Page 78 of Deadline for Love

“Do you think you have anything to say, you bastard?”

Julian screamed in rage and pain. “You asshole! At least fight like a man!”

Nathan scoffed at his statement. “Did you say that to your victims, too? And you, Fernando. I knew you were a weakling. The fact that you pathetic bums assault women confirms everything I thought. But I have to admit I didn’t expect you to be behind this.”

While Nathan was talking, he didn’t take his eyes off either of them.

“How did you even find us?” Julian tried to get up, but when Nathan pointed the gun at him, he stopped moving.

“My wife has a tracker in her wedding ring. I used it to find her,” he replied curtly. “Bella, are you okay?” he asked, looking at me again, my vision burning as I looked into his brown eyes. His gaze filled with concern, but that anger was unmistakable.

I nodded weakly, and Nathan gave me a slight smile, signaling that everything would be alright, but in the process, Fernando took the chance and charged at me with a pocketknife and stuck it against my neck. His eyes met mine, and I could see bitterness in his expression.

“Drop the gun now, or I’ll kill her.” His words were filled with hidden jealousy and pain. You could see that his action was driven by a rooted sense of disappointment and betrayal, but I was still shocked.

My whole body shook as I tried to keep calm and continue to free my hands. I simply tried to concentrate on that, even though I could feel the cold, sharp blade on my artery.

I kept looking into Fernando’s eyes and couldn’t believe how he had become like this.

“If you give her a single scratch, your death will be more painful than previously planned.” Nathan’s eyes flashed pure bloodlust, and I felt Fernando tremble.

I managed to loosen the rope and was about to free my hand, but Fernando suddenly pinched harder. “I’m not kidding; put the fucking gun down.”

Warm blood trickled slowly down my neck, and Nathan’s hardened look filled with fear. Slowly, he set the gun on the ground. Julian took it as his signal and then everything happened quickly. Fernando ran over to Nathan and tried to stab him while Julian grabbed Nathan by the legs. The room was filled with hard punches and roars. There were injuries on both sides, but Nathan was clearly superior. Julian tried to grab the weapon, but Nathan kicked it away before kicking Julian’s head so hard that you could hear a loud crack.

Fernando jumped on his back to try to choke him, but Nathan threw him down and punched him without pause.

Blood was spraying everywhere, and Fernando was desperately trying to grab something to hold him up, looking helplessly over at Julian, who was no longer moving. From blood loss or the impact of the kick, I wasn’t sure.

Nathan started to choke Fernando, and I knew he wouldn’t stop if I didn’t do something. I finally managed to free my hands and my body felt heavy, but I gathered all my strength and managed to hobble over to him.

“Nathan! Stop it!” My voice was brittle, and Nathan wasn’t listening to me. Fernando’s face was already turning blue.

I finally reached him and grabbed his shoulders, but he didn’t react. Instead, he squeezed even harder. “You killed my sister.” His anger was unmistakable.

“Nathan, stop! You’ll kill him!” I shouted desperately, but he shook me off, I tried again, but there was nothing I could do.

My eyes found the weapon on the ground, and I felt like this was the only way. I reached for the gun and fired once into the air. The loud bang echoed through the room, and then I aimed at Nathan, who finally let go of Fernando and stared at me as if I had broken his entire world.

“Bella?”

“Get up and leave him alone,” I ordered firmly.

“He killed my sister,” Nathan hissed and was about to strike Fernando again, but I fired another warning shot.

Nathan raised his hands and stared at me in bewilderment, his eyes filled with pain as I bent down to Fernando, who was gasping for air, his face covered in blood, and his cheeks swollen. I helped him up and pushed him away from Nathan, who was still staring at me, this time with thick tears.

“The son of a bitch still means so much to you, even though he killed people? He destroyed my family! He didn’t just killmy sister; he destroyed everything!” He clutched his chest and breathed in and out heavily, then he started laughing and crying simultaneously. “I can’t believe he’s more important to you than me? More important than the victims!”

I swallowed these accusations and let out a long breath. My heart was finally broken. Nathan looked at me as if I had betrayed him, and Fernando lay there almost unconscious, staring at me with a look of remorse. Both people meant a lot to me, but I would never forgive Fernando for what he did. I only pulled him away so that Nathan wouldn’t become a murderer. Even if he hated me for it, I would take that burden upon myself.

“Where are the other women?”

I asked loud and clear. Fernando closed his eyes and looked agonized.

“Where are the women, Fernando?”

He laughed and then gasped loudly. “Why do I have to remember now, of all times, how you used to scold me for doing things that caused trouble.”

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