Chapter 7
“Josh!” Mark and Isaac shouted in alarm as Josh collapsed to the ground, his voice stifled. The world around him spun, engulfed in darkness. Only after the haze cleared did the sting of pain seep in. A viscous substance oozed from his temple, and within seconds, his temple was drenched in crimson, with drops of blood trickling down.
Helpless on the floor, Josh watched as Chase parted his lips.
Narrowing his eyes and curling one corner of his mouth, Chase uttered, “Who do you think you’re deceiving, you miserable bastard?”
But it didn’t end there. With a casual flick, Chase tossed the gun into the air and caught it skillfully in his other hand. The room fell into a state of shock as Chase leveled the gun at Josh.
In a mocking tone, he taunted, “Shall we test whether your blood will stain me if I shoot you from this distance?”
Without hesitation, he pulled the trigger. Josh instinctively shielded his head with his arms, narrowly avoiding a direct hit. The onlookers gasped and cried out, desperately trying to halt Chase’s madness.
“No, Mr. Miller!”
“Run, Josh! Hurry!”
“Mr. Miller, you can’t—”
Chase paid no heed to their frantic pleas and squeezed the trigger once more. Josh was certain his skull would be obliterated this time. No mortal could outrun a bullet in this cruel world.
Yet, Josh chose defiance, fixing a steely gaze on Chase. For an instant, it appeared as if Chase furrowed his brow, but it was too late for him to halt the impending catastrophe—assuming he even intended to stop. The trigger had already been pulled.
Click.
A weighty sound reverberated, slapping against Josh’s ears. This time, Chase’s face contorted, a mixture of frustration and disappointment. He pulled the trigger repeatedly, but all that answered him was the hollow echo of an empty gun.
“Damn it!” Chase cursed, hurling the Desert Eagle aside. Whispers of relief wafted through the room. At least there was no immediate threat of him being shot dead.
Enveloped in anger, Chase aggressively ran his fingers through his brilliant blond hair. No one dared to utter a word, their gazes fixated on him, mouths too dry to swallow. Even in this moment, Josh pondered why he couldn’t tear his eyes away from this lunatic.
Finally, Chase managed to regain some composure, roughly tucking away the strands of hair that had fallen across his face. His sharp gaze abruptly pierced Josh once again. In the next heartbeat, Chase marched over and unexpectedly delivered a forceful kick to Josh’s body.
“Josh!” Isaac cried out, his face drained of color.
Josh couldn’t muster a groan of pain. He curled up, his throat burning with a sour, acidic taste. His heartbeat pounded like a resounding echo, drowning out all other sounds, while his vision wavered between a kaleidoscope of colors before descending into pitch blackness, gradually returning to normal.
Slowly regaining his senses, Josh’s vision was the last to clear. He witnessed Chase turning away, his words cutting through the air. “Load and secure it, you worthless scum,” he commanded, referring to the Desert Eagle. He spat those words with an indifference that suggested he cared little for the recent events. Then, he retreated to his car.
The security team, rousing from their stupor, scattered about. Moments later, Chase’s sedan rolled across the front garden, heading toward the mansion.
“Are you alright?” Isaac finally rushed in, helping Josh to his feet.
Josh couldn’t find the strength to reassure him. He placed a heavy hand on his throbbing forehead, which quickly became soaked with blood.
“Let’s go inside and get you patched up,” Mark said, taking the lead. Everyone followed in somber silence.
***
Josh sank into the vacant couch, finally releasing a weary sigh.
Isaac, who had lent his shoulder as support, seethed with anger. “What’s wrong with that bastard?”
Josh pressed the ice pack against his throbbing head, slumping with his arm cradling his stomach, his voice silent. Mark shook his head, clicking his tongue in disapproval.
At least he had only been beaten, not shot.
“Why would you provoke a madman with such absurdity? You should have anticipated this. If you had simply apologized and moved on, you could have spared yourself this beating,” Henry barked, fetching a fresh towel to apply pressure to Josh’s wound.
Josh managed a weary smile. “Yeah, I wonder…”
Without warning, Henry smacked the back of Josh’s head. “What’s so funny, huh? Playing with my emotions and shit.”
“Henry, stop!” Isaac shouted, watching Josh curl up in pain, unable to utter a sound.
Mark also chimed in, scolding Henry for once. “Perhaps refrain from hitting him on the head for a while.”
“And the stomach too,” Isaac added from the side. It was true, Josh felt as if his brain was ricocheting inside his skull like gelatin.
A groan escaped Josh’s lips, drawing Seth’s concern. “Are you sure you don’t need to go to the hospital?”
Josh nodded quietly. In that moment, he yearned desperately for Pete. If only he could press his lips against the boy’s soft cheek and envelop his small frame in a tender embrace, he felt as though all the pain would dissolve. As everyone sat in hushed contemplation, a series of knocks resounded from the door, and the former head of the security team entered.
“Would it be acceptable to continue with the handover process? It’s almost time for us to depart…” he trailed off.
Deliberately avoiding eye contact with Josh, he offered a somewhat awkward smile to Mark. Josh’s team remained tight-lipped, confronted with an inescapable reality.
***
The diner, typically abuzz with noise, now sat in hushed silence as they gathered around the expansive table, voraciously attacking the mound of food before them. Not a word was spoken.
Seth, breaking the silence, weakly mused, “I wonder where they’ve reached by now…”
His words referred to the previous security team who had handed over their responsibilities and left, their faces adorned with a liberating sense of freedom. The others who had kindly stayed a bit longer to allow them their final meal from the outside world were undoubtedly itching to depart as soon as they returned to the mansion, radiating sheer happiness.
With a mouthful of beef hotdog, Mark took a bite and casually replied, “They’re probably over the national border by now.”
Seth muttered to himself, his voice tinged with yearning, “Must be nice…”
The sentiment resonated with everyone at the table. In their minds, they had all booked a ticket to anywhere, craving escape from that man. Josh, in particular, carried an additional urgency for this getaway.
That beautiful bastard is nothing more than flesh like the rest of us. I knew he was scum, yet I allowed myself to be captivated. Josh berated himself inwardly, frustrated with his own weakness. Who would’ve thought I had such a weakness for attractive faces?
Simultaneously, Josh had to concede, no matter how difficult it was to swallow. He, too, was no different from a naive teenage boy rejected by a girl while munching on a chocolate bar.
Without realizing it, Josh blurted out, “Any ideas for a nice holiday destination?” before he could stop himself.
Mark chimed in, his lips smacking together, “I’ve always wanted to travel to Cuba. Smoking a cigar, now that would be a damn good time.”
As they watched Mark, their own fantasies of dream getaways spilled forth.
“The Amazon sounds appealing, like a thrilling adventure, you know?” Seth whispered softly.
Quick to interject, Henry retorted with sarcasm, “No hot water and no internet? Sounds like a blast.”
No sign of that man either, Josh thought to himself.
No man appeared more at home in the city than him. It was unfathomable to picture Chase Miller, disheveled and covered in dust, lying on the ground with a wrinkled shirt. If it were up to Josh alone, he would yearn to move far away from the modern world, whether to the Amazon or elsewhere. But Josh had Pete. He wanted to ensure Pete could at least complete his formal education.
“How about Alaska?” Josh suggested. Seth stared at him, his expression questioning why on earth anyone would consider moving to Alaska. Josh quickly added, as if offering an explanation, “It’s quiet. Not many people there.”
“Perfect if you want to isolate yourself in the middle of nowhere,” Henry sarcastically retorted, as was his custom.
Seth chimed in, “Canada’s pretty rural too. Why go all the way to Alaska?”
It wasn’t a bad idea. Just then, a forgotten detail resurfaced in Josh’s mind. “Isaac, you’re from Canada, right? How are things there?”
Isaac, who had been mostly silent until now, responded matter-of-factly, “Dunno. It’s been so long since I left. I’ve even forgotten how to speak ‘Canadian.'”
All eyes turned to Isaac, the confusion evident on his face. It dawned on him suddenly, “Right, they speak English there too.”
“Why do you even bother keeping that on your neck?” Henry criticized, pointing at Isaac’s head.
Josh almost suggested that maybe Isaac hailed from the French-speaking region of Canada, but he decided against it. They all knew he came from an English-speaking region.
Someone must have asked about quitting, as Mark replied, “We can’t quit unless you want to pay three times the down payment as a penalty.”
“Ughhh…” Josh emitted a strained groan from deep within his throat upon hearing Mark’s response.
“We should demand a higher down payment. How are we supposed to work while getting constantly beaten up?” Isaac protested sharply.
Getting beaten up was no longer Josh’s primary concern; it was the very existence of that man. If it weren’t for the damn money, he would have never taken this job in the first place.
If escape was impossible, why not extract more money from it?
For a fleeting momentuntil the end of the dinner.
* * *
, everyone was enticed by Isaac’s plea, but Mark shook his head. “Better give up on that. Remember what the Millers’ main line of work is? And don’t forget their oldest son, Nathaniel Miller.”
Everyone, of course, knew that name.
The Satan of the legal world—an ice-cold, merciless vampire—a diabolical lawyer who had yet to taste defeat.
This meant there was no escape route.
“You all should steer clear of him to avoid getting hit,” Mark advised. Silence prevailed
As they arrived back at the mansion, a pallor hung over everyone’s faces. It wasn’t solely due to the impending task at hand. They were about to introduce themselves to Chase as his new security team. The previous team leader had stayed until now solely for this purpose. Once the introductions were completed, he would eagerly depart from the premises.
“Shall we go then?” the team leader beamed, turning around, in stark contrast to Josh’s team.
Mark led the way, and everyone prepared to follow when Isaac suddenly suggested, “Why don’t you go and rest first, Josh? You’ve already said your hellos with what happened earlier.”
All eyes immediately fixated on Josh. Feeling awkward, he was about to decline, but Isaac beat him to it. “He took a hit to the head. He seems fine now, but it’s best for him to rest up. So what if he misses the introduction? That bastard probably won’t even bother remembering how many of us there are, let alone our names.”
There was truth in Isaac’s words. Moreover, Josh was likely remembered as the bodyguard who got shot and nothing more. Perhaps Chase had already forgotten that he had struck someone. The realization left a bitter taste in Josh’s mouth.
“That’s true,” Mark muttered, concurring with Isaac’s statement. After briefly contemplating the suggestion, he nodded. “Yeah, Josh, you should go get some rest. If you start feeling worse, let us know immediately. We’re just getting acquainted, so it’s not a big deal.”