Married To My Ex's Brother, Reborn Miraculously-Chapter 217: The chaos in the jungle

Augustine stood over him, eyes hard. "You really thought it’d be that easy to take me down?" he muttered.

He crouched beside the body, quickly searching it. His fingers closed around a grenade clipped to the man’s belt. He took it, hooking it onto his own gear before shoving the corpse aside with his boot. He turned toward the stone bar.

Crack. Crack. Crack.

More shots rang. More boots thundered across the sand. He was outnumbered badly. Augustine cursed and dropped low, scrambling across the sand toward the bar.

Anne trembled but kept still, just as Augustine had told her. She covered her mouth to suppress a scream when the gunfire intensified. She sobbed as she saw Augustine.

"Anne!"

She threw her arms around him, sobbing into his shoulder. "You are back...I was so scared...God, I thought I wouldn’t see you again."

He held her close and whispered, "We’ll get you out of here safely. I promise. But you have to listen to me."

Anne nodded frantically.

He cupped her face, drawing her attention. "You need to run. Now."

Her breath caught. "What? No..."

"There is a path behind the cabana. Take it. Run straight to the cottage. It’s not far. You’ll find one of Lucien’s men there. He’ll keep you safe."

Anne shook her head, already refusing. "No. I’m not leaving you here."

"You have to," he said firmly. "I’ll catch up. I promise."

Her breath hitched, eyes filling with tears again. "I can’t. I can’t leave you."

"You have to," he insisted. "I can’t protect you and fight them at the same time. Go. Now."

The sound of boots pounding against the earth grew louder, closer—dozens of them, surrounding. Augustine ducked and pressed Anne flat to the ground behind the stone, shielding her as another round of gunfire cracked through the air. He fired back, quick and precise, but he knew it wouldn’t be enough.

They were getting boxed in.

He reached for the grenade at his belt, yanked the pin, and hurled it toward the group of people coming in closer.

BOOM.

A deafening blast shook the ground beneath them. A cloud of sand and smoke shot into the air. Anne’s ears rang violently, the shockwave knocking the breath from her lungs. Everything spun.

"Anne, listen to me," Augustine called her, but she could barely hear him.

He grabbed her shoulders and shook her, forcing her to meet his eyes. "Look at me."

She blinked hard, the haze in her mind beginning to lift.

"They are coming fast, and if we stay here together, they’ll kill us both. You have to run." frёeωebɳovel.com

Her eyes widened. "What about you?"

"I’ll be right behind you."

But she hesitated, frozen in place. "I can’t leave you here. You’ll get killed."

"You stubborn, beautiful woman." He kissed her fiercely. "I need to distract them. That’s the only way you’ll get out alive. I’ll come after you, I swear. But you have to go now."

Tears spilled from her eyes, blurring his face. "I can’t—"

"Do you believe me?"

She nodded, sobbing.

"Then go," he whispered. "Don’t stop. Don’t look back. I’ll be there."

She shook her head furiously, but he gave her a small shove. "Go..."

Anne bolted, her feet pounding against the ground as she ran into the dark. Her sobs caught in her throat, but she didn’t look back, just like he told her.

As soon as Anne left, Augustine turned back toward the chaos. His face hardened with resolve.

The goons were closing in, fanning out toward the cabana with weapons raised.

Augustine rose from behind the stone bar and opened fire. Bullets whizzed past the intruders, forcing them to dive for cover as they shouted orders over each other. It was all the time he needed.

He ducked again and moved fast.

Behind the bar, he grabbed a bottle of alcohol, yanked out the cork, and splashed the contents across the wooden floor. Another bottle followed, liquid sloshing freely, soaking into the boards and trailing toward the swaying curtains.

Gunfire ripped through the cabana, tore through the canopy, and punched into the wood. But Augustine kept moving. He grabbed the lighter from the bar and struck it with a single flick.

Whoomph.

Fire exploded into the room with a roar. Flames raced across the alcohol-soaked floor, leaping to the curtains, crawling up the posts. Smoke thickened instantly, curling toward the ceiling. The goons shouted in panic, backing away from the blaze, some caught in it, their screams echoing in the air.

Anne stopped in her tracks as she heard the cries. She turned, breath catching in her throat.

The cabana transformed into an inferno. Flames soared into the sky, twisting and snapping. Smoke spiraled upward, blotting out the stars.

"Augustine!" She dropped to her knees.

Her body shook as she sobbed. She covered her mouth with trembling hands, trying to hold in the scream building in her chest.

The man she loved, the one who had promised to follow, was gone, swallowed by fire. The thought hollowed her like a knife to the gut.

What was the point of running? Of surviving?

"Augustine... no... please... no..."

Suddenly, strong arms yanked her to her feet.

"Anne!" His voice cut through the fog of fear like a blade. "We have to move."

She spun, breath catching in her throat. Augustine stood in front of her, sweat-soaked, soiled, and very much alive. Her tear-streaked face crumpled as she threw herself into his arms, clutching him like he was the last thing tethering her to the earth. "You are alive... oh my God, you are alive—"

"I told you I’d come back," he murmured against her hair. "But we don’t have time for this."

He pulled back, gripping her hand tightly. "They’ll come after us. We have to go."

Still shaken, Anne nodded, wiping her tears as she ran with him. Hand in hand, they raced through the dark, not stopping, not looking back.

Anne’s breath came in gasps as she struggled to keep pace with Augustine. Just as the cottage came into view, Anne spotted movement near the structure. She froze, her heart leaping in fear.

Augustine stopped, too, narrowing his eyes as shapes emerged from the shadows.