CHAPTER 138
SEBASTIAN’S POV
Her breathing was laboured, escaping in short, quick, shallow gasps as if she were reserving oxygen. Her hand clutched her side where a bullet had torn through her, blood seeping through her fingers and staining her dress a deep crimson.
“Nana Maria,” that was the first time in a long while I had called her that. That was the fond name I used to call her when I was little. Seeing the woman who had trained and cared for me like I was her own in such a state was like a knife stab to my heart.
She looked in my direction and smiled with her eyes, her lips trembling as she tried to speak. “Sebastian…you’re here…”
I rushed and knelt beside her, fear and helplessness choking me almost to the point of a heart attack. I neatened her splattered steely grey hair away from her face, tears streaming down my face onto hers as I watched her fight for her life.
“What took you so long? I have been waiting for you….” She managed to say, her voice barely a whisper. Each word took immense effort, each breath a struggle. “I’m scared…. I never imagined I would die like this…”
“I’m here now. You’re not alone. You’re going to be fine,” I pressed my hands against her wound, trying to stop the bleeding, but it was of no use. The blood kept coming. In large quantity. She was losing a lot of blood. Who knew how long she’d been like this? She was probably waiting for me to come back. “Call the ambulance now!” My voice was so loud it could be heard from blocks away as I turned to Khan who immediately brought out his phone and started dialing the code.
“Stay with me okay?…. You’re doing just fine. The paramedics will be here soon,” I said in a tearful reassurance but she squeezed her eyes close and shook her head.
“It’s already too late,” she choked on her breath, blood flooding her mouth and pouring down her lips. “You have to save Brianna…. That bastard took her…. Alpha King Hermes…He’s going to hurt her…you have to save her and your unborn children…”
Those were her last words as her eyes fluttered shut, and she took one final, ragged breath. For a moment, I stared in disbelief, frozen in shock, my heart threatening to rip out from my chest.
No…. no…this can’t be happening. This can’t be real. That bastard!! He can’t keep hurting the people I care about. This was the height of it! What do I tell her son when he calls to speak with his mother? That she was shot to death by a psychopath? As her husband and other children died a long time ago, he was the only one left. She was the only family he had left.
As I laid her body gently on the floor and let go of my grip on her body, a wave of intense anger flooded me as I clenched my jaw and fist. Getting up, I marched out of the door, towards the hallway.
“Boss I have called the ambulance, they’re on their way,” Khan said to me as I walked past him but I ignored him and headed downstairs.
“Boss…. Boss…is everything okay?…” He kept asking as I made it out of the castle building and to the gate. But I kept ignoring it.
My mind was made up. I wanted to drive straight to Hermes’s castle, kill him and anybody who dared to stop me from killing him and get Brianna back. I shouldn’t waste even a minute because every minute I wasted meant she was suffering longer. Every minute I wasted meant the death of Nana Maria and the rest of my people who bore the brunt of this attack were in vain. Brianna needed me now more than ever. I need to go get her. I need to avenge the death of my people.
I opened the door to the driver’s seat and got in. I wanted to start the car but realized the keys weren’t in the keyhole. Khan had them.
“The keys, Khan,” I said in a cold, emotionless tone, lending out my hand from the car window. “Give me the fucking keys, Khan.”
Reluctantly, he dipped his hands into his trouser pocket and brought out the keys, looking at me with pleading eyes. Eyes that were begging me to reconsider. But I wasn’t moved one bit. He was about to hand it over when suddenly he ….., shaking his head in a painful display of emotion.
“No, I can’t let you do this,” he said looking at me directly in the eyes. “We’ve lost everyone. I can’t afford to lose you too. Look around, it’s just us. We have no one. It will be useless going to Hermes’s place like this, knowing fully he has the greater manpower. It will be like walking into a death trap. What if this is his plan to lure and finish you off? Please reconsider,” he pleaded. “Don’t do this boss. We need time to come up with a plan.”
“Give me the damn keys,” I ripped the words out impatiently from my throat, snarling as I bared my teeth at him.
“You’ll have to kill me to get it,” he challenged and put the keys back into his pocket, looking at me as if to see what I’d do.
Just then, the sound of ambulance vehicles wailed from a distance as they approached.