The Million-Dollar Heart (Percival and Vivienne) novel Chapter 143

He didn't mean for it to happen. He was innocent!

The girl he was hopelessly enamored with somehow ended up in his lap, bouncing along with the motion of the car. Each time she worked the clutch or pressed the accelerator, their bodies would shift together, sending sparks through his nerves.

He was just a regular guy.

"Move over and buckle up." Vivienne said as her cheeks flushed a deep red.

Percival managed to extricate himself from the awkward position, a maneuver that inevitably led to some unintentional contact that left both of them blushing.

Safely in the passenger seat, Percival fastened his own seat belt after helping Vivienne with hers.

Vivienne had already floored the gas pedal, sending the car careening forward. She positioned the vehicle across the road, blocking the path of two oncoming semi-trucks.

The two semis were facing each other, leaving only a narrow gap between them.

"Hold on!" She commanded in a cold voice.

Percival clung to the handle above his door with his uninjured hand. Their car was speeding towards the semi-trucks.

At the last possible moment, Vivienne swerved. The right tires lifted off the ground, and the car tilted onto its side.

Percival shot Vivienne a surprised look. Her driving reminded him of a street racer he once knew.

This man was known as Thor, notorious for driving like wild wind, unruly, and untamed. He was a legend in the racing world.

His record on the winding mountain roads of Seaside City had remained unbeaten to this day.

While Percival was still processing this revelation, Vivienne had already maneuvered the car through the narrow gap between the two semi-trucks.

The four cars behind them were blocked by the trucks they had arranged as a roadblock, essentially shooting themselves in the foot.

Once the car was safely back on all four wheels, Percival noticed a flicker of something unidentifiable in Vivienne's eyes.

He had lost again.

His Vivienne could always surprise him; her strength was beyond his comprehension.

By the time the semis managed to move out of the way, Vivienne and Percival were already out of sight.

On the way back to Bay Estates, Leopold called. "Percival, what’s the situation?"

"We lost them." Percival responded, his face pale from blood loss. "Did you catch anyone?"

"We were too late." Leopold replied bitterly, "They had already left by the time we got there. But they left one of the semis behind. We might get something from it."

"Alright, they fired shots." Percival said quietly, "We should have the car towed and check where the bullets came from."

"They shot at you?" Leopold immediately became anxious. "Are you both okay?"

"I took a bullet to the left arm." Percival replied before hanging up and leaning back against the seat.

"What's wrong?" Vivienne asked, noticing his face was growing paler. It was even slightly blue. Given the amount of blood he had lost, this didn't make sense.

Upon closer inspection, she noticed that the blood seeping from Percival's wound was a dark purple color. This had been masked by his black shirt earlier.

"The bullet was likely poisoned." Percival murmured with his eyes still closed.

"Why didn't you say so earlier?!" Vivienne quickly gave him a life-saving pill and then sped up the car.