6. Protection Instinc

"Aileen!"

         

Mark gasped in surprise.

Who would have thought that the girl would be so desperate to protect herself? Oh God!

Aileen crouched in front of Mark, gasping for air.

Strangely, in the pain that seemed to crush the bones in her shoulders and back where the chair had hit, the only thing that stuck in her mind was Mark's scream calling her Aileen. Without the usual 'Ma'am'. Was it wrong that it sounded so nice to her ears?

"Are you okay?" Mark, who was frantically questioning Aileen, checked the condition of the girl in front of him. Then he shifted his position and blocked Aileen from William, who approached them again, even though he no longer had a chair with him. At least the man didn't look like he was going to attack again.

Aileen seemed to nod despite the excruciating pain in one shoulder. She was strong enough to bear the pain. Participating in taekwondo activities during high school and college was enough to keep her trained now. Although it had been a long time since she had practiced, at least there were techniques to strengthen her self-defense that she had a little bit of.

"Oh, wow. What is this? You two seem to have a special relationship, huh?" Seemingly intrigued by the fact that had just been revealed right before his eyes, William narrowed his eyes in surprise.

"But didn't you guys just meet a few weeks ago? Ah, apparently, I was too busy to notice the romance scandal going on among my subordinates," William continued in a mocking, contemptuous tone.

"Is that more important than your sabotage scandal, Mr. Sammy?" Immediately, Aileen, stung by the saboteur's insinuation, snapped in anger. The pain was momentarily forgotten.

"Hey, Ms. Aileen. Please forgive my behavior just now. Does it hurt?"

William immediately turned his attention to Aileen behind Mark. However, he was forced to stop the footsteps that were about to come even closer because Mark blocked them.

Even in a bound position, the young couple in front of him seemed to want to protect each other. Which made William snort in annoyance. He did not like to see the romance in front of his eyes. It was as if life was that simple.

In fact, the world is all about making the most of every opportunity. That is! Thought William, who felt like he was looking at a vanity in front of him.

"I will once again offer peace between us," William said. He dismissed all his dislike for Mark and Aileen. By approaching them from their romantic side, he could convince them to join and support his work.

Aileen and Mark looked alert, staring intently at William, whose tall, thin body towered over the two of them seated close together. Still bound.

There was a rustling behind the door. Letting Mark and Aileen know that William's guards were outside. Gosh, there was little chance that they could even break free of their bonds and run outside.

Meanwhile, William was flipping back a stack of blank checks. As if he thought it was the most valuable thing in the world. Money!

"You can keep working for the company even if you're involved in an office romance that should be forbidden. I'll keep my mouth shut about it. You can also write whatever amount you want to pay your date bill. Yes, whatever amount," the man said as he stroked his thin mustache and looked at the two captives.

Mark gave Aileen the code not to answer this time. His hands, tied behind his back, poked at every part of Aileen's body he could reach. And Aileen caught the code.

"Just let us out of here and..."

"And you'll be free to report to the Headquarters office, is that it? Hah! I'm not that stupid!" snarled William, cutting Mark off.

"Let us go, and we'll help you find the best solution, Sir. Because if you don't, you'll be charged with several things. Sabotage, embezzlement, damaging the company, plus kidnapping witnesses, endangering the victim's life and..."

"Shut your mouth! You are already helpless, but your mouth is still full of arrogant! Untie yourself if you can! And remember, this is an opportunity that won't come again. Once I close the door and leave you both here, let's say that you will rot here forever until death takes you away! Scratch that!"

William paced the room, stamping his feet. He was angry and upset. His chest was tight with emotion, and he wanted to punch Mark in the mouth until he bled or his jaws fell off.

But he held it all in, giving the impression that he was waiting for his prisoner to make a wise decision.

"Think back again. Do you want to cooperate with me, keep quiet, or..."

"I choose to face you with all my might!" Immediately, Mark jumped to his feet and lunged right into William's jaw, resting on his now-unbound hands.

Yes, after he had given Aileen the code, Aileen understood that the coincidence of their positions would allow her fingers to freely try to untie the knots on Mark's wrists. Meanwhile, with his heart pounding loudly, Mark tried to buy time by continuing to talk to William so that the man would not notice what Aileen was doing behind Mark's back.

It was hard to keep the movement of his shoulders and eyes constant without looking like he was busy untangling the knots. But he managed, and it was a relief.

William fell backward, his skinny body no match for Mark, who was tall and used to boxing in the gym with his heavy bag.

Mark quickly untied his legs without difficulty and helped Aileen to her feet. Meanwhile, William, lying on the floor, tried to get to his feet, shouting loudly to his bodyguards at the door.

"Guards!"

"Get them!"

Footsteps could be heard running into the room at the sound of the door slamming. Four large, burly-looking men, all dressed in black, stood in the doorway.

Mark grabbed Aileen's fingers and whispered softly to the girl standing close by.

"I'm going to make an opening for you to get out of here and run fast. Just be safe from here. Okay?"

"But-but you alone?"

"I can handle it. The important thing is that you run first. I'll have more freedom to deal with them without having to worry about you. Do you hear me?"

Aileen nodded, even though she felt a little insulted by Mark's words that her presence would only slow down Mark's movements. Little did she know that Aileen was well-trained in duels with the opposite sex, even during Taekwondo training.

"Now!" yelled Mark as he rushed at the four William guards, lunging at them with both arms outstretched and making a sudden move that knocked two of the four large men to the ground.

Aileen rushed to obey Mark's command by running straight through the gap to the door and out to freedom. She took off the high heels she was wearing and threw them away, as they really hindered her running speed.

"Catch her! Get her back here!" yelled William, who still seemed to be in pain, clutching his jaw and bleeding from the corner of his lip.