Chapter 171
(JERICHO)
I glance at the rearview mirror and see Luca’ yellow eyes. He looks amused, which pisses me off greatly. I’m certain that he thinks that I’m working too hard to get Wesley’s attention. I don’t find anything funny about it. Usually, I would have gotten an omega at the palm of my hand, but the fact that Wesley is still adamant is starting to get me angry. Not only is he not responding the way that I expect him to, he is not even being subtle about him not wanting my attention. I haven’t done anything to piss him off this much, so why is he being this cold to me?
Our one-sided conversation ends when Luca pulls into a parking lot of the expansive park. Luca steps out first to clear the area of any potentially dangerous people. Once he makes sure that the coast is clear, he opens the door for Wesley who has already unhooked the baby’s seat. Wesley slips out of the car with the baby as Luca goes round to open my door.
Wesley carefully puts the baby in the stroller and once he is set, we head for a path that winds through the park. Luca is wise enough to hang back and give us some privacy. At that distance, he is still able to keep an eye on us. Wesley keeps fixating on the baby, and I walk quietly beside them.
I deeply inhale the air, trying to push my irritation at Wesley away. I might as well just enjoy the park if he doesn’t want to talk to me. The grass in the park is freshly mowed. Ahead of us is a pond that reflects the beautiful sky. It is dotted with ducks waddling on the surface of the water and along the banks. The paths are lined with sycamore trees and the sprawling branches provide us with the shade.
Children’s laughter ring from the playground a few meters away from us. A distant aroma of barbecue drifts through the park from the picnic area. The gentle breeze stirs the leaves, with it a faint sound of a guitar that someone is playing under the shelter of the gazebo.
“The park is nice.” I say, momentarily forgetting that I was mad at Wesley. But when he grunts, he reminds me that he is being a pill. Thankfully, I’m not one to call it quits that easily. “I’m glad I’m spending some one-on-one time with you.” I give him one of my flirty smiles.
“I guess.” He shrugs.
“What? You don’t agree p>
“Really, I’m just here for the baby p>
His boorish behavior makes me grit my teeth once again, and I focus on the beautiful aura of the park. I have no idea why he is suddenly being standoffish with me, but I won’t let it ruin my day. I could enjoy this little time that I have out of the office. Who knows? Miles might never let me leave again anytime soon.
The scent of the freshly cut grass makes me nostalgic for a moment. It reminds me of my childhood. Not that my childhood was similar to that of a regular family. My father was never out mowing the lawn on Saturday morning. Even though that would have been quite the sight, Mr Martino Adonis himself pushing the lawn mower around in his usual black suit. I smile fondly at the memories of my father. Sasha is more like him than I ever was.
Shots suddenly fire, jarring me from my memory lane. I’m startled as Luca yells at us to get down. The bullet whizzes past my ear as I instinctively turn to shield Wesley and baby Reign. I intend to get Wesley, baby Reign and me down behind the bend to the other side of the park.
But before I can execute my plan, two burly guys in fitting dark suits emerge from my back, out from behind one of the trees near us. One of them lifts his gun and points it to my face. Several times, I have gotten verbal threats, but this is the first time that someone has actually trained a gun on me at a close range. Judging from the way the guy is glaring at me, he has no reservations about pulling the trigger.
Being an Adonis, I have played out this scenario severally in my head. I’ve always known that an attempt to take my life has always been a real possibility. I always thought that I would be prepared for the time that it would happen, but as I stare at the barrel on my face, I realize that I’m frozen. Stuck. Numb. I feel the weight of my glock in my suit pocket, but I really don’t have time to draw it out, not to mention that the guy would spill my brains on the path if I tried that.
Luca fires at the men standing behind us, and one of the men falls down.
But not the guy pointing the barrel on me.
It takes me by complete surprise when Wesley grabs me and shoves me to the ground. I end up face first on the lawn. My mind churns with confusion. I lift my head and Wesley scrambles one my frozen body and kneels in front of me. I watch in complete horror as he pulls a small handgun from an ankle holster. He fires three bullets at the man without hesitation.
Pop. Pop. Pop.
The burly guy in front of us screams and collapses as he writhes on the ground. I’m still in shock, processing what just happened when Luca advances on the man and shoots him on the head. Blood and gore shoot beneath his head.
“Motherfucker.” Luca hisses as he glares at the guy.
Wesley falls back on his ass, heaving hard. “Fuck.” He mutters.
I struggle to get up and sit upright then spit the grass in my mouth. I’m embarrassed that my reaction towards the gunman was so pathetic, but what double humiliates me is that the Manny had to protect me.
Wesley doesn’t even look at me. He gets up and hurries towards the baby who is wailing uncontrollably beneath a bench at the park. Apparently, Wesley had managed to get the baby out of the stroller when the shooting started. That was smart of him because the stroller was an easy target. Killing baby Reign would devastate Miles and Arlo, something that his enemies would have relished in.
“Park time is over.” Luca says, strolling towards us. He looks around with uncertainty. “We need to get back to the house.” He then gives Wesley a funny look, something that I can only place between half respect and half bewilderment. “Nice shooting, kid p>
“Thanks.” Wesley says. He still won’t look at me.
My heart pounds and the hairs at the back of my neck are stiff as we head back to the car. There could be more shooters in the vicinity for all I know. We still aren’t safe. People are now running helter skelter around the park in mass confusion. I hear sirens in the distance as Miles swears underneath his breath. I know what he is thinking because I am thinking the exact same thing. The last thing that we want right now is to get detained by the cops.
“Get in.” Luca says as he opens the backseat door for Wesley. Wesley pauses and tries to fix the baby’s seat, and Luca growls. “Fuck the seat, Wesley. Just get in p>
“Alright.” Wesley stops strapping the baby then gets in. His face is flushed, but he looks a lot calmer than I am. He just shot a man and he looks calm like he didn’t.
Who the hell is this guy? Tough guy Manny?