We both were swallowed by the dark greenery of whispering trees and unknown beasts that were lurking in the shadows. I could hear the crunching sound of crusted leaves beneath our feet as we ran on them.
My heart was pounding hard against my ribcage. I could feel the thugs trailing behind us. The cold night wind nipped my exposed skin as we both ran. There were numerous trees and we had to run in zigzag to avoid bumping into one. It was so dark and the light from the moon and stars were dappled by the trees.
The bullets were rained upon us, my feet protest against me but my grip on the devil's hand was firm as if, he would protect me from these thugs. I was breathing hard and my lungs squeezed painfully. My throat felt dry and painful as if, I ate sand. I felt thirst and in desperate need of water. My eyes stung from exhaustion and pain.
I stopped running, pulling my hands away from my boss, and rested them on my knees panting heavily.
"Mr. Sandros, come on, it is not time to rest." He tried to take my hands from me but I shook my head in 'no'.
I couldn't do this anymore. My feet and lungs were killing me. I looked at my boss with watery eyes. He didn't say anything, he just looked at me, observed me.
"Yo…You go, sir….I can't do this," I panted. He looked irritated and he looked like he was fighting with his inner self.
Suddenly he lifted me off the ground and put me on his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He started to run with me on his shoulders. I was too exhausted to protest or even say anything; I just focused on my breathing.
His broad shoulder dug into my stomach, painfully and I felt like puking my guts out with all the running, and my current upside-down position was not helping me either. I felt dehydrated and my body felt hot.
I lifted my head and scrutinized my gaze on a trail of people running towards us. They were a little away from us, but I could hear their yelling and curses. I could say that they were having trouble, tracking us down in this dark. I had no idea, how Jedrick could see through this dark.
Suddenly, Jedrick stopped running and put me down. He grabbed my arm and dragged us under a large old tree which served as a bridge between two slopes. There were many stones and bushes on the little skew that we walked to get under the bridge.
I stumbled and slipped due to gravity but my boss wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled us together down the bridge. We both crouched down and held our breath. My breathing was irregular and I couldn't control it.
"Try to calm down," he murmured to me.
"I am sorry but I can't." my voice shook and I looked at him with helplessness.
He pulled me closer to his face with both hands on my shoulder and looked into my eyes. I was having a panic attack at this point.
He could see my frightened state, so he pulled me to his chest and hugged me. I stiffened at his sudden action but eventually, I started to relax in his arms. He was warm and sturdy which made me feel protected. I wrapped my arms around his torso and closed my eyes.
He rubbed my back with soothing circles and my breath started to become regular, we could hear the sounds of footsteps, leaves crunching, and the rustling of people above us.
"Where did that fucker and his fat chipmunk go?" one the men asked the other.
Fat chipmunk? Me?
I was really offended by his comment. How dare he? I was not fat, I was curvy. It was this suit that shows me fat.
My boss looked at me with amusement, my face was already flushed with all the running and it flushed further with embarrassment.
"Should we kill them both?"
"No, we are here to scare that motherfucker. Let's kill that fat pig."
I could feel my heart beating so fast, were they going to kill me? I looked at my boss and he looked livid. I buried my face further into his chest and gripped the front of his shirt as my life depends on it. He rested one of his palms on the crown of my head and petted me as if, I was a puppy.
But what confuses me the most was, I couldn't hear his heartbeat. The side of my face was literally smashed with his chest. There was not a single drop of sweat or irregular breathing from him.
He literally ran to this place by carrying me on his shoulders but he looked cool.
How was this possible? I again tried to listen to his heartbeat but there was none. I looked up at his face with wide eyes and he was looking at the tree above our head, listening to the thugs.
"Why was there no heartbeat in your chest?" I whispered lowly but he heard me. He looked at me with his jaws clenched and his arms tightened around my waist. Suddenly, there were many footsteps and more rustling.
Kaboom! Boom!
Then, there were yelling and gun firing which made me cower into my boss's chest.
"What's happening?!" I panicked and I totally forgot about my former question.
"I think my men are here!" he yelled through the chaos and stood up to his full height. He helped us both to reach the top of the bridge and I could see that the thugs were imprisoned by his men.
His men look far scarier than them. They all look extremely tall and muscular. They look like otherworldly beings. Even some of his men had long mane with piercing on their faces, and they all had tattoos. I gulped at the sight of them and made myself closer to my boss. I hope they wouldn't find my real identity.
My boss was oblivious to the fact that that I was a female. From the way he was hugging and touching me earlier, any man could say that I was a woman but not this guy beside me.
Maybe, he never dated any woman before, a little voice suggested from the back of my mind.
No way, it was not possible, right?
Come on, the guy was fucking hot, everyone could see that. Even though, everyone was intimidated by him many female staff in our office would literally drool at the sight of him. But thinking about it, I never saw him with a woman really. Maybe he never had female companies while growing up that was why he was being oblivious.
He was so mysterious and… he had no heartbeat. Maybe I didn't hear it properly, I tried to reason out.
"Michael!" my boss called someone. A tall guy with a huge build stepped forward; he had long blond hair that reaches his shoulder blades. He was wearing a black suit and shades. His face was stoic, with no emotions.
"My Lord," he bowed in front of my boss. I raised my eyebrows at his gesture. What was my boss? A fucking king or something?
"Check their background and you know what to do from there," my boss's voice promised hell.
Everyone started to saunter towards a direction and I just trailed behind my boss without saying anything. Seems like, I had a lot to discover, I thought to myself.
It was too late and I noticed that my exposed skin on my neck and face was scraped by the branches while we were running from the goons. It was too dark and we were walking through the forest with my boss beside me and his men and the thugs ahead of us.
"Sir," I called him softly.
"Yes, Mr. Sandros." He replied without turning in my direction.
"Are you in the mafia?" I asked him. My question made him stop walking and I held my breath with anticipation. I was trying my luck at this point. He didn't say nor move from his spot for a good one minute.
"No," his answer was curt and to the point, and he resumed his walk.
"Err…but what are they going to do to them, then?" I asked him with hesitation.
"They are going to give them the life they deserve."
"Err…"
"Aren't you going to hand them to the police?"
"Mr. Sandros,"
"Yes sir,"
"Cease your questions,"
"Immediately, sir,"
We all reached the car in no time. Jedrick and I got in one of his cars with Michael. I looked out the window and the night was still alive but the same thing couldn't be told about me. All I wanted to do was to sleep.
I noticed that our car was not going in the direction of my apartment.
"Sir, my apartment was not in this way." I turned to him swiftly and informed him with a confused expression.