Chapter 163: Mislead the military

Mia remained crouching down on the snowed ground even after the helicopter had disappeared, she couldn’t bring herself to move as the vision of Neil holding that gun and trying to protect her by pushing her out of danger imprinted on her mind.

Everything happened so quickly like it was a scene right out of a violent movie, except this was real. She felt her stomach heave and she leaned back against a tree for support, swallowing, trying to keep her lunch and her fear of the uncertainty down.

"It’s alright now," came Neil’s deep reassuring voice as he walked toward her, but she noticed the butt of the gun sticking out from the waist of his pants and her fear escalated again. Though she’d seen the gun before and he’d even pointed it at her before, but the sight of it now was bringing back some unwanted memories buried deep in her mind. Perhaps it was due to the unexpected fear that had gripped her earlier, but she didn’t want to be anywhere near a gun or any violence.

"I don’t think it’s the authorities, just some random men flying too low on a helicopter." He assured.

Mia looked up at him but couldn’t seem to move away from her spot. Noticing how she remained seated on the ground, he frowned in concern. "Here," he said quietly. "Give me your hand."

Mia shook her head, trying to shake off her paralyzed terror with the movement and reassure him. "That’s okay, I don’t need any help. I’m fine."

"You’re not fine!" he said savagely and leaned down, grabbing her by the arms and starting to pick her up into his arms. Before she could protest, he was holding her in a bridal style. "You look so pale like someone who’s one second from fainting."

The sickness and dizziness she felt a moment ago receded as she wrapped her arms around his neck for support and leaned on him. She then managed a shaky smile as he began to carry her back into the house. "I’ve seen guns before. But I just wasn’t...prepared for such rollercoaster."

By the time they got back into the house, she was so relieved that the helicopter had been harmless that she was almost dizzy. "I think I must have overreacted to everything," she tried to joke when he put her down on the sofa. "The helicopter was harmless but I was so frightened I couldn’t walk."

"Drink this," he said, walking out of the kitchen and pushing a glass of water into her hand. "All of it," he instructed when she took a sip and tried to hand it back to him. She took another swallow and put the glass down on the counter. "I don’t want any more."

"Fine," Neil said curtly. "Now go into the bathroom and take a long, hot bath to relax."

"But I don’t want to—"

"Hush. Don’t argue with me on this. The next time I—" He started to order her to do exactly as he said the next time something like this happened again, but he knew there could never be a next time. This had been a false alarm, but it had forced him to see the risk he was taking with her life and the terror he was subjecting her to by keeping her by his side in such dangerous a place. If the military were to catch up to him, they wouldn’t hesitate to use their guns and if that should happen, she would be caught in a crossfire.

There hadn’t even been such thing yet she looked so terrified. The terror he saw in those large brown eyes...

God, the terror. He had never seen anyone look like she had when he found her out there, huddled in the snow, and that image would forever haunt him if he didn’t do anything about their current situation. Staying with him was dangerous and the last thing he wanted was to risk her life to save him.

****

Few hours ago before the helicopter arrived at the mountain cabin, in the underground parking lot of the Wallace business corporation company, Rayne stepped out of the elevator, her red hair tousled and her emerald eyes glinting with unshed tears from the brief argument she’d just had with Jason upon realizing he’d given the military access to her phone connection and now they are trying to track down Mia’s whereabout.

She wouldn’t have been worried that Mia would finally be rescued if Mia hadn’t told her to keep their call a secret, and now because of Jason it would appear like she’d betrayed her best friend.

Rayne was so mad at her damned brother for invading on her personal life yet again that she hurried towards her car, her heels clicking against the hard floor. But before she could reach her vehicle, a hand shot out from the shadows, grabbing her arm with a firm grip and pulling her into a secluded corner.

Startled, Rayne’s instinct was to scream, but before a sound could escape her lips, a deep, smooth voice interrupted her thoughts. "Shh, don’t you dare scream," the voice whispered, sending a shiver down her spine.

In the dim light of the parking lot, Rayne’s eyes widened as she recognized the man before her, she squinted to make certain she wasn’t hallucinating, and she realized she wasn’t—it was indeed Liam Thompson, his features illuminated by a faint glow. She hadn’t set eyes on him in person for many years, but here he was in front of her pressing her against the wall, with an expression that told her he was mad as hell about something.

Confusion furrowed her brows as she tried to comprehend what was happening and why her teenage crush was trying to knock the breath out of her in a quiet place like her father’s company’s parking lot, but his words cut through her thoughts like a knife.

"I thought Miss Harrison was your friend, how could you give away her whereabouts to the military?" Liam’s voice was low and tinged with anger. "Do you have any idea what sort of a mess you’ve caused by doing so?"

Rayne opened her mouth to protest, to explain, but his hand remained firmly pressed against her lips, silencing her words. She had no idea why he’d care about her best friend and what his business was in the matter, but he gave her no chance to explain that she hadn’t given the phone on purpose.

His dark gaze bore into hers, unwavering and intense, as he delivered his motives of being here.

"If you know what’s best for you, Miss Wallace, hand me your phone so I can mislead the search team heading to them right now," Liam commanded, his tone leaving no room for argument. "If you want your friend to come out alive without being caught in a crossfire, don’t argue with me and cooperate."

The military were already preparing to head to the location when Liam left to come here, if he didn’t hurry, then they’d get to Neil in no time and send him back to prison, the only way he could prevent that was by getting his hand on Rayne’s phone and getting his team to mislead the helicopter flying down to the mountains. He wasn’t supposed to give away the fact that he was the one helping Neil from the outside, but he was desperate and in a hurry to help his friend, no other person could do this better than him. From what he’d heard, Rayne was a good friend of Mia, she would do as he said if it concerned her friend’s safety.

Rayne’s heart pounded in her chest as she heard what he said about Mia getting caught in a crossfire, the weight of his words pressing down on her like a suffocating blanket. She knew her brother had messed up things for her friend, and the last thing she wanted was to lose the only person who was more like a family to her than her actual family because of her mistake. With a trembling hand, she reached into her pocket and retrieved her phone, silently handing it over to him, her mind racing with fear for her best friend.

Liam let go of her mouth and took the phone, without a word, he turned to leave but then he stopped as if recalling something, without turning his back, he spoke over his shoulder, "Don’t tell anyone about this if you know what’s best for you and Mia. I’ll send someone to return your phone to you when I’m done."

Without another word, he disappeared into the shadows leaving the stunned Rayne behind. Slowly and tremblingly, she reached her hand up to her mouth to touch where his large, warm palm had covered just a second ago, blinking in astonishment at the lingering warmth he’d left behind on her skin.

On the other hand, Liam walked up to a car parked in a corner and handed the phone to his assistant, who was waiting for him, "Get this down to the headquarters and tell them to change the location before the helicopter arrives there. Also tell the men to report to me about the ongoing investigation on Davina, Jason, Owen and Rodrigo. We need to have a lead on the murderer before Neil gets caught again."

"Yes, sir. What about you, should I send another car to pick you up?" Asked the assistant as he took the phone from Liam.

"No need, I’ll find my way back to the office, just hurry up and get there before things gets out of our hands."

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read