Hot Pursuit

Chapter 25

[Georgina's POV]

I heard a loud guttural grunt from behind me as soon as my hard sole hit the tip of the stranger's shoe. I didn't even think twice before I began wriggling under the tight hold he had on me. This man was really strong, as it turned out and he felt heavy as he tried not to let me go. Was he some kind of wrestler? Why was he so big? I tried to do some kind of trick that I learned from one of my self-defense classes and suddenly flipped my body over to do some judo skills. Ha! I was able to actually even lift the huge guy and pulled him into a hard flop on the ground. I even smack his head with my elbow before I could set myself free.

That gave me some chance to escape but I still looked around in case this guy was not all by myself. I carefully watched as the man tried to recover from the pain and had some trouble getting up from that bad fall. I was just really so lucky to have learned that effective technique from those classes I took a long time ago. I may have not used them once but I knew it was going to be very helpful for me someday and this was definitely the right chance to show what I can do. This man had fought the wrong opponent. If he thought I was just some weak average human, then he would definitely have to get a taste of my hard fist more. I bet that stomp and the ugly fall had hurt like hell.

He was now letting out a few groaning noises that I started to think I did not have to stay in that alley anymore. I quickly turned and ran away, making sure that he was not going to follow me anymore as I kept glancing over my shoulder, but before I could even reach the open streets, someone suddenly popped right in front of me. I immediately lost my balance and was preparing myself to fall on my butt as I almost let out a squeal when a familiar scent eventually surrounded me and I found myself being pulled back forward into a familiar warmth that I could never mistake for someone else.

It was Kieran Locke.

"Whoa," he said just when he was finally sure I had gathered my footing. I was frantically panting as I looked up and stared at his face. He still had his arms around me, something that I found comforting as I clung to him with my body starting to tremble because of the adrenaline rush.

"Someone's after me," I whispered harshly at him, grabbing onto the sleeves of his suit, relieved to even see his face. I can't believe that seeing him would actually give me a safer feeling. I could feel the tears pricking my eyes, but I tried my best not to let them fall. That was just a natural reaction to actually facing danger a while ago. And somehow, sensing the way I was panicking for real, I heard Kieran giving me soothing noises as I felt his hand rubbing my back and hugging me closer.

"Who's after you?" his voice got lower as I felt the coldness in his tone. His body felt so hard and reliable that I let myself soften a bit and closed my eyes as I let my arms moved around his back.

"I didn't see what he looked like... But there's someone back there," I uttered back, leaning my face over his shoulders. He hushed me as I started to sob involuntarily. Then out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a few men in black suits gathering around us as if giving us some protection just in case. They must be his bodyguards. I slowly became more relaxed as soon as I realized that and found myself feeling more comfortable being in Kieran's warm arms. And after a few more moments, I almost forgot where we actually were if not when Kieran started to pull away from me and looked into my eyes with that concerned look on his face.

"There's no one there now," he said to me reassuringly and then he offered, "Let's go back to your place. You don't have to worry anymore."

I just nodded obediently, sniffling as I held onto his arm to which Kieran did not even mind as he just grabbed my hand with his and we walked in silence all the way back to my apartment building. As soon as we reached my place, he ordered two of his bodyguards to stay outside and gently closed the door behind us. He made sure that I was safely settling down on my love couch in my small living room before he made himself at home and went straight to my open kitchen to get something to drink. I also realized that I have actually thrown away the groceries I bought a while ago... including the beer that was supposed to be my celebrating feast for tonight.

I felt pathetic all of a sudden. I was just confident a while ago when I had successfully won over that huge guy but when I slowly processed what just happened, the fear overtook the confidence and I felt even more scared for myself. I really almost got hurt and I was just lucky enough to avoid it because I had learned how to actually defend myself before if I had to.

But even with that capability, I knew that it was still not enough for me to feel good about surviving the attack by myself. Who knows what might happen tomorrow? Something worse would still come my way after that terrible situation.

"Drink this," I was then pulled out of my messy thoughts when Kieran appeared in front of me, offering the glass of water he had taken from my kitchen. I did not have time to think about anything else and quietly took it to replenish my throat. It felt too dry now after sobbing so hard in his arms a while ago. As soon as I finished the drink in one go, I exhaled so loud and eventually became aware of Kieran's presence inside my apartment now.

It was just so convenient that he had appeared right where I needed someone and that felt great for a first. I didn't really expect I would even need his support at all. I was just too grateful that he showed up. I would have not known what could happen to me if he didn't.

If it wasn't for him, I might still be running around in the streets and panicking alone. Knowing that someone was now chasing after me, I realized how bad it felt to be the one experiencing the part of being chased. And that really scared me.