Nelson’s Adam’s apple moved as he looked at her.
She firmly repeated, “I want to return to my pure self. Choose white, Nelson.”
Their gazes locked, life and death hanging in the balance.
“You are willing to die with me, right?”
He slowly nodded.
Callie closed her eyes in relief.
Nelson moved the scissors from the red wire to the white wire. With one minute left, if you looked closely, you could see his blood-stained hands trembling slightly.
He applied force, the white wire snapped, and then he immediately threw away the scissors, got up, and hugged Callie, shielding her beneath him.
Callie nearly suffocated, closing her eyes and waiting for the explosion.
Malachi also dove to a distant spot to avoid the blast.
One second, two seconds, three seconds…
The expected explosion did not come.
Callie heard Nelson’s intense heartbeat. She slowly opened her eyes in his embrace. “… We’re not dead…”
Nelson felt it before she did. He tightened his grip on her, breathing heavily in her ear.
“Crazy, playing a deadly game with you.”
Callie shut her eyes tightly, clutching Nelson’s waist, and couldn’t help but cry. All the pressure released, she could no longer hold back.
Outside, chaos reigned.
Nelson, exhausted, sat beside her, holding her hand tightly.
Malachi approached again. Seeing they were safe, he sighed in relief and said to Nelson, “I must recommend you to the bomb squad.”
Nelson opened his eyes and slightly smiled. “It wasn’t my choice. She chose.”
Callie had almost stopped crying, her body still trembling. She met his gaze and felt an unusual warmth on her face.
After a while, bomb experts arrived with professional equipment. They easily removed Callie’s handcuffs, allowing her to get out of the car.
Given the severity of tonight’s incident, everyone present was taken to the police station for statements.
Malachi handed Callie a cup of hot water. “Luckily, I had someone watching Jaquan all along. That’s how we knew you were taken. I felt something was off and gathered a team to follow.”
Callie remembered this and had never been so grateful. She thanked him. “Do you know about Lucia?”
“We only found out after we got here. We didn’t want to alert them prematurely, but when you were in danger, we had to act.”
Callie thought of Jaquan and sighed. “What happens next?”
“Our people are doing their best to find Jaquan. Once we do, he’ll pay.”
But Callie didn’t think it would be that easy. Jaquan was cunning; he would survive if he could.
Malachi understood her concern. “At least his operations in Ylosea are finished.”
Callie reflected on the past few years and couldn’t help but feel sentimental.
“By the way, what about my father? Did you find any trace of him?”
At this question, Malachi looked troubled. “We’ll need to find Jaquan first to determine that.”
Callie fell silent.
Malachi sighed and patted her shoulder. “Nelson is treating his wounds. Do you want to check on him?”
His eyes hinted at something more.
Callie hesitated. The life-and-death moment they shared had cooled down, leaving only distance between them.
Seeing her hesitation, Malachi said, “You should thank him. He was ready to risk his life.”
This… was beyond her expectations.