Chapter 7 In Danger With A Stranger

• — EILYN —
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• I ran. Fast. I had to get away from him and this unfamiliar place.
• Forcing my strained legs to move took a lot of effort, but I had to get away from him. Find a police station. Ask a cop for help. Call my family.
• "Oi! Get back here!"
• "You're... Go away! Leave me a— Stop following me!"
• "Bloody he—" Axell cussed, his voice still loud. Meaning: he wasn't far behind. "I can't just leave you out here. Oi!" Although injured, he ran after me.
• My chest pounded. Any step I made required straining myself. Even breathing was a lot of work. But I shouldn't stop running.
• In the corner, some uniformed personnel walked into a two-storey building with their weapons strapped to their hips.
• My legs stopped and trembled. We're a sprint away from the police station. Probably the only one in the area! "Thank God!"
• "Oi!"
• "Get away from me, weirdo!" Shit! He's right behind me!
• "I'm not lying— Stop running, for the love of—" The bleeding jerk tried to grab my arm to pull me back.
• "Liar!" I shoved him off. "Get lost!"
• "You wanna stay alive?" He drew me closer and lowered his voice, the tip of his pointed nose touching my forehead now.
• "Get away— I just wanna go home!"
• "Then stop screaming and stick with me." His quick hands clasped my wrists just to stop me from running towards the two-storey building. His sweaty face almost touched mine now. While his frown deepened, his loud breaths warmed my cheek.
• The people around us seemed too busy to care. No one could hear us. We stood in the middle of an almost empty parking lot beside a local fastfood chain.
• "Let go." I held in a sob. My chest felt like it was going to implode, but screaming my lungs out seemed pointless now.
• Despite his injured arm, he was taller and too strong for me to fight off. "Someone wants you kidnapped or dead. I can't just leave you alone out here." Axell kept his voice low. His grip on my forearm hurt but he couldn't care less.
• "Let go. It hurts." I glared at him.
• "Stop running." Scowling again, he took a step back and let go of me. Finally. "I'm bloody serious, Eilyn."
• Wow. The first time. He just said my name out loud. It sounded weird for some odd reason.
• Shit. I had to get somewhere safe, away from this lunatic whose last name I didn't even know. My fists were still itching to use his face as a punching bag after he just threw my phone away without even asking if it was okay.
• Cops. I should talk to the cops. "I'm going to the police." I glared at his scowl and took a step backward. If I hit him in the nuts, I might be able to outrun him. We weren't far from the gray building that looked like a police station.
• "We can't go to the cops," he drawled as if I was the one being unreasonable.
• "Why not? We have to report what happened. We don't even know if Beck and Karlo are okay!"
• "Look," he sighed while he stood close to me, his tone one of exasperation. But at least now he was keeping his hands to himself. "Sorry you're freaked out, and I apologize that you're stuck here, with me, for now. Someone you just met. I get it. You don't trust me. But I'm just doin' my job. Alright? Just tryna be extra cautious here."
• He's apologizing? Whoa. Another first.
• A sincere apology? Nah. It's just him being manipulative again, making up stories and lying through his teeth.
• Did he think I was naïve and brain dead? I scoffed while taking one step at a time, backing away from his intimidating stare. His dark eyes were almost piercing into me.
• "Armond's guys could be after you, too, and he's not someone you should underestimate. But I will get us out of here and I will bring you home safe. Alright?"
• Armond Tan? He knew that sadistic criminal? "You know him? H-How d'you know him?"
• "Better than you do." X rested his hands on his hips while he walked towards me, ogling me, as if he simply didn't care that he looked like a total creep stalking a young, defenseless woman in public. "I know what he did to your cousin. I'm tryin' to keep that from happening again. Alright? So stop screaming. Don't run off like I'm the bad guy here. You're drawing a lot of unwanted attention we seriously don't need right now."
• "What happened to Beck and Karlo?"
• "Fine. Alright." He closed his eyes and pinched his nasal bridge. He glanced around a few times before focusing on me again. There was no one else nearby. "A black van was tailing us. Okay? We were a half-hour away from hospital and you were asleep beside me, in the backseat. Then they hit the rear. Practically shattered the taillights."
• Who's "they" exactly? I stared at him and stopped walking away when he winced.
• He was checking his bleeding arm underneath his black leather jacket. Not bleeding profusely, but, it still made me cringe.
• "Did you get the license plate?"
• "Yeah." Another frown creased his thick brows and pale lips. "Highly doubt it was the real one but I got a video of 'em. Stepped outta the backseat to record the whole thing, like Beck said. Had to get proof that it's their driver's fault. Then this wanker in the van just shot at me. Bullet wrecked my phone and caught me," he muttered, pointing to his bloody left arm. He pulled a face again.
• Some part of me didn't buy his narrative, but it didn't sound like utter bullshit, either. "Where was Beck? She didn't get shot?"
• "No. Karlo got out of the driver's side before she did, 'cause the trigger-happy gits in the van started showing off. Beck shot at them. Then, Karlo got hit, twice. Blood all over him, and we started panicking and..." X cleared his throat, his tone almost flat and emotionless. His calmness seemed forced, though. "Shoved him back inside the SUV while she sprayed bullets at the pricks. Beck was shoutin' at me to take the wheel so I stepped on it. Half hour later, managed to lose the wankers. Dropped 'em off at a fire station. She told me to take you somewhere else and fast."
• "How are we gonna find them and get home before midnight if we're stuck here without a phone, without cash, without any weapons, and we're not even gonna talk to the cops? Did she give you a gun?" I held my breath and glanced up at the gloomy sky, anticipating a confirmation and another lengthy explanation.
• If he had an actual gun with him now, I should run towards the police station now, or into the restaurant behind us. Maybe they had at least one security staff on duty. Or two, if I had any luck left.
• He wouldn't be that stupid to start a shootout in a public place.
• "Yeah." Axell looked away, his muted reaction leaving his brows scrunched again. "Karlo's gun."
• "What?" I glanced down at his waist. "You..."
• "Left it under the driver's seat."
• Huh? Was he for real? I forced a laugh and shook my head. "You're kidding. Right?"
• "I don't like guns."
• He left it in the SUV just 'cause he didn't like guns?
• Wow. Was he out of his mind or just plain stupid? "You do realize we're being hunted by gunmen who just tried to murder us in broad daylight and in public?"
• "Can't be caught carrying a deadly weapon. Specially in public."
• Not a single weapon? What a joke. And he called himself a "bodyguard"? How would he defend himself if he didn't even have a butter knife on him?
• "Fine. Then I'm going to the police." I stepped away from him, about to start running to the other direction. My breathing was easing back to normal but my heartbeat definitely stayed chaotic.
• "We can't go to the cops."
• "Why not?" I sighed and pulled away when he tried to grab my forearm again.
• He wouldn't stop staring at my face. His frown disappeared, but he wasn't back to his "chill and easygoing" façade.
• Perhaps I wasn't the only one fearing my untimely demise. Or he's just acting cool and unfazed?
• The guy looked away. We stood in the corner of the parking lot now, alone under the shade of a big mango tree. X scratched his bearded jaw and glanced around us, seeming quite nervous as well.
• "We can't even talk to one cop?" Surely at least half of them weren't just dirty pigs on a drug lord's payroll.
• "No."
• I grunted, my chest still pounding. "Why the heck not?"
• "I'm on parole."
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