Chapter 75

I explained everything to Hugo on the phone, he no doubt could hear the panic and fear in my voice. However, he sounded calm on the other end. Almost as though they'd done this a hundred times before. 

Who was I kidding? They'd definitely done this many times before. Of course they would be calm. 

Even Dante seemed like he was on home territory now. He was extremely prepared for this, as though he'd replayed this scenario in his head multiple times before. 

"They're on their way here." I informed him as I ended the call. 

He nodded and took the phone from my hand. "We'll have to run through the woods okay, so you must keep up with me. I'm not sure how many men there are as yet so we must try and outrun them for now until backup reaches."

I slowly nodded, unable to even speak right now. Dante and his family may be used to these kind of events but I wasn't. I was beyond terrified!

He grabbed hold of my hand while he held the gun in his other hand and just like that we were off running. He was going so fast that if it weren't for his hand holding mine, I would have already been left behind. 

I jumped as I heard another round of gunshots, this time a lot more shots were fired than the last. I heard Dante curse under his breath as he picked up the pace. 

"Who are those people?" I demanded, finally finding my voice again. 

"It's our most recent rival," he answered. "I'm not one hundred percent sure that it is them but it has to be. They've been making threats to us this entire week. Basically, they want our spot and in order to do that they need to completely wipe us out." 

I gasped. How many rivals exactly did Dante and his family have?

Dante looked at me over his shoulder. "The world isn't the way your parents painted it for you Kyomi. It's a cruel place, you'll learn that a lot faster now that you're around my family."

The problem was I didn't want to learn that. I was used to a peaceful life, it wasn't perfect and I didn't have any freedom back then. But at least I had never been hunted by killers! 

"Where are we going?" I asked him. 

"There's a secluded area up north, once I have you hidden there. I'll see if I can start wiping out the intruders one by one." He answered. "So when we get there, do not come out no matter what you hear. Only come out when I come to get you."

My heart sped up at his words. 

He was planning on facing those people all by himself? That was insane! 

"You expect me to just leave you alone to face how much ever people that were sent here to kill you?" I demanded angrily. 

"Kyomi," he started. "You'll only distract me. You can't fight, you don't even know how to hold a gun. How can I have you in the middle of a battlefield with me? The best thing is to keep you hidden or your safety would constantly be on my mind. I can focus a lot better if I know you're safe."

"I don't feel comfortable leaving you alone," I complained. "Why can't you stay hidden with me until your brothers come to help?" 

We were both glaring at each other now, neither one of us willing to give in. However, I knew that he was right. I didn't know how to defend myself, there was no way I'll be able to help him out here. 

But I still didn't want to leave him to fend for himself. Even though I already knew that he was used to this, I still felt a stabbing pain in my ċhėst at the thought of Dante out there by himself. 

It didn't help that I'd heard so many gunshots already. Whoever it was, they came here prepared to kill. 

Another loud sound echoed through the quiet forest. 

Another gunshot!

Oh God.

This one sounded a lot more closer to us. 

"Fuck!" Dante cursed. "They're close."

Without warning he lifted me into his arms and threw  me over his shoulder as he started running through the woods even faster than before. 

Suddenly, totally suprising me he pulled my body down his and shoved me to the the ground. I stared up into his tensed face, my body pinned beneath his. We were both breathing hard as his scent completely filled my nostrils and made me dizzy. 

"What's—"

I didn't get to finish as he pressed his finger to my lips to keep me quiet. I didn't understand, I couldn't see or hear anything so I didn't know what was going on. 

His eyes were glued to something and it was only then that I heard voices. 

"They should be somewhere around here." I heard one of them say. 

"As soon as you see them kill Dante," the other one ordered. 

My eyes widened in horror, my heart pounding against my ċhėst now. 

"And what about the girl?" 

"You can keep her alive, we can find some other way to use her for our benefit."

I was finding it extremely difficult to stay quiet however. My thoughts were all over the place, I'd never felt this frightened in my entire life. They were so close to us, all they had to do was look closely and they'd find us hiding behind the vegetation, flat on the ground. 

I was trembling uncontrollably now. Dante seemed to feel my body shake beneath his for he silently glanced down at me with a concerned look on his face. 

His eyes searched my face and without any warning, crashed his lips to mine.