But as soon as she hopped into the vehicle, the gears inside her head began to turn once again.
At present, she and Christopher had been shoved into the back of the car by Leandro’s men, whereas Leandro himself was now seated in the passenger seat.
Winnie recalled Christopher once mentioned that people in the underworld normally addressed Leandro as Boss, so she followed suit.
“Please take us to the best hospital there is, Boss. My friend needs a blood transfusion!”
Leandro was a middle-aged man with medium-long hair. As someone who wasn’t too tall and had a slightly chubby build, he looked very average and accommodating at first glance.
However, he and Harold were hospitable in different ways. The former appeared especially down-to-earth, unlike the latter who was more like a wolf in sheep’s clothing and had an insidious smile.
Thus, Leandro immediately agreed to Winnie’s request.
“Don’t worry. We’re on our way to the best hospital. It’s not just for Chris; you need to get that arm treated too. I’ll be sure to get the most skilled doctor to tend to you.”
Winnie frowned as soon as she heard him referring to Christopher like that. “You know him?”
Leandro glanced back and smiled, his tanned skin and disheveled hair making him look like a law-abiding commoner rather than a major drug lord.
“Chris is Harold’s best subordinate. Everyone involved in this business knows him. Frankly speaking, I’m fond of talented people and just so happen to lack people like him. That’s why I’d save him without you telling me to. I want him to be indebted to me and work for me in the future. As for you, Ms. Vivian, I believe my reasons are obvious. Everyone wants what you have.”
Winnie was fully aware that people like Leandro did everything with a goal in mind. They always had an ulterior motive.
Still, she couldn’t be bothered to think about that now. All she wanted was for them to reach the hospital as quickly as possible and find out more information through him.
“We’re naturally grateful that you’re willing to save us, Boss. It’s just that we’ve barely just managed to escape from Harold, and there’s no way he’ll let us off so easily. He and his men have been chasing after us ever since we fled last night, so I’d like to ask you if you happen to know more about them?”
“To be honest, there was another chemist who escaped with us in the midst of all the chaos,” she continued. “I want to know if Harold’s caught up to him and taken him back. Have his men captured anyone since last night?”
“Another chemist working for Harold?” Leandro’s curiosity was piqued immediately. “Are you referring to Professor Riley White?”
“Yes.” Winnie’s brows furrowed. It looks like he’s only interested in chemists and his own benefits. He didn’t pay any attention to my question.
She began to grow impatient. “Please answer my question, Boss. I’ll tell you whatever you want to know when I get my answer.”
“Oh, of course. Look at me! I lost my focus the moment you brought up chemists. Regarding your question, I think you don’t have to worry. You’ll be safe once you’re on my turf since Harold wouldn’t dare enter my territory for now. I also heard he’s been injured—by explosives, at that—my guess is that he’ll stay hidden for a while.”
He continued, “As for Professor White, according to what I know, he probably hasn’t been captured. Harold is so ruthless that if anything happens to him, his whole family would be thrown into chaos. That’s why his biggest priority right now is to protect himself and take care of his family’s internal strife. He doesn’t have the time or manpower to deal with outsiders now. Not only did you guys blow up his lab and burn his factory, but you also released his chief drug maker. If he ever finds you guys, he’s definitely going to skin you alive. I’m not trying to scare you. He’s capable of doing something like that. That’s why you’ll be the safest with me.”
Then, he began to try to entice her, “I’d say it’s best if you could tell me where Professor White is, given the dangerous situation he’s in now. Tell me his location so I can take him here and guarantee his safety.”
Winnie glanced at him silently before responding, “Sorry, but I don’t know where Professor White is either. I’m not actually well-acquainted with him. I blew up Harold’s lab because he didn’t want to give me the proceeds I asked for. But according to what I heard from Professor White himself, he’d been wanting to get out of there since ages ago, so he escaped during the explosion. If you’re looking for him, I’m afraid I won’t be of much help.”
If all is well, Professor White should be with Xavier right now.
Winnie breathed an internal sigh of relief upon learning that the two were safe, but she certainly wasn’t going to tell Leandro where they were.
“I see.” The man looked disappointed but quickly changed the subject. “How much would you ask for if we were to work together then, Ms. Vivian?”
“Half the proceeds,” the woman answered candidly. “I won’t accept anything less than that.”
“Haha!” Leandro chuckled. “I can tell, judging from how you burned down Harold’s factory just because he couldn’t agree. I’m overjoyed to know that!”
Winnie didn’t know how to react to the man’s glee and merely shot him another glance.
Noticing her cold gaze, Leandro quickly hid his smile.
“But don’t worry, Ms. Vivian. I’m not as greedy as someone like Harold who expects seventy percent of the proceeds, so fifty-fifty is fine by me. If you work with me, I’ll provide you with whatever you need so long as I have it!”
Feeling Christopher’s pulse grow weaker, Winnie didn’t have the energy to pay attention to Leandro.
“Sure,” she replied half-heartedly. “Let’s talk about it when he wakes up.”
Leandro shot both her and Christopher a glance. “It looks like you really love each other, huh? I’m so envious of you kids. Your love comes so quickly and with so much passion. You haven’t even known each other that long, from what I heard.”
Winnie frowned and kept quiet, choosing not to respond anymore.
With that, the rest of the journey continued in silence, and they finally arrived at a hospital about ten minutes later.
Winnie had fractured her right arm, so a doctor from the orthopedic department immediately gave her an X-ray and cast thanks to Leandro’s connections with the hospital.
Christopher had long been wheeled into the operating room for an emergency operation by the time Winnie was done being tended to.
As she waited outside the operating room, Leandro’s men watched over her from a distance, making it difficult for her to go somewhere to make a phone call.
The two men refused to budge even when she tried telling them that she wanted to use the restroom.
The way they never even responded to the woman was as though they couldn’t understand a word she said, no matter how aggressive she became, and that riled her up.
She wouldn’t have wasted her time on them if it were before, but Christopher’s life was on the line now, and she couldn’t stop feeling anxious.
Just as she got up and was about to pace back and forth to calm her nerves, Leandro suddenly appeared.
In his hand was a plastic bag containing a few bottles of drinks. He took one of the bottles out and handed it to Winnie after twisting the cap open for her.
Yet, her brows creased in response. She hadn’t let her guard down just because this man had saved her.
Hence, she turned down his gesture. “I’m not thirsty.”
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Silly Bride novel (Winnie and Xavier)