Page 79 of Ashes and Lilies
Then, the blinding brightness faded. My steps halted as calloused hands gripped my wrists and pulled my arms behind me. Scratchy rope cut against my skin. Before I could utter more than a whisper of sound—a balled-up cloth was shoved in my mouth.
“Thank God!” He wrapped his forearm around my chest, and my thoughts screamed as I recognized the voice of my second assailant. “Otherwise, I’d be next. No job is worth this much drama.”
“Oh, you’re definitely next.” Julian’s ice-cold tones sent a shiver down my spine, and my disquieted spirit instantly settled at his presence.
My attacker froze, and his limbs tensed. He pulled me closer. Julian had stepped in front of us, hands in his pockets, as his serene, relaxed expression somehow still spoke of his deadly intent.
“You’re J-Julian Kohler!” My attacker’s grip turned painful, and I choked when his forearm pressed against my neck. However, despite the situation, I didn’t think the villain even knew what he was doing. He, instead, seemed dumbstruck by terror. “No one warned me that I’d be dealing withyou.”
Julian frowned at the other man’s arm. “The fact that you didn’t even notice me is a testament to how terribly incompetent you are in your chosen profession,” he said mildly. “However—”
He moved so quickly that I couldn’t see him. The unyielding force trapping me against my assailant was ripped away. I fell to the ground, landing on my shoulder.
Still, I could hardly feel anything past the initial impact. Instead, I lay on my side, unable to take my eyes from the scenebefore me. My heart was still racing, and I shivered as a cold sweat soaked me.
“Your reasons don’t matter. You’re still good for something, at least,” Julian continued. The other man’s eyes bulged, and his hands grasped Julian’s arms as he held him against the ground by the neck.
“Who hired you?” Julian asked, and an icy coldness spread through the ground. “What were you planning on doing with her?”
There was an eerie silence, yet somehow it felt like the air was screaming before it suddenly quieted, and Julian stepped away.
The other man lay clutching his chest, eyes wide open as he stared at the sky. I wasn’t entirely sure what had happened, but whatever it was—whatever Julian had done—resulted in Julian no longer caring that he’d escape.
Instead, now that it was over, his entire attention moved to me.
“Bianca,” he said, kneeling to the ground beside me. His touch was gentle yet firm as he held my shoulder, helped me sit back up, and removed the gag from my mouth. “Sweetheart, are you okay? I’m sorry I took so long.”
What was he talking about? He’d rescued me instantly—before I had time to register what was happening.
“T-thanks.” I was shivering. I’d been saved—Julian was already removing the bindings around my wrists—but I couldn’t seem to tear my gaze away from my potential abductor.
“Don’t look at him.” Julian leaned in front of me, blocking my vision. He placed both hands on my cheeks as he peered into my eyes. “He won’t come after you again.”
“But…” My breathing grew heavy. It wasn’t him I was worried about—nor his dead friend. “What if there’s more?” I asked. “We don’t even know who sent them.”
“Yes, I do,” Julian replied. “Unfortunately, however, only that.”
I stared up at him through my heavy, wet eyelashes. What did he mean?
Julian sighed, then stood as he pulled me with him. He kept his arm wrapped around my waist and took another step closer to the hospital. “Let’s get you checked out,” he began. “Then we can—”
I pulled away.
“I-I don’t need to be checked out,” I told him. “Let’s just leave.”
“Bianca—” he began, and I interrupted him, pointing at his defeated foe.
“What about him?” I asked. “Won’t he just run away?”
“He won’t,” Julian replied. “He can’t. Besides, my grandfather will come pick him up shortly.”
I glanced at the man. What, exactly, was happening? “What do you mean ‘he can’t’?”
“Bianca—” Julian reached for my hand and squeezed it, but the vague reassurance of his touch did little to calm my fears.
“How do you know?” I asked him. Julian’s clear blue eyes shifted slightly, growing dark, and I was almost afraid to ask. However, this was important. “You said you knew who sent them. How?”
“Bianca,” he began again, and this time, I allowed him to lead me away. My palms sweated, as it seemed, just for an instant, that we might be headed back to the hospital. But then Julian moved to the right, guiding me to his vehicle instead.
