Heart Thief

0010 THE QI FAMILY'S POWER

Skye listened to the conversation, feeling utterly confused. Shaking her head, she decided she'd had enough of this incomprehensible talk. Since there was no more drama to watch, she ignored Lily, who was still chatting with Will, and headed back to her car. Black or white - who cares? Right now, catching up on sleep was the most important thing.

Two days later, Skye found herself sitting on a private jet, glaring at Jake, who sat across from her with an infuriatingly elegant smile. Her face was dark with annoyance. For some reason, this guy had been hovering around her for the past two days, refusing to leave despite her cold words and indifference. If she slept, he watched TV; if she ate, he served her food; if she went shopping, he accompanied her. He was like an all-capable, unwanted shadow that she couldn't even find a reason to yell at. It was driving Skye crazy. And to top it off, Lily had been meddling, tempting her with promises of gourmet food. So now, against her better judgment, Skye was on this plane to Washington D.C.

"Skye, don't go the wrong way. It's this direction," Jake said, gently taking Skye's hand as she started to follow Lily.

Skye raised an eyebrow at Jake, noticing his beaming smile. She gave him a sidelong glance. Jake, a notorious ladies' man, maintained his impeccable manners and released Skye's hand. He bowed slightly in apology before explaining with a smile, "They're going to get Sam's race car. We need to take care of some other arrangements. It'll be easier and safer if you come with me."

Over the past couple of days, Jake had casually mentioned that Will came from a powerful crime family in San Francisco - one of the top syndicates in America. They were here to race on behalf of the Qi Family. Although the Qi Family was powerful, their many enemies made this race particularly dangerous. The title of 'King of the Road' was highly coveted and symbolically important in the underworld. Having Will, who knew the ins and outs of this world, would help keep Sam safer.

Hearing Jake's explanation, Skye immediately changed her mind and followed him. No way was she going to risk her life - her fabulous existence had only just begun.

After handling all the necessary arrangements and connections, night had fallen. Sam, Will, and the others had planned to stay in for safety, but when Skye announced she was going out alone to explore the city, they exchanged glances and decided to follow.

"Delicious," Skye said with a smile, her eyes crinkling as she bit into a slice of pizza at a local joint.

Jake couldn't help but laugh. He passed her a dumpling dipped in sauce and said with a chuckle, "You've got a nose like a bloodhound. I'm impressed you could sniff out this place from so far away."

They had wandered through the Italian neighborhood, sampling various authentic dishes that had Skye grinning from ear to ear. Jake, born and raised in America, seemed even more knowledgeable about Italian culture than Skye, who was born in Italy.

Sam took two bites of his pizza and grimaced. "It's not good."

Skye immediately shot him a dirty look. 'Typical American,' she thought, 'if you can't appreciate it, don't eat it. How dare you insult the greatness of Italian cuisine.'

Lily laughed and said to Sam, "Better keep that opinion to yourself, or Skye might just flip out on you."

Sam hadn't seen Skye lose her temper over food before, but Jake had. He nudged Sam and said with a smile, "Zip it. Remember, we're in Little Italy here."

Sam put on an exaggerated look of oppression and mumbled, "I know when I'm beaten. I'll just hide in the corner." This elicited a round of laughter from everyone.

Will also chimed in with a laugh, "Don't pick on him too much. To be fair, this doesn't hold a candle to Lily's cooking." Lily and Jake just smiled politely. They all knew Skye had peculiar tastes. While this pizza was authentic, it couldn't compare to Lily's cooking. Yet Skye was eating it with such gusto - it was hard to understand her food preferences.

Skye knew her own mind, though. She loved this pizza because of its strong Italian flavor. Like Lily's cooking, it was authentic, and that's why she enjoyed it. She wasn't actually picky - she just had a special fondness for flavors that reminded her of home.

After their meal, the group of five headed out, chatting and laughing. Will and Sam had just stepped outside when suddenly a gunshot rang out. Skye froze for a moment, about to dodge to the side, but Jake reacted even faster. Before she knew it, Skye found herself pinned behind the door.

A barrage of gunfire erupted, accompanied by screams. Skye frowned deeply, trying to move to peek out from behind the door.

"Don't worry, don't worry, it's okay," Jake's low voice sounded in her ear as he held her tighter, making it impossible for her to move. Skye was taken aback - this was the first time anyone had ever protected her like this. After a moment, she bit her lip and said, "Let go. I'm fine. Let me see what's happening."

Jake, hearing no tremor of fear in Skye's voice, lifted his head slightly to look at her. He saw that her eyes were still clear and even showed a hint of curiosity. He raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Feeling Jake's grip loosen slightly, Skye immediately turned her head to look through the gap in the door. She saw pedestrians crouching and screaming everywhere, while two groups in cars were engaged in a fierce gunfight as they sped down the street. Skye's face darkened. How could they be so unlucky as to get caught up in something like this?

The gunfight ended as quickly as it had begun. In the blink of an eye, the warring factions had disappeared. Skye patted Jake, who was still shielding her, and they both stood up. They saw Will protecting Lily near the doorway, while Sam had taken cover alone nearby.

"How can we be this unlucky, getting caught up in something like this?" Jake said with a deep frown, looking at Will and Lily as they got up.

Will, while comforting a frightened Lily, looked at Sam who was slowly standing up. With a slightly unsteady voice, he asked, "Are you alright?" Despite having pushed Sam away at the first sound of gunfire, he needed to make sure Sam wasn't injured.

Sam walked over with a bitter smile, rubbing his right leg. "Just grazed."

Jake and Will's faces immediately darkened upon hearing this. They rushed to check Sam's injury. The bullet had grazed his calf - not a deep wound, but enough to potentially affect tomorrow's race.

"Why didn't you listen and stay inside?" The blonde man who had briefly appeared two days ago suddenly materialized at the scene. It was unclear whether this was due to the Qi Family's vast influence or if they had been under constant protection. He glared at the group, clearly exasperated.