The Mafia King's Unknown Doctor Wife novel Chapter 316

Elena held her breath.

A deer ran past in a hurry. It didn't belong in this close to the white zone, but it clearly wasn't causing problems. In a second, it was gone—running off to the yellow zone, in fact.

Elena sighed as she lowered her gun. She really needed to relax and stop being so paranoid.

At that exact moment, something else approached from the same direction the deer had ran from—or, more accurately, someone else.

Elena nearly jumped in shock as heavy footsteps approached. As it was, she was so startled she dropped her gun. She hurriedly got to the ground and tried to pick it up.

"What are you doing out here?" Massimo asked.

"Getting frightened by you, apparently," Elena said, trying to calm down her heart rate. Her sweat-drenched hands finally gripped her weapon and she put it back in the holster at her side. "I bet you scared that poor deer senseless!"

It took Massimo a minute to realize she was (mostly) joking. By then, Elena had calmed down considerably. She stood back up and dusted the dirt off her clothes.

"The better question is what you're doing out here," Elena stated. "You're supposed to be competing! And red ranked competitors go until dusk!"

"The competition also lasts the whole week for those of us actually hunting our kills," Massimo replied. "I can afford a break or two—especially when things are this suspiciously quiet. The event staff should've contacted me about some minor issue they've dealt with by now."

Elena frowned. "You haven't heard?" she asked. "About the wandering animals?"

"No," Massimo said. "Tell me everything."

Elena furrowed her brow. "I'm not so sure," Elena said. "I mean, why would we be alone in the woods in areas we're not supposed to be—"

All of a sudden, the realization hit her. Plenty of couples were probably hooking up in quiet corners of the woods, in areas they expected not to be bothered in. The thought made her cheeks turn a bright red.

Elena cleared her throat. "I mean," she squeaked out shakily, "yes, that would be a... good cover. Lead the way?"

Massimo silently led Elena down the marked trails. He was glad he had memorized each route—it made it easier for him to avoid what was sure to be more populated areas of play between competitors. Massimo effortlessly led them down the edge of the hunting grounds—specifically where the white zone met the green.

Technically, the white zone didn't meet any of the other zones, but there was a bit of dead, protected space between the white zone and the red and yellow zones. It was unavoidable, since the shooting range was in the middle of the Ferraro's hunting grounds.

Massimo had been meticulous in ensuring nothing came over from the green zone into the white—children were participating at the white rank, after all. He didn't want any disasters or tragedies happening from carelessness.