Loving The Temperamental Adonis
Chapter 34: Bleeding wound

Chapter 34: Bleeding wound

After Neil took the guitar from Liam, he carried it to his motorcycle and slung the case on his back before kicking the bike to life. Though Mia didn’t know that he was the one who broke her guitar, he had decided to buy her a new one seeing how much the girl still enjoyed the instrument he had taught her years ago when they were still kids.

And the other reason he had decided to buy the guitar for her was because he was determined to find out what went wrong that made the girl not remember her life in Mirage mesa. Did something happen to her family after he left Mirage mesa? He wanted to find out everything for his own satisfaction.

Neil rode his motorcycle into the dark road at night, feeling the wind tousle his black hair since he didn’t have his helmet on. He wanted to go to some bar and drown his sorrows in alcohol, hoping it would distract him from the weight of his responsibilities as a soldier and as a human being. Besides taking down the criminal organization known as Da Kroll, Neil had no other aspirations in life. He had no dreams and desires. He had long given up on his dreams of becoming a successful businessman like his late father. He had once looked forward to his adulthood because he wanted to work as the next CEO of his family’s company...

Now, his only motivation was to complete his mission and bring an end to Da Kroll. Over the years, this illegal group had been involved in drug and diamond smuggling, managing to evade the authorities with their hidden locations and secret identities.

When Da Kroll started engaging in acts of terrorism and smuggling deadly weapons, the military stepped in. However, long before the military’s involvement, Neil had taken matters into his own hands when he joined the army, because one of the members of Da Kroll had caused the death of his family fifteen years ago.

Each member of the higher ups of the organization had a distinct red tattoo on their wrist, and he could never forget the night when the man with the red tattoo had shot and killed his father and...his lovely mother, who had done nothing but taught him how to be kind and generous to every person regardless of their class.

Now the only memories of her he remembered, was seeing her laying in a pool of her blood with her eyes wide open.

As the past memories began to consume him again, Neil’s grip on the bike’s handle tightened, and the vivid images flashed through his mind, playing like a broken record. His body began to tremble violently, reliving the sight of his father and mother lying lifeless in their pool of blood.

Almost colliding with a truck, Neil managed to regain control and abruptly pulled over to the side of the road. He struggled to calm his shaking body, taking deep breaths. After a long while, he finally calmed down. Looking around, he realized he had subconsciously ridden his bike to the intersection that led to Whispering Way street.

He hadn’t intended to give the guitar to her tonight, but then since he had reached here, Neil decided to hand it to her, he also wanted to get his mind calm with the familar melody of the guitar and her voice. That night when she sang his once favorite song, Neil had surprisingly felt a sense of peace in his mind, a peace he’d never felt even when he drowned himself in alcohol. And right at this moment, he wanted to feel that peace again, he wanted to hear that melodic voice and music.

Neil didn’t care how late it was getting, he kicked his bike to life and headed towards the streets. However, as he was riding into the town, his eyes fell on a man exiting a store, the man had the same scar on the face like the one Mia had described to him. He had been able to see the man’s face because of the lights outside the store, and Neil immediately pulled to a stop.

He swiftly got off his motorcycle and followed the alleyway the man entered. Neil had no weapon with him, but he was confident in his fighting skills if the man turned out to be the same as the one Mia had seen. He had been looking for leads to get to the leaders of Da Kroll until he’d gotten the one who killed his family, but for years, it hadn’t been easy.

In the dark alley, Neil quietly followed the man with the scar, trying not to be seen. He was careful to stay far away. Neil knew how to move without making noise, like a shadow in the night. And if the man was really the same as the one the girl had described, then he would have a sharp sense.

As Neil followed him, he felt the man becoming aware. The man started walking faster, and he turned into another corner. Neil also increased his pace and turned into the corner only to find it empty and quiet. He looked around but there was no trace of the man, it was like he had suddenly vanished in thin air.

Neil muttered a curse as he realized he’d lost the man, not finding the man after looking around for awhile, he decided to step back and leave the alley. But just as he was turning away, something heavy hit against his head. For a moment, he almost lost his balance from dizziness, but he quickly recovered. The man with the scar was standing there, ready to hit him again.

Neil acted fast, kicking the man away with his legs. But things got more serious when the man fell back and got up pulling out a hidden gun and aimed it at Neil.

Because of the darkness in the corner, Neil could barely see his face clearly, but he saw him pointing the gun at him. He also heard his hoarse serious voice as he asked, "Who the hell are you, and why are you following me?"

Neil, not scared by the gun, looked at the man and said, "If you’re innocent, why are you so alert? I’m just trying to find some answers, and it seems like you might have them." He remarked while keeping his eyes on the gun pointed at him.

The man chuckled darkly, "You must be one of those darned hidden authorities, but too bad, I will kill you before you can get any answers from my mouth."

Before the man could pull the trigger, Neil had swiftly used his leg to kick at the iron the man had used to hit his head earlier, the iron went hurling towards the man and landed directly on his face. Neil used the opportunity and grabbed the hand holding the gun and twisted it to the opposite direction, the man fell to the ground groaning.

However, before Neil could do anymore damage to the man, he used his other hand and pulled out a small ankle gun, because of the darkness, Neil didn’t notice him on time until the man pointed it to his side and pulled the trigger. The gun didn’t even make much noise because it had a suppressor attached to it’s muzzle.

Neil was astonished at the fact that he had been shot by someone whose strength wasn’t even compared to his own. He stopped frozen in place as he pressed a hand to his side and felt the thick warm sticky liquid against his palm. And that was when he felt the burning pain of the bullet in his flesh. He didn’t even realize when the man before him fled the corner until he looked up and found the place empty.

"Fuck." He gritted his teeth in annoyance as her felt his blood ozzing out of the bullet wound. At this point, he couldn’t go to any hospital because his disguise must not be known to anybody as per protocol. The military were very strict on keeping their mission a secret from anybody who had no knowledge of their cover. If he was to go to a hospital, he would have to provide details of how he was shot to the authorities. And another protocol was that, no police must know of the military mission because it had been investigated that a few authorities were involved with Da Kroll. One could never know who the mole was, so it was best if no police men were alerted.

Neil pressed a hand to his side to stop the bleeding as he walked out of the alleyway. He would ride back to Liam, who was an expert in removing bullets. However, to make matters worst for him, he couldn’t find his motorcycle where he’d parked it a moment ago.

"Great, just wonderful." He remarked under his breath as he realized some theif in whispering way had stolen his bike. He was still carrying the guitar case on his back as he began to tumble down the street. He didn’t know where he was going, but he kept walking in the quiet night streets. He didn’t even realize he was approaching Mia’s apartment building until he heard an angelic voice swirling in the night.

The song, the voice, was just too soothing and familiar that Neil found himself following it. He was beginning to lose a lot of blood to the point he was starting to feel dizzy, but he continued to walk until he reached the huge rundown apartment building where he noticed a girl in the top window singing. Though he couldn’t see her face properly, he knew it was her.

Neil knew what he was about to do was dangerous and stupid, but he had no other choice, he needed someone’s assistance in removing the bullet. He couldn’t call Liam because his friend’s residence was far away from whispering way, and before he would get here, Neil might have passed out.

Before Neil could call her name, she had backed away from the window. He saw the light of the room go off. He murmured another curse. Without any other options, he decided to climb up. Despite the pain in his side, Neil began to climb up the pipes and the neighboring windows sills. It took all of his strength to get up there, and when he reached her window, he heard some movement in the room, and when he raised his leg to climb into the room, he heard her scream out.

Neil lost his balance and fell on something soft beside the window. When she turned on the room’s lights, he looked towards her and noticed her surprise upon recognizing him.

"Wh...what are you doing in my room, Mr...Oh my God, what happened to you!" She exclaimed the moment she noticed the blood. She didn’t move again and stood frozen staring at him in horror. Her face turned pale as she stared at his blood.

He noticed she was slightly trembling. He didn’t have much time to coax or ask her what was wrong, he managed to speak, "Help me..." He choked out, "I need you help, Harrison."