Alistair's crew got totally wrecked. He stumbled away, bleeding from both his arm and leg.

But dude's survival instinct kicked in hard, and he managed to drag his busted leg and haul ass for a good distance.

The guys chasing him were ruthless. They had one goal: take him out.

Hetastian was right behind him but got nailed by bullets in some pretty bad spots.

When Alistair glanced back, he saw Hetastian hit the ground.

His face twisted in shock, but he couldn't stop. He turned and kept running.

It was so dark he couldn't see squat and ran smack into something solid, tripping and eating dirt.

That fall did him in. He just sat there, almost giving up, waiting for the end.

"Shit!" he cursed, pounding the ground weakly but with all the anger he had left.

Out of nowhere, he heard a noise close by. Alistair froze, and then a hand grabbed his shoulder.

A voice said, "Get in the car."

Hearing that voice when he was about to lose hope lit a fire in him.

He scrambled up and, with some help, got into the car.

The car took off before he even shut the door. He fell off the seat, crying out in pain.Please check at N/ôvel(D)rama.Org.

He clutched his injured leg, howling in agony for what felt like forever before he could breathe again. He heard the flick of a lighter and looked over, despite the pain.

The car was pitch black. The lighter's flame lit up a face with sharp features that seemed familiar, but he couldn't place it. Just as he was about to get a better look, the flame went out, leaving only the glow of a cigarette. The voice ordered, "Close the door."

Alistair snapped back to reality, awkwardly reached out, and shut the car door, blocking out the noise from outside.

After a bit, he asked, "Who are you?"

He thought it was a buddy, but now, judging by the guy's tone and attitude, he was almost sure it wasn't one of his own. Who the hell would help him?

He recognized Landon's voice, and this wasn't Landon. Maybe a friend of Landon's?

But the guy didn't answer, leaving the car in an eerie silence.

Alistair started feeling uneasy. This guy was probably an enemy, not a friend, likely after his trade channels.

But he had some leverage, so he wasn't scared. He forced himself to chill, thinking about how to negotiate later.

The rest of the ride was dead silent.

Meanwhile, the fight had died down. Alton's guys came to check the bodies but didn't find Alistair.

Even though Alton was dead, there were other leaders. Someone would naturally try to take over, but they couldn't report back without Alistair's body, so they had to keep looking. When they found Hetastian's body, they decided to take it back first.

After they dealt with the bodies and left, Walter got out of the car, looking at the mess on the ground with a serious expression.

Colin came over and asked, "Alistair's gotta be dead, right?"

Walter replied, "They were chasing someone. Who do you think it was?"

Colin was stunned. "So he's not dead?"

Walter closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then sighed.

"Alexander," he said through gritted teeth, then turned and got back into the car.

Nathan looked in the rearview mirror. Seeing the pursuers had stopped halfway and weren't following anymore, he slowed down and reported, "Sir, looks like they stopped chasing us." "Keep driving," Alexander said flatly.

Nathan nodded and sped up, driving out of Alton's territory. With Alton dead, the D.E Group was probably in chaos and had no energy left to deal with Alistair.