The process of waiting was very boring, so Heather and Leon killed time by talking nonsense. They engaged in small talk since neither of them had expected the destination to be such a place. However, there were still two hours left when they fell silent. They both looked at each other, wondering how they should spend the rest of the time. Not only that, they wondered if those trying to kill them realized they had come here without any hiccups. Were they really safe in the wilderness?
Just then, Heather’s eyes met Leon’s. As they made eye contact, the latter didn’t know what to say at such a time. Since they couldn’t find any topics to talk about, they had a false impression that they were caught in a deadlock.
“Why don’t we watch a movie together, Leon?” Heather suggested, for she felt that carrying on like this wasn’t the solution.
However, Leon shook his head in response. “I’m afraid that we might miss the subtle noises around us, Heather. A quiet atmosphere like this is more suitable right now.” He kept a clear head the whole time. Indeed, he was more experienced than Heather when it came to such escapes, and he had not missed any details that he should’ve paid attention to along the way. Right now, he had to be more vigilant. He could tell that Heather hadn’t hit her stride and was even considering herself lucky.
“You’re right.” Heather pondered over Leon’s words and realized that she had indeed let her guard down too much. She hadn’t figured out the whole matter, yet her fear had gradually disappeared.
“Heather, the one trying to kill you must be difficult to deal with. We should focus all our attention right now, and we mustn’t give them any opportunities,” Leon reminded her. With her current state, she couldn’t be considered ready for an escape.
“I know what you’re talking about, Leon. It’s just that my mind is in a jumble, and I’ve even lost my judgment.” Heather couldn’t find any breakthroughs right now. In short, she was very confused.
“You have to believe in yourself, Heather. Also, I’ll never let anyone hurt you,” Leon said like a sacred knight. He regarded Heather as a woman who was more important than his own life, so it was only natural that he wouldn’t let her get hurt at all.
“Don’t be so nervous, Leon. You’ve been acting like this ever since we left the police station. What on earth is wrong with you?” Heather looked at Leon’s perturbed expression, not knowing what was disturbing him.
“I was thinking about Zayne’s words from start to finish just now. In my opinion, I think that the assassination attempt this time is no longer as simple as we believe it to be. Instead, it’s far more complicated and difficult to deal with than we’d ever imagine.” Leon believed in Zayne’s judgment as a great detective, and it seemed hard to say whether the latter could protect Heather after this.
“So?” Heather still looked unperturbed. She knew what Leon was worrying about, but they couldn’t do anything right now. This was reality, and she could only muddle along with no thoughts of what would happen next.
“I can’t even think of anywhere safe, Heather.” Leon had been thinking of taking her to a safe area, but nowhere was safe in the entire world since the killers could chase them to the edge of the earth.
“Don’t think about it then.” When Heather saw how troubled Leon looked, she suddenly felt like a sinner. She recalled how he had to worry about her many times along their way here, and this made her very apologetic. Now that another trouble surfaced before the previous one had been solved, she didn’t know what to do. If she couldn’t even save her own life, where should she go next to search for a renowned doctor to cure Robert? She felt so incompetent, and such a feeling almost overwhelmed her.
Leon’s brain worked quickly as the two hours slowly tormented them. He had to come up with a good solution, for he wouldn’t let anything happen to Heather.
Both of them weren’t pulled out of their respective worlds until Zayne’s helicopter landed beside them with a loud rumble that reverberated in their ears. When they got out of the car separately, Zayne had just gotten off the helicopter. At last, the three of them met up. He looked at the two people who weren’t far away from him; they seemed to be in good condition, and this made him feel somewhat gratified. “Heather,” he called her name before walking up to that woman.
On the other hand, Leon instantly felt much safer at the sight of Zayne. After all, he was a great detective with unusual capabilities, so many problems could be solved easily with his help.
“I’m very relieved to see that you two are unscathed.” Even the mustache at the corner of Zayne’s mouth became attractive as he walked toward Heather and Leon gracefully.
“What should we do now, Zayne?” Heather asked straightforwardly. She didn’t know what to do next, so she hoped that he had come up with a future plan.
“Take one step at a time,” Zayne answered conventionally. Was there any better solution right now? There didn’t seem to be any, so they could only do this.
However, this was the last answer Heather wanted to hear. A hint of disappointment flashed across her eyes, though there weren’t any other good ideas right now.
Leon didn’t think so, though. He asked Zayne directly, “Is there anywhere safe?” Since Leon couldn’t find a safe place on earth for Heather, he placed all of his hopes on the detective.
Zayne looked at Leon and hesitated somewhat. However, the latter got the answer from the look in his eyes, so he spoke on his own. “There must be such a place, but you can’t say it directly for some reason,” he said while guessing.
Upon hearing Leon’s words, Zayne immediately denied it. “It’s not that I’m afraid of saying it straight, but no one in their right mind would choose to go to that kind of place unless they don’t have any other options. In fact, Heather might get a complimentary full-body tan because of the amount of sunlight there.” He didn’t forget to make a joke toward the end of his speech.
“Are you talking about Africa?” Heather’s first reaction was to think of the African rainforest. Indeed, she didn’t like going to such places. Moreover, she couldn’t forsake her life of luxury to live in such conditions. Leon looked at Heather and said with a serious expression, “It’s worth going anywhere if you really are doing so to save your life.”
Upon hearing Leon’s words, Heather argued, “Why is escaping the only thing on your mind, Leon? Someone wants to kill me, and he won’t be happy as long as I’m alive. Should I keep hiding because of that? It’s pointless to do so since I can’t possibly spend the rest of my life lying low. The only thing I can do right now is to find out the person trying to kill me. I want to confront him face-to-face.”
Both Leon and Zayne were astounded by Heather’s words. The two men looked at each other, for it seemed that Heather had thought too superficially about the entire matter. After a long time, Zayne responded slowly, “Heather, the person trying to kill you isn’t easy to deal with. You can’t confront him face-to-face right now.” He had to remind her this, or she wouldn’t know how powerful the person actually was.
Leon had guessed this earlier, so he wasn’t surprised to hear Zayne saying this right now. Similarly, Heather had also considered this problem before, so she also wasn’t surprised by Zayne’s words. Even though both men were being careful this time, she thought running away wasn’t a good solution; they could only solve this problem by confronting the culprit face-to-face. “I know that. I have imagined all kinds of situations, but running away won’t solve any of it right now.” She held onto her own views since she refused to hide anywhere.
Zayne didn’t expect Heather to be so stubborn. He shot Leon a glance, only to see the helplessness in the latter’s eyes. They both knew very well that no one else could change Heather’s decision once she had made up her mind.
“What happened this time isn’t simple, Heather. You’d better hide for a while.” When Zayne saw Heather behaving like this, he wanted her to properly go into hiding outside, for he feared that she would act on impulse.
“I don’t want to go to Africa,” Heather replied straightforwardly as she didn’t want to hide anywhere.
“I’ll arrange a more comfortable place for you. I can arrange a temporary safehouse if you want to go to places like Korea, Japan, the United States, or even Australia.” Zayne knew what Heather thought, so he could arrange those comfortable refuges for her.
“I’m not going anywhere.” She was unusually determined. “I’m going back to Bradfort City now,” she said in a sulky tone.
“You can’t go back to Bradfort City right now, Heather. Be rational.” There was a trace of anger in Zayne’s voice, and it was probably because he hadn’t expected Heather to behave like this.
“Bradfort City is a cosmopolis with a sound legal system. I don’t believe anyone can commit crimes to that extent.” Heather’s tone of voice wasn’t nice either, for she thought that Leon and Zayne were making mountains out of a molehill this time.
“Can’t you hold back your stubbornness when your life is at stake, Heather?” Leon asked Heather as she turned around, for he was getting pissed off by her attitude. Why is she behaving as though she isn’t afraid of death at all? he thought to himself.
“I want to go back to the Langston Residence. I believe the Langston Family can guarantee my safety.” Heather couldn’t imagine what unscrupulous tricks the other party would pull, but she had to go back home. Right now, only the Langston Residence could give her a sense of security.
“No,” Zayne replied from behind Heather. “The Langston Residence is the most dangerous place right now, so you mustn’t go back.” He really didn’t know what to do with her.
“I want to go home—it is the safest place for me.” Heather looked at Zayne as he stood in her way. Since when did the problem become so complicated? She found this somewhat difficult to accept.
“You mustn’t go back.” Leon also walked up from behind Heather. He was inches away from her, and it seemed as though she’d enter his embrace the moment she turned around.
“Don’t coerce me like this; you’re making it seem as though I’ll be dead this time.” Heather didn’t like such a feeling, for Leon and Zayne’s concerns made her feel very burdened.
“Do you have a better way, Leon?” Zayne asked the man. He had a safe house for Heather, but he didn’t have any other ideas since she refused to comply.
Leon understood the meaning behind Zayne’s words when he heard the latter calling his name. To put it bluntly, Zayne was reminding Leon that he could use his family’s power to protect her. Since Zayne had brought this up, he could only go along with his wishes. He then said, “You can go back to Bradfort City, but you must stay with my family, Heather.” Luckily, Leon’s family was currently living there and could provide refuge for the woman.
Heather turned around and looked at Leon as the latter backed away. Meanwhile, Zayne agreed to Leon’s suggestion and said, “Heather, if you insist on going back to Bradfort City, perhaps nowhere else is safer than Leon’s family.” Zayne knew about Leon’s background, so he knew that his family wasn’t a presence that ordinary people could mess with.
“Am I going to live there as Leon’s fiancée?” Heather asked with a hint of self-deprecation. She didn’t expect that she would have to use Leon’s family backing so soon.
“Yeah.” He nodded. “I’m sorry, but only this identity can give you shelter for now.” Leon’s eyes showed a troubled look. In reality, he didn’t want to just pretend to be lovers with Heather.
When Zayne heard their conversation, he curled his lips slightly. He seemed to have thought of a good solution. “Perhaps being Leon’s fiancée will cause the one trying to kill Heather to have scruples.” He thought that this new identity was pretty nice.
“You two must get engaged as soon as you guys get back, and you must let the whole world know that you are Leon’s fiancée, Heather,” he said with a hint of awkwardness. For the time being, Zayne couldn’t think of a solution better than this. Even though he was somewhat distressed deep down inside, he didn’t care so much about it as long as Heather’s life could be saved.
