REBORN: MEET MY BROTHERS-Chapter 61: DEATH WARRANT

Ava fought to breathe. Her body trembled uncontrollably as she stared at Maximus. A shuddering breath escaped her, followed by another, and then something wet trickled down her cheeks.

She didn’t think, didn’t hesitate, even as she watched his face harden, and his eyes sparkle with anger. Ava flung herself into Maximus’s arms, gripping him like her life depended on it.

She buried her face in his shirt, and the moment she touched him, the floodgates broke. She didn’t care that she was in public, or people were watching her. The moment his arms wrapped around her, she sobbed quietly.

"I thought... I thought I’d never see you again," she choked out between sobs.

A muscle worked its way on Maximus’s jaw as he gritted his teeth. His eyes darkened as he looked around, searching for whatever or whoever was chasing his little wife. "What happened, Ava?"

It was his question that made Ava remember she was being chased. Her heart leapt and she pulled away from him, turning back frantically to look for the bald man. When she didn’t see anybody, Ava gulped down air. She turned to Maximus.

"They’re after me." Ava trembled involuntarily as she dried her tears with the back of her hand.

"Who’s after you?" He scanned the room for any suspicious person, but when his little wife’s knees buckled, Maximus instinctively caught her.

He tightened his hold on her and his jaw clenched even harder. "Ava," he said firmly, tilting her chin up so she had to look at him. "Tell me who’s after you."

Ava’s lips trembled as she tried to form the words. Her voice came out in a broken whisper. "A m-man... t-they locked me up. They hurt me, Maximus."

"They what?!" Maximus growled, sending a chill through Ava despite the warmth of his embrace. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Her knees threatened to give way again, but he held her up effortlessly. "I escaped... I didn’t think I’d make it," she murmured, clutching his shirt as fresh tears welled in her eyes.

Maximus inhaled deeply with barely restrained fury as he took in his little wife’s messy state. There was dirt on her hair, on her clothes, but when his eyes fell on the blood stains on her clothes as well, he scanned the rest of her body.

"Are you hurt-?" He trailed off when he noticed her bloodied hand. His entire body tensed as he took her trembling hands in his. "Did they do this?!"

A single tear rolled down Ava’s cheeks, and he caught it with his thumb. "W-we need to leave, Maximus," she whispered.

Maximus cursed under his breath before gently picking her up in his arms. His jaw ticked as he cradled his little wife, but he managed to say, "You need a doctor, little one. You’re hurt."

"No!" Ava shook her head fiercely. "I don’t want to see a doctor. I-i want to leave, Maximus."

"Ava," Maximus called out softly, "We can’t leave when you’re in this state."

"No," Ava whimpered. Her fingers clutched the fabric of his cloth. "If we stay, they’ll find me. I can’t - please. Just take me away. Anywhere but here."

Maximus looked down at his little wife. The fear in her eyes made him angrier as he wondered what she’d gone through to make her this afraid. He’d known Ava for years. She wasn’t someone who got scared so easily. Whatever they had done to her, whoever had dared to hurt her, would pay dearly.

Swallowing his fury for her sake, he nodded. "Alright, little one. We’ll leave."

When he turned to the glass door, Ethan was behind him. Before he could say anything, "Our men are already searching the entire hospital for them," Ethan said.

"I need them alive," Maximus instructed before he walked out of the building with Ava.

~~~~~~~~~

The bald man and his partner hurried through the dimly lit hallway as they walked to the restricted parking lot. Normally, only high-ranking officials or VIPs used this exit. But Matilda had pulled some strings after she found out that Ava managed to escape, and Maximus found her when he came to the hospital.

Once outside, the two men entered the sleek black car Matilda had prepared for them. As the door slammed shut, they sat quietly inside the car for a moment, before the bald man let out a loud, shaky laugh.

His partner slapped the dashboard in excitement as he joined in the laughter. "We made it out," he said happily, hugging the bald man tightly.

When he released himself, the bald man wiped a bead of sweat from his brows, and his laughter changed into a nervous one. "For a moment back there, when I saw a Quinn with that girl, I thought it was over for me."

"You think he’s onto us," his partner asked, glancing over.

"He will be. He’s a Quinn," the bald man muttered in fear. "If I’d known that girl was connected to them, I never would’ve gotten involved. These people... they don’t just get even. They eradicate."

The thought sent a chill down his spine. He clenched his fists, forcing himself to breathe steadily. "I told Matilda. She’ll handle it, but... I need to disappear for a while. Get my wife and kids, leave the city. Staying here is suicide."

His partner swallowed hard. "I should get out of this city as well. We’ll leave tonight?"

The bald man’s hands gripped the steering wheel. "I’m thinking right now--" he trailed as a rope tightened around his throat, pinning him to the seat.

The bald man clawed desperately at the rope that dug into his throat. His eyes bulged as he struggled for air. His partner’s face drained of color at the sight, but he barely had time to react before a second rope snaked around his neck, yanking him back against the seat.

Both men struggled to free themselves, scratching the coarse fibres that bit into their neck, but the more they struggled, the more the rope became tighter. Blood began to trickle from where the cords sliced their throats.

After struggling for a while, the bald man was the first to give up. His vision blurred and his hand fell limply to his sides. In no time, his partner’s legs that kicked the dashboard also grew weak and the man slumped against the seat, his eyes wide from the struggling.

The men in masks that strangled them from behind kept up their strength until they were sure the two men were dead.

Sighing softly, they rested back on their seats, and one of the men pulled out a phone from his pockets. He dialed a number that picked up on the second ring. "It’s done," he said.

"Good. Dispose the bodies properly," Matilda instructed before hanging up.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Maximus gently twirled a strand of Ava’s hair in his fingers as he looked at her sleeping face. She lay curled up beside him, breathing steadily and peacefully.

She’d fallen asleep the moment his family doctor finished treating her wound and assured him she was going to be okay. But he was so worried that he ended up putting her to sleep beside him. He’d seen how shaken up his little wife was and staying away from her wasn’t even an option now.

As Maximus leaned his head against the headboard, his eyes fell on Ava’s bandaged hand that rested lightly on his chest. His eyes darkened immediately.

Earlier, after he found out about William’s accident and also received news that his little wife was in the hospital, he went there to check on her because he knew too well how much his little wife loved her grandfather and how devastated she would be.

The thought of being a second late churned his stomach and made his blood boil. But Maximus forced down his anger as he looked at his little wife, stroking her cheeks softly. Everyone involved would definitely pay...

A knock attracted Maximus’s attention, and Ethan walked in right after. He looked at Ava concerned before his eyes landed on Maximus. "How is she?"

"She’s fine," Maximus said quietly, not wanting to wake his little wife. "She got injured trying to free herself from a locked handcuff." Maximus gritted his teeth. Speaking about it made him angry, but not only at the people that hurt his little wife. He was also angry at himself for not being there and preventing this mess. "Tell me they’re not badly hurt. They must inflict the same pain she endured on themselves."

"..."

Maximus frowned. "What is it?"

Exhaling deeply, "We found them," Ethan said softly, pulling a folder from under his arm. He held it out to Maximus who took the photos and glanced at them.

His eyes darkened at the sight of the lifeless bodies of the bald man and his partner, with their throats cut open. "Who did this?" Maximus asked coldly, looking away from the pictures to Ethan.

"We don’t know yet," Ethan admitted, "Someone got to them before we did. My men are investigating."

Maximus tossed the photos to the nightstand. His eyes shifted back to Ava angrily. "Whoever it was," he murmured, brushing a strand of hair from Ava’s face, "they just signed their death warrant if they had anything to do with this."

"Also, find out why she was kidnapped in the hospital when she was supposed to be visiting her grandfather."

Ethan nodded. "Okay."