Chereads / The Substitute Husband / Chapter 2 - Saving a Stranger

Chapter 2 - Saving a Stranger

The first month went by as Adeline drowned in her misery of being kicked out in such a brutal way with no damn explanation. At first she was sad, then anger slowly creeped in as she cursed any type of government affiliated organization until her tongue was sore and her throat dry. Then she said fuck it and grabbed chips and coke and binged watched the shows she missed watching because she was too busy training and making a future for herself. She had never been more carefree or relaxed in those few days and she was just beginning to realize that she really wasn't meant to work for the law and keep those rules in her life when she had done nothing but break them. She wasn't cut out for that life. Regardless, she did mourn the years of education and her life wasted somewhere which wasn't going to serve her any purpose anymore.

But that's how Adeline was; she got over things easily be it her favourite pair of shoe or...men. Whatever! She never dwelled much about her sorry state and labelled is as a mid life crisis.

But...she was utterly and severely broke. She had only another month of her saving left. When Adeline worked as the secret agent, her pay was handsome so she saved up enough money and bought herself a nice apartment and all those things one couldn't afford when they are young and again...broke.

So she spent another month searching out for jobs. Usually, the retired spies would opt to open their own private detective agency, a veteran would go for security agencies or if they are lucky enough, a mercenary or best, if a secret order of assassins reaches out to them but let me tell you, your morals should be grey and your heart cold as ice if you want to accept the last job.

Adeline's field of expertise wasn't enough to work as a private detective so she applied to all and every private security agency but her being dishonourably discharged was a shit stain on her resume and no one wanted to hire her and she had no luck landing a job. If her younger self knew how the once cutthroat agent would end up like this, thoroughly humiliated and rejected, she had pass away from extreme case of laughter and disbelief.

Adeline was walking back home after hitting the pavement for the whole day, a bag of cheap tequila in her hand. A man stumbled by her, his eyes hazy and drunk off his ass. Adeline had a terrible thought that she might be closer to being a broke drunkard herself then she had like to admit.

A movement caught the corner of her eye and she jumped when she made out a shape of a man hunched over in the dark. The prick scared the living day lights out of her! The fuck is wrong with these stupid people No...Wait.

The man was sitting position with his long legs sprawled in front of him and his back leaning against the brick wall of the creepy alley two plots ahead of her apartment building. She had stopped in her tracks and her brows bunched when she noticed that the man was still and not moving at all.

"Hey...?" she called out from the distance, not daring approach the man but when the reply didn't came, she hesitantly approached him and poked at his hanging head. A scent lingered in the air, an unmistakable heavy cent of iron and...And her eyes widened in horror.

She dumped her bag of tequila right there and crouched beside the injured man. Her eyes frantically searching for the wound and when she gingerly pulled his black leather jacket aside, his white tee soaked in dark crimson and the blood was still flowing from the wound in alarming amounts and pooling beside his thigh and if the help wasn't called, he could be dead in minutes. Her hand in covered his wound as the first aid training she got kicked in and she tried to quench the bleeding. The barely audible intake of a breath was the only sign that he was alive and sucked in a breath of relief. Adeline was so shell-shocked; she didn't even realize her hands were shaking. She madly began to search through her pockets for her cell phone.

"Hold on. I am calling an Ambulance." but the man raised his hand and grabbed her wrist. His hold was weak, his eyes shut and his pale lips moved as if he wanted to say something. Adeline leaned forward so his lips were by her ear and he whispered.

"Don't. They will find me there..." was all he said and Adeline didn't even have time to register what he meant when she was pulled back and roughly thrown against the pavement. A figure in black loomed above her, his broad shoulders and giant frame that of a man. A long, terrifying blade glinted in his hand. She watched as he turned on her and began to approach the man who if noticed the danger, still didn't move. She didn't know what she got caught herself in but it was obvious the man with the dagger we the evil one with the cruel intentions to kill.

She didn't know what propelled her, maybe the fact that she wasn't that morally grey after all and couldn't witness a helpless, injured man get killed in front of her. Her insides bristled with the need to protect and save the man and the next second, she was on the back of the assassin who was just turning around as if u could feel the menacing presence beside him. His Hand with the dagger twisted around, meant to stab her and it was as if a demon possessed her. She dug her fingers in the apex of his throat and bit his ear, tearing the flesh. The brutal move had the killer wheezing with the brutal pain.

"What the fuck...?

The man was clearly triple her weight and managed to shrug her off him. His stone hard fist collided with her head and she saw stars and fucking cartoons dancing in the air. The killer aimed the dagger for her but Adeline grabbed his wrist with both hands as they wrestled to overpower each other. Her eyes met his soulless ones and she gritted her teeth, the top of the dagger piercing her chest. It took every ounce of her life force to kick him right in his junk. His hand faltered, his grip loosening on the dagger and Adeline's eyes glinted deadly. She was sure of what she was doing as she made a grab for the blade and swiftly lodged it in his jugular.

Some would say that going for his precious jewels was an underhanded move and considered as a cheat in fair fight. But Adeline never fought fair and square nor this fight was one. It's the men's fault for being born with such fucking fragile balls. Even a boiled egg didn't just turn jell-O like that.

The killer crumpled to the ground, desperately clutching at his throat but it was futile. Adeline knew he was done for. She had killed him.

Chest heaving, she hurried to the injured man, hoping and praying that it wasn't too long. She placed her fingers on his pulse and sighed in relief when she felt a beat there.

She remembered his words how he didn't want her to call ambulance. Then she didn't understand why but now she knew he was running for his life and who's to say there might not be more out there currently looking for him?

She wondered who he was since men in mask with twelve inch dagger don't just run rampant on the streets killing random people with such violent intent.

But that was a question for later!

She crouched beside him, her back leaning against the brick wall as she placed his arm over her shoulders and hauled his limp body in a standing pushing and her knees almost gave away.

Jesus on a cracker! He was a heavy man and she could feel the bulging muscles on the arm she was clutching. his head lolled above her and as she began to drag him in the direction of her apartment, the distance seemed too long and for the first time she noticed how quiet and empty her neighbourhood was or how stupid she was to opt to settle in this place.