Chapter 83: Reunion with Hodgson
Nicole's POV
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Vera lying in a pool of blood.
Hatred coiled tightly around my heart. Wendy had to die!
The favor Derek promised me was something I'd originally planned to use for avenging my adoptive father, but I couldn't wait anymore.
I needed Derek to help me kill Wendy.
After making up my mind, I prepared to go downstairs to find him.
Just as I reached the staircase, I heard a violent commotion from below.
"Is Nicole here or not?!"
That familiar voice made my heart skip a beat. In that moment, all other sounds in my world faded away.
It was Hodgson!
I rushed downstairs like a madwoman, nearly missing a step.
"Hodgson!"
I called out his name, tears instantly blurring my vision.
He looked terrible. His clothes were torn and damaged, covered in blood and dirt, as if he'd just crawled back from hell itself.
The moment I saw him, all the fear, grievance, and overwhelming longing I'd suppressed for days completely shattered my composure.
It had been so many days since we last met.
During that time, I hadn't received any word from him. He'd vanished like he'd evaporated from the face of the earth.
For the first two days at Derek's place, I kept calling him, but no one ever answered.
Eventually, I didn't dare call anymore.
I worried he'd changed his mind, that he'd decided he didn't want me. I was even more terrified someone else would answer and tell me something had happened to him.
This week of emptiness and anxiety made me realize that this man occupied a far heavier place in my heart than I was willing to admit.
I crashed into his arms, and his familiar scent immediately enveloped me.
His arms wrapped tightly around me, the force so strong I could barely breathe.
"Thank God you're alright." Hodgson let out a long breath, with a hint of lingering fear.
I buried my face in his chest, tears streaming down uncontrollably.
"Hodgson, what happened to you? Why are you so badly injured?! Why couldn't I reach you this whole time?"
I questioned him incoherently, my hands frantically searching over his body, wanting to check his condition but afraid of hurting him.
"There was an incident, but it's fine now."
He was breathing slightly heavily, his voice hoarse but still carrying that domineering tone that put me at ease.
He cupped my tear-stained face, using his rough thumb pad to gently wipe away the tears.
"Come with me."
"Okay."
I looked over at Derek and expressed my gratitude.
Derek looked at me with a complicated expression, but in the end, he just nodded.
Hodgson took my hand and left the villa without looking back.
As soon as we got in the car, before I could even settle into my seat, he suddenly gripped the back of my head and kissed me fiercely.
This kiss carried the intensity of something lost and found again.
I froze for a second, then cradled his face and kissed him back forcefully, as if trying to convey all my fear and longing from these past days through this kiss.
As our lips and tongues tangled, the taste of blood and tobacco flooded my mouth.
I could feel his body trembling slightly.
When I removed his shirt and saw the deep and shallow wounds covering his body, my eyes reddened again.
"Does it hurt?" I asked through my tears.
"Not when you're by my side." He lowered his head to kiss my forehead.
I took the initiative to straddle him, wrapping my arms around his neck.
"Hodgson, the reason I stayed at Derek's place was because I had nowhere else to go..."
"I know. As long as you're safe, nothing else matters."
My heart felt like something had violently struck it. My hand traced down his waistline, and through the fabric of his trousers, I grasped his hard, burning cock.
Hodgson let out a suppressed growl, his hand sliding under my clothes, roughly kneading my breasts as if trying to crush me.
I pulled down his zipper and freed his impossibly hard erection.
I leaned down, opened my mouth, and carefully took it in.
"Hiss..."
Hodgson suddenly furrowed his brow and sucked in a sharp breath of cold air.
All my movements stopped abruptly. Only then did I realize I'd accidentally touched his wound. Fresh blood was seeping out from under the bandage again.
My mind, which had been clouded by desire, immediately cleared.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" I was frantic, quickly moving my hand away.
His complexion looked even worse than before, fine beads of cold sweat covering his forehead, and his eyes beginning to lose focus.
He looked at me, his lips moving as if trying to say something, but the willpower that had been sustaining him finally collapsed at this moment.
His body went limp, and he slumped backward.
"Hodgson!"
I was terrified out of my mind. I quickly steadied him, then scrambled clumsily into the driver's seat and started the car.
"Hang on, we're going to the hospital right now!"
My heart was in my throat as I floored the gas pedal.
The car cut through the night like a black streak of lightning.
"Don't go to the hospital."
"Are you insane?! You've lost so much blood, you could die!" I shouted at him.
"Go to Hall Manor." He stubbornly repeated it several times.
I changed direction and drove like a maniac, arriving at the manor around one in the morning.
Hodgson pushed open the car door and staggered out.
I quickly got out and tried to support him.
"I'm fine." He shrugged off my hand. Though his steps were unsteady, his direction was clear.
I followed behind him, my heart constantly in suspense.
We walked through the dim corridor and stopped at Keith's room.
Hodgson turned his head toward me, made a silencing gesture, then pointed to a storage room at the corner of the hallway.
"Hide," he mouthed to me.
I didn't understand what he was about to do, but I knew this wasn't the time to interfere.
I tiptoed silently into the storage room, leaving the door slightly ajar, watching nervously through the crack.
Hodgson raised his hand and knocked on the door.
A few seconds later, the door was pulled open from inside.
Keith appeared at the doorway in a bathrobe, looking impatient.
When he saw clearly that the person standing outside was Hodgson, his sleepiness vanished instantly, his expression transforming into one of horror.
"You... How can you be here?! You should be..."
Keith couldn't finish his sentence. Under his terrified gaze, Hodgson drew a dagger from behind his waist.
The next second, the dagger plunged viciously into Keith's chest.