Leilani tries as hard as she can to push Waylen, but she’s too weak from the venom. She struggles to lift her head and look at Robert Tinder.
“Get him away from me,” she begs.
Waylen sucks deeply from the wound before spitting a mix of blood and venom onto the floor.
“Who dares to stop me,” he roars.
Robert is frightened, but he knows what he has to do. Waylen’s life is too valuable for him to throw it away like this. Robert musters all his courage and orders the bodyguards to get Waylen off of Leilani. Waylen grabs a gun from a bodyguard and shoots Robert’s thigh.
“I’ll shoot anyone else who comes near me in the head,” Waylen threatens.
“Waylen, don’t do it,” Leilani begs desperately, shaking her head back and forth.
“Why is he doing this?” Leilani wonders, “Does he realize how he’s leading me on? His actions seem to say that I’m more important to him than his own life, but that’s not possible. He loves Diana Summer, doesn’t he?”
Waylen kneels down to continue to suck the poison from Leilani’s snake bite. He’s adamant that no one can stop him. Tears well up in Robert’s eyes, but he’s not crying from the physical pain of the gunshot. It wounds him that Waylen holds his own life so cheaply that he’d sacrifice himself to save Leilani.
Leilani grasps Waylen with her unbitten hand. His eyes burn like fierce stars.
“Please tell me, Waylen, why?” she whispers.
There is blood all over Waylen’s mouth making him look like a handsome vampire. Her dazed brain finds him incredibly attractive. Waylen begins to lose strength quickly. His eyes start to lose focus and his head droops and snaps back up as if he may collapse at any moment.
“Leilani, hit me one more time,” he whispers.
Leilani is stunned. She feels a sob caught in her throat.
“If you hit me three times, it means you love me,” Waylen says.
“I won’t do it,” Leilani says.
The tears that have been acc.u.mulating in her eyes start to pour down her face. She can’t believe he has the nerve to joke at a time like this.
“Hit me twice more,” he begs.
If Waylen adds these to the last two slaps, Leilani will have hit him four times, which means she’s in love with him and wants him to return her love.
“Tell me, do you want to hit me twice more?” he asks weakly.
Nobody knows what they’re talking about. Only they are aware of the true meaning of his words. Leilani is crying so hard she can hardly speak. She can’t focus on anything but the feel of Waylen’s touch on her skin. She shakes her head frantically.
“Waylen, I just want us to live,” she sobs.
Waylen smiles faintly. He tries to say something more but the poison reaches his central nervous system. As powerful as he is, his position and wealth and indifference can’t protect him from the venom and he collapses in her arms.
“Waylen! Waylen, talk to me!” Leilani shouts, shaking his body, “Waylen, wake up!”
He doesn’t respond. His hand falls limply to the floor and the gun slips from his grasp. Leilani can barely see through her tears. Suddenly, her eyes sharpen and she grabs the gun and pointed it at Andrew’s head.
“Give me the antidote,” she demands.
Andrew remains calm. He didn’t expect Waylen to arrive, much less sacrifice his life for Leilani.
“How do you know I have it?” he asks casually.
“This place is swarming with snakes,” she says, “You must have an antidote.”
Andrew casts an admiring look at Leilani. Her calmness at such a critical moment surprises him. He quickly replaces his admiration with an arrogant laugh.
“Why should I give you the antidote?” he asks cruelly.
“Because I won!” she replies.
“So what?”
“You have to make sure we get out of here in one piece,” she insists, “That was the deal.”
“Wrong,” Andrew smirks, “I’ll make sure you get out of here safe and sound. But that doesn’t include him.”
Andrew shows no fear at the threat of the gun.
“Give my antidote to him,” Leilani insists, “I want him alive. Do you hear me?”
Hands in pockets, Andrew’s face shows no emotion.
“Do you mean you’re willing to give up the chance to live for him?” he asks curiously.
“There’s no time for this!” Leilani wails, “Cut the crap!”
Andrew suddenly lifts his hand to hold the gun.
“It’s him or her, pick one,” he whispers.
Leilani knows Andrew’s referring to Waylen and Gabrielle—she can only take one of them with her.
“Leilani, get Waylen out of here. Don’t worry about me!” Gabrielle yells.
Leilani presses her lips together. She has to take Waylen away because of his snakebites. If she leaves him behind, Andrew will let him die.
“I’m sorry, Gabby,” Leilani says.
It’s not a difficult decision, but it hurts her deeply to abandon Gabrielle. She bites her lip hard, surprised to learn that Waylen is just as precious to her as Gabrielle.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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