Don't Mess with the Girl with Candy novel Chapter 631

“Spend ‘some time’ with me?” The key phrase snapped Juniper out of her relaxed state, her expression turning serious.

“Yeah,” Ebony Fox mumbled, forcing a slight smile. “I’m with the Huntsman Institute. It’s… complicated. I can’t just walk away yet.”

“How complicated?” Juniper’s temper flared. “Are they going to hold you captive for the rest of your life?”

Ebony Fox pressed her lips together, unsure how to explain the situation to her little sister, nor did she want her to know the full truth. It was far more complex than she could imagine.

“It’s fine,” Ebony Fox said, ruffling her sister’s hair gently. “It’s hot and dusty out here. You should go before you get heatstroke.”

Juniper nodded, watching as her sister walked back toward the training grounds. A moment later, she pulled out her phone and dialed Luella. “Are you free? I need you to look into the Huntsman Institute for me.”

“The Huntsman Institute?” Luella, who had been sound asleep, shot upright in bed, her hair a mess. “Don’t tell me your cover’s blown and they’ve put a hit out on you?”

After all, the stunt Juniper had pulled was audacious. If Luella were in charge of the Institute, she’d hunt her to the ends of the earth.

“No,” Juniper replied, her voice low and somber. “I think my sister is hiding something from me.”

“Your sister?” Luella scratched at her bird’s nest of hair, her mind still foggy with sleep.

“It seems the Huntsman Institute won’t let her go,” Juniper explained, sitting on her scooter with one long leg propping it up. The sun beat down on her, but an icy chill emanated from her that was far more daunting.

“Why did you invest in the Neverfall Navigators?” Juniper was curled up on the sofa, her head resting on Shanley’s lap as she played a game on her phone.

After she had left, the team’s reputation, while still intact, had taken a hit. Several companies had colluded to sideline them, hoping to drive their contract price down to rock bottom. But at the critical moment, a gaming company under the Schwartz Group had stepped in and signed them for triple the market rate. And all these years, even when the team’s performance wasn’t stellar, the Schwartz Group had never terminated the contract.

“Hmm?” Shanley, who was about to feed her a piece of fruit, paused. A faint smile touched his lips. “Because of a woman.”

Juniper’s chewing stopped abruptly, a dangerous glint entering her eyes.

Because of what? A woman? An old flame? What the hell was that supposed to mean?