Chapter 962

“Taylor, have you lost your damn mind?”

“Are you still half-asleep and talking complete garbage?” Find the newest release on Find[?]ovel.net

“Seriously, are you running a fever? You sound delirious!”

Taylor’s face was flushed bright red, and his eyes looked bloodshot and glassy. As he read through their messages, he lifted a shaky hand to press against his forehead.

His skin felt like it was on fire, as if he’d been standing too close to a furnace. Was he really running a fever? Could that reckless outburst have been nothing more than fever-driven delirium?

Damn it, what the hell was happening to him? His vision kept splitting into double images, and he felt so dizzy that he thought he might float right off the ground. Even the furniture in his room seemed to be moving on its own. The window looked like it was trying to crawl away from the wall.

Just as Taylor was drowning in his confusion and disorientation, Jason made his presence known in the group chat once again. He started with a mocking emoji and then directly tagged Taylor in his message. “Well, well, well. I had no idea you harbored such grand ambitions. Color me impressed. You’ve got more guts than I ever gave you credit for—actually challenging Cole to a fight.” Then, he added, “It seems you’re far more capable than you’ve been pretending to be all this time. My apologies for underestimating you so badly. Here’s a thought—before you go after Cole, why don’t you stop by my room first? I’d be happy to give you a few practice rounds to warm you up.”

Jason was normally as expressionless and silent as a block of ice, so the sight of him typing out such a long message was startling in itself. But with the situation spiraling out of control, nobody had time to marvel at his sudden burst of communication. The group chat felt electric with tension, as if everyone could feel the danger crackling through their screens.

As the Evans family’s sworn protector, Jason’s loyalty belonged first and foremost to the family head. It made perfect sense that he would step in to deal with Taylor before letting Taylor anywhere near Cole. Jason’s challenge made perfect, terrifying sense.

L?tτ chɑρτ?rs ιn glov.

But the real question burned in everyone’s minds: Would Taylor actually be stupid enough to take on the challenge? And if he did show up, what kind of bloody mess would they find afterward?

Before anyone could process the implications, Taylor tagged Jason right back. “You’re on. I’ll be right there.”

The collective shock was almost audible, even through text messages. Taylor was really going to do this? Did he honestly believe he stood a chance against Jason? Jason’s reputation as a fighter was the stuff of nightmares. Even elite international assassins rarely walked away from encounters with him in one piece. No matter what secret skills Taylor might have been hiding, how could he possibly measure up to someone like that?

A strange cocktail of fear and fascination swept through the group. They were dying to know who was stronger and how brutal the confrontation would be, but terrified that if things escalated too far, both men could end up in the hospital—or worse.

“Oh my! This is really happening?”

“I’m scared, but I can’t look away. Someone needs to intervene! They’re family—this will only end in disaster.”

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