Chapter 2: His Revelation

Chapter 2: His Revelation

Ember Corbin

I watched the stranger bringing out something from beneath his suit. My eyes grew wide in shock seeing the black metal visible under the small blinking street light above us.

The stranger pointed the revolver at the group of men, startling them. He spoke up in a tone that sent shivers to my spine, "One step forward, I will press the trigger. One step backward, I will rethink my decision of pressing the trigger. The choice is yours." When the men were thinking about what to do, the stranger further added, "Hurry up. My fingers are itching."

As soon as the stranger had said that, the men turned back and ran away—all five of them.

Once they were gone, I placed a hand over my chest, heaving a sigh of relief. "Thank God, they ran away. Of course, they would after seeing a scarier man than them. If I make him my bodyguard, people will never talk to me in fear," I mumbled to myself, as if I could magically afford a bodyguard who himself owned a Bugatti.

"That's never going to happen," his sudden voice made me jump slightly.

I looked at the stranger, almost forgetting he was standing in front of me. He didn't turn to face me yet; he was still looking in the direction those men ran.

"I didn't really mean to make you my bodyguard. I was just talking to my soul," I replied simply. When I didn't hear him respond, I continued, "You must be thinking why I was talking to my soul. Look, it's very simple. My soul is within me, so in order to talk to my soul, I have to speak aloud and my voice will reach my soul after it passes through my ears. In short, I have to talk aloud for my soul to hear."

When I explained my simple logic to him, he turned to me all of a sudden, the muzzle of the revolver now pointed at my chest. Immediately, my breath hitched as I covered my eyes with my hands.

"If you intended to kill me, then why did you rescue me?" I asked, still not removing my hands, but I peeked through the gap between my fingers.

The stranger was confused until his eyes fell on the revolver. He rolled his eyes and put the revolver back in the pocket of his suit. "I don't kill innocent people."

I removed my hands and sighed. Smiling at him, I said, "I know I am innocent. You don't have to remind me; not that I minded, though."

"Crazy," he muttered, making me raise my brows.

He was calling me crazy, but he was the one who rescued me. He did give off a scary aura, but he saved my life, so I was grateful to him. I didn't know how he got the gun, but it didn't matter as long as he didn't shoot me with it. Besides, guns were allowed as long as it was licensed and were usually used for protecting oneself. In my case, he was protecting me with his gun, so I was thankful.

"By the way, thank you for saving me from those people," I told him politely. "My name is Ember Corbin. Nice to meet you. And you are...?" I stretched out a hand to shake it with him.

He looked at my extended hand in the midair, and just as I thought he would shake his hand with mine, he stuffed his hands in his pockets and marched in the opposite direction.

What the hell?

This stranger really dared to test my patience. Maybe all that audacity came from the gun he carried around with himself as if it was candy. However, I wouldn't let him live in peace, not until I knew his name. I told him my name, so I should know his. It was only fair.

I decided to run after him. I wouldn't leave him till I got a name. I chased him and matched his pace.

"Why didn't you tell me your name?" I asked,  walking beside him. He stayed silent, so I further questioned, "I will just tell my mom to pray for your safety if I learn your name. There is no ill-intention, I swear. I'm not going to try to stalk you online, trust me. It's all pious intention, Mr. Stranger. Also, you said I am innocent, so I can never hurt you, either."

"For God's sake, I didn't say you are innocent," he grumbled in annoyance. If he didn't want me to annoy him, he should just say his name normally and not completely make me seem stupid.

"But you said that you don't kill innocent people," I pointed out, making him groan.

He shook his head in disappointment as if talking to me was wasting his precious time. He fastened his pace towards the car, so I sped up too. Once we were near the familiar black Bugatti La Voiture Noire, he opened the door and got inside without waiting for his driver to get out to open the door of the car for him.

Before the driver could start up the car, I knocked on the windshield, and it rolled down after knocking twice. The stranger was throwing daggers at me with his eyes as he asked, "What now?"

Putting on my puppy face, I requested politely, "Please drop me home."

He arched an eyebrow. "Why should I?"

I feigned a sigh and said, "First of all, it's dangerous for me to walk alone at this time after what happened to me tonight. What if I land up in danger once again? Who will rescue me again?" I added, "Plus, I can barely feel my legs after jogging, and then, running due to those bad people. So, please drop me." I put forth my request, hoping in that way I would get to learn his name. Besides, a free ride was always appreciated.

"I am headed to another place," he stated simply, almost making me narrow my eyes in his direction.

"Maybe I live near the place you are going, you don't know that," I replied, because I didn't even tell him my address yet, so he couldn't know where I lived, nor did I know where he was going. What if the same area was our destination?

"Doesn’t—" he was interrupted by me.

"Will you leave this poor innocent yet pretty girl alone in this deserted place after she almost got raped here? Won't you feel any sympathy for me?" I asked, batting my eyelashes at him, hoping he would agree at last, which surprisingly worked.

"Fine," he finally agreed after sucking in a deep breath. He was a good person, after all. "But this is the last time you will bother me."

I nodded with a grin on my face. "Thank you." I opened the car door and motioned him to scoot over. Giving me a look of disbelief, he scooted over, and I sat inside the luxurious car.

The car was so clean and posh. The seat was very comfortable—perks of an expensive car. It made me sure that this stranger was extremely rich; otherwise, he wouldn't be roaming with such an expensive car and a gun.

"Excuse me?" the stranger's voice snapped me out of my trance. I looked at him, waiting for him to continue speaking. He said to me, "Tell your address to the driver so that he can drop you off. You have already wasted enough time."

I glanced at the driver, only to find him looking at me expectantly. As if he was hurrying to drop me off, then his boss, and then return home as soon as possible.

"Uh... well, you can start driving ahead. I will guide you, no worries," I stated with a small smile.

I couldn't reveal my direct address because I lived in a confusing area, like my house number was not in the main alley. Cab drivers never find the location unless I walked a few blocks to reach them. In short, if I said the address, the driver would never find it as well, so it was better to just give the directions.

"But Ma'am, it will be better if you tell me the direct address so that I can drop you off there directly. I know the streets around here well enough," said the driver.

"No, it's not a problem," I told him. "Just start driving."

I watched the driver glance at the stranger, as in his boss, who gave a curt nod, permitting him to drive ahead. The driver started the car.

I leaned against the seat, making myself comfortable. Looking at the person next to me, I started speaking since I hated silence when I was around people, "By the way, Mr. Stranger, I am grateful to you for saving me. I mean, if you hadn't saved me, I would be almost dead, or fully dead after getting gang-raped." Chills ran down my spine just at the thought of it.

What if he didn't reach on time? I would have been traumatized for the rest of my life, that is, if I was left alive by the gang.

"You are a good person," as soon as I said that with a faint smile, those green eyes met my gray ones. It felt like he couldn't believe I called him a good person, or maybe no one called him 'good' before because of his dangerous aura. "If you weren't a good person, you would have left me with those people, or worse, you would have joined them, Mr. Stranger," I let out the last few words in an almost inaudible tone.

"Lance," he uttered.

I furrowed my brows in confusion. "Sorry?"

"Lance Storm, it's my name," he informed me, looking blankly at me.

Wow! I finally managed to know his name. Now, we were equal. But why did his name sound familiar, though? I felt like I had heard his name before, but from where?

"Are you a celebrity?" I asked in confusion after racking my brain for a while. "I feel like I have heard your name before, but I have never seen your face, so if you were a celebrity, maybe I would've seen your picture." I tried hard to remember, but either I had an issue with memory recalling or his name was common. I wasn't sure about Lance, but his surname felt popular.

"I am the owner of Berserkers," Lance said curtly, making me remember why I felt like I knew his name.

Berserker, a.k.a. Berserkers Storm Corp., was a name that everyone in Las Vegas knew about, maybe it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say the whole world knew about it. It was a casino and resort chain, which featured both gambling and accommodation. My best friend worked as a bartender in one of the casinos.

Even though it was a famous name, the current owner barely attended any interviews or showed his face in front of the paparazzi, which was why I couldn't recognize him at first. Besides, his surname was Storm, which meant he was the son of the richest man in the United States, Mr. Tansen Storm, who was the previous owner of Berserkers and Storm Dynamics, one of the top armament companies in the world.

"That sums up everything," I blurted out, not realizing I had said that aloud.

"What?" Lance asked, and I shook my head.

"Nothing," I murmured and looked out through the window.

I was sitting with the owner of Berserkers; it was beyong unusual. He not only rescued me but also was about to drop me home. Should I consider this as good luck or bad luck?

"Where to now, Ma'am?" questioned the driver.

"Take a right turn," I answered him, and he obediently listened to me. Since I couldn't stay quiet for much longer, I cleared my throat and glanced at Lance, saying, "By the way, now I know the reason why you have a gun."

"Why?" he asked curiously.

"Because your brother is the CEO of the top armament company in our country." I couldn't recall his brother's name, but I had heard from my best friend all about her boss's family. "Of course, he gave the gun to you as a present to protect yourself. If you don't have weapons, then will a commoner yet unique person like me have them?" I joked. "The dots are connected now. Wow, you are so smart, Ember Corbin, hats off," I complimented myself with pride. “I must receive an award for having so much talent and for being such a perfect person ever.”

My moment of celebration ended as soon as Lance announced, "Wrong."

A frown appeared on my face. I inquired, "Why? If this is not the reason, then what is the reason?"

I thought he would say something which would make more sense, but the next few words he uttered made my mind temporarily go blank.

"I am a Mafia Leader."