CHAPTER 24

CHAPTER 24
"Just tell me..." Those were the words that kept forcing their way into Michael's mind. Simple words spoken by D from his own mouth, but Michael knew their meaning. Only Michael knew the true meaning.

He swallowed repeatedly, then looked at his own hands. They were trembling, but his decision was firm.

"Help me get to where Jia and Brent are right now, D."

He heard no words from him. He closed his eyes, and when he opened them, his astonishment was overwhelming.

JIA LOOKED at the remaining henchmen. They weren't like Boboy. She could outmaneuver them. She could save her brother from certain danger. Even if she couldn't save herself, that was okay with her. The important thing was Brent's life. Her brother was everything to her, so if he were harmed, she had no plans to live anymore. She didn't want to live alone, because that was her greatest fear. She couldn't handle being alone, so she never dreamed of it coming true.

Someone approached her and Brent, trying to pull her away from her brother. She let herself be dragged. But her mind became alert. at the hand of the man who approached them. He wasn't holding anything. And since he was only wearing a T-shirt with no jacket, she could clearly see his side. He wasn't carrying any weapon on his body.

"Ahhh!" she cried out as the man grabbed her by the hair and dragged her away from her still-unconscious brother. "Hold on, Brent," she whispered to him, so softly that only she could hear her own voice.

"You're saying some—" The man dragging her didn't finish his sentence when she grabbed his hand. She suddenly stood up and twisted his arm behind his back. With full force, she twisted his arm before effortlessly throwing the man toward another man.

"You fucking bitch!" one man cursed at her, and perhaps because of his anger at what she did, he couldn't think straight. Instead of drawing his gun, he ran toward her to kick her.

If there was one thing she learned from her previous training that she shouldn't forget, it was not to fight in anger because she wouldn't be able to think clearly. Just like what the man in front of her was doing now. He just charged at her recklessly, so when he aimed to kick her, she dodged immediately. He ended up crashing into a pile of chairs and hurt himself in the process.

But because he was seething with rage toward her, he got up right away.

"No one's interfering! This woman is mine! I'll be the one to kill her!" he shouted as his companions moved to help him.

She grimaced to taunt him further, making his nose almost smoke with irritation at her.

From the pile of chairs, he grabbed a fairly large piece of wood. He slapped it against his own palm as if that would intimidate her. She could see his grinning face, but he couldn't hide the annoyance that was his true feeling.

"Let us go. I won't pin this case on you. Let us leave peacefully, I'll forget this ever happened," Jia negotiated, especially since she saw his companions sitting down. "I know you were forced into this, that's why you're doing th—" Her words were cut off as his companions burst into laughter.

"Forced, huh," said the man she had thrown earlier. He had blood on his forehead and mouth. "Money is the reason for everything, Miss. We need money for our vices, that's why we're doing this kind of thing." He turned to the man holding the club. "Let me through. I just want to get back at that woman, babe."

Babe? Son of a—!

She looked at the man she had thrown earlier. He was approaching the angry man. Now she knew the reason for the man's intense rage toward her. The two had a relationship, and she confirmed it when they kissed, even with people around them. It seemed normal to their companions to see such a sight.

Since the two were busy with what they were doing, Jia had a moment to approach her brother, but before she could get fully close, the man she had thrown came at her and kicked her in the face. Since she wasn't prepared for it, she couldn't dodge, and it hit her, causing her to sprawl on the floor.

She scrambled to get up, but before she could stand properly, she received a hard blow to her back. She let out a stifled scream because of it. The man wasn't satisfied; he kicked her hard in the face again. Blood gushed from her mouth.

She thought that was the end of his assault on her, but she was wrong. Her attempt to stand was interrupted when the second man approached her brother. He grabbed Brent by the hair and forced him to sit up.

That's when her brother woke up. He opened his eyes, but because his face was beaten, with a swollen cheek and left eye, he couldn't fully open them.

"B-Brent." Her voice. like her head had suddenly grown bigger when the second man pulled out a gun and pressed it to her brother's temple.

Despite her weakness, Jia forced herself to sit up, then knelt. She clasped her hands together and rubbed them. She begged the man.

"D-don't, p-please. D-don't h-hurt my b-brother." She was stumbling over her words. She wanted to close her eyes and pretend what she was seeing was just a dream.

Now she regretted her bravery. If she hadn't angered them, her brother wouldn't be in danger.

"P-please s-stop out of mercy. Don't h-hurt my b-brother. Just me..." She swallowed as a tear slid down, seeing her brother smile at her. It was as if he was saying it was okay. She shook her head. "I-I'm s-scared, Brent," she admitted to him.

"Sshhh... It's all right." She saw no desperation on her brother's face, as if he was ready for whatever would happen to him.

She shook her head again.

She was about to speak, but she noticed something around them. The temperature in their location suddenly dropped.

Even their companions seemed to notice what she did, looking around. The change in temperature became even more apparent when vapor came out of their mouths.

What was happening? she wondered to herself. She almost hugged her own body because of the cold that pierced to her bones.

But the cold she felt was replaced by some kind of heat, accompanied by sweat breaking out on her forehead. She stared blankly for a moment before looking at her brother. Even her brother was shocked by what he saw.

She shook her head and blinked her eyes. And to fully confirm and know if she was just seeing things, she rubbed her eyes. Unlike earlier when she saw the figure and it disappeared, this time it didn't vanish.

It was really in front of them!

Tears welled up in her eyes. Whether from fear or astonishment, she didn't know.

She touched herself. Was she really afraid to see it again? Or was she happy, which is why her heart was pounding so hard?

This scene was driving her insane. Even her breathing was held because of what she saw.

"Kill whoever that is!" shouted the second man holding her brother.

She looked at him. It meant that she and her brother weren't the only ones who could see the newcomer. And for her, that was a good thing because she knew his presence wasn't a product of her overactive imagination.

Michael was really in front of them! She couldn't be mistaken this time. He was there, walking toward them as if there was no danger around.

Jia was almost deafened because the men with guns rained bullets on the newcomer. But what shocked her more was the bullet hitting her body. She even felt the stinging pain in her chest before looking at her brother, who was now lying on the floor from a bullet wound to his neck.

Brent! With her last breath, she uttered his name before tears fell from her lifeless eyes.