Chapter 168: Chapter 168: It hurts... doesn’t it

Elara’s head snapped sideways the moment the slap landed hard against her cheek. For the first few seconds, she couldn’t even hear anything properly except the loud ringing inside her ears.

"There we go," the man said with a mocking laugh. "I was starting to think your face couldn’t move."

Elara’s jaw clenched tightly. Slowly, she lowered her head to the side before spitting blood onto the wet ground.

Shit.

Without hesitation, she suddenly drove her knee upward, slamming it hard into the space between his thighs. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

The man stumbled backwards instantly, cursing violently under his breath as he grabbed at his groin.

Elara pressed her lips together and tried to stand up. The pain shooting through her leg was unbearable. The moment she finally managed to straighten herself, a sharp pain tore through her ankle forcing a cold breath out of her lips.

"Elara!"

Ziva’s scream rang through the rain. She had already run quite far ahead, but the second she looked back and saw Elara still far behind, she immediately started running back toward her again.

"Ziva go," Elara muttered weakly, but it was obvious Ziva either didn’t hear her or completely ignored her.

But before Ziva could even reach her, a hand suddenly grabbed Elara by the arm from behind. She stumbled backwards and crashed onto the ground again.

"You think you’re smart?" the bald man sneered.

Rainwater slid across his smooth head, making it shine strangely beneath the flickering lights around them.

Elara took a long painful breath through her nose just as his fist slammed hard into her stomach again. A violent cough escaped her lips instantly and blood splattered onto the rain soaked ground.

"You bald bastard, get your hands off her!" Ziva screamed again. She had finally reached them tightly gripping a metal rod in her hands.

The man didn’t even bother looking at her. The moment she swung the rod toward his head, his hand shot upward instantly and caught the other end of it midair. Then with one violent shove, he pushed her away.

Ziva crashed hard against the wet concrete with a painful groan escaping her lips as she rolled across the ground.

"Bitch," the man spat before turning back toward Elara. But the second he faced her again, Elara suddenly threw a hard punch directly into his eye.

"You dare!" he cursed painfully clutching at his face. Then his expression turned violent. He grabbed Elara by the hair and dragged her upward halfway before driving another brutal punch straight into her stomach.

"Sorry girl," he muttered coldly. "But I don’t know how to be gentle around women."

A harsh cough escaped Elara’s lips as she collapsed back onto the ground, her stomach twisting painfully. Then slowly, she lifted her head and stared at him coldly.

"So this is the kind of dog your sender keeps around."

The man’s face darkened instantly.

"You’re really trying hard to die tonight," he muttered as he stepped toward her again. "And honestly? You’re making my job stressful."

Elara breathed heavily as she stared down at the blood mixed with rainwater beneath her hands. Her chest tightened painfully as the man’s shoes stopped directly in front of her.

It would be a lie to say she wasn’t scared. Nobody wanted to lose their life, especially someone who had already experienced death once before.

"Say your last prayers beauty," the man said with an evil grin. "Thankfully, the rain is heavy tonight. Otherwise people might’ve mistaken this for some tragic princess story instead of a ghost floating in flood water once the day breaks."

He burst into laughter like a mad man and swung his fist upward.

Elara instinctively shrank back, her heart slamming hard against her chest.

But the punch never came.

Her brows furrowed a little as she looked up carefully to see why the man had stopped. Then suddenly, his body was sent flying sideways.

Elara’s eyes widened as she watched him crash violently against the concrete ground, his head hitting the floor hard.

Slowly, she lifted her gaze forward.

The first thing she saw was a pair of long legs standing in front of her. Then her eyes slowly moved upward.

Carris stood there silently, rain pouring heavily over him. His aqua colored hair clung to his forehead while water dripped down the sharp lines of his face.

His expression looked calm as he stared down at her, but the rushed rise and fall of his breathing betrayed that calmness completely.

Without saying anything, he removed his coat and wrapped it carefully around her shoulders. Even though he himself was soaked a bit from the rain, the coat still felt far warmer than her freezing dress that was completely drenched against her skin.

After wrapping it around her bare shoulders, his cold fingers moved gently to her chin before he lifted her face and turned it slightly to the side.

The moment his eyes landed on the bruises and split lip, his jaw clenched tightly.

Maybe it was because Elara herself was trembling badly, but she could swear his fingers were shaking too.

"It hurts, doesn’t it?" he asked quietly.

Elara pressed her lips into a thin line before shaking her head even though the movement sent another painful ache through her neck.

"I’m fine."

Her eyes slowly moved sideways until they landed on Ziva who was curled up weakly on the wet ground nearby.

"Ziva..." she muttered softly. "Check her first. She got hurt because of me."

Carris followed her gaze toward Ziva’s trembling figure before giving a small nod. Then he slowly stood up. But instead of walking up to her, he turned toward the bald man who was already struggling to rise from the ground again.

Before the man could even fully lift his head, Carris’ fist shot forward violently and slammed directly into his face.

The bald man gasped painfully and tried kicking toward Carris’ side but before his leg could even connect, Carris buried another punch into his neck. The man crashed backward instantly.

But Carris didn’t stop. He kept sending heavy blows to the man again and again. Soon, the only thing Elara could see was the man’s body lying motionless on the rain soaked ground while Carris continued hitting him without pause.

"Are you okay?" Ziva’s shaky voice suddenly came from beside her...