Chapter 191 Addicted to Hugging
"Bella!" A shout came through the choking smoke and flying dust.
I looked up in surprise to see Jonas running toward me.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." I asked him, "What are you doing here?"
"I came to back you up." Jonas glanced around and let out a barely noticeable sigh of relief. "Lucas isn't back yet?"
He carefully hid his excitement. "Don't worry, even if he's not here, you've got me. I'll protect you."
I shook my head. Jonas pouted, looking hurt. "You don't trust me?"
I smiled. "I trust you, but I can protect myself!"
Jonas's frown relaxed, and he sighed. "Yeah, you're not some delicate flower who needs a man's protection."
With Jonas's support, the killers' firepower was split. I told him to leave one alive, then moved toward the parking lot.
But the killers seemed to know exactly where I was. After nearly getting ambushed twice in a row, Jonas and I temporarily hid in the casino's employee break room on the first floor to figure out how our location was being leaked.
We ended up catching one informant near each of us—Soldatos who'd been tipping off the enemy.
We didn't bother asking why they betrayed us. Traitors only get one ending—death!
The two fresh corpses were dragged away. They still had one use—they could be used to confuse the enemy.
Jonas stood to my right, his face serious. "I can't believe they even planted a traitor near me."
He glanced at me and said quietly, "Good thing they got exposed today, or I don't know when I would've found out."
My brow furrowed. "Your family's base is so far from Dawnharbor, yet the Four Families managed to plant spies near you. They've crossed the line!"
Jonas pulled out his phone. "Bella, I need to make a call. Actually, never mind. We need to get out of here first."
I guessed Jonas wanted to contact his family elders to tell them about the traitor, but changed his mind because we were in the middle of running for our lives!
Just then, heavy gunfire erupted outside again. Cole held his hand to his earpiece, and after hearing the report, quickly relayed it to me. "Two more groups of killers just showed up!"
Jonas pressed his hand to his chest, shocked and uncertain. "More? Is it really necessary to send this many killers just to deal with one person—Bella?"
I spread my hands helplessly. "Because too many people want me dead. Even if each enemy only sends two killers after me, the total number adds up pretty fast."
Jonas looked puzzled. "Why are you so calm about this?"
"Because I'm used to it." I shrugged. "Back when I was learning from Mr. Cunningham, we ran into assassinations all the time. Often, these killers would keep their distance and hide their identities, lurking around us, following and watching. When Mr. Cunningham and I were in danger, they'd all show up at once."
A sly smile crossed my face. "But they all had different goals. Some wanted Mr. Cunningham and me dead, some wanted to capture us alive, and some just wanted to monitor our movements and find out what drugs we were researching. That's how Mr. Cunningham and I managed to escape danger time and time again."
"I see." Jonas had a moment of realization. "So you're saying there might be people among the killers who actually want to protect you?"
I nodded. The next second, as if to prove my point, Cole reported again. "Ms. Sorelli, we caught three snipers on the top floor of the entertainment center. They were subdued on the spot—they cooperated with the arrest and confessed their employer's identity."
He lowered his voice and whispered a name in my ear.
I wasn't surprised at all. I explained to the curious Jonas, "One of Mr. Cunningham's former patients."
"Mr. Cunningham?" Jonas sighed. "Even though I already know you're the Miracle Surgeon, it still feels unreal."
I asked Cole, "Did those three snipers say anything else?"
Cole answered, "According to them, because you'd been missing for so long, their boss wasn't sure if you were really the Miracle Surgeon, so he specifically sent people to check."
Before I could speak, Jonas asked, "Your identity was hidden so carefully—what could they possibly find out?"
Then he answered his own question. "Wait, no. If they came clean about their purpose, that means they've already confirmed you are the Miracle Surgeon!"
"Let's not talk about this now. We need to get out of here fast." Seeing Lucas's entertainment center being destroyed made me feel bad, and staying trapped here wasn't a good thing.
To shake off these killers, the best approach was guerrilla tactics.
The entertainment center covered a large area. Excluding escape routes from above, there were eight exits at ground level.
Jonas and I ran until we reached a fork—one path led to the south exit, the other to the southeast exit.
While the killers hadn't caught up yet, I decided to split up with my body double here.
"Adrian, Cole, you go with my double and head to the closer southeast exit first. Jonas, we'll hide here and do some disguising, then move after they're far enough away."
Cole frowned. Adrian said without hesitation, "No! Ms. Sorelli, our job is to protect you!"
I wasn't upset that Adrian contradicted my order. I explained patiently, "Taking the double away will draw fire for me—that is protecting me. At the same time, I need the double to fake that I've been shot and seriously injured. This task is important, and only you can do it."
Adrian and Cole looked hesitant. Just then, Jonas suddenly stepped forward and hugged me tight.
"Jonas?" I frowned slightly and tried to push Jonas away, but the strength of his tightening arms made it impossible to struggle. I heard him whisper with regret, "The time by your side has been too short. I really want to hold you a little longer."
I was confused. "Jonas, what's wrong?"
"Jonas! Are you addicted to hugging?" A familiar, domineering male voice came from behind.
My whole body stiffened. I wanted to turn around in delight, but Jonas held me too tightly to move.
A strong hand grabbed my arm and pulled me out of Jonas's embrace.
I leaned against Lucas's warm, broad chest, looked up at him—his jawline was tense, his face full of displeasure.
"Yeah, I'm addicted." Jonas admitted openly, deliberately provoking Lucas. "Can't get enough!"
Lucas held me with one arm and kicked at Jonas in anger. Jonas dodged nimbly.
"Weren't you in another city? When did you get back?" Jonas asked, then said, "Actually, I don't care. Since you're here, I'll leave Bella's protection to you. Cole, Adrian, let's take the double."
Cole and Adrian looked at me. I looked at Jonas.
Jonas stood with one hand in his pocket, his beige shirt outlining his upright figure. The wind lifted the hem of his clothes—just as dashing as when we first met, hiding a tenderness and care beneath his casual surface that others didn't understand.
"Don't I look cool? Are you touched?" Jonas touched his nose. "I've been moving with you this whole time, so if I go with the double, it'll be more convincing."
"Very cool." I affirmed. "Cole, Adrian, help me protect Jonas!"
Cole and Adrian said in unison, "Yes!"
Lucas held me tight and said to Jonas, "I guess you're somewhat useful."
"Lucas, be nicer." I gently pushed against Lucas's chest.
"You don't need to worry about him. He's the most promising heir of the Donovan family. Drawing fire isn't hard for him—he won't end up too beat up." Lucas said.
Jonas snorted, ignored Lucas, waved at me casually, turned and strode into the smoke-filled spring breeze.