Chapter 22 I Really Do Still Want You
All that mattered was that he was willing to help.
As long as he was willing, evacuating the mall wouldn’t be an issue at all.
Which meant the only thing left was to head back to the top floor and find Julius!
Quinn rushed to the elevator, but it seemed to have malfunctioned and wouldn’t respond at all.
Damn it! Could this have been done by that same group of people?
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She turned and sprinted toward the emergency stairwell. She was currently on the 6th floor, while the top floor was the tenth floor. The seventh, eighth, and ninth floors were the mall’s office levels.
That meant she’d have to climb four floors as quickly as possible!
By the time she reached the eighth floor, she heard the mall’s public announcement system informing guests to evacuate due to an emergency earthquake and fire safety drill.
She understood the man had already started the evacuation.
The biggest issue at hand was, she had no clue where the bomb was, let alone when it was set to explode.
Soon, Quinn reached the top floor.
But the entire place was dim. Every light had gone out.
The sounds of a fierce brawl echoed in her ears, accompanied by wails of distress.
Her heart skipped a beat as she moved quickly toward the source of the noise.
“julius, I’m going to kill you!” a furious voice shouted.
Immediately after, another muffled grunt was heard.
Quinn picked up her pace. “Jul…”
However, the scene that unfolded before her eyes made her halt abruptly.
Bodies were scattered across the floor, limbs askew, with no sign of whether they were dead or alive.
And at the center of it all stood a tall, lean figure, splattered with blood. His slender fingers were still dripping with it.
However, it seemed… the blood belonged to someone else.
Sensing her gaze, Julius lifted his eyes and looked toward her. Those dark, deep eyes met hers with a lifeless calm.
Yet his lips curved slightly into a faint smile. “You’re late. Otherwise, you might’ve caught a much more entertaining show.”
It was clearly a blood–soaked scene, but on him, it somehow felt light and effortless, like she’d just missed the climax of a movie.
Quinn rushed forward. “Are you hurt?”
He raised an eyebrow slightly. “I would’ve thought Ms. Bridger would be more concerned about these poor souls on the floor.”
I’m not that much of a saint,” Quinn replied. Since he could still talk to her that way, he probably wasn’t seriously hurt. “This place isn’t safe. We need to leave!”
With that, she grabbed Julius’s hand and started pulling him toward the emergency exit.
Just as they were nearing the emergency exit, Quinn suddenly heard a sound. Tick, tick
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Chapter 221 Really Do Still Want You
She hadn’t noticed it earlier, probably because the sound of fighting had masked it.
Now that it was quiet, the ticking was loud and clear.
Could it be the bomb?
A chill ran down her spine. And just then, the ticking turned into the static buzz of an electrical surge. Quinn reacted on instinct, spinning around and throwing herself at Julius.
“Get down!”
But the explosion never came. Instead, the man beneath her spoke in a cool, calm voice.
“There won’t be an explosion like you’re thinking.”
“What?” She froze and looked down, meeting those deep, unreadable eyes once more.
“The bomb’s been modified. Even if the timer runs out, it won’t go off,” Julius said.
“You knew there was a bomb this whole time?” Quinn was stunned.
“Yes, I knew.” Julius admitted honestly. “But this is the second time.”
She frowned. “Second time what?”
“The second time you’ve risked your life to save me,” he said, looking at her intently. “Why? Is it because you were in the military? Would you save anyone in danger the same way?”
“Is that not reason enough?” She stood up. Now that she knew the bomb wouldn’t explode, she finally felt a sense of relief. Soon, Julius’s subordinates arrived quickly at the restaurant, beginning to remove the bomb and hauling away the fallen
assassins.
“Mr. Whitethorn,” one of them said, handing him a clean, damp towel and a change of clothes.
Julius took the towel and wiped the blood from his hands, then casually began unbuttoning his bloodstained shirt, revealing his lean, muscular chest.
Caught off guard by the sight, Quinn quickly turned around. “Since you’re fine, Mr. Whitethorn, I’ll take my leave now.” “You might want to change first, Ms. Bridger. You’re quite a sight as you are,” His voice drifted over from behind her.
Only then did she realize she was also splattered with blood from when she’d tackled him.
Soon, one of Julius’s subordinates brought over a set of women’s clothes.
Quinn didn’t refuse. She went to the staff changing room in the restaurant and changed, knowing full well that walking around in a bloodstained outfit would only attract unwanted attention.
While they were in the elevator going down, Julius suddenly said, “I really do still want you.”
