Zane
"Do you think you're some big shot or something? How dare you smile like that — like you're not even scared of me. Wait, don't tell me you're that bitch's new guy," Dante spat.
I noticed something had shifted in Viktor's smile: he was still smiling, but there was an edge to it now.
"Zane, I didn't know you'd trapped a new guy this soon. Or were you already his boyfriend before you left me?" Dante sneered.
As he spoke, Dante moved toward Nico and suddenly raised his foot to kick him. At that exact moment my ropes loosened. I threw them off, sprang to my feet, and grabbed Dante's leg with one hand.
His eyes went wide — he had no idea how I'd untied myself.
"Surprise," I said.
I let go of his leg and delivered a front kick straight to his chest. Blood spat from his mouth as I followed up with a hard push kick.
"How dare you?" he mumbled, collapsing to the ground.
In the end, he was really weak. I quickly looked at Nico, knelt down, and untied him as fast as I could.
"Nico, your dad is here. You're safe now," I said as I untied him.
Nico jumped into my arms, crying, and clutched tightly to my chest with his tiny hands. I hugged him just as tightly, patting his back.
"Dad is here. Everything's alright."
Then I heard the metallic sound of a knife. I looked up and saw the fat man who had been sitting with Dante raising a knife toward me.
Before I could react, the blade was inches away. It was a big knife, and I couldn't even stand. My only thought was protecting Nico, so I pulled him closer into my arms.
I clenched my eyes shut — and then I felt a hand on me. I opened my eyes to see Viktor had jumped in and hugged us. The fat man's knife had pierced Viktor's arm.
Wait — wasn't Viktor tied too? How had he untied himself? No. He had saved us.
"Viktor!" I grabbed his arm.
His face was pale. "Thank God you're all right," he breathed, then reached up with his other hand and gently cupped my cheek.
The fat man showed no remorse. He raised his hand and gave a signal to his men to kill us.
"Nico, stay with Viktor," I said, handing my son into Viktor's lap.
I stood up, cracked my knuckles, and headed straight for the fat man — he was the boss here, and we needed to take him down first.
It took me only ten minutes to take down everyone who was there. When I finished, I felt it couldn't be possible that only four or five people had been here — there must be many more, and I would have to take them down too.
I looked around, then kicked Dante in the stomach. Viktor watched me with a shocked expression, but Nico's eyes were shining as he looked at me.
I went to them and knelt. "Viktor, how are you feeling? Don't worry — let's go to the hospital before more people arrive."
"Why are you suddenly speaking to me so informally?" he asked.
Look at him; he'd been stabbed and he still cared whether I was speaking informally. Such a strange person.
"But I like it when you call me by my name," he said, grinning. He was a little too flirty, I thought.
I helped him to his feet and held Nico in my arms.
We came out of the apartment, and an eerie silence hung in the air. But I could feel it — people were hiding. I didn't know if they were thugs or someone else.
Slowly, the three of us made our way out of the building. As soon as we stepped outside, I realized I'd been right: men in black suits were hiding behind the trees. They were concealed well, but I could still see them.
Since Viktor couldn't drive, I took the keys from him and helped him into the back seat.
"Dad, I want to sit with Viktor. Can I, please?" Nico asked.
Since he insisted, I let him sit beside Viktor and started the car.
As I drove, I glanced into the rearview mirror. Viktor was patting Nico's head, a gentle smile on his face — completely different from the one he'd worn earlier at Dante. This smile seemed genuine. Real.
I drove straight to the hospital, and when we arrived, I helped Viktor out of the car and took him inside. Since he'd been injured because of me, it was my responsibility to see him treated.
As we entered, I said, "Viktor, I need to leave now. My friend was stabbed too, and I'm worried about Nilo. Take care of yourself."
Just then, a doctor came over to stitch Viktor's wound.
"Mr. Blair, how did you get hurt? You need to take better care of yourself — wounds like this aren't good," the doctor said.
Wait… that doctor seemed to know Viktor. Good, I could leave him in capable hands.
"Okay, Viktor, we're going now," I said.
"Wait! I'm so scared of stitches. Please stay with me — I don't want to be alone with this doctor! He doesn't like me!"
I made a weird expression. He was such a big guy, and now he was scared of stitches?
"Okay, I'll stay. Doctor, please be quick," I said. I gently placed Nico on the bed and handed him my phone. It had a small crack from when it had fallen earlier, but it still worked.
Nico called Nilo, and as I listened to their conversation, a wave of relief washed over me — it meant Nilo was safe too.
Viktor grabbed my hand as I stood beside him. Just then, the doctor settled on the stool in front of him and began stitching his wound.
And suddenly…. he froze, his eyes widening, as if something unexpected had happened and he….