Bonnie raised her eyebrows and scanned the leader from head to toe. Then, she stared at him menacingly.
“Are you sure?”
‘I didn’t bring any bodyguards other than Jim on this trip. I guess it isn’t that crazy an idea for them to find me an easy target.
‘However, that still doesn’t explain what Jim said about us being targeted on the first day we touched down at Everpeak. He had monitored our surroundings, but even he couldn’t find out who was monitoring
us.
‘On the other hand, this bunch of thugs can’t fight for shit. So, it’s downright impossible that they knew how to keep themselves hidden.
‘With all of these in mind, I don’t think these thugs just wanted to mug us. There’s more.’
The leader of the thugs nodded heavily. “O-Of course I am, miss. You’ve beaten us to a pulp. Why should I lie to you at all?”
She cast another glance at him again. There wasn’t any sign of guilt or lying. She couldn’t help but frown.
‘This guy still hadn’t given me any openings to this moment. Is it because my theory is wrong? Or, is it because he’s just that good of an actor?’
She was in the middle of the thought when Jim came inside. He walked over to her side and whispered, “I got their information from the police. These guys are the local thugs. Moreover, they have mugged tourists before. This isn’t their first rodeo.
“The way I see it, they just happened to mug us by chance. The whole thing isn’t as serious as you might’ve thought.”
“Is that so…” She rubbed her chin gently and gave the leader of the thugs a sidelong glance.
He was hunched in his seat, looking like nothing more than a dummy. There wasn’t any sparkle of intelligence in his eyes.
‘People like him typically don’t have their own opinions, much less do big things. However, I just can’t shake the feeling that something was off.
‘Something definitely smells fishy, but I just can’t put my finger on it.’
Jim nodded in response. “I got this information from the cops. They can’t be wrong.”
“Okay.” She responded dryly and stood up from the chair.
She didn’t speak to him again until they were both outside. “Lock these thugs up and investigate thoroughly if they have made contact with anyone. Then, have someone monitor their every move. Keep them behind bars until I say it’s okay to release them.”
‘I’ve always believed in my instincts. If I say there’s something weird about them, then I’m not going to take any chances.’
“Copy that,” Jim said and left to do her bidding.
Later, both of them came out of the police department. The first thing she saw was a Rolls-Royce that just so happened to pull over by the side of the road.
At the next moment, the car door swung open. A tall figure came out of it and ran across the road in a hurry.
He came over to Bonnie, held her shoulders, and asked hastily, “I heard that you guys were mugged. Is everything okay? Are you hurt?”
‘I know that she and Jim are tenacious fighters. In fact, these thugs probably posed no threat to them at all. However, that does nothing to make me feel better. I can’t take it if something happened to her.’
“I’m fine.” She nodded and walked toward the car with him. “Let’s continue our talk in the car. This isn’t the right place for any conversation.”
He responded, “Okay.”
Once they were all in the car, she told them about her worries.
“I know the information from the police department proved that these were just thugs and nothing more. They might’ve tried mugging us because they sensed that we were different from the ordinary folk. The fact that we wore expensive stuff on us didn’t help, either.
“That’s why they conspired with each other and put up an act to rouse our sympathy. That’s how they lured us to the alley and mugged us there earlier.
“Still, I can’t shake the feeling that something isn’t right. However, Jim didn’t manage to suss out anything strange about the situation.
“My point is that we have to be very careful when we go out for the next several days. We can’t afford to be careless.”
“Got it,” Ivor responded. Reaching
out, he held her on the shoulder and
pulled her to his chest. “Don’t worry, Bonnie. It doesn’t matter what
happens, I’m going to keep you safe. No harm’s going to befall you.”
She rolled her eyes at him. “Perhaps you should spend more effort in protecting yourself. I can look after myself, after all.”
