Freja wanted to shoot Nathaniel another time, but the bullets from the helicopter were already peppering their car. Having no other recourse, they could only scramble into the car and take off like a bat out of hell.
As soon as they had left, the helicopter stopped spraying bullets and slowly hovered over me.
Subsequently, the helicopter door opened, and a ladder was thrown out. Several men in military fatigues swiftly climbed down and surrounded me in a tight circle. One of the men with heavy camouflage face paint stepped forward and untied the ropes binding me.
The moment I glimpsed his eyes, I recognized him as Ashton.
Stark distress and anguish surged within me at once, and my nose stung. The dam broke, and tears streamed down my face. In a voice that was only audible to us both, I poured out my grief to him. “Rose is gone. Ashton, they mistook her for me and killed her. She died because of me. How am I going to face Nick?”
As Ashton calmly unknotted the rope on me, his massive and warm hands covered mine. His gaze was firm and resolute. “Stay strong, Letty. Hang in there for a while longer. We’ll avenge her. Trust me. Trust your man, okay? I beg you.”
I really wanted to hug him and cry my heart out, then be selfish for once and have him bring me to a place where there’s no pain or sorrow, hiding there cowardly.
Nonetheless, I knew that it wasn’t practical. The dead can no longer come back to life, so the living has to live vicariously for their sake. Only when we’ve personally put an end to the source of evil will they have peace in the afterlife.
Holding back my tears, I gritted out a single word from between clenched teeth—”Okay.”
Ashton cast me a forbearing look before he stepped back and slipped into the ranks of the military personnel, keeping his head lowered.
After the military personnel communicated among themselves and ascertained that it was safe, Benson, who had been taking the lead at the front, walked in and inquired after me. “Are you okay, Ms. Stovall?”
I lifted my hands and wiped my tears, forcing a smile onto my face. “I’m fine, thanks to all of you.”
“Well, it’s thanks to…” Benson trailed off mid-utterance and glanced in Ashton’s direction before he immediately changed his tune, declaring, “It’s thanks to Lady Luck smiling on you, Ms. Stovall. We didn’t do much. However, I hope you don’t mind playing along when I speak to Nathaniel later.”
I nodded without a single word of protest. They then helped me up and led me over to Nathaniel to check on him.
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