“What are you staring at? Did another pretty girl catch your eye?”
Kendra tugged at Darnell’s arm when she noticed him lost in thought. “Come on, let’s make this quick. I’m treating you to lunch later.”
Darnell snapped back to reality, smiling as he followed her. However, a hint of seriousness lingered in his eyes. That van from earlier definitely had guns inside.
And not just any guns. They were homemade. He could tell from the smell of gunpowder. Military and police didn’t carry homemade firearms because they didn’t need to.
With this analysis, it was clear that the people in that van were either robbers or assassins.
His head throbbed slightly, but he made sure to remember the license plate number. He pulled out his phone and sent a message to Kameron, asking him to help look it up.
“Why are you walking so slowly? Are you playing with your phone while walking? Don’t you worry about getting hit?”
Kendra’s pretty face showed a hint of displeasure as she noticed Darnell dragging his feet. She then pulled him toward the largest jewelry store.
Kameron didn’t reply immediately, allowing Darnell to push aside thoughts of the van, half-joking that he was probably overthinking things.
Two minutes later, Kendra led Darnell into the store.
The spacious shop, over a thousand square meters, was immaculate. The floors gleamed, and there were more than thirty customers scattered around, browsing.
Sales assistants eagerly attended to them, while several staff members offered tea and water, displaying warmth and professionalism.
“Sir, miss, how can I assist you?”
A young woman with a pleasant appearance stood behind the glittering display case, addressing Kendra and Darnell. She clearly had experience in sales.
At first glance, she noticed the uniqueness of the two but quickly focused her gaze on Kendra, her smile brightening.
“What’s the heaviest piece of gold jewelry you have?”
To her astonishment, Darnell stepped forward boldly and asked, “We want the most valuable piece of gold you have.”
The saleswoman was momentarily taken aback by Darnell’s assertiveness but quickly collected herself, responding excitedly, “Sure, we do have that!”
Darnell continued with his bravado, “How big? How heavy? If it’s too light, I don’t want it.”
“The heaviest is the twelve zodiac signs, with one weighing ten kilograms.”
The saleswoman’s breath quickened. “We have the gold ox, the gold pig, the gold monkey, and with processing fees, it’s just under 2. 6 million.”
“Though it may be a bit heavy to carry, it makes a fantastic gift. In the past six months, we’ve had customers buying them almost every month, and some wealthy clients even buy the whole set.”
She even complimented, “Sir, how about one for you?”
“One? One isn’t enough. For a sixtieth birthday, let’s get six monkeys-sixty kilograms. Now that’s fitting!”
Darnell was clearly enjoying himself as he called out to the saleswoman, “Quick, get a sample for us to see. Money is not a problem.”
Six pieces of gold?
The saleswoman was nearly fainting from excitement and quickly called someone to prepare a sample.
Kendra, on the other hand, was fuming. “Is this how you buy things? You don’t even look. You just ask for the heaviest, the most expensive.”
Darnell took the opportunity to lean against Kendra, feeling the firmness of her form.
“Trust me, your elder won’t care about the style or design. He’ll only care about the weight of the gold. So the most valuable piece is the best gift.”
“He likes gold.”
Kendra was tempted to slap Darnell as she continued, “Not a gold mine!”
She regretted bringing this nouveau riche along as her advisor.
Darnell scoffed, “If you had to choose between a gold necklace and a gold monkey, free of charge, which one would you pick?”
Kendra was at a loss for words but managed to retort, “Do you think I’m like you, some rich kid?”
Darnell glanced at the gold prices. “Ten kilograms for 2. 5 million. You don’t have that kind of money?” He looked at her incredulously. “Your Ferrari costs over a million.”
Kendra shot back coldly, “I said, that’s borrowed.”
Darnell stared at her. “You really don’t have any money?”
Kendra huffed, “I might have a hundred or eighty thousand, but not a million.”
She genuinely didn’t have that much. Even if she did, Kendra wouldn’t spend it on something so extravagant.
Showing up at her elder’s sixtieth birthday party with sixty kilograms of gold monkeys? That would be a laughingstock!
“No money? No worries, I have a way. If you’re willing, you could afford sixteen gold monkeys.”
Darnell’s voice rose and fell dramatically as if he could inspire endless confidence. “It’s all about whether you dare!”
Kendra paused, intrigued. “What’s that?”
Darnell lowered his voice, adding an air of mystery. “I have a nude photo and video of a beautiful woman. We could blackmail her.”
“She’s not only a wealthy, well-known beauty. Wherever there’s internet, there’s her presence.”
“Two million is a drop in the bucket to what that woman has really got.”
“Who?”
“Aoi Sola.”
Kendra nearly choked. “Get lost!”
Just then, Darnell’s phone buzzed with a message from Kameron, which simply read, “Fake plates.”
Thinking of the earlier van, Darnell couldn’t stop the twitching of his mouth as he pulled Kendra to leave. Suddenly, a loud bang echoed outside.
“Robbery-robbery!”
Shouts erupted from outside, followed by several muffled gunshots.
Then, a pane of glass at the store entrance shattered, scattering shards everywhere, ringing like chimes.
“Ah-”
A piercing scream rang out, and the store fell silent for a moment. Just as quickly, several more screams filled the air.
Chaos erupted in the jewelry store as the alarm blared loudly.
“Guns… they have guns… they’re shooting!”
People outside scrambled, running in all directions in a panic.
The saleswoman reacted swiftly, shouting, “Everyone, don’t panic! Get down and don’t move. It’s dangerous outside!”
Her shout only caused a few customers to panic further, rushing toward the door in a frantic attempt to escape.
Another two gunshots rang out, and a person collapsed, bloodied.
The remaining men and women screamed in unison, dropping to the ground, clutching their heads, shaking uncontrollably.
When the gunfire erupted, Darnell immediately pushed Kendra against a display case, positioning himself in front of her as a shield.
Kendra looked at his broad shoulders, a flicker of admiration crossing her eyes. Despite his oddities, he was stepping up in dangerous times.
She felt a sense of security that had long eluded her.
But then, Darnell’s next words nearly infuriated her. “Ms. Wolmer, you’re so capable. You need to protect me.”
With that, he turned and slipped behind Kendra, wrapping his arms around her waist. “I’ll definitely send you a testimonial afterward.”
Kendra wished she had a gun to shoot this coward.
Then Darnell chuckled softly, “You don’t need to be too scared. The robbers probably aren’t here for us.”
“They’re probably just passing through…”
Before he could finish, his eyes widened in shock as four tall men barged in with knives, makeshift guns, and masks-standard robbers.