The hostage was none other than Kira!
Though she was held captive, she couldnât stop tears from streaming down her cheeks at the sight of
Devin.
Devin scowled. âWhy are you here?â
âS-Shanae left me with these men. Devin, I wasnât the one behind Coldbridgeâs incident. Shanae forced
me to do that. She threatened to give my parents a hard time in the Wood family. Aunt Jasmine is
dead, so I had no choiceâ¦â she trailed off and wailed sadly.
Devin was speechless.
One commander asked, âMajor Devin, is she your cousin? What should we do now? If we rescue her
and let them leave, our efforts for the past few days would be in vain.â
Though they were clearly reminding Devin of their mission, he couldnât leave her to die.
After all, Kira was his cousin. If she were to die here, he wouldnât be able to face his aunt and uncle for
the rest of his life.
Thus, Devin ordered them to allow the criminals to leave.
When Kira was released, she scurried to Devin, hollering, âDevin!â
Without hesitation, she threw herself into his arms and trembled profusely.
Devin was about to shove her out of his arms instinctively, but when he saw her shaking figure and
pale face, he changed his mind.
âYouâre all right now. Iâll ask someone to take you to the base so that you can get some rest. After
wrapping things up, Iâll visit you.â
âOkay.â Kira released her grip on him reluctantly.
A special forces member led her out of the forest to their base.
Everyone was caught off guard by the sudden situation. They had been working for a long time to
capture those smugglers, but a woman appeared out of nowhere and ruined their plan.
âDevin, why did your cousin suddenly appear in the hands of the smugglers?â
After the other commanders left, one remained. He was close to Devin and posed the question to him.
Devin frowned. âIâm not sure. She claimed someone handed her to the smugglers. I need to confirm
that first.â
His gaze was as cold as ice.
Is Shanae capable of handing a Wood to the criminals? When did she get this bold? I canât believe
sheâs this cruel. Isnât she afraid that the head of the Woods family will skin her alive?
Devin wasnât completely convinced.
He gathered a few commanders to hold a meeting in the tent. They decided on a plan before he left the
forest and returned to the base.
âMajor Devin, youâre back? The girlâs sick. The doctor said she has dengue.â
âDengue?â Devin was planning on questioning her thoroughly when he heard about the news.
Dengue?
His face fell as he lifted the mesh at the entrance and stepped in.
It was true, for Kira was lying on the thin bed, unconscious from the high temperature she was running.
Upon spotting him, the doctor rose to her feet and reminded anxiously, âMajor Devin, youâre back. Your
cousin has dengue, so we have to send her to the hospital as soon as possible.â
Hospital?
They were in the rainforest, and the nearest hospital was a few hundred kilometers away. It wasnât an
easy journey.
Devin took one look at his cousin who was mumbling, âDevin, Devin⦠It hurts.â
Her lips were chapped.
However, she could still mutter Devinâs name when he showed up, though the fever fried her brain. Her
rosy cheeks were stained with tears, as the pain was too agonizing for her.
Devin fell silent.
After a brief pause, he relented. âIâll arrange for a car. How did she contract dengue, though?â
âHer legs were wounded, thus weakening her immune system. She had been in the rainforest for some
time, so it was normal for her to get bitten,â the doctor explained as she pointed to Kiraâs bandaged leg,
shrugging helplessly.
The revelation stunned Devin as his gaze landed on her leg.
He promptly turned around and left to arrange for a car.
The emergency made him forget about the photos he received a while ago.
Back in Avenport.
Sabrina and Isaac finally completed the initial model of her Jeep Wrangler after a dayâs work.
âMs. Hayes, itâs late. Letâs continue tomorrow. The light isnât great, so the final product might have flaws
if we are to continue now.â