novelraw Chapter 232 - 181: Saved
Chapter 232 - 181: Saved
Naomi Shaw screamed as she watched Wendy Lowe collapse. She clapped a hand over her mouth and stumbled backward. Earlier, back at the house, after hiding the two children, she had hurriedly stashed a pair of scissors in her pocket, just in case. She never thought she’d actually have to use them. A moment ago, seeing Wendy about to shoot Julian Donovan, she didn’t know where the courage came from, but she had pulled out the scissors and plunged them into Wendy’s back.
’But... did I just kill someone?’ She stared in terror at Wendy Lowe’s motionless body on the ground, trembling and too scared to move.
Julian Donovan heard her scream, but Sean Donovan’s two bodyguards were highly trained mercenaries with exceptional hand-to-hand combat skills. Even for someone as formidable as Julian, fighting them two-on-one and bare-handed was a real struggle.
On the ground from his wrist injury, Sean Donovan glanced over and saw Caleb Rhodes and his men rushing toward the boat. Gritting his teeth through the pain, he ordered his two bodyguards, "One of you, get to the cockpit! Get this boat moving and get us out of here, now!"
Following his command, one of the bodyguards cleanly disengaged from the fight and rushed toward the cockpit. Now that he only had one opponent, things became much easier for Julian Donovan. He seized the opening and yelled to Naomi Shaw, "Get over here!"
The moment she heard him, Naomi Shaw bolted in his direction. But she had only taken a few steps before Sean Donovan was on her, wrapping his uninjured arm around her neck in a chokehold. She screamed, kicking and struggling to break free, but her strength was no match for a man’s. Even though Sean was injured, his obsessive determination to capture her was terrifyingly strong. He squeezed her neck viciously, refusing to let go even when she bit down hard on his arm. By the time he dragged her onto the deck at the bow of the boat, she had screamed herself hoarse.
Sean Donovan’s bodyguard had already reached the cockpit, and the boat began to pull away from the shore. Sean himself was on the verge of madness, the excruciating pain in his hand fueling his innate bloodlust. Dragging Naomi Shaw with him to the bow, he roared at Julian Donovan, "Julian Donovan, if you keep fighting, I’ll jump overboard and take her with me!"
Just as he was about to take down the bodyguard, Julian Donovan heard the roar and whipped his head toward the bow, his expression tense. The bodyguard seized the opening, landing a solid punch. Julian, unable to dodge in time, took the full force of the blow. He was too worried about Naomi Shaw, his focus completely shattered. The bodyguard pressed his advantage, unleashing a barrage of attacks until Julian, unable to endure the onslaught, finally collapsed to the ground.
The bodyguard was now seeing red. He snatched up a nearby iron pipe and raised it to strike again. Julian rolled out of the way, using the moment to grab the gun that had fallen to the deck. When the bodyguard lunged at him with the pipe once more, Julian fired. The man staggered for a few moments before finally collapsing.
He turned and aimed the gun at Sean Donovan once more. The marine police were closing in from all sides, and Caleb Rhodes and his men were speeding toward them in a boat. Realizing the game was up, Sean Donovan could only tighten his grip on Naomi Shaw, his laughter bordering on madness. "Julian Donovan, I told you! If I can’t have her, then I’ll destroy her!"
As he spoke, he dragged Naomi Shaw back another few steps. Without hesitation, Julian Donovan pulled the trigger, shooting him in the chest and roaring again, "Let her go!"
But even with a bullet in his chest, Sean Donovan didn’t release Naomi Shaw. Instead, a chilling smile touched his lips. His entire body tipped backward, but with one last surge of strength, he yanked Naomi with him into the sea. Naomi could hear the wind rushing past as they fell, and all she could do was shut her eyes and scream in terror.
But a tremendous force suddenly yanked her free from Sean Donovan’s grasp. She fell into a warm embrace, and the person holding her rolled with her across the deck. A loud THUD brought them to a sudden stop. She opened her eyes to see they had only stopped because Julian’s body had slammed into an iron mooring post. His head had hit the post squarely. Terrified, she scrambled out of his arms. "Julian? Julian, what’s wrong? Wake up!"
But Julian just lay there with his eyes closed, completely unresponsive. Tears instantly welled up and streamed down her face. Relying on what little composure she had left, she checked his head with a trembling hand. There was no blood. Her heart sank. As a nurse, she’d seen countless patients like this. A head injury that didn’t bleed was far more terrifying than one that did. Being unconscious without any external bleeding could mean internal brain trauma.