Alex was sleeping comfortably in his villa when the sudden ringing of his phone woke him. He sleepily answered, "Hello, this is Alex."
"It's me," Sawyer said urgently. "We've just had news that Yvonne's been attacked." He quickly explained what had happened.
Earlier, Alex had sent Sawyer to protect Yvonne, but he hadn't expected something like this.
"What?" he spluttered. "The Wheeler family was meant to be on guard." His voice grew angry as he asked, "How could you let this happen?"
"They were very powerful," Sawyer said. "By the time we arrived, all the employees of the family had been killed." He paused for a second as if listening to someone. "Don't worry. Yvonne hasn't been found and is believed to have escaped."
Alex breathed a sigh of relief.
Yvonne had some special skills, so if she had gotten rid of those people, then she should be safe somewhere.
"Where are the attackers now?" Alex's eyes were full of seething emotion as he thought about those responsible for the attack on the Wheeler family.
Sawyer hurriedly replied, "We knocked two of them unconscious, but the third came and rescued them. Now we're chasing them, but we haven't caught up yet."
He named the road they were traveling on, and Alex recognized it as one that ran right past the entrance to his own villa.
He asked what direction they were heading in, and Sawyer replied, "In your direction. What should we do next?"
After a little thought, Alex said, "Just follow them. I'm coming right now." After hanging up the phone, he quickly put on his clothes and ran to his underground garage. Then he picked a car at random and headed toward the Wheelers.
His villa was located on the outskirts of Baltimore, and the roads were largely inaccessible. The fact that there were few people around at four o'clock in the morning was also an advantage.
He knew that he only needed to follow the road outside his house to block the three guys Sawyer had mentioned.
He called Sawyer again and asked, "Are you still on the same road?"
"Yes," Sawyer said. "I see a car in front of me that seems to be chasing the first car."
Alex's heart leaped with fear. "Is Yvonne in that car?" he asked.
"We think so," Sawyer replied.
Alex said, "Don't hang up. I'm on my way to you. Remember, don't engage if you don't have to, for your safety as well as Yvonne's. Don't take unnecessary risks."
Sawyer was unsure how to reply, and his mind was all over the place. He knew how important Yvonne was to Alex, and he also knew himself very well. But hearing that Alex was concerned about him and his people made him vow to be loyal to Alex.
"Don't worry about Yvonne," Alex said. "She can take care of herself."
He knew that was the truth, and he was actually quite keen to see just how resourceful the woman was.
Sawyer nodded and said, "If you encounter the main attacker, you must be careful. He's a super soldier, which means he's very powerful and extremely fast. But he's not pretty, so you don't want to look too closely at him."
Alex laughed and told him not to worry.
He stepped on the gas pedal, and the car sped up on its path toward the Wheeler family residence.
It wasn't long before Sawyer updated him again. "The two cars in front of me collided. Two people are fighting with Yvonne, and the super soldier is watching from the side."
Alex asked, "Were they the same ones who knocked you out before?"
"Yes. We had tied them up, but the super soldier suddenly appeared from upstairs. He didn't seem to want to fight us; he just saved his companions and left."
"It sounds like you were lucky," Alex said. "He's powerful, so my guess is that if he'd wanted to hurt you, he could have."
"I know," Sawyer said. "That guy can dodge bullets. He barely seems human." He paused and then added, "Yvonne really is good."
Alex smiled and increased his speed again. Finally, he saw two cars across the road and another behind with its headlights on. Under the light, three people were fighting fiercely. In front of one of the cars, a man was sitting on the hood, watching the fight. Alex didn't get out of the car straight away. When he saw that Yvonne was holding her own, he relaxed. He didn't want to rush in, and he thought it was a good chance to see her real skills.
The three fighters paused when they saw the new arrival, and then Yvonne took advantage of the momentary distraction to knock the two men to the ground.
"Good skills," Alex said quietly to himself. He admired her work and recognized just how good she was at doing it in her sleepwear with bare feet.
"Fighting in her nightie." Alex snorted. He wasn't laughing at the way she looked; she actually looked beautiful. He was laughing at her apparent disregard for fear or convention.
The people who had chased Yvonne were clearly super soldiers.
Yvonne seemed exhausted by her efforts. She stepped back slowly and leaned against the car with her chest heaving, but she made sure to keep an eye on the others.
No one seemed keen to move first.
Alex noticed that some of them seemed to be afraid of Sawyer. After all, as far as he was aware, super soldiers could use their speed to avoid bullets, but they weren't completely resistant to them.
He gave her a wicked smile, and then he said, "It looks like you're doing fine without me. Don't stop now."