Leo smiled faintly at Bella, trying to signal her to remain calm.
Then, he looked at the man who was pointing a gun at Bella’s head. The man’s face looked fiercer than the three men he had beaten before. He guessed that this man was the leader of this gangster.
He could see there was a scar on his left eyebrow. When their eyes met, Leo’s heart sank; he saw the viciousness in his eyes.
Leo becomes upset because his plan to bribe these gangsters to free them disappears when he sees that this man is not the type of gangster who could be bribed.
"What do you want?" Leo asked calmly, even though inwardly, he was starting to worry about this situation. There was no way out for him other than to fight. However, how could he fight the gunman?
An evil smile appeared on the corner of the gunman’s lips before he said, "Throw away your dagger and place your hands behind your head."
Leo didn’t dare refuse him. He did it immediately. At the same time, his mind was busy looking for ways to strike back and save Bella. He casually walked forward towards the man while keeping his hands behind his head.
He needed to get close to the gunman to find a chance to steal his gun; even though the chance was tiny, he had to try.
However, Leo’s plan shattered when the gunman could see his plan.
"Why are you fucking moving forward!? Stop and kneel!" The gunman shouted angrily, seeing Leo almost reach them.
His words nearly caused Leo to cough up a mouthful of blood. He couldn’t believe the gunman was asking him to kneel. What the fuck!?
"You asked me to kneel before you!?" Leo repeated while sending his displeased look at the gunman.
"One more sentence out of your useless mouth, Ms. Donovan’s head will explode."
Leo gritted his teeth while venting his anger in his mind. He didn’t want to risk Bella’s life. Though reluctant, he knelt on the hard ground while his eyes glared at the gunman as if he wanted to slap him through his gaze.
The gunman laughed happily, seeing that Leo didn’t fight back. The pretty guy obediently knelt right after he asked.
"Ha ha ha, I thought you would fight back. It turns out you were also scared under the pressure of my gun, right?" The gunman was satisfied.
"This pretty guy is so stupid. Do you think we will hurt her? Of course not. The person who paid us wants her not to get hurt...dummy!" Another man holding a baseball bat said coldly.
Leo clenched his fists, feeling angry at the man’s words. He worried too much and forgot that fact. If he had kept walking earlier, he might have had the chance to steal the gun. Damn it!
He looks at the gunman again before he asks, "Who sent you to capture my friend!?"
"You think I’m stupid enough to tell you?" The gunman chuckled. "Shut your mouth before I send a bullet to blow your head off." He said in a cold tone.
Leo sneered inwardly. He gnashed his teeth, wanting to tear apart the human being before him. This was the first time someone had insulted him, and he was powerless to fight back. He was really annoyed.
He could only press his anger, afraid that this man would actually shoot him. He turned to look at Bella.
’Huh!? Why does she look so relaxed?’ Leo mumbled under his breath, surprised by Bella’s expression. He thought Bella would be as scared as before or even cry. But this girl looked calm, as if she wasn’t afraid of someone pointing a gun at her head.
’Did Bella believe these people wouldn’t hurt her?’ Leo wonders. When Bella’s eyes finally fix on him, he smiles at her, trying to calm her down before he turns his gaze again at the gunman.
"Man, I understand there is a rule in your organization not to reveal the identity of those who pay you..." Leo said calmly, suppressing his anger to persuade this man.
The gunman furrowed his brows in confusion, hearing Leo’s words.
"I’ll give you as much money as you want if you let us go. We won’t report this incident to the police either. I promise you, please..." Leo begged.
Suddenly, Leo heard the laughter of the four men in front of him and the three men still lying on the ground, testing his patience. He smiled slightly while cursing them thousands of times in his heart.
"Come on, guys... you just need to tell me your bank number now. And I will send it right away," Leo smiles, trying to buy time. He can see some passersby in the park from a distance. He hopes one of them calls the police. "I’m serious...
you guys could divide the money among you."
Leo thought these lowly gangsters would accept his offer with open arms, but they all kept laughing, ignoring him. How shameless!
"Alright... Alright... Guys... how much do you want? One million? Two?
Fifty? or a Hundred? You name it..." Leo continued to convince and distract them.
****
While Leo was negotiating with the gangsters, at the same time, Tristan, who was just about to get into his car to go to the following meeting location, suddenly stopped when he saw his security chief running after him.
Tristan turned towards him with a frown when he saw how tense his expression was.
"What’s wrong, Reid? Is there a problem at our base camp?" Tristan asked, worried that Manager Laura Kiels’ arrest was causing problems.
He knew they had caught the manager and detained him underground. Still, he only had an agenda to interrogate him tomorrow morning.
"No, sir." Reid stopped before Tristan and whispered, "My people were shadowing your wife, but they lost her. They thought your wife was still in her office, but when they checked the CCTV footage, it turned out she was outside the office."
The wrinkles on Tristan’s forehead deepened, and his eyes filled with worry as he heard the unsettling news about Bella.
"So?"