Jeremy was aware that if Brandon dallied too long, Darkmoon might dispatch the assassination due to his lack of communication.
His anxious plea punctuated the air.”This isn’t the time for negotiations!Do you want to see me kill her right now?”
Leaning against the pool wall,Brandon appeared serene despite his weakened state.His tone laced with stoic despair,he retorted,”Then we all meet our ends together.”
Jeremy finally understood that threatening a dying man was futile,and he risked being pulled into the abyss alongside Brandon.
Inhaling deeply,he forced a semblance of calm onto his features.”Fine,I can free her now.But you need to call Darkmoon immediately,or we all perish together!”
Following a moment of hesitation,Brandon nodded reluctantly.”Okay,once you release Natalie, Ill give them a ring.”
The color drained from Jeremy’s face as he fished out his phone and lobbed it toward Brandon. “Make the call,now.”
Brandon caught the phone,his eyes trained on Jeremy,silently urging him to hold up his end of the bargain.
Cursing under his breath,Jeremy whipped out a spray bottle,directing a mist toward Natalie’s face.
Seconds later,she came to.
Impatience flickered in Jeremys eyes as he shoved her aside.”Go!”
Once shoved aside,Natalie stumbled a couple of steps away but found herself returning to Jeremy’s side the very next moment.
She wouldn’t abandon Brandon.
Her intentjons weren’t lost on Brandon.Despite standing in the cold water,his heart basked in the warmth of her concern.
By now,his lower body was swarming with leeches,their bites sending waves of intense pain through him.His face grew pallid,beads of perspiration dotting his forehead.Yet,he managed to offer Natalie an affectionate smile.
“Natalie.Get out of here,”Brandon coaxed gently, his tone reminiscent of someone soothing a child. Biting back a sob,Natalie shook her head vehemently.”I won’t leave.You’re coming with me.”
Behind her,Jeremy snorted derisively.”He can’t leave.He’s headed for the grave!I don’t want to harm you now.So,get lost!”
Natalie spun around,sending a glare his way.
Jeremy’s cruel smile widened.”Brandon,your wife seems reluctant to leave.How about I let her keep you company?You can depart together.”
A flicker of anxiety crossed Brandon’s face.He furrowed his brows,his voice acquiring a chilly edge.”Get out of here,Natalie.Don’t squander time.” Natalie saw the pallor on Brandon’s face,his strength visibly waning.Resoluteness seeped into her eyes.
Noticing her determination,a sense of dread washed over Brandon.
The next moment,Natalie pivoted and charged at Jeremy
The odds were against them.If she left,Brandon was destined for death.So,she decided to catch Jeremy.off guard and try to save Brandon.
However,Jeremy had predicted this move.Before she could unbalance him,he caught her arm and sent her crashing to the ground.
The drug had just worn off,and Natalie was yet to recover her strength.She hit the ground hard.
Just as they broke away,a gunshot split the air.
A bullet ripped through Jeremy’s right shoulder, blood spilling out and staining his clothes in an instant.
Blood splattered across Natalie’s face.As she crumpled to the ground,the smell of blood overpowered her,fear numbing her to her own pain.
A grim expression carved itself onto Jeremy’s face as he clutched his bleeding shoulder,managing to evade a second bullet.
Noticing Jeremy approaching her,Natalie attempted to scramble away.But the drug’s aftereffects betrayed her.She collapsed back onto the ground as soon as she regained her footing.
Upon seeing this,Jeremy suddenly grabbed her ankle and yanked her towards him,intending to use her as a human shield.
“Ah!”Startled,Natalie let out a scream and attempted to kick him off.
Despite his injury,Jeremy summoned all his strength to drag her closer,seemingly driven by
[the imminent threat of death.
Unable to shake him off.Natalie started to strike at him with her hands,but to no avail.
Sporting a contemptuous smile on his pallid face, Jeremy boldly faced the direction from which the bullets came.”Id like to see if they dare to harm me with you in my grasp.”
“Let go of me!Let go!”Natalie cried out,struggling against his hold.However,her efforts were fruitless as she found herself dragged to her feet and positioned in front of Jeremy.
“You’re Darkmoon assassins,aren’t you?Go ahead and shoot!”Despite his continuous blood loss,he still managed a maniacal laugh.”I’d like to see who dares to harm me with Natalie in my hands!”
Brandon’s expression twisted in apprehension.
Fortunately,the syringe in Jeremy’s possession had been dropped when he was shot,making the situation marginally better.
“Brandon,you’ve got nerve!”Jeremy glared at
Brandon,growling menacingly.”I will make you …
Ah!”
Jeremy was caught off guard as Natalie bit him hard.
The sudden pain caused Jeremy to loosen his grip.
Natalie tried to escape,managing only a couple of steps before the next shot was fired.The bullet whizzed past,grazing Jeremy’s cheek.
Instantly feeling the threat of death,Jeremy’s survival instincts kicked in.With a swift tug,he pulled Natalie back and hurriedly dragged her into a dark corner.
Shielded by the darkness,Jeremy quickly explored the brick wall beside him.
Suddenly,the ground beneath them gave way and they both disappeared into the void.
Brandon stared blankly at the spot where Natalie and Jeremy had vanished,his mind a complete void.He didn’t even notice the man and woman now standing before him.Both were young, dressed in neat attire.
The woman looked at Brandon anxiously.
“Brandon,are you okay?”she asked.
But Brandon didn’t respond,seemingly lost in his own world.
With desperate energy,he clambered out of the pool and dashed towards the place where Natalie had disappeared,but there was nothing.No sign, no trace of their sudden disappearance.
His gaze locked onto the corner,filled with despair.
How had Jeremy vanished with Natalie?Where had they gone?Was Natalie in danger?Brandon was consumed by worry.
The man surveyed Brandon’s stricken face,a blend of worry and helplessness.He sighed and said to the woman,”Let’s first help him clean up.
The woman,her lips pursed,nodded with a look of distress,
Her heart clenched at the sight of Brandon’s blood -soaked shirt.She took out a handkerchief, intending to remove the leeches clinging to him, but Brandon halted her.
With an expressionless look,Brandon stated,
“Don’t touch me.”
Startled and hurt,Corinne Scott could only watch as Brandon began removing the leeches from his body himself.”My wife doesn’t like other women touching me,”he explained.
Tears welled up in Corinne’s eyes.She bit her lower lip and looked at Brandon,her expression pitiful.”Brandon,do I mean nothing to you?”2
Brandon averted his gaze and turned to face the man.His voice was thick with anger.”Harrell, where is Natalie?Why did she disappear with
Jeremy?”
Caught off quard,Harrell Webster and Corinne exchanged a silent glance.Both were taken aback by the dangerous glint in Brandon’s eyes
Harrell attempted to sound calm.”She was likely taken by Jeremy.The top two floors of this building were newly constructed by Jeremy.He knows this place very well,so he managed to escape.”
Harrell’s explanation did nothing to quell Brandon’s rage.Suddenly,Brandon lunged at him,seizing him by the neck and slowly tightening his grip.Veins bulged on his arm as he seethed,”Did you let this happen on purpose?Did you purposely let Jeremy escape with my wife?”
Corinne shrieked and tried to pry Brandon’s hand from Harrell’s neck. “Brandon, you’re misunderstanding us!”she cried.
“Get lost!”The look in Brandon’s eyes was terrifying.
Corinne recoiled,struck by the dangerous aura emanating from Brandon
Brandon’s gaze held a ruthless edge.He demanded,his words punctuated for emphasis,
“Tell me,did you purposely offer up Natalie to
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Jeremy as bait to force me help you weed out the traitors?”
“Brandon…”Harrell’s face flushed as Brandon’s grip around his neck tightened.He strained to get the words out.”We really didn’t …”
Brandon scrutinized Harrell for a tense few seconds before finally loosening his grip,just as Harrell was on the brink of suffocating.
Harrell stumbled back,doubled over as he clutched his neck,coughing and gasping for fresh air.
After a moment,he straightened up,meeting
Brandon’s glare with a look of helplessness.”Why are you so quick to doubt me?No matter how much of a schemer l am,I’d never risk your lover’s life.”
Corinne nodded in agreement.”Brandon,you’ve got us all wrong.It really was an accident.”
Brandon scoffed,”An accident?Why didn’t you kill
Jeremy outright?Are you such poor shots that you missed him time and again?”
Harrell sighed heavily.”You know how sly Jeremy is.He kept using Natalie as a shield.It was too dark, and our visibility was compromised.Besides,we didn’t want to risk injuring your wife,so we refrained from shooting recklessly.”
Corinne chimed in with a helpless look,”Jeremy knows this place inside and out,and your wife was next to him the whole time.We didn’t want to accidentally hurt her,so we held our fire.That’s why we failed to prevent him from taking her.”