Free Web NovelChapter 103: Chapter 103: One Person Took Down All of Them?
Just as the steel pipe was about to crash down on Sophie Shaw’s head, Alaric Blackwood forgot his own safety and sent the thug flying with a kick.
He yanked Sophie into his embrace, just as the flat-top man seized the opportunity to slam a steel pipe against his back. Alaric gritted his teeth, bearing the pain without a sound. Wrapping one arm around Sophie’s waist, he swung a pipe with his other hand to block the man’s next sneak attack. A wildfire of rage, ready to erupt, ignited in his eyes.
"Is it really worth all this for a little compensation? The police will be here soon."
"I suggest you leave now. If you do, I won’t press charges."
He fought to suppress his fury. With Sophie to think about, he couldn’t afford a direct confrontation.
But the flat-top man was hardly the type to listen to reason. He was still stewing over their last encounter when Alaric had beaten him.
He spat on the ground and shouted in a coarse voice, "You should’ve paid up, but you didn’t. You humiliated me. Today, I’m not just going to cripple you. I’m going to make you watch while I have my way with your woman."
Those words completely ignited Alaric Blackwood’s fury.
He glanced behind Sophie; two of the thugs were already down.
He pushed her back. "Run! Run toward the estate! Don’t stop!"
"What about you—"
Sophie didn’t even have a chance to finish her sentence.
Alaric shoved her harder. She staggered back several steps, putting distance between herself and him.
He stood in front of her, a human shield blocking the flat-top and his thugs from getting anywhere near her. It was one against ten.
She didn’t want to be a burden to Alaric, so she turned and ran. But after a few steps, she couldn’t resist stopping to look back.
Another pipe slammed into the back of Alaric’s shoulder.
Her legs suddenly refused to obey her. She turned and ran back, throwing herself at Alaric’s back. She wrapped her arms around him, intending to shield him from harm with her own body.
But she was much shorter than Alaric. As the pipe swung over, it struck her squarely on the head.
She didn’t even feel the pain before her vision went black.
THUD—
She slumped to the ground, unconscious.
A thug took advantage of the chaos and kicked her in the shoulder.
Alaric’s eyes went crimson. Seeing Sophie collapsed on the ground, he went berserk. He kicked the thug who had just attacked her to the ground with insane force.
He stopped using weapons. Tossing aside the steel pipe, he relied on his years of boxing training and began to dismantle the thugs, who clearly had a death wish, with his bare hands.
...
Two police cars arrived with sirens wailing.
The scene that greeted them was horrifyingly brutal.
A dozen men with flat-tops, all dressed in black, lay on the ground amid pools of blood and scattered, blood-stained steel pipes. Nearby, a black Maybach was smashed to smithereens.
The only conscious person was Alaric Blackwood.
He sat on the side of the road, his eyes red and his white sweater spattered with blood. The dark gray overcoat he’d tossed onto the hood of the car was now wrapped tightly around Sophie.
He held the woman in his arms. Her eyes were shut tight, her small face as pale as a sheet.
The police officers were stunned by the scene.
’Did one guy take all of them down?’
Alaric didn’t say a word. He glanced at the patrol car parked on the roadside, then scooped up the unconscious Sophie and walked straight toward it.
The officers immediately called for an ambulance.
But Alaric couldn’t wait. An officer drove them to the nearest hospital.
Sophie was rushed to the emergency room. The steel pipe had split open her scalp. While the bleeding wasn’t severe, it still required four stitches.
She remained unconscious for several hours. When she finally woke up, the sky was just beginning to lighten.
Opening her eyes, she saw a blurry figure.
It was a man in a hospital gown, sitting in a chair by her bed. His long legs were crossed, and he was holding a tablet, responding to work emails.
She was lying on her side, facing the man.
But her vision was blurry. She struggled to focus, and with some effort, she finally recognized the man by her bedside as Alaric.
"Are you okay?"
Hearing her voice, the finger Alaric had been using to tap the screen froze. His gaze shifted to her.
"You’re awake."
He set down his tablet and gently rested his large hand on the side of her face. "Are you dizzy? Do you feel nauseous?"
"A little."
Alaric pressed the call button by the bed, and a doctor and nurse hurried in.
Sophie showed clear signs of a concussion. The slightest movement made her dizzy, and just as the doctor entered the room, she leaned over the side of the bed and threw up. freeωebnovēl.c૦m
The doctor prescribed some medication, and a nurse set up an IV drip for Sophie. Groggily, she drifted back to sleep.
The next time she woke, it was evening.
Her symptoms had eased. Her head wasn’t as dizzy, the nausea was gone, and her vision was no longer blurry.
Sophie glanced around and realized she was in a two-person hospital room. The patient in the other bed was Alaric.
His back was injured, so he couldn’t lie on it. He had to lie on his stomach.
He wasn’t asleep, though. His chin was propped on the back of his hand, and his head was tilted as he watched her.
"Finally awake?"
"Still feeling unwell?"
She shook her head.
The man threw back his covers, got up, and squeezed onto her hospital bed.
He lay on his side, facing her, his handsome face very close to hers. "My parents came by this afternoon."
Sophie had been asleep, and the doctor had forbidden any disturbances, so Quentin Blackwood and Mandy Halloway had no choice but to leave.
"Are you badly hurt?"
Alaric looked at her, and a sudden ache pierced his heart.
’This woman is hurt far worse than I am,’ he thought. ’The first words out of her mouth this morning were asking if I was okay, and now she’s awake again, still worried about my injuries.’
He couldn’t help but remember how she’d thrown herself in front of him, taking that heavy blow...
’I told her to run. Why did she come back?’
His gaze on her deepened, and a faint smile touched his lips. "I’m fine. Just minor injuries."
"Let me see."
"It’s not serious."
Sophie didn’t press the issue. She let his arm circle her waist and pull her gently into his embrace, holding her as they fell asleep.
...
Mandy Halloway arrived early in the morning with breakfast. As soon as she entered the room, she saw one bed was empty, while the other was occupied by two people squeezed together.
Alaric and Sophie were still asleep, facing each other, locked in an incredibly tight embrace.
As a mother, her heart was absolutely thrilled.
She tiptoed to the bedside and sat down, placing the breakfast she’d brought on the nearby cabinet. Then she pulled out her phone and snapped a photo of the two, whose noses were nearly touching.
CLICK!
The sound of the shutter was jarring in the quiet room.
Alaric woke up.
His gaze swept coolly over Mandy. "Mom, what are you doing?"
"Nothing."
Mandy hastily put her phone away. "Just bringing you some food. Sophie should be able to eat today, right?"
"If she doesn’t throw up, she can eat something light."
They kept their voices low, but Sophie woke up anyway. freёwebnovel.com
Seeing Mandy, she immediately tried to sit up, but Alaric pressed down on her shoulder. "Don’t get up so fast. Take it slow."
He sat up first, then took her by the shoulders and helped her into a sitting position.
"Feeling dizzy? Nauseous?" Mandy asked.
She shook her head. "I’m hungry."
"Perfect! That’s exactly why I’m here."
As Mandy spoke, she opened the two insulated food containers, set up the small tray table attached to the bed, and let Sophie eat first.
Alaric didn’t return to his own bed, staying right next to Sophie and eating with her.
"What did the police say?"
Mandy sighed. "They’re all in the hospital, but they’ve confessed. They said they did it on purpose—that they were waiting on that road to ambush you."
