looked with a smile at the woman on the bed. "Miss Halloway, it seems your younger brother here holds a great deal of hostility toward me."

At this, Nina Halloway tugged on the corner of Alaric Blackwood’s shirt. "Behave yourself."

After all, Leon Grant had helped her by contacting the police.

The small wooden boat she was on had no oars, so she couldn’t paddle to shore. It was Leon Grant who had taken off his jacket, dove into the river, and swam behind the boat. Pushing it with both hands, he’d gotten her and the vessel back to the riverbank.

Although she felt it was unnecessary—she could have just waited for the police—he had already taken matters into his own hands and jumped into the water. There was nothing more she could say, so she could only let him exert himself pushing the boat.

"In any case, all that matters is that Miss Halloway is safe."

As Leon Grant spoke, he took one of Nina Halloway’s hands and, like a gentleman, bent down, intending to place a kiss on its back.

Before Nina Halloway could react, Alaric Blackwood had already grabbed the back of Leon Grant’s collar and yanked him away from her side.

The man staggered, losing his composure as Alaric yanked him, and nearly fell to the floor.

"Alaric, don’t be so rude."

Nina Halloway’s tone grew sterner, but Alaric Blackwood paid her no heed. He dragged Leon Grant out and threw him out of the hospital room.

Sophie Shaw rushed over with Anne and Ethan Austin. Just as they got out of the elevator, they saw Alaric Blackwood throwing a man out of the room.

She had seen a picture of the man in his file. It was Leon Grant.

Seeing Alaric Blackwood’s intense animosity toward Leon Grant, she walked over, gave Leon an indifferent glance, and then took Alaric’s arm, following him back into the hospital room.

Anne and Ethan Austin followed them in.

Seeing Nina Halloway sitting up in the hospital bed, looking fine aside from being a bit pale, the siblings breathed a sigh of relief.

Anne gave her brother a look. Ethan Austin shuffled to the bedside with his head hung low, not daring to look directly at Nina Halloway’s face. He kept his head down and said, "I’m sorry. I failed at my job. I promise this will never happen again. If it does, you can fire me on the spot."

Nina Halloway studied him carefully and noticed the dark circles under his eyes. He clearly hadn’t slept all night. ’He must have been worried about me,’ she thought. After a moment, she reached out and took Ethan Austin’s hand.

The soft, gentle touch felt like an electric shock to Ethan Austin. His heart tightened, and he instinctively wanted to pull his hand back, but before he could, Nina Halloway squeezed it tighter.

"I can tell you weren’t very enthusiastic about being my personal bodyguard. If you don’t want this job, I really won’t force you."

"I’ll do it."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes. This time, I’m serious."

Nina Halloway stared at his face and said worriedly, "I think I have a stalker. Ethan, will you protect me properly?" ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

"I will."

Ethan Austin’s unhesitating, firm response put her somewhat at ease.

"Good. You’re forgiven."

Nina Halloway pulled Ethan Austin down to sit on the edge of the bed. The memory of what happened in the basement still made her heart pound with fear.

She burrowed straight into his arms.

The big lug’s body stiffened abruptly. He looked down at the woman nestled against his chest as his heart went THUMP-THUMP-THUMP.

"You’re a lot like the Tibetan Mastiff I used to have."

Ethan Austin: "..."

"Huge, sturdy, and makes me feel really safe."

Nina Halloway muttered under her breath, nuzzling her cheek against the man’s chest.

Ethan Austin sat ramrod straight, frozen, not daring to move an inch.

He could smell the fragrance of Nina Halloway’s hair and feel the softness of her chest pressing against him as she held him.

His heart was beating so fast, it felt like it was about to leap out of his throat.

No one in the room had anticipated a scene like this.

Especially Anne.

At first, she had just wanted to get her brother a better-paying job. She never expected Nina Halloway to be so... dependent on him?

’Is it because my brother’s eyes look like Jaden’s?’

’Is she using my brother as a substitute?’

Anne’s mind ran wild, her thoughts drifting into outer space. An image even flashed through her head: Nina Halloway in a snow-white wedding dress, entering a solemn church, walking down the red carpet step by step toward Ethan Austin.

"Holy shit!"

she exclaimed.

Seeing Alaric Blackwood and Sophie Shaw turn to look at her in unison, she quickly clapped a hand over her mouth, telling herself not to let her imagination run wild.

’With Nina Halloway’s status, how could she possibly be interested in Ethan?’ fгeewebnovёl.com

Her outburst didn’t affect Nina Halloway. The woman remained draped in Ethan Austin’s arms like an invertebrate, her slender arms wrapped tightly around his waist.

"What was that ’holy shit’ about?" Sophie Shaw asked, looking at her with utter confusion.

She shook her head so vigorously it was like a rattle. "Nothing."

"Anne, you’re being a little weird..."

"How am I being weird?"

Sophie Shaw pulled her out of the room. Glancing at Nina Halloway nestled in Ethan Austin’s arms, she whispered to Anne, "Are you upset because Nina is hugging Ethan?"

"A little, I guess."

"Nina was just kidnapped, so she’s probably just scared. I doubt she has any other kind of feelings for Ethan."

Anne gave an awkward laugh. "Even if she does have feelings for him, it wouldn’t be the worst thing. It’s better than Ethan pining after a married woman."

Sophie Shaw froze. "A married woman?"

Realizing she’d let it slip, Anne quickly clapped a hand over her own big mouth.

"Ethan is pining after a married woman?"

Anne shook her head, keeping her mouth covered, refusing to say another word.

Alaric Blackwood, who was standing by the door of the hospital room, happened to overhear their entire conversation.

’Just as I thought,’ he mused. ’I knew Ethan had feelings for Sophie.’

It takes a man to know a man. The way Ethan Austin looked at Sophie Shaw wasn’t how a younger brother looks at an older sister; it was how a man looks at a woman.

Nina Halloway had made it through this ordeal shaken but unharmed. He had originally planned to fire Ethan Austin on the spot. But seeing that Nina wanted to keep him, and that Ethan really did have designs on Sophie, he suddenly had a change of heart. He wanted to lock Ethan down by his sister’s side.