Chapter 691 - Auction X

"Ah…" Zoey gritted her teeth as her body heavily landed on the floor -- face first. She sucked air through her gritted teeth, wincing in pain on the side of her stomach.

Zoey panted for air as she immediately put pressure on her bleeding wound. Blood oozed out from her, slipping through the tiny gaps in between her fingers.

"I missed on purpose, Miss Z." The man coldly informed, not putting the gun down. "Three shots -- I'll waste three bullets on you."

He affirmed it as revenge for all the blows that she launched on him. The man then spat out the blood that was clotting inside his mouth along with the tooth he lost.

"F*cking…"

*BANG!*

Again, Zoey writhed in pain, choking momentarily upon the pain on her shoulder. This man… he was surely decisive in killing her, slowly and painfully at that. He didn't even bat an eye upon his second shot.

Although his first two shots merely grazed her, it didn't make it less painful. His marksmanship was impeccable, for missing it but centimeters away for the bullet to perfectly settle inside her body.

Gritting her teeth, Zoey's eyes flickered with determination. She reached her hand towards the gun. But before she could, the man fired another shot towards the gun, making it fly away from her.

'Damn…' Zoey cursed inside her mind. 

If only she was armed, there wouldn't be a problem taking this man down. But this case was different. Nikolai never let her hold a gun because he knew… she'd be unstoppable once acquiring one.

'I can't die like this.' Zoey muttered internally, breathing heavily. Her eyes glinted while her mind had been functioning over the standard speed, thinking how she would survive this situation.

With this man here determined to kill her, Zoey couldn't even think of someone coming to her rescue. She only had herself right now and only she could save herself.

"That's three bullets wasted." Zoey mocked through her gritted teeth. 

She pushed herself up with great difficulty. As she did, her wounds squirted with even more blood.

"Aren't you bad at math? Even a toddler can count more properly than you."

Not long after, Zoey was back on her feet. She tilted her head back, her breathing ragged before turning around. When she did, a smirk was plastered on her lips as her eyes glinted.

"Don't worry. I'll pretend I didn't hear you. Let's pretend you said four." She chuckled, purposely hitting the man's nerves.

If there's one thing that was common in the Silva Family was that their words were their bond. If they affirmed they would finish someone in one minute, they would finish them in one minute. 

It's like an honor for them to keep their word. No wonder they ought to kill her because Nikolai had been violating that rule that existed long ago.

"I know what you are doing. Are you sure you want to go head to head with me?" The man asked menacingly as he put his gun down. 

"Well, that's more embarrassing if you lost to me despite being shot twice." Zoey shrugged.

She'd rather die fighting until the end. A bullet would end her immediately without giving her a chance. Hence, what's there to lose?

"It's a bit of a hassle with everything that's going on, but this yacht has been surrounded with the Silva Family." The man uttered as he removed his blazer carefully. 

"It's surrounded, but a rat managed to get in without hitting your radar." Zoey scoffed that it was almost like a chuckle.

The man's eyes sharpened as his expression blanked. Zoey's smirk grew wicked as his silence meant that she successfully hit a nerve this time.

Slowly, Zoey pressed on her wound on the side of her abdomen, settling her breathing. If not for her will to live and make sure Matthew was safe, Zoey wouldn't dare fight this man with these wounds.

"Don't worry, lapdog. I'll end you fast since we both don't know who is working under who. Who knows? While I'm keeping you here, Nikolai will suddenly die. Yikes!"

"You're an ungrateful wench." The man hissed in disgust.

Was she? Well, maybe… maybe not. After all, Zoey didn't ask for Nikolai's obsession nor his false mercy. What she asked from him was to let her go.

If only Nikolai had left her alone, they wouldn't be in this situation. Zoey would still respect him and do everything if he ever needed her.

But all that had been washed away this past week. The remaining love she had for Nikolai as her brother, disappeared without a trace.

"That's why we decided to dispose of you before you ruin him completely." 

As soon as he dropped those words, the man sprinted towards her direction. At the same time, Zoey felt a stabbing pain on her wound, but she gritted her teeth. 

Without a decrease in her speed, Zoey glided down on the floor before he could land a jab on her face. She held on his ankle, pivoting her body as she kicked his other ankle, spreading his legs apart.

The man lost his balance, dropping to his one knee as Zoey's leg snaked around his neck. "Die!" She screamed through her gritted teeth.

However, because of her wounds, Zoey couldn't bring forth all her strength to choke him. Thus, the man fell on his back along with her.

Although she kept her stance, the man raised his fist and without a second hesitation, he punched her  where he had shot her earlier. Zoey grimaced in pain, but didn't let go.

She wrestled him, bending her knees tightly until his entire face reddened. But that didn't hinder him from landing a blow on her wound.

After the nth jab, it finally made her loosen her grip. Taking advantage of this, the man grabbed her ankle, dragged her like a doll, and threw her in a random direction.

Immediately, Zoey's back hit a wall, splintering it a little from the impact. She slowly collapsed on her knees, her vision begun to go black around the edges, as her mind buzzed.

'Sh*t.' She cursed internally, seeing the man approach her.

Zoey blinked her eyes weakly to recover her vision. She couldn't die, she shouldn't. She couldn't afford to lose this one.

But unlike what she hoped for, she found herself being lifted up by her neck. Her back was against the wall as the man choked her with eyes full of killing intent.

Her airflow began to cut short as he used both his hands. Just a little more force, and she'd be out. Or, her neck would break.

Zoey glanced at the direction of the gun while weakly blinking her eyes. It was close but beyond her reach. Unless this man suddenly let go of her, Zoey would take that opportunity to gun him down.

"Any last words, Miss Z?" The man inquired, catching Zoey's attention who offered a weak smirk.