Chapter 16: Damsel In Distress 2

The hulk lunged at him first with a kick. Before his attack could land, Victor took a blazing step forward. He threw such a heavy punch into his guts that the man keeled over, vomiting blood.

The driver, who had been witnessing the escalation from the wheel, gasped. Who was this stranger?

Victor casually walked towards the car's trunk and slipped his fingers under the hatchback handle.

"Are you an idiot?" bushy-brows said. "Do you think we'll keep the hatchback open? It is locked and protected with military-grade armor. Even a missile cannot break through!"

With a grunt and a heave, Victor pulled. With a creak and a crack, the entire hatchback was ripped open.

Both bushy-brows and the driver were shocked to the core. A young man in his twenties just tore apart a military-grade locker! Was he the strongest man alive?

Inside the trunk, Victor found a classy young woman. Her hands and legs were tied, and her mouth was gagged. Still, she was making a surprising amount of noise. He immediately recognized who she was. The face was prominent in newspapers and social media.

"I'll get back to you in a moment," Victor reassured the woman, who protested even more.

"Is she Claire Holt?" he asked bushy-brows. The driver had also joined his accomplice. They had their guns drawn at him.

"Why is Monolith abducting the most successful female billionaire of Springfield?" Victor asked, ignoring their weapons.

Bush-brows and the driver exchanged nervous glances, and their trigger fingers twitched. In a split second, Victor was upon them. He unarmed the two with low uppercuts to their elbows. Strategically placed chops to their necks made them buckle their knees. They collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Victor found their weapons and unassembled them with swift motions of his hands. He returned to the vehicle's trunk and snipped Claire's bonds with a knife. Then, he pivoted and headed towards his bike.

"Hey!" The woman called back at him as soon as she ungagged herself. "Where are you going? Are you going to leave me here?"

Victor half turned around. "I just rescued you from murderous villains. What else do you need from me?"

"But how do you expect me to get home? Take me, please!"

Victor shook his head. "I'm sure you know how to call a cab. I don't have time to be your driver."

Claire wouldn't let go. She was a tall, classy woman, usually dressed in business suits. However, right now, she was in a thin silvery gown. Claire's well-toned, curvy body was on display.

"What if the goons have a backup?" she said. "They'll follow and kidnap me all over again! Please take me home on your bike. "

"What do I have to gain?" Victor asked coldly.

Claire was taken aback by his indifference. He already knew her name. Wouldn't a commoner like him be glad to be of service to a popular figure like her? Men usually bent over backward to serve her.

"I'll give you a million dollars!"

Victor stopped in his tracks and turned around. "Are you serious?"

"Yes! I'll give it in cash!"

He considered her offer for a moment. If he could get a receipt from Claire Holt, he could easily explain how he paid for Edgar's treatment to Carol.

"Two million dollars," Victor told her. "No negotiation. I'll also need a receipt with the name Victor Damone on it."

Claire bit her lip. Victor Damone? She had never heard the name before.

Two million dollars was not a considerable sum of money for her. But wasn't this daylight extortion? However, part of her wanted to know this mysterious stranger who came rushing in like Prince Charming and rescued her from goons.

"Deal!" she said.

Victor recovered Claire's personal effects from the armored vehicle and gave her his jacket to cover her body. The sun was setting, and cold had started to creep in. Claire sat on the rear seat and wrapped an arm around Victor's waist.

As they drove into the bustling city, she leaned on his back and closed her eyes.

'What is Victor's deal?' she wondered. Even though he knew how popular she was, he acted coldly toward her as if her beauty and celebrity status meant nothing to him.

Her arm tightened around his muscular torso as the bike sped up. She just realized she had never felt so safe and secure in a man's presence before. Who was this mysterious man? And why was he inducing repressed feelings in her?

On their way back, Claire sent a message to her subordinate about the two million dollar payment. An idea occurred to her. She clung to Victor and snapped a selfie.

Claire posted the picture on social media with the caption, "Life is wonderful when you are a nobody with somebody…"

Since she was a renowned personality, the post got a thousand instant likes in minutes and hundreds of comments.

Many wealthy men who wanted to court her posted jealous comments. Her female friends asked who the rider was.

"Who is the mysterious guy?"

"Tell us his name! We can only see his back!"

"I can't believe that Claire has a boyfriend!"

"Whose jacket are you wearing, Claire?"

Claire didn't respond to any of the questions. She intended to keep Victor a secret and explore him all by herself.