Jared saw Kerr approaching and immediately looked up to give him a report.
"Mr. Qin is fine. He was shot with a tranquilizer dart but doesn't seem to have any injuries."
He pulled the needle out of Ken's arm and handed it to Kerr.
"Bring him to the hospital, but don't inform the Qin family for the time being,"
Kerr instructed Jared. He took a look at the surroundings, his eyes sweeping the warehouse for every
detail. The small sunroof diagonally above him caught his attention.
Before he could get nearer to examine the window, a tranquilizer gun appeared.
"Move away!"
Kerr yelled urgently. He twisted his body deftly and managed to dodge the tranquilizer dart that was
shot out of the window.
Not too far away, Nicole was not so lucky.
She was glued to the spot, unable to see anything and exposed with nowhere to hide. She had never
felt so scared in her entire life.
"Ah!"
She felt a sharp pain in her arm, as if something had stung her. Instinctively, she raised her hand to the
spot to brush it away. Much to her surprise, it wasn't an insect but something that felt like a needle.
"Nicole!"
Kerr was about to rush to her side to pull her into his arms when a man clad in black suddenly
appeared from behind her and held a dagger against her throat.
"Stay where you are, Mr Gu. Even if you accidentally get any closer, my hand will slip and accidentally
cut open this young lady's artery too."
The man's voice was clear and menacing. He had never expected to meet Kerr there today, but it
seemed to be a very good opportunity that was not to be wasted.
"What do you want?"
Judging from what the man had said, Kerr was sure the man knew him well.
He didn't mind compromising for Nicole's sake, but he couldn't risk allowing her to get hurt. She was
already weakened by the tranquilizer and he didn't know how much more she could endure.
"Oh Mr Gu, you're such a kind-hearted person. I haven't actually decided what I want yet, but I wouldn't
mind accepting your verbal promise in return for her safety. When I've figured out what I really want, I'll
come find you to make my request.
When the time comes, don't pretend to forget about our deal."
The man's tone was casual and relaxed, as though he was a friend chatting about the weather, instead
of a gangster threatening a woman with a knife in his hand.
His bright eyes were hidden under the brim of his hat, but he could feel Nicole's body starting to get
heavier in his hands, and was starting to slip down slowly.
"As long as we don't meet in these circumstances again, I will fulfill my promise and give you whatever
you want."
Kerr could tell that the man in front of him was a smart man. He didn't seem to have any real intention
of hurting Nicole.
It didn't make him feel any calmer though. After all, Nicole's life was literally in the man's hands at the
moment.
To make matters worse, he could see Nicole's body starting to tremble.
"Thank you very much, Mr. Gu. Till next time, then."
The man grinned broadly at Kerr's promise. Hearing a car approaching from behind him, he let go of
Nicole and quickly jumped into the car, which then sped out of the warehouse and disappeared into the
darkness.
"Nicole!"
Kerr shouted, as he sprinted towards her and caught her before her body could hit the ground.
Nicole's head felt heavy and she was only half aware of what was going on. She was about to lift her
hand to fight him away, but when she recognized his voice, she let her guard down. Before she could
utter a single word, the whole world seemed to go black and she passed out.
Without hesitating, Kerr picked up her limp body and took her outside.
Jared watched as Kerr walked away and couldn't help sighing to himself. His boss really valued his
woman more than his good friend. He turned his head to look at Bonnie, who was crying. Feeling sorry
for her, he took off his coat and handed it to her.
"Here, put this on," he told her.
Then he bent down and carried the unconscious Ken out of the warehouse.
Bonnie's face flushed red at Jared's words. Wordlessly, she took the coat from him and put it on. Then
she stood up and stumbled clumsily behind him.
As Kerr drove, he kept one hand tightly locked on Nicole's hand. He felt her finger twitching and looked
towards her instantly.
"Nicole? How do you feel? "
He had noticed her brush off the dart almost immediately after getting shot, which meant that not much
of the tranquilizer had managed to enter her system, not that the dosage was very high to begin with.
She should be waking up any moment soon.
He knew that the tranquilizer dart they had shot at her was mainly to distract him and catch him off
guard.
Nicole heard Kerr's voice and tried to shake her head to clear the disorientation from her head. She
tried to open her eyes but found only darkness in front of them. She raised her hand to slowly to
remove the tie that Kerr had wrapped there to avoid her from seeing the blood earlier. She looked at
him with eyes full of worry.
"Where's Bonnie?" she asked fearfully.
Kerr was driving in the direction of the hospital.
"Don't worry, she's fine. Ken saved her. They're in the car behind us, Jared is driving. We're headed to
the hospital now."
His hands were on the steering wheel, but he kept looking in her direction every few seconds. His eyes
were full of tenderness as they gazed at her.
"How do you feel?"
He could see that Nicole was still panicked, obviously worried for Bonnie, but his concern was her, and
her alone.
"I'm fine. Just that my arm feels a little numb."
Her hand kept rubbing the spot where she had been shot by the dart. She felt slightly uncomfortable
and turned to look at Kerr, only to see his gentle, affectionate gaze.
She knew that Kerr was worried about her. Despite her minor confusion and dazed state, she could still
remember how nervous he had been when he was saving her earlier.
"What? Keep your eyes on the road!" she told him.
His affectionate gaze was starting to make her blush. She quickly looked away and looked in the rear
view mirror instead, watching the other car following closely behind them.
Kerr noticed the shy look on her face and smirked to himself. If she was starting to feel self-conscious,
it meant that he had a different place in her heart.
Very soon, the five of them arrived at the hospital. The two cars stopped right at the entrance of the
emergency room of the hospital owned by the Gu Group. Since Jared had already called ahead before
their arrival, a team of medical staff were already on standby, waiting for them. Ken was immediately
whisked away for a checkup.
The first thing Nicole did when she got out of the car was take a good look at Bonnie. Seeing her
sister's disheveled look, her eyes instantly filled with distress.
"Bonnie, are you hurt?"
Bonnie's eyes were still staring in the direction where they had taken Ken. When she heard Nicole's
voice, she couldn't stop the tears from spilling from her eyes. She didn't say anything but just let the
tears roll down her cheeks.
"Don't be afraid. I'm here now. I'll protect you!"
Nicole comforted her as she wrapped her arms around her and hugged her tightly.
Bonnie didn't respond, but she didn't push Nicole away either. She was still in shock after all the
terrifying events earlier.
She was so relieved and seemed to be on the verge of passing out after the adrenaline in her system
had worn off. Her eyes started to close and her body began to slump.
"Bonnie!"
Nicole felt her sister's body getting heavier but couldn't find the strength to support her. She started to
panic and cried out,
"Kerr!"
Instinctively, she turned towards him for help.
"Jared!"
Kerr's demeanor seemed calm but he didn't move. Seeing Nicole's panicked expression, he quickly
called Jared over.
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