A woman rushed toward them, followed closely by a group of men. The moment she laid eyes on Andrew, her eyes widened in shock.

"Mr. Lane!"

Emily quickly deduced that this must be the secretary Andrew had mentioned.

It wasn't hard to piece together what was happening. The vicious-looking thugs chasing the secretary were Benjamin's Mercenaries.

Emily's mind raced. From a quick visual count, Benjamin's men outnumbered theirs. If a fight broke out, they would be at a severe disadvantage. Furthermore, both she and Andrew were injured. If Andrew didn't get his bleeding back treated soon, he could go into hemorrhagic shock.

Andrew's reflexes were sharper. He grabbed her wrist and pivoted hard. "Follow me!"

Emily glanced over her shoulder. The secretary had already fallen in line behind them, while the men she had arrived with stayed back, launching themselves into a brutal melee with Benjamin's thugs.

She couldn't help but feel a pang of anxiety. "What about them...?"

"Don't worry," Andrew said, his breathing ragged. "They're ex-mercenaries. A couple of street thugs won't take them down."

Emily kept pace as best she could. "Where are we going?"

She turned her head to see the secretary quickly catching up to them.

Emily noticed the secretary's gaze drop instantly to where Andrew's hand gripped hers. The woman quickly averted her eyes and said, "There's a car parked just outside the woods. We need to make a break for it."

The secretary was fast. She easily bypassed Emily and pulled up alongside Andrew. "Mr. Lane, are you hurt?"

Andrew ignored the question. "Lead the way."

The secretary shot Emily a fleeting glance before looking forward and pointing into the darkness. "This way, Mr. Lane."

The sickening sounds of fists hitting flesh echoed behind them. Emily couldn't resist looking back one more time.

Andrew was right. His men were incredibly skilled. Even outnumbered, they were holding Benjamin's thugs at bay.

Before long, Emily and the others had put a significant amount of distance between themselves and the fight.

The pain in Emily's abdomen was excruciating. The relentless sprinting bad completely drained her stamina. Her Steps faltered, and her breathing grew chaotic and heavy.

Andrew was moving too fast for her. Desperate, she tried to pull her hand from his grasp.

Feeling the resistance, he stopped immediately. "What is it? Does it hurt again?"

Emily nodded, her eyes squeezed shut as she clutched her stomach. Yes, you don't have to hold my

hand. I can walk. I'm just slow, and I don't want to get you killed

Without a word, Andrew turned around and crouched down, offering her a piggyback. "Get on."

Emily froze, then gently pushed him away. "No. Your back is injured. You guys keep running, I'll catch up."

Beatty finally noticed they had fallen behind. She stopped and looked back.

Seeing Andrew crouching on the forest floor for Emily, Beatty's eyes locked onto the sight.

Andrew's voice was dark and left absolutely no room for argument. "Hurry up."

Emily took a shaky breath. "Andrew, stop wasting time."

Beatty hurried back toward them. "Mr. Lane, what's wrong?"

Emily answered before he could. "It's nothing. Keep leading the way. We're right behind you."

With that, she forced herself to walk past Andrew.

Beatty paused, staring at her boss.

Andrew's expression was grim as his eyes tracked Emily's struggling form.

Confused, Beatty urged, "Mr. Lane, we need to hurry."

Emily managed to walk a short distance before grabbing a tree leaning against it as she ped for air.