The Ex-Wife's Burning Elegance novel Chapter 1221

By the time Foreman and his men arrived, the scene was pure chaos.

He saw Leonard, alright—battered and broken.

He could have finished Leonard right then and there. But when he saw Leonard's men scrambling in another direction, he knew they were after Joshua.

After a moment's hesitation, Foreman made his choice: he would go after Joshua. Leonard was a broken man; killing him would be child's play. Joshua, however, was a different story. He was by Stella's side day in and day out, and Foreman had come to despise him even more than Leonard. He was a thorn in Foreman's side, an obstacle that had to be removed.

Joshua had made a quick retreat. The explosion had thrown the Lerman family into disarray, and with Leonard unconscious, his men were leaderless. They never even got close to catching him. Foreman and his team had slipped in during the confusion, but they'd lost Joshua's trail as well.

Just as Foreman was about to give up the chase, he spotted them—impossibly—in the Lerman family's garden.

Foreman stared in disbelief. After raising all that hell, shouldn't Joshua be halfway across the state by now? But the madman hadn't fled. Instead, he was in the middle of the enemy's garden, picking a flower. *What kind of sane person does that?*

What infuriated Foreman the most was that he had tipped Leonard off, given him time to prepare. And still, Leonard hadn't managed to lay a single scratch on Joshua. The man had walked into the lion's den, and Leonard couldn't even finish the job. *Useless,* he thought.

Without a second thought, Foreman raised his weapon and fired. The gunshot drew the attention of Leonard's men, so he couldn't linger. He saw his bullet hit its mark before melting back into the shadows, leaving him uncertain of Joshua's ultimate fate.

He knew Stella better than anyone. Joshua had been hurt on a mission for her, which meant she would be overwhelmed with guilt and would personally nurse him back to health. It's exactly what she'd done for him, once upon a time. Once Joshua recovered, his stock with Stella would rise even higher. Getting rid of him then would be nearly impossible.

At that thought, raw killing intent flashed in Foreman's eyes. He moved slowly, deliberately, toward the bed.

Just as he reached the bedside, the man in the bed—the man who was supposed to be asleep—opened his eyes. Joshua's gaze met Foreman's, and a slow, knowing smile spread across his lips.

"You really want to kill me, don't you?"