Chapter 17 Shot
Chapter 17 Shot
"Yes, Mr. Kiyose? I arrived in Las Vegas this morning. Everything's fine, don't worry!" I said, holding my phone to my ear.
I walked along the sidewalk, looking at the buildings and the atmosphere of the city, which felt very unfamiliar to me.
"Thank goodness! Have you met Leo?"
"I haven't met him yet!"
"Have you tried calling him?"
"The phone number you gave me is not active."
"Is that so? That's too bad. I apologize for that!"
"No need to apologize, Mr. Kiyose! It's not your fault!" I said. My eyes fell on a familiar-looking man walking out of a hotel toward a sedan parked on the side of the road.
"Leo? Is that Leo?" I muttered.
"Leo?" Mr. Kiyose asked when he heard me mutter.
"I think it's Leo! Yes, it really is Leo! Mr. Kiyose, I'll call you back later, okay? See you later?" I said as I ended the call.
I walked quickly to the black sedan just before the man got in.
"Leo...!" I shouted cheerfully, calling Leo's name loudly.
"Hana?" Leo muttered, surprised to see me in this city.
He looked panicked and checked his surroundings as if danger could strike at any moment. I, innocent and clueless, could only run toward Leo with a joyful expression.
"Leo, you jerk! What are you doing here...?" I shouted in annoyance and tried to touch Leo, who quickly shied away from me.
"Who are you? Do I know you?" Leo asked with a cold, thug-like gaze.
"What are you talking about? Oh, I know, you're pretending not to know me anymore, huh? You idiot, why is your phone number off? Why did you leave so suddenly?"
"Hey, listen! I don't know you at all! Don't come near me!"
"What? W-what did you say? What did-"
Bang...
The sound of a gunshot rang right in my ear. Leo, with quick reflexes, immediately opened his car door and pushed me inside.
Bang...
"Tch, damn it!" Leo growled in annoyance as another shot was fired at his car. He quickly drove through the streets to avoid the mysterious shooter.
I don't know what happened, but suddenly I was in a car being chased by a shooter who came from nowhere, along with a man who looked like Leo or the real Leo, who pretended not to know me.
Bang...
"Oh my God, what's happening? Why am I here?" I was scared to death when I realized a black sedan was chasing me. Two men inside were pointing guns and trying to shoot at Leo's car and windows.
"Get down!" Leo instructed.
"What...?"
"Get your head down if you want to live...!"
"Oh my God, I'm dead...!" I lowered my head and hid behind the seat to avoid the gunfire that could have hit me.
Beside me, Aiden, who was driving, remained calm, although his eyes occasionally glanced at the rearview mirror.
"Leo, I knew you were that bastard Leo. Don't pretend you don't know me! You're really too much!"
"We'll talk about that later! The important thing now is that we escape!"
"What happened? Are you a fugitive? Could they be police?"
"They're not police!"
"So?"
"They're mafia members who want to kill me! Rocco D'Angelo's men."
"What? Mafia? So you're really in the mafia? Oh no, I'm dead!"
"Hey, come on! It wouldn't have been so dangerous if you hadn't called me out!"
"What do you mean?"
Bang...
Another shot went off and hit Leo's rear tire, causing the car to swerve and lose control.
"Tch, damn it!" Leo glanced at the rearview mirror, trying desperately to escape Rocco D'Angelo's men, who were after him.
Leo found an opening he thought he could use to escape. He accelerated and entered a busy highway, then opened the car door while he was on the side of the road near the sidewalk.
"We're getting out now!"
"What...?"
"Come here!" Leo grabbed my body and hugged me tightly before taking a running start.
"Leo, are you crazy? Stop the car first!"
"No way!"
"What do you mean? We could crash!"
"Just do as I say!"
"What? I'm not going to do as you say, you crazy person—"
The car, increasingly out of control, was about to crash into a streetlight, so Leo took the opportunity to jump out of the car.
Leo's body tumbled onto the sidewalk with me in his arms. The car hit a traffic light, and seconds later, the gunmen's car didn't have time to cool down and crashed straight into Leo's car.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Leo asked. He was so worried about me that he'd forgotten the fact that his head was injured from the impact.
"I'm fine! Your head is hurt, Leo!"
"Forget it! We have to go now!" he said, grabbing my hand and leading me down a small, dead-end alley.
"It's a dead-end!"
"We have to climb over it!"
"What? Climb over? I can't!"
"Can't? Don't make me laugh! A woman like you who's used to climbing men's bodies, how can she not be able to climb!" Leo said with a chuckle. I was currently wearing a short skirt, so I wasn't so bold as to expose my underwear.
"B-but, I—" I said hesitantly, holding my skirt.
"You climb first! I'll help you! Climb onto my shoulders!" Without warning, Leo lifted me up and made me sit between his shoulders.
"Hey, idiot...! What are you doing...?"
"There's no other way! We have to climb!"
"Are you trying to peek at my underwear?"
"Peek at what? I've already seen you naked! Come on, stop talking! We have to hurry before they find us!"
Leo managed to help me climb onto the wall and then he followed, but once I was up there, I was afraid to climb down. I don't know when he became so timid.
"Why am I so afraid to jump?" I thought to myself. I was really afraid of jumping or descending to the ground, which was four meters below.
Meanwhile, Leo was already down there before I knew it. His movements were so fast I almost didn't see him.
"What are you doing? Come on down...!"
"Th-that, how about you just go? I have nothing to do with those people, so I think it's fine if I just go the normal route!"
"No! I can't leave you alone. They've already seen you! I don't want to take any chances!"
"But—"
"Just jump! I'll catch you...!"
I hesitated, having no idea what Leo was really up to or why those people wanted to kill him. But somehow, he had a very bad feeling.
"That woman...!"
Suddenly, two gunmen were at the end of the alley, pistols in hand. They looked at me, hesitantly sitting on the wall.
"Shit! Hana, jump...!"
Bang...