Tempted Trapped and Too Late to Run novel Chapter 576

She didn’t snap out of it until a voice whispered in her ear.

“What are you staring at?”

She lowered her lashes, repeating softly, “Dylan, please. Just let me go back for a bit.”

She meant it—she needed to make sure Z was okay. She couldn’t let Walter’s anger land on him.

Dylan went silent. He always did this whenever she brought up Z—like it was some kind of trigger.

Clara took a deep breath. The question had been on her mind for so long, she finally just blurted it out.

“Do you really hate Z?”

With everyone else, Dylan always seemed untouchable, like nothing anyone did could ever bother him. But Z was different. Dylan’s whole vibe shifted whenever Z came up—even the corners of his mouth would drop lower than usual.

Clara had never heard of Dylan hating anyone. How could he possibly have beef with Z?

She watched his face, searching for the tiniest hint of emotion.

What she didn’t expect was how honest he was.

“Yeah. I really do.”

Clara was speechless for a moment.

A weird, hot anger bubbled up inside her, and she let out a short, almost bitter laugh.

“Why? What’s he ever done to you?”

Z mostly kept to himself. He was always alone, except for the occasional shift at Nightshade. He barely talked to anyone. If someone didn’t like him, it definitely wasn’t Z’s fault.

Clara, when she cared about someone, wasn’t exactly logical.

Dylan started to wheel himself away, and she rushed after him.

“Dylan.”

Normally, she’d call him Mr. Dylan, only using his first name if things were urgent. But right now, it slipped out naturally, like she’d said it a thousand times before.

She stopped, confused, as fragments of old memories flickered through her mind.

Dylan.

Dylan.

Frowning, she called after him, “Did I used to always call you by your name?”

He froze, hands still on the wheels. “Did you remember something?”

Clara rubbed her forehead. Honestly, not really. She was just tired—too many sleepless nights, her nerves shot.

She massaged her temples, feeling a little better, and tried again.

*

On the other side of town, Simon had been staking out near Palm Bay for days.

But Dylan hadn’t shown his face in ages. If he really was keeping Clara locked up, what was he doing with her all this time?

Simon’s chest burned with frustration—he hadn’t even gotten to kiss Clara, and now he couldn’t shake the thought of Dylan with her.

He was desperate to catch Dylan doing something wrong, to show Clara who he really was.

But he couldn’t even get close enough to see her, let alone pass her a message.

He’d been waiting since morning when suddenly, someone messaged him—Dylan had posted a photo of a marriage certificate online.

Simon thought he’d misheard. His heart dropped, and when he saw the screenshot, his face went pale.

The call was from Megan.

Megan had already suspected something like this. If Dylan could lock someone up, dragging her to get married wouldn’t be a stretch.

She gripped her phone so tight, she thought she might break it.

What was so special about Clara? How could she push Dylan this far—make a man like him throw away his pride and become so obsessed?

Jealousy twisted inside her, sharp and wild, her eyes burning red.