Sweat poured down her face. Color drained completely.
Her reddened eyes locked on me, trying to endure the pain.
Through gritted teeth, she said, "Is this what you wanted? If it is, then you can let Jesse go, right?"
Her words froze me for a moment.
My gaze flicked involuntarily to her bleeding womb. I expected her to think of herself first, to demand I take her to a hospital.
But no, I was wrong.
The first thing she thought of was still that son-of-a-bitch.
"Ahhh! Rory, help! Help me!"
Jesse's terrified screams echoed from outside the car.
Rory didn't spare me a glance.
She gritted her teeth, and with a groan, she swung open the car door. Toward Jesse at the cliff's edge, she ran, stumbling forward with veins bulging, her heart pounding in her chest.
It had happened before when I was sixteen.
My father's business rivals had kidnapped me.
Rory had charged into their hideout alone, cutting through commotion and blood with the fury of someone who had already lost everything. She was beaten and battered with three broken ribs and a comminuted fracture in her right leg.
But despite it all, she carried me out of that abandoned warehouse like it was nothing, her strength nearly inhuman.
She had made me keep my eyes closed the whole time, afraid I'd panic, whispering reassurances into my ear as she carried me.
"Cyrus, don't be afraid. I'll bring you home safely. As long as I'm here, nothing will happen to you."
Now, those same words, once reserved only for me, were being whispered to another man.
"Jesse, don't be afraid. I'm here. I won't let anything happen to you. I'll get you home safe."
Rory's team arrived quickly, but they didn't have time to deal with me.
They rushed straight to Jesse, whisking him off to the hospital for treatment.
I stayed put in the car, eyes cold, watching them leave.
Then, my phone buzzed.
A message lit up the screen:
[Sir, are you really letting them off just like that?]
I replied without hesitation:
[Of course not. Did you prepare what I asked for?]
He replied quickly:
[Yes, it's ready.]
A slow, dark smile spread across my face. Satisfaction glimmered in my eyes as I read it.
'Rory… enjoy the hell I'm about to bring you,' I said inwardly.
Right then, I put the phone away and drove her car back home.
...
In the following days, Rory underwent treatment at the hospital, while I cleaned up all unnecessary remnants at home.