Chapter 193: The Price of Forgiveness

"Ow!" The tall man cried out in pain, letting go of Claire Grace as his hands flew to his face. He staggered back a few steps, glaring at the person who had just punched him.

"You're dead meat! How dare you ruin my plans!" he spat, his face contorted with rage.

"I think you're the one courting death!" Lucas Zeller's dark eyes glinted dangerously, a bloodthirsty light flashing in them. "Do you believe I can't make you disappear with just one phone call?"

"I... I have backup! Lots of them, just around the corner," the tall man stammered, his bluster faltering under Lucas's icy glare.

"Oh, really? Lots of backup?" Lucas sneered. "Should I knock you down first to see if they'll come running?" Without waiting for an answer, Lucas sent another solid punch to the man's nose. The man couldn't dodge in time, and warm blood trickled from his nostrils. "Ah! My nose! You made me bleed!"

"Serves you right!" Claire snapped, clutching Lucas's arm tightly. Her heart, which had been lodged in her throat, finally settled the moment she saw him arrive.

"And you," Lucas scolded, his tone sharp, "running off in the opposite direction even when I told you not to. Do you know how scared I was when I finally caught up and saw this scene?"

"How was I supposed to know you'd be right?" Claire protested, pouting. "I thought you were just trying to scare me about a psycho killer."

"Well, lucky for you, I showed up just in time." Lucas glared at the tall man, who was pressing a torn piece of his shirt to his nose to stem the bleeding. Furious, Lucas raised his foot to kick the man again.

"Please, boss! Don't kick me anymore! If you keep going, I'll bleed to death!" The tall man dropped to his knees, groveling shamelessly. "I may look tough, but I'm weak! I can't take any more hits—please, let me go!"

"No way!" Claire interjected firmly. "We're calling the cops. Someone like you shouldn't be allowed to escape justice."

"No! I'm not that psycho killer from the news!" the man exclaimed, scrambling to defend himself. "I'm harmless! I swear! I just saw you walking alone, thought you were pretty, and got some bad ideas. But I'm not a killer!"

"Who'd believe you?" Claire retorted, glaring. "You look shady enough to be guilty of anything. Letting someone like you roam free would haunt my conscience!" She pulled out her phone and quickly dialed the police.

"You cruel woman!" the man yelled, his anger surging as he saw her make the call. From his pocket, he yanked out something and hurled it toward her face.

Claire yelped and turned her head just as Lucas stepped forward, shielding her with his body. The object hit him instead. The man took advantage of the moment to bolt in the opposite direction.

When they looked down, they saw that the object he had thrown was just his phone. By the time they raised their heads again, the man was already a distant shadow.

"Ugh! He got away!" Claire stomped her foot in frustration.

"Let it go," Lucas said, trying to soothe her. "We've got his phone, so he's not going far."

"His phone's broken. How are we supposed to track him?" Claire asked skeptically.

"Dummy, as long as the SIM card's intact, we'll find him." Lucas ruffled her hair affectionately.

Claire pouted but then asked coolly, "Why did you come after me anyway?" She hadn't seen him in so long that she'd assumed he had left for good.

"Seriously?" Lucas raised an eyebrow. "You think I'd leave my wife to walk home alone in an area with sketchy security? I only said those things to scare you into behaving. Who knew you'd take off running the other way? I had to do a U-turn so fast I nearly collided with another car."

"Was your car okay?" Claire asked, surprising Lucas.

"Huh? You're asking about the car? I'm your husband! Shouldn't you be more concerned about me than some vehicle?"

"Well, you seem fine. But where's your car?" Claire pressed.

"Unbelievable logic!" Lucas sighed, pointing toward the roadside. "It's right there. It's huge—you can't miss it!"

"Are you blind, or am I?" Claire shot back, squinting. "There's nothing there but an empty lot."

"What?!" Lucas looked again and froze. "Where's the car? Oh, no... I must've left the engine running and didn't take the keys out!" He groaned. "I was in such a hurry when I saw you being grabbed—I didn't even think!"

"So your car drove itself away?" Claire teased. "Let's hope it doesn't cause an accident, or you'll be in big trouble tomorrow. Looks like we'll need Blaine to come pick us up." She pulled out her phone, only to frown. "No way. There was signal just now—why does it say 'no network'?"

Lucas glanced at her, his expression wry. "Looks like it's either walking or hitchhiking for us, because my phone's in the car."

"I'm sorry," Claire said suddenly.

Lucas blinked, startled. "Why are you apologizing?"

"If I hadn't been so stubborn, we wouldn't be stranded here. And your car wouldn't be gone," she admitted guiltily. She knew that car was expensive.

"It's fine. I've been meaning to get a new one anyway," Lucas said sincerely. "As long as you're okay, that's all that matters. Trust me, I wanted to kill that guy when I saw him grabbing you. If I find him tomorrow, I'll make sure he pays."

"Does your hand hurt?" Claire asked suddenly, glancing at the hand he had used to punch the man. "You hit him pretty hard."

"Wait—are you worried about me?" Lucas's heart swelled with hope. "Does this mean you've forgiven me?"

"Who said I forgave you?" Claire pouted again. But when she saw his face fall, she added with a smirk, "Unless you carry me back home."

"What?" Lucas looked confused.

"If you don't want to, forget it!" Claire started to turn away.

"I'll do it!" Lucas quickly crouched in front of her. "Hop on."

"Too high—I can't climb up," Claire teased. Lucas obligingly lowered himself further, only for Claire to suddenly throw her full weight on him, knocking him to the ground. She darted away, giggling as she ran.

"Claire!" Lucas groaned, picking himself up and laughing despite himself as he chased after her.