"Never mind," Sherman said eventually. "Just stay behind me, and don't be impulsive." Rita nodded fervently. The people outside were already at the door, and all she could do was keep Sherman's instructions in mind.
The door was so heavy that it took two people to push it open, and Esmond soon entered after his lackeys. He glanced arrogantly at Sherman, who had assumed a defensive stance.
Sherman looked calmly at Esmond, and Rita silently sized Esmond up from behind Sherman. She found him to be shorter than she expected, yet he exuded a murderous aura that seemed to point toward his years of experience in the underground.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"Did you bring your sweetheart to my den just to show off how in love the two of you are?" Esmond's words dripped with disdain, but Sherman remained composed and declined to comment.
"Don't you know that people hate it when couples get all touchy in public?" one of Esmond's lackeys remarked with a chuckle. They all treated him like trapped prey.
"Cat got your tongue, Mister Sherman? Have you forgotten this poor old man already?" Rita found Esmond's description of himself rather laughable.
"Why would I when you've ledright into your trap." "Oh, you're too young to recognize what a real trap is like, Mister Sherman. This is a lesson, at most," Esmond retorted, eyeing Rita with a possessive gaze.
Rita glanced at his nonchalant demeanor and said, "You're underestimating us." Sherman then deliberately moved to one side and shielded her.
"She's quite the catch. It's a pity though," Esmond remarked.
"What is?" Sherman asked.
"Her, of course. She won't survive a day in my hands," Esmond insinuated, causing Rita to shudder.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmShe instinctively grabbed Sherman's clothes, and Sherman responded by reaching back to hold her hand. "What is the meaning of that? We have no grudges with you, so a joke like that is uncalled for." The flippant smile on Sherman's face angered Esmond, who felt that Pel Sherman was not taking the situation seriously enough. There was a tand place for such behavior, and being trapped on Esmond's territory certainly did not seem like the right tfor that.
"Don't play coy, Sherman. You were trying to investigate me, but the tables have finally turned. I bet you've never expected this day to come. But e fear not, i've turned over a new leaf now. Cruelty just isn't e anymore, and I sure as hell don't want to see blood everywhere. I promise I'll end it quickly so you and your little honey can continue loving each other in the afterlife."
Esmond soon led his men forward. Sherman and Rita backed away, but Sherman was always under them impression that Esmond would not be so quick to kill them, not when they had more value alive than dead. Such a decision was no doubt puzzling, so Sherman wondered if it was merely a bluff. On the other hand, Rita-despite her trembling-mustered all her courage at that critical moment and darted forward. Even Sherman could not stop her anymore.
Rita faced Esmond, and she unleashed her fury. "Who do you think you are? You've left countless e people homeless, but now you're standing here being such a hypocrite! Your hands are stained with blood! Karma will get to you!" X