Chapter 1396: Mortal Love Rival

"Don’t lie to me. What level of danger is it this time?"

A moment of silence fell between Benjamin and Mint as they looked at each other. His question lingered in the air, thickening the rare tension between them.

Slowly, the corner of Mint’s mouth curled up as she sighed. "The kind of danger that might put you under police protection."

"Mint."

"Benjamin, it’s fine," she reassured him, cutting him off with a nod. "This isn’t the first time someone’s targeted me. After all, I’m in a position that puts me in danger most of the time."

Her smile turned wry as she tilted her head. "It’s not as serious as it seems... as long as you’re protected, then everything is fine for me."

Benjamin opened his mouth to argue but found himself closing it again. His gaze dropped to his plate as he sighed heavily. He wanted to tell her off, to make her see reason, but at the same time, he knew she had a point.

It wasn’t like Mint would stop whatever she was doing just because he asked her to.

This was her life. Her duty. And she’d rather die doing it than stay in a safe place and live a long, uneventful life.

"I’m sorry," Mint said quietly, watching him. "I know you’re worried, and I know the police protection is a hassle. But they’ll mostly stay at your home to guard you. If you’d prefer, you can stay at your boss’s place."

"Why are you dragging my boss into this?" he muttered. "He’s barely recovering from his own health problems. And why are you even apologizing? It’s not like you’d step down and live differently. It’s not sorry at all if you’re going to apologize over something repeatedly."

Mint sighed, her smile fading slightly.

She loved what she did for a living, but she also felt guilty. She hated putting Benjamin in this position, forcing him to deal with the consequences of her choices. But all she could do was apologize. Because no matter how much he wished otherwise, she could never walk away from this life.

She wanted to say something to lighten the mood—but there was nothing she could say.

The rest of the breakfast passed in heavy silence until Benjamin finally left.

Mint remained at the dining table, her gaze falling on the food he had prepared. Only now did she realize he hadn’t touched his meal.

"Good job, Mint," she muttered to herself. "Just... great."

She sighed for the umpteenth time and shook her head.

This was weighing on her, but she couldn’t stop now. Not when she was so close. The rising danger in her life was proof that she was getting nearer to the truth she had been searching for.

With that thought in mind, she forced herself to clear her head and finished her breakfast. But when she stood to clear the table, a sharp sting shot through her side, making her wince.

Touching her hip, she pulled up the hem of her hoodie to reveal a bandage wrapped around her side. Blood was already beginning to seep through.

"Damn it," she grumbled through gritted teeth. "Now I have to go back to the clinic to get this stitched up again."

Last night’s chase had ended in a physical altercation.

Mint had been forced to fight the people tailing her. She had no choice—if she didn’t stop them there, they would have kept following her. Worse, they could have called for backup. And with Benjamin unconscious nearby, that was the last thing she could allow.

So she had driven to a random building, luring them inside before ambushing them.

The fight had been brutal. One of the men had pulled a gun, aiming it in the direction where Benjamin lay unconscious. And at that moment, Mint had no choice. She had dropped her guard against another man armed with a knife to deal with the gunman first.

She had taken a stab wound in the process. But she had managed to disarm them both, using the knife to take down the shooter. She had handled the situation and made sure Benjamin remained unharmed.

That was why she hadn’t been home when he woke up. She had spent the night filing reports and getting stitched up.

Now, thanks to her reopened wound, she was going to have to do it all over again.

"Damn it," Mint mumbled as she threw herself onto the couch, pressing a hand over her side. Reaching for her phone on the table, she quickly speed-dialed a number.

As soon as the call connected, she spoke.

"My wound reopened. I don’t think I can drive to the clinic at this point. Come—ASAP. I can already taste my blood in my mouth."

She hung up before the other person could respond, leaning weakly against the couch. Tilting her head back, she stared at the ceiling.

"I guess the bounty hunters aren’t working anymore," she murmured to herself. "So they’re sending their own people now."

The previous threats had all been from the underground bounty on her head. But because of her position, most bounty hunters had thought twice before taking the job.

Some had been foolish enough to try. All of them were now in jail.

She had made sure their arrests were well-publicized, sending a message to anyone who might consider coming after her. More importantly, she had forced whoever placed the bounty to take direct action.

This was what she had been waiting for.

She wasn’t after the bounty hunters or the hitmen—they were just pawns. She wanted the person who had ordered the hit.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the vibration of her phone.

Raising a brow, she weakly lifted the device and checked the screen. Her eyebrows rose even further when she saw the caller ID.

[Mortal Love Rival]

"Don’t tell me he already heard about what happened last night?" she muttered to herself, answering the call. "Mr. Pierson, what is it?"

The fake smile on her lips quickly faded as Zoren began speaking on the other end.

"I see," she said with a nod. "Send the file over. I’ll look into it."