Chapter 12

We only locked gaze for a few seconds before I was forced to avert my gaze from him. I wrinkled the fabric in my left hand, emotions rushing through my mind.

Now, Zach is already standing in front of me. All of the confusion that had grown inside of me went away, and he quickly filled my mind again.

“We have an agreement!” Zach's yell echoed, which made me lift my head and look ahead.

Zach is now looking at the stranger, his eyes filled with rage and something else that I can’t figure out, and his brows furrowed with jaw tightening. An expression I had never seen him use before.

This shout easily stirs up the tension that had been slowly easing up in the air. Even though they were tired, the people on both sides repositioned themselves.

There were no guns pointed at the opponent, but they had them in their hands and were ready to fire.

On the other hand, the stranger appears unconcerned with the tension as he leisurely observes the dead man as if it were a fantastic art.

"I know," he said, then looked at me for a moment before turning to Zach. "If it weren't for that, I would have already shot your head off with my gun," he said with narrowed eyes and a lazy chuckle, waving the gun in his hand. "I've been itching to do that."

Zach's face turned sour in an instant, and he looked at me with eyes like he was going to eat me whole before turning back to the stranger.

"Then why is she here?" he yelled again, pointing his finger in my direction. "She's not supposed to be here, fuck, are you taking me for a fool, Rizzo?"

He took another step forward to get closer to the stranger, but before he could take another, guns already pointed at him and stopped him.

In this scene, my chest heaved as my emotions became jumbled. Zach's rage, guns aimed at him, and most importantly... are they talking about me? They are, right? I have no idea what they are arguing about or why I am a part of it. What kind of agreement is that?

With guns aimed at him from all sides, he acted as if they weren't there at all, remaining as unconcerned as before.

"It's your fault. You aren't hiding her well enough." He replied with Zach's rage, which made me even more confused.

What are they talking about? Hiding? Me?

I'm not stopping them because I want to know more. If I didn't, I would have asked both of them for a long time what they were talking about.

"You killed my men, didn't you? Otherwise, she won't be here! "Damn it, Rizzo, do you really want war?" Zach yelled again, disregarding the guns aimed at him, as the stranger's eyes darkened, making him appear even more dangerous.

“War?” he laughed and walked until they were much closer to each other and facing each other. They were in the center, the bloody scene at their feet and the guns surrounding them as he continued, "Don't twist it. You already started the war two years ago," his clenched jaw visible in his side profile. Both are surrounded by murderous intent, and the tension in the air grows thicker.

This can't go on. Someone needs to stop them. My throat was parched and a little painful as I swallowed. At some point, the gun in my hand, which I never got to use, seemed heavy to me.

There are a lot of things going on in my head, but now is not the right time to think about them. I need to stop my husband and ‘Rizzo’ from killing each other right in front of me.

“Stop!” I shouted, echoing how loud they were. Since my heart was beating furiously, I failed to tone down my voice; it was louder than I intended. Still, I’m successful in capturing their attention.

They both turn to face me, and the men around us do as well.

Taking a deep breath to calm my emotions, I approached them, this time approaching Zach’s side with slow steps.

It would be so wrong to stand there on a stranger's side with my husband right here, though I'm still hesitant to approach Zach because he looks so angry, and I know I'm part of the reason why.

“I... I came here on my own.” I began with a much lower tone than before, lifting my head and meeting Zach's gaze, "I'm sorry. I had no idea something like this would happen this night." I apologized and admitted my actions.

He still had furrowed brows and asked me in a harsh tone, "Then why are you here? Aren't you at home recovering from an accident?"

I grimaced because of how he sounded; even the stranger reacted first.

“Gallagher, watch your fucking tone!” his voice is deep and slow in between his gritted teeth, and when I look at him, I'm a little surprised by the anger in his eyes.

I know he’ll latch on again to Zach any minute now, so I started speaking again.

"I'm here because I wanted to find out." I paused and, made contact with him, pursing my lips, and continued. "I want to know what kept you so busy that you don't come home anymore. You're never there. So I came here without much thought,"

Throughout the silence, only my voice reverberated, and it appeared that everyone has decided to listen to what I had to say, as they all look frozen. Zach's face relaxed slightly as if relieved, while the stranger appeared unconcerned.

But Zach's frown remains as he turns to face me. Examining me up and then stopping at my hand, I also stare at it. I'm still holding the gun Rizzo gave me earlier.

Instantly, my husband’s frown deepened, and he grabbed the gun in my head and threw it to the side. At some point, the people surrounding us had already put down their weapons and were only on standby.

I’m aware that they are listening to us even with their heads lowered.

“Do you even know how to use a gun?” Zach questioned me harshly, and before I could respond, the man beside us snickered and now had a mocking smile on his lips.

I look at him, quickly meeting his gaze and glaring; this man enjoys causing chaos. Can’t he shut up? Every time he spoke, I felt like another is added to my mistake.

He only shook his head and took a step back before turning around. "It's an automatic rifle, she didn't need experience for that," he mumbled.

I watched him return and leaned into my ears without minding my husband beside me.

"See you later," he says, his voice full of hidden meanings, before smirking as our gazes meet and finally walking away from us.

What did he mean by that? See you later... Why do I have a bad feeling about this? That man really gave me a confusing riddle before he left. I kept my gaze on him as he walked like a king, surrounded by his subordinates.

"Let's go home," Zach's voice said beside my ears, startling me and drawing my attention to him. His blue eyes stare at me, making me feel a little self-conscious.

"Uh, yes..." I nodded as I fell silent. I suddenly don't know what to say to him.

If I say sorry again, it will look like I'm making excuses. Zach will only be irritated again; his patience these days is wearing thin, and I'm not sure how to act around him any longer.

And since I'm acting like I have amnesia, I can't complain much to him, either. I'm supposed to be a little innocent since I don't remember anything. He might not have believed me yet, but I have to play the part, at least.

In no time at all, we're already sitting in the car. Since I have a lot on my mind, I had no idea how we got here. While sitting in the backseat, I’m looking outside as Zach is not inside yet and giving instructions to his men.

I'm looking at him, then at the place that's almost indistinguishable now. It's not the front door; probably in the back. I don't know because it looks smaller from the outside than it is on the inside.

Then my eyes fell on a woman standing there with a document in her hand. She still wore his typical office attire, but her hair was now in a bun, Zach’s annoying secretary.

I took a closer look, leaning close to the window for a better view. It's her, without a doubt, and based on how she's ordered everyone, her position appears to be high.

So, she is not just Zach's secretary at the company. She also knew this side of my husband before I did. As I look at Zach again, I feel a sharp pain in my heart. I may be able to deal with this situation better than most people, but I'm still starting to be shocked by the fact that my husband is involved in this dangerous world I never knew about.

I kept my gaze fixed on Zach, feeling a little down. I've loved him for much longer than I can remember. But he never once told me this side of him. Zach probably wouldn't want to tell me about this if I hadn't discovered it by accident.

Zach really knows how to hurt my feelings; he really does.

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