The Protector

Chapter 16

“Slap them!”

Levi ordered softly. Têxt © NôvelDrama.Org.

Azure Dragon stepped up and gave a tight slap across Queena’s face.

His slap came with such shearing force that it knocked her off her feet and sent her flying almost eight meters away.

It ripped her flesh apart with deep cuts across her skin, and a few blood-stained teeth popped out from her mouth. Her hysterical screams filled the air, which sounded as if she was being butchered.

Matthew was stunned.

“D-Don’t you even dare lay a finger on me,” he quivered, “or I’ll call the security…”

Slap!

The slap from Azure Dragon came thick and fast, which made him see stars. Blood spurted out like a fountain from Matthew’s mouth. It almost knocked him out.

“P-Please don’t kill me….please don’t kill me…” Matthew shriveled and pleaded.

Gone was his usual shrewd and bossy demeanor when he was the big daddy of the corporate world. He was now just as powerless and utterly hopeless like a trapped animal!

“I want you to move out of the villa by eight o’clock tomorrow morning.” Levi ordered, “Or you’ll live to regret for not heeding my call.”

“This is my villa and I shan’t let anyone stain it and pollute the place.” Levi said with a cold spark in his eyes.

The villa had been the den of Matthew and his guys for the past six years. Levi dreaded to think what kind of filth they had brought with them to the villa – which was absolutely intolerable for someone like him, who had an obsession for cleanliness.

“What?” Matthew could not believe his ears.

What makes you think I’ll give you back the villa, you little rotten punk? You’re just someone who’s fresh out from prison!

Levi took off shortly after he had issued the final notice to Matthew.

Meanwhile, Matthew did not return home but headed straight for Ashton, taking his secretary along with him.

Oblivious to what had happened at the villa, Ashton was having a swinging good time at the club, tucking himself between a blonde on his left and a brunette on his right.

“Something terrible has happened, Mr. Garrison!” Matthew shouted as he dashed into the club, “It’s a disaster!”

He recounted what happened at the villa to Ashton, making it sound worse than it actually was.

“There’s nobody but you who can help me now, Mr. Garrison.” Matthew said piteously, “Look at how badly we’ve been beaten up by Levi.”

Indeed, the swollen faces and puffy eyes of Matthew and Queena resembled more like the faces of pigs than human, which threw Ashton into an instant rage.

“Levi, you son of a b****!” Aston gritted his teeth, “Who do you think you are? How dare you beat up my subordinate?”

He threw a bottle of beer to the floor, smashing it.

“What a useless piece of crap you are!” he glared at Matthew scornfully, “How could you let him trample all over you like this?”

“Mr. Garrison, he’s got someone with him who’s a real tough guy.” Matthew bemoaned, “He’d even warned he would kill the both of us if we don’t handover the villa tomorrow.”

“What’s the big deal? It’s just Levi.” Ashton huffed, “He’s just a nobody to me. Let’s see if he’s got the guts to harm me when I bring my men to the villa tomorrow.”

“It’d be safer to bring more men with you, Mr. Garrison.” Matthew advised, “I’m afraid you’d be outnumbered by Levi’s men at the villa tomorrow.”

“Oh yeah? How about I bring Trey along with me then?” Ashton’s eyes gleamed with bloodlust as he spoke.

“That would be a slam dunk!” Matthew said with renewed confidence, “Everybody knows what Trey is capable of. It’ll be just a piece of cake to him!”

Trey was the notorious gang leader in North Hampton with several hundred men under him, known for their brutality and savageness.

He had stained his hands with the blood of so many enemies that he had virtually lost count of the exact number.

Trey had a good relationship with Ashton over the years, rendering his services whenever Ashton needed help in one of his malls.

All Trey had to do was to send over his men armed with axes and knives. That would be enough to scare the hell out of anyone and make them pissed in their pants.

Meanwhile, Zoey had just returned home after a long day to find that Levi was not in the house.

“Mum, Dad, where’s Levi?”

“I have no idea,” Aaron shrugged without even looking up, “perhaps he has gone to look for a job?”

“Let me give him a call.”

Zoey was about to make the call when Aaron stopped her. “You should focus on your career instead of wasting your time on Levi, Zoey.” he advised, “He would only be a distraction to you if he hangs around in the house all the time.”

“What do you mean by that, Dad?” Zoey stared at her father incredulously.

“That’s true, Zoey.” Caitlyn chimed in, “Can’t you see you’re poised for something huge? You’re in an entirely different league now, and you mustn’t let him smear your name.”

“Dad, mum, how could you say such a thing?” Zoey chided her parents for being ungrateful, “You know I wouldn’t even stand a chance if it wasn’t for Levi who had given me the invitation card to the banquet. It was Levi who helped me bag the project!”

“I know he played a role in this project.” Aaron agreed, “But it was your ability and credentials that eventually won you the contract. It has nothing to do with him.”

“Levi could give me advise. I have no qualms about his ability.”

“So you’re just going to let him cling on to you like a parasite that gives you advise?” Aaron snorted, “There’s no way we’d let him stick around with you, unless he elevates his status to be on par with you.”

“Yes, that’s absolutely true!” Caitlyn nodded, “We’ll never agree to it if he stays in his current condition.”

“Argh! You guys are simply unreasonable!” Zoey shook her head irritably, “Forget about it, I’ll go look for him myself.”

Zoey knew that Levi must have been chased out of the house by her parents. She called up Levi and beckoned him to come back.

Soon Levi was back in the house and he followed Zoey to her room.

“Don’t be mad with my parents, Levi. All you need is a little time to work things out, which I’m sure would help you make your comeback in no time.” she offered her encouragement.

“What about your end?” Levi asked, “Any luck on roping in the investments you needed?”

“It’s frustrating.” Zoey sighed, “Everybody has their own demands. It’s impossible to please everyone!”

“Don’t worry. Let me come along with you.” Levi consoled her, “I’m sure we could make it happen.”

“By the way, can you come with me tomorrow, Zoey?” asked Levi, “I’d like to take you to a place.”

“Sure.”

The next morning, Levi brought Zoey to the villa. The time was exactly eight o’clock.

“I’ll be getting our villa back today, Zoey.” Levi said with conviction, “This is supposed to be our house after we’re married. There’s no way I’ll let someone else stay in our place!”

“Huh?” Zoey was at a loss.

“What nerve you have to show up today?” Matthew grinned with malice when he saw Levi and Zoey.

“Have you already moved out of the place?” Levi asked coldly, “I’m taking back my villa today.”

“Who the hell are you to take away the villa from Ashton Garrison? You must be out of your mind!” A high pitch voice pierced through the air like the shrills of a high-stung cat.

It was the voice of Ashton Garrison, who had brought with him a large group of men.

Immediately, they surrounded Levi and Zoey.

A middle-aged man donned in a classic suit stood beside Ashton. He was cradling in his hands two shining walnuts that gave out a clacking sound. The thick, long scar across his face was impossible to overlook. It exuded an aura of evil.

The man was Trey, the big daddy of North Hampton’s underground society.

Everybody was well aware of his merciless killings and the hundreds of men that worked under him. They would avoid him like the plague.

Trey had brought more than a hundred men with him to the villa today. This was what Matthew had wanted to see.

The ghastly look on the faces of these thugs gave Zoey the chills as she nestled herself closer to Levi.

Ashton was all too delighted to see Zoey at the scene. He leered at her with a lewd smile on his face.

He had set his eyes on her for some time now, and today would be just the perfect opportunity to pin her down. He planned to sleep with her once they had beaten up Levi and made him a cripple.

“What brings you here, Levi?” asked Ashton, in his usual smugness.

“I’m here to take back my villa.” Levi replied with a stony look.

“Your villa?” he screeched, “What makes you think this villa belongs to you, idiot? This is my villa and I’ve given it to Matthew.”

“I’ll never forget how you’ve put me to shame the last time when you pissed off my VIP.” Ashton stepped up and gave Levi a shove, “It’s payback time now, kiddo! I’m going to break all your limbs before I take her away and make her mine!”

“Let’s go now, Levi” Zoey pleaded, “We’re hardly their match.”

“Where do you think you’re going? It’s all too late now!” Ashton shrieked, “Do you think you’d get away from Trey and his men?”

Clack! Clack! Clack!

More than a hundred of Trey’s men zeroed in on Levi and Zoey, waving their steel rods and various other lethal weapons as they tried to intimidate the both of them.

Levi was unfazed. He dialed a number and belted out his instructions, “Azure Dragon, send over a regiment from the North Hampton’s camp now. I want everyone to be armed in full battle gear!” Levi mumbled in his deep voice.

Gripped with fear, Zoey was hardly paying attention to what Levi had just said over the phone, while the rest of the crowd failed to make out what Levi had uttered with his low, deep voice.

“So it looks like you’re getting somebody to help you? And you’re even asking them to put on some kind of gear?” Ashton sneered sarcastically, “Fine, I can’t wait to see what kind of help you’ve enlisted to bail you out of this.”

Trey smirked as he looked at Levi with an amused curiosity.

Zoey on the other hand was shivering all over in horror, she felt as if she was standing on the edge of an abyss.

After about ten minutes, the security guards at the gates of the Royal Villas turned wide-eyed and mouth agape when they saw loads of war trucks, one after another, stormed into the premise. Each truck was full of soldiers.

A few of the trucks were even loaded with heavy artillery.

“Do you think there are more than a thousand soldiers in those trucks?” asked one guard.

“Holy cow! This is an entire regiment!”