Just then, the man chuckled softly. "Star, you''re still as disobedient as ever."
And with that, he delivered a swift karate chop to the back of her neck.
Ste''s struggles ceased instantly, her vision fading into darkness as her strength drained away, leaving herpletely limp.
Amidst the haze, she vaguely heard Ronald''s furious shout, "Xander Schultz, how dare you!"
Xander spoke something into his walkie-talkie, and immediately, there was a loud ''bang.''
The ss shattered on cue. The entire Mist Bay erupted into a cacophony of gunfire.
Ronald, seething with anger, drew his gun in one swift motion, leveling it directly at Xander, who had Ste slung over his arm like a rag doll.
"Put her down," hemanded sternly.
But Xander didn''t flinch. Instead, he shifted Ste''s unconscious body in front of him like a shield. "Go ahead. Let''s see what''s tougher, your bullet or her body?"
A dangerous glint flickered in Ronald''s eyes, his calm exterior barely masking the storm of fury roiling beneath.
Xander''s smug grin widened as he noticed the veins bulging on Ronald''s clenched hand. "What''s the matter? Forget that your old man promised her to me? I''m just here to collect my fiancée. What''s wrong with that?" "Let her go," Ronald gritted out, each word a testament to his anger.
Idris had his gun trained on Xander too, ncing at Ronald for direction.
Ronald, typically a sharpshooter, was stalled at the precipice of Ste''s life or death situation, his icy gaze like shards of ss.
Outside, chaos intensified.
Xander shot Ronald a mischievous smirk before tossing a smoke bomb. In the ensuing ''boom,'' he whisked Ste away.
Ronald and Idris pursued them, but in the fog, they couldn''t risk firing blindly.
And then a helicopter''s drone hovered over Mist Bay.
Ronald''s fury reached its peak.
Harvey, the head of Mist Bay''s security, approached Ronald anxiously. "Sir."
Ronald kicked him hard.
"You didn''t notice a thing?"
Harvey, who''d always been Ronald''s trusted aide in Ferrond, was caught off guard by Xander''s stealthy infiltration.
Even Idris was taken aback. No one had expected Xander to show up in Portis City, let alone pull off such a brazen stunt.
Ronald''s kick was no light tap - Harvey struggled to get back on his feet. He wanted to exin, but Idris shot him a warning nce. With Ste in Xander''s clutches, excuses would only dig his grave deeper.
Ronald closed his eyes, his fury simmering just beneath the surface. His voice was cold and dangerous. "Get moving. Fix this." Idris nodded. "On it."
Idris hurried off, with Harvey scrambling to make amends.
Outside, gunfire roared as Mist Bay''s security team shed with Xander''s men.
About ten minutester, silence fell.
Idris returned. "Sir, it''s all set. Xander''s men have been wiped out. Not one left standing." Ronald immediately went after Xander.
Ste couldn''t remain in his
clutches, not after him witnessing Xander''s years of greed towards her. A cold glint flickered in Ronald''s eyes at the thought.
Ste was roused by the sound of helicopter rotors. She awoke groggily, realizing she was onboard a helicopter.
Shey haphazardly on the floor,
with Xander sitting a short distance away. He lounged carelessly, legs crossed, sipping a ss of red wine while a doctor tended to the wound on his shoulder. en
The pristine bandage was stained with rming patches of red.
Noticing Ste was awake, Xander shed a mischievous smile. "Impressive stamina, waking up in just half an hour."
The drone of the rotors made Ste''s head throb, but anger slowly filled her gaze as she looked at Xander.
"Where are you taking me?" she demanded.
Xander replied, "Why don''t you guess, my fiancée?"
"Fiancée, my ass," Ste snapped.
Xander''s words ignited her fury. The
helicopter''s small space made it easy for her to scramble to her feet and tunge at him, aiming a kick at Xander.
Xander raised an eyebrow. Before he could respond, a bodyguard restrained Ste.
"Let go, let me go," Ste struggled.
But her slender limbs were no match for these muscr bodyguards.
Xander watched her futile struggles with mild amusement.