Take My Breath Away

The way Debbie was being treated made Carlos' blood boil. He walked over grimly like a soul slayer and, before the two robust men could realize it, he sent one of them sprawling onto the floor and kicked the other one to the side of the shabby bed.

Carlos helped Debbie sit up and held her in his arms. Her hair was all messed up. He gently brushed the disheveled hair out of her eyes and asked in a whisper, "Are you okay?" There were some scratches on her face. Worried that it might hurt, he didn't touch her face and just blew some dust off it.

With teardrops flowing down her cheeks, Debbie nodded to convey to him that she was okay.

Carlos kept her at a safe distance from the two fallen men, and then he walked back to them. He hauled one man up, twisted one of his arms behind his back, and then with one snap, dislocated the man's arm. The man yelled miserably in pain.

While Debbie was exercising her wrists, the other man's arm got broken by virtue of Carlos' actions.

She was impressed when she saw Carlos take down the two sturdy men so quickly with his own bare hands. Seeing his rage, Debbie started to worry whether Carlos would kill them. Those men cried and yelled as if they were pigs being taken to an abattoir. After a long while that seemed like a century to the men, Carlos finally decided to rest his arms and attend Debbie.

He relaxed his wrists, helped Debbie up, and carried her out of the room. When they came outside, the storekeeper was waiting for Carlos, on his knees. Obviously, he had realized that he had made a huge mistake by messing with the wrong person.

"What happened?" Carlos asked Debbie coldly. Debbie was surprised at the question. Since Carlos had beaten the two men up without saying anything, she had assumed that he would never bother to ask the cause of the matter. 'Did he lose his rationality because of me?'

That thought crossed her mind, but only for a second. She pointed at the lucky peace buckle on the showcase and said, "They forced me to buy that lucky peace buckle and wouldn't let me leave unless I gave them the money."

Carlos glanced at the lucky peace buckle and didn't utter a word.

Debbie continued, "They asked for $28, 000, but it wasn't worth that much. Of course I wouldn't buy it. Then they locked me up in that room. They also snatched away my purse and wanted to swipe my bank card. I'm sorry, your card."

With only one glance, Carlos knew that the lucky peace buckle was fake. It wasn't even worth $100, let alone $28, 000. And the worst part was that they had tried to coerce his wife into buying it.

Carlos let go of Debbie's hand, walked over to the showcase, and kicked it so hard that the entire showcase crumbled into pieces.

The fake emerald items displayed inside the showcase got dismantled in a second.

Debbie was startled because she had never seen him burning with rage ever before. She had seen so many sides of him tonight.

"Smash the damn door!"

Carlos said to Tristan ruthlessly.

"Yes, Mr. Huo." Tristan motioned to the men behind him and a dozen men came forward and started smashing everything in their sight.

The storekeeper wailed and begged in tears, but who cared? Who would question Carlos' command?

The door of the store remained closed all the while. Therefore although some people heard the noise inside, they didn't know exactly what happened. Hence, there weren't any strangers to witness the happenings.

While his men were busy smashing the store, Carlos took Debbie out of there. He and Debbie walked in a lane hand in hand, both keeping their mouths shut as though to not disturb the eerily silent atmosphere around them.

She was thinking that since Carlos had found her, he must also know where she stayed. For obvious reasons, she then realized that they were heading for her hotel.

"Old man," she called.

Carlos didn't respond, nor did he look back. He didn't seem to care.

"Carlos Huo."

Silence.

"Mr. Huo."

Still no response. The silence seemed deafening.

Not wanting to be ignored any longer, Debbie trotted ahead of him and blocked his way.

He shot a cold glance at her, but remained silent.

"Mr. Handsome, thank you for saving me tonight," she said politely.

Carlos released her hand, took off his suit jacket, and draped it over her dirty white casual jacket. The gesture gave her a lot of confidence standing beside him.

While she still seemed to fidget, he picked her up, carried her in his arms and walked on.

Never had a man treated her this way. He treated her as if she were the most precious thing in his life.

"Old man—"

"Shut up!" His growl made her lose all the courage she had to continue with what she was trying to say. He sounded really pissed.

When they reached her room, Carlos looked around. 'Not as bad as I thought. At least she got herself a room facing the lake.'

He put her down, locked the door, and next... Stripping her?

Stunned, Debbie held his hand and asked, "W-What are you doing?"

"You!" he answered curtly.

For a moment, she fell into a deep pit of confusion. When she realized what he literally meant, her face flamed with embarrassment.

'This perverted pig, ' she cursed in her heart. "No, don't. Old man, I apologize. I'm sorry. What I did was wrong. Don't be mad, okay?" she said

Carlos continued to strip off her jacket, as if he couldn't hear her. Debbie clutched her clothes tightly, but then he lifted her jacket up.

"Carlos Huo, be a gentleman! How can you be such a jerk? Get your hands off me!"

Continuing to ignore her, he turned her around with her back to him. When he was sure that there was no injury, he finally put her jacket down and straightened her clothes for her.

By now, she realized that his man had no ill-gained intentions in his mind.

Then, he started to take off her pants. "I am not injured." she said hurriedly.

Carlos was relieved. After a glanced at her, he asked, "Debbie Nian, how are we going to settle this?"

When she saw his face, a her anger vanished into thin air, because she had done something wrong. "I know I was wrong, so please don't be mad," she pleaded holding his hand with a fawning smile, in a soft voice.

As a tomboy, that was the best she could do to play cute. Actually, even that was killing her.

However, the man didn't seem to appreciate her efforts. He stayed nonchalant and didn't believe a word she had just said.

Debbie felt utterly frustrated. Desperate to prove her sincerity, she raised her right hand and vowed, "I meant every word I just said. I'm really grateful for what you did for me today, and I promise I'll listen to you after we go back."

Carlos suddenly pulled her into his arms. Debbie's heart pounded nervously.

She didn't even know how to react to such a situation. "Don't ever travel alone again." he demanded.

She nodded in a fluster. 'Is...is he worried about me?' she wondered.

But she had doubts. "Carlos Huo, why are you here?" She finally mustered up enough courage to ask the crucial question that was troubling her throughout the day. At the same time, part of her hoped that his answer would be "I'm here for you."

"I was just passing by," he replied casually.

She refused to believe a word he had just said. Thinking that he had come here for her, Debbie wrapped her arms around his neck happily, stood on tiptoe, and kissed him on the cheek affectionately.

'Thank you, Carlos Huo. Thank you for letting me reply on you.' she reflected.