Chapter 517: It Seems You Still Do Not Know Me Well Enough
There were quite a few passengers already on the bus. They all stared at her in stunned disbelief when Zen opened the briefcase.
It was filled with money.
The driver was also taken aback. He looked at Zen, then at the bodyguards outside.
He knew this was no ordinary dispute. As a result, he did not know if he should move out. The atmosphere in the bus remained in limbo.
Everyone was talking amongst themselves.
"Is that real money?"
"Who is that woman? She’s so heavily pregnant and has so much money with her.
Also, who are all those people outside?"
"It’s Michael and Christian Lucas!"
Someone recognized the two men outside and shouted out, "That’s Michael Lucas, Christian Lucas and Wendy Lewis. This should be... Zen Tanner?"
Once the identities of the people outside were made known, everyone figured out who Zen was.
Some of them had no idea who Zen was, but almost everyone who lived in Lake City knew of Christian and Michael Lucas.
Those who didn’t, did now.
"Is Zen Tanner leaving Christian Lucas?"
"I heard they are deeply in love with each other. What’s happening?"
"Looking at the situation it looks like Zen wants to leave but Christian does not want to let her go. As for Michael and Wendy, they are trying to help Zen."
...
Zen’s fear climbed up a notch when she heard the comments.
She lowered her head and covered her face with her hands. Her voice choking up, she sobbed, "Please, start the bus. Hurry and go, please!"
...
"Get out of my way!" Christian growled grimly.
He looked like he was about to hit Wendy.
Michael saw Christian advancing on Wendy and immediately rushed to her, putting himself in front of Wendy.
It was not really Michael’s concern if Zen managed to leave or not. However, if Christian acted up and went crazy on Wendy, that would be disastrous.
"I’ve not had a chance to exercise my fists in a long time. Want a go?" It was obvious what Michael meant. If Christian continued forward, Michael was going to attack him.
"If you leave today, I will look for your parents!" Christian eyed the two people who blocked his way and stopped moving. He stayed where he was and glared angrily at Zen.
He did not want to fight Michael. It wouldn’t change things even if he won. All he wanted now was for Zen to stay.
The best course of action would be to act on Zen. He didn’t believe she would not give in if he threatened to harm her parents.
The distance between Zen and Christian was not great. She could hear everything he said clearly.
It was evident his threat was effective.
Zen’s head snapped up at the mention of her parents and her gaze fixed on Christain.
"Christian, if you are a man, stop using such low-blow threats on a woman!" Michael spoke up. He could not tolerate Christian’s cowardly threats.
"You’ve decided to butt your head into this, I suppose?" Christian looked at Michael, challenging him.
Michael was not interested in the matter, but Wendy had decided to take an interest in it and he would support his wife wholeheartedly.
So, Michael nodded.
"Ha-ha..." Christian laughed emotionlessly, "I’m afraid you won’t be able to do anything about it!"
"This bus station is under my control. If I so wish, I can actually do something."
Michael hollered, "Get me the person in charge of the station. Call all your security staff!"
This was why Michael had brought Zen to this bus station. It was under his control and he would have more control over the situation here.
Soon, all the security officers from the bus station gathered around Christian and his men.
...
Christian eyed the security guards and reached up to straighten his tie.
His mouth curved into a sinister smile.
He glanced once more at Michael before shifting his gaze onto Zen, who was still on the bus. "It seems you still do not know me well enough."
Christian then pulled out a handgun from his waistband.
Both Wendy and Michael were taken aback at the sight of the handgun. Michael immediately positioned himself in front of Wendy.
He was afraid that Christian might lose control of himself and do something irreparable. He would not allow Wendy to get hurt!
Christian pointed his gun at Michael and immediately, one of Michael’s men had his gun pointed at the back of Christian’s head.
"Ha-ha," Christian snickered, "Don’t worry. I have not come to die with you today."
He then turned the gun to his own men.
With a "bang", a bullet pierced the left leg of one of his guards. A sharp cry of pain pierced the air as fresh blood flowed out the bullet hole in the man’s leg and stained the ground crimson. The man fell onto the ground clutching his leg.
No one had expected Christian to really shoot. Or that he would actually shoot one of his own.
The people on the bus were shell shocked. The sound of the gunfire had them all shrinking back against their seats in fear, their arms protectively over their heads.
They didn’t even dare glimpse at what was happening.
Wendy’s eyes widened questioningly. She did not understand what Christian was trying to achieve by shooting his own man.
"Christian! Have you gone crazy?" Wendy questioned him loudly, "He’s one of yours!"
"I know." Christian grinned. "He’s my man. Since I injured him, I will be responsible and I will compensate him."
Christian’s words once again took Wendy by surprise.
"What exactly are you trying to do?" asked Wendy fearfully as she swallowed anxiously.
"What am I trying to do?" Christian’s attention turned to Zen. "What else would I be trying to do here? I want Zen to know, she cannot leave me without my permission!"
Another shot rang out from his gun.
This time, the target was another one of his guards. He was shot in the left arm this time.
"You’re crazy!" Wendy blurted out after she and Michael exchanged looks.
"That’s right, I am crazy." Christian’s smile seemed to have frozen on his face. He started walking around Michael and Wendy and headed toward the bus Zen was on.
Standing at the door of the bus, Christian looked up at Zen inside. He said in a threatening tone, "You have one minute to get yourself off this bus and no one here will get hurt.
Otherwise, I will pull the trigger once every minute."
"You’re crazy! A madman!" Zen screamed at him. She bit her lower lip anxiously, her face streaked with tears.
Christian had actually resorted to such extremes to stop her from leaving.
He did not attack any of Michael’s men because he knew he would not be able to walk out of the bus station if he did.
His only target was Zen and so he used his own men to threaten her.
"Zen, look at them, the two of them are injured because of you. I know threatening your parents won’t work as they are too far away; they’re not here, after all. But there are so many other people here. Can you bear to see them hurt because of you? Of course, if you’ve somehow taken a fancy to the sound of a bullet leaving it’s chamber, I can fulfill your wish."
As Christian spoke, he started counting down. "20 seconds have passed, 40 to go..."
"You don’t love me at all. Why are you forcing me to stay?" Zen cried, shaking her head. Desperate and helpless, she implored, "Christian, let me go. Please, I beg of you. I’ll get on my knees!"
...
Zen clutched her belly as she got on her knees with much difficulty on the aisle between the bus seats. She bowed, hitting her forehead heavily to the ground.
All the passengers who had been gossiping among themselves had gone silent. They didn’t even dare raise their heads in fear of being implicated in this dangerous situation.
That was a gun Christian had. It was no joking matter.
"17 more seconds..." Christian did not let up on the countdown. He continued counting down dispassionately.
"What else do you want me to do before you will let me go? Tell me, I will do it if I can." She had hit her forehead hard on the ground a few times and blood was now oozing out of several grazes on her head.
"Eight seconds..."
"Six seconds..."
"Three seconds..."
"Christian, what exactly do you want?" Zen slumped forward over her belly as she sat on the ground.
Her belly was hurting a lot, but she had no choice but to tolerate the pain.
Her forehead was covered with blood and a glistening sheen of sweat.
"One second..."
At the end of that announcement, another shot rang out.
There was a third casualty now.
Zen clutched at her head and screamed when she heard the gunshot.
Her scream lasted long until she ran out of breath.
She felt as if she were about to lose her mind.
"The countdown for the second minute will start now." Christian completely ignored Zen’s emotional outburst and continued counting down according to the terms he had set.
Zen could not sit and watch person after person get injured because of her.
She had already started feeling scared when Christian mentioned her parents earlier.
He had even threatened her with the people here.
There was no way she could leave.
"No need to count anymore. I will go with you." Zen gritted out. She had bit her lip so hard her skin had broken and blood was now dripping down her chin.
She did not reach out to wipe the blood away and some of it dripped into her mouth.
The metallic taste of blood told her she was not dreaming.
Clenching her teeth against the pain, Zen staggered to her feet with much difficulty.
With the bus seats as support, she pulled herself up to a standing position, straining so hard that even the veins in her hands could be clearly seen.
Taking a deep breath, she slowly waddled down the bus, step by painful step.
Christian looked pleased when he saw that Zen and finally surrendered. His eyes glowed in satisfaction.
Putting his gun away, he followed Zen as she walked towards Wendy and Michael.
"I will go back with you, but I wish to speak privately with Wendy first. May I?" Zen spoke calmly.
Christian glanced at Zen and Wendy. He hesitated but did not answer Zen’s question.
"You’ve resorted to such underhanded means to threaten me and make me stay, are you still afraid I will escape?" Zen laughed bitterly.
"Even if I do not care about what happens to your men, I still have to consider my parents’ safety."
Having attained his goal, Christian was sure Zen would not try to run. Since she wanted to talk to Wendy, he would allow it. It was unlikely they could come up with anything to change the situation, anyway.
"Wendy..." Zen clutched Wendy’s hand tightly and said softly, "Let’s go over there..." Wendy glanced at Christian and without saying anything, followed Zen to a quiet corner.
"Are you okay?" Wendy saw the blood and beads of sweat on Zen’s face. Zen did not look good.
Zen closed her eyes, riding out another wave of pain, and nodded, "I’m okay. It’s tolerable."
"Don’t worry, I will find an opportunity to help you make your escape. As long as you still want to leave Christian, I will help you." Wendy said to Zen reassuringly.
