Impending Danger

Cara's POV

"Get up; we're leaving now,"

Adonis ordered as soon as he ended the call. I acted like I wasn't listening; my food suddenly seemed more interesting.

He had just taken a few steps when he noticed I wasn't behind him.

"Didn't you hear me? I said, We're leaving?"

"To where?"

"Back to the US." 

I pouted— like I actually pursed my lips together pouted.

"But we just got here, and you're yet to show me around like you promised." 

Adonis groaned in frustration. 

"There was a break-in at the mansion. We can always come back later. Now let's go." 

I refused to stand up. Folding my hands to my chest like a spoiled child. 

"No." 

"What is wrong with you, Cara? This is serious." 

"I'm not going." I remained adamant, hoping my childish tantrum would save me an extra minute or two. 

But Adonis was more quick-witted than I thought. His eyes narrowed into thin slits.

"Is there something you're not telling me? Did you have something to do with the break-in?"

"What? How can? Pshh... no. I'm just an ordinary girl with no connections. Remember?" 

I was just trying to buy myself time but Adonis doesn't need to know that. If Antonio was indeed behind the break-in, then he mustn't find out.

How can he be so foolish as to stage an obvious plan?

Adonis studied me intently for a minute before turning away to head downstairs.

"Fine then. If you want to stay back, be my guest. You'll be of no use to me anyway." 

Somehow, I found myself bundled up into the car once again, muttering a manageable goodbye to Dominic as we headed back to the airstrip. Throughout the entire trip back, I couldn't sit still. Partly because I felt worried about what was to come and the other reason was due to Adonis's constant pacing. 

The moment we landed, he half sprinted out of the jet, collected his keys from a startled driver, and sped down the road to the mansion. He even almost left me behind.

"Would you slow down? I don't want to die because of a break-in that has already happened." I snapped.

"You know, I'm starting to think you really have a hand in this." He stepped on the pedal.

"Are you suspecting me now?" 

"You gave me no choice." 

The car lurched forward and bounced violently. My hand held onto the grab handle.

"Do you want to die? What is wrong with you?!" I screamed in fear.

Adonis ignored me and continued to drive like a madman. If there was ever a time he came close to losing his cool, I'm sure this was it. Even with his focused stare, I could see his stoicism begin to crack.

Please. Please. Let it not be Antonio.

When he said 'prepare,' I thought it meant to get ready, not act. How could he catch me unaware? I made a mental note to have a thorough discussion on teamwork with him when all this was over. 

We had just made it up to the trail leading to the mansion when Adonis abruptly did a 180-degree turn. 

"I thought you couldn't wait to get back. Why are you turning?" 

"We are being followed." 

My mouth unattractively fell open. "Again? How many enemies do you have exactly?" 

"Too many to keep track of."

"That was supposed to be a rhetorical question," I exclaimed. "Thank you for making me feel better." 

"You're welcome." He responded

"What is wrong with you? I normally cannot get you to open your mouth, but you're sure doing it a lot today." 

I was unable to fathom what had come over him. Was this an outburst? Because he was always quiet? At least his words were doing a good job of diverting my attention from the chase this time around. 

I knew not to look out of the window. I don't think my heart can take the shock of a gun pointed at my head again. 

My heart was going three hundred beats per minute, but he said it was normal. Threats like this were normal around the coronation time. Adonis was right beside me. I reassured myself, but it wasn't enough. 

I needed to hear it from him.

"This is one of those normal threats, right?" 

He glanced at me from the corner of his eye. 

"Yes." 

"Are you going to tell me what 'babbo' means?" 

Even with the confirmation from him, I still didn't feel safe. The temptation to look out the window was growing. I wanted to see it with my own very eyes. 

I saw his finger start to twitch again.

"Why do you want to know?"

Don't look, Cara. Don't look. 

"What's your favourite food?"

His voice rose as he jerked the car to the side. 

"Why are you changing questions so quickly?"

"Just answer me, damn it! I don't want to look. I don't want to... Holy sh*t, Adonis Is that a truck? We're being chased by a truck, and you didn't think to tell me?" 

"Cara, look away." He encouraged. You were doing fine. Or better still, just pass out again." 

"Don't make this a joke! You knew, and you didn't tell me!" I managed to throw my free hand that wasn't holding on to anything in the air. 

This doesn't seem like a simple chase this time around. 

Was that the reason for his excessive talking? My God! We were going to die.

I wasn't a doctor, but I was sure that my heart wasn't at three hundred beats per minute anymore. It had skyrocketed to a thousand, and I could feel it threatening to jump out of my chest.

What if I didn't make it out of this alive? 

I looked over to Adonis; he was trying his best, but even he could not deny that this was no ordinary threat. His shoulders were tensed as he sped down the road, switching lanes at every chance he got, narrowly escaping the truck.

Was this orchestrated by Antonio? If he wanted to kill Adonis straight away, why involve me?"

My chest suddenly felt tight, and I started to gasp for air. The more I took in, the more it felt like my lungs were being ground together. 

"Cara? Are you okay, Bel?" 

I heard Adonis's voice, but he sounded so far away. 

What was going on? I've never felt like this before. My hands went to my chest, and I began to hit it repeatedly, hoping it would ease up the tension in there, but to no avail.

"Cara, what is it? I can't take my eyes off the road." I heard him rush out again but couldn't reply. My eyes were beginning to roll to the back of my head.

Was this the end for me?

I felt two hands clasp around mine as Adonis's deep voice reached my ears, acting like a soothing balm to the ache in my chest.

"You're hyperventilating. Breathe in and out." 

If he was holding my hands, who was driving? 

I got my answer the next minute. The car took another collision to the back, and the next thing we knew, we were skidding down a bumpy dirt path. My body thrashed around in the car, my head touching places it shouldn't be able to reach as a shriek left my mouth. 

"Adonis!" 

I couldn't do anything. I've read books where people say they saw their life flash through their eyes and never understood what they meant until now. My eyes couldn't move away from the view in front of me.

This is really the end, isn't it?

Suddenly I felt someone trying to remove my seat belt in the chaos, and then I was pulled up and roughly thrown into the back seat, Adonis maneuvering himself also as he threw himself over me. 

That was the last thing I saw before I felt the car tumbling over a few times, and then it halted with a big bang.

Pain. Hot, searing pain was the only thing I could feel. 

Adonis's arm slackened around me, and he fell to the side with a thud. 

"Cara." He rasped; I could hear the struggle in his voice. "Are you okay?" 

I opened my mouth to reply, but a metallic taste filled my taste buds instead. The stench strongly filled my nose.

Something wet was running down the side of my head. 

I tried to open my eyes, but I couldn't. Adonis gave my hand a weak squeeze.

"Come on. Open them. You can do it." 

Was that a plea I heard in his voice? No. That can't be Adonis. There was no way he was able to speak that softly.

My head was pounding.

I couldn't take it anymore. I needed to rest. To close my eyes for a while. I felt myself relaxing, listening to distant calls of my name until they faded away.