Never Too Far Novel

They were immediately surrounded by the motorcycles. The gangsters began to bang on the car windows with the iron bars in their hands. As such, the bodyguard in the driver’s seat swerved the car to knock down some of the outlaws, but the people banging on the windows were too many for them. Suddenly, a row of studs appeared in front of the moving car. It turned out that the motorcycles were only there to divert their attention, forcing the car to accelerate, and then unable to brake in time to avoid the studs.

Sure enough, popping sounds were heard. Although the car tires were anti-puncture, the car was eventually slowed by the overwhelming number of nails. As a result, the three cars behind immediately accelerated and caught up.

“President Presgrave, it appears that we will have to get out of the car to deal with these gangsters.” The captain of the bodyguard analyzed the situation calmly, knowing that they would be unable to proceed at all under the current circumstances. “The cars behind us did not catch up with us, but we’re already entangled by them. We can only get out for the time being.”

Elliot nodded, after which the bodyguard neatly drew the car mat beneath his feet, revealing the spot where they hid their sophisticated and well-equipped weapons.

“Take this, President Presgrave. We must launch a successful counterattack against these outlaws.”

Elliot accepted the gun, and he was still well-versed in the shooting techniques. Despite having been in the business industry for many years and maintaining a successful career, he clearly did not forget the skills he had learned while he was training in the secret army.

To avoid the confrontation on the avenue, the car took a side road and drove into the dense woods.

The four people in the car quickly exited the vehicle and sought shelter. At this point, the outlaws’ cars rushed in, followed by the motorcycles arriving one by one. When the first man collapsed to the ground, the others instantly became vigilant.

The outlaws lacked a comprehensive understanding of their adversaries. They were simply outlaws who wanted money after completing their missions, but this time they knew the target was a wealthy man. It was very simple for them to get rid of a businessman.

However, when the second and third men were killed, their nerves were put to the test. Their opponents’ skills and equipment were obviously superior, as was their shooting accuracy.

“Come on! Get your act together, everyone! Whoever kills the target receives one million as a reward!”

When the terrified men learned of the million dollar reward, they quickly regained their senses and spirits. They would never be able to make such good money in their lives, so today was their only chance.

When the outlaws’ leader discovered that they had lost six of their members, he became enraged and pulled out the bazooka they had just used to fire aimlessly at their opponents, eventually forcing one of Elliot’s bodyguards to appear. While dodging bullets, the bodyguard injured his leg and fell to the ground at a position very close to Elliot.

Elliot ignored the risk of being discovered while saving his bodyguard. He reached out and dragged his bodyguard to a safe location.

“Don’t worry about me, President Presgrave. The most important thing right now is your safety,” the bodyguard breathed out. His broken leg was bloodied and burned.

Elliot removed his suit before he ripped off the shirt sleeve to expertly bandage the bodyguard’s wound. “Please bear with it for a while. We’ll take you to the hospital as soon as we get back to the city.”

Even though the bodyguard grimaced in pain, he was moved. The reason why they were protective of Elliot was because he was a kind-hearted boss.

Elliot was unlike any other businessman who didn’t care about the lives of his subordinates. Instead, he always treated his bodyguards like brothers.

Elliot’s personality made his subordinates want to serve him, even if it meant risking their lives.

At this fraction of moment, the outlaws discovered Elliot’s hiding spot and immediately approached him.

Elliot had to get up and leave to keep his subordinates safe, leading the group of outlaws in a different direction to distract them.

A few bullets flew by his side and he deftly avoided them all. He ran to a high vantage point and aimed his shot at the four outlaws with no misses. They were shot dead before they could even call for help.

Elliot returned to the injured bodyguard’s side just as the captain of the bodyguard joined him. “President Presgrave, could you please take Mark and depart in this direction? You can hail a cab along the way to get to the hospital. We’ll go in the opposite direction to distract the outlaws,” the captain said.

“I’ll go with you!” Elliot suggested.

The stunned captain refused. “No, your identity is too important for us to risk. We must—”

“Stop talking nonsense. Let’s go.” Elliot stood up, ran 100 meters in a favorable direction, and fired two shots into the sky.

The captain exhaled a sigh. He had to admit that the entire bodyguard team was less brave and capable than Elliot at times.

Elliot was a truly admirable human being.

At this point, the daylight had dwindled to a barely perceptible lightening of the gloom. Elliot and Reece, the captain of the bodyguard, had already drawn the outlaws into the dense forest area.

Dusk arrived earlier than expected; everything in the forest was hidden beneath it, as if a predator was on prey.

“Be careful, President Presgrave,” Reece reminded Elliot since Reece had the responsibility to ensure the man’s safety.

The thirty-five-year-old Reece’s heart was cautious because he had to remain alert.

Elliot nodded, and he checked his gun magazine holder and discovered that he only had one bullet left.

He calmly reloaded it while Reece quickly handed over his firearm, saying, “Here, President Presgrave. I have four more and you can have mine.”

“No, keep it for yourself!” Elliot gently shook his head.

There were only about ten outlaws left when they arrived in the deep woods. They had lost more than half of their members. The leader was irritated and enraged. They appeared to have underestimated their enemy this time.

The information provided by the other party did not state how powerful the businessman was. However, the outlaw leader watched his brothers die one by one at Elliot’s hands.

“After you, President Presgrave.” Reece made the decision to head deep into the forest.

Elliot, on the other hand, was sick of running away from the situation. If he had to walk into the mountains, it would take him a few days to get out, and he didn’t have time to wait that long.

Elliot had only one thing on his mind: to bring Lorelai back so that he could finish the operation at his hospital and to calm his wife.

Therefore, he didn’t want to wait any longer.

At this moment, Elliot noticed an outlaw approaching him in the bushes six meters away, so he motioned Reece to go forward with him. Reece’s heart raced as he saw this and dashed behind Elliot.

The outlaw went over to investigate when he heard a twig snap in the trees behind him, not realizing it was a stone thrown by Reece.

As the outlaw looked around frantically for the source of the noise, Elliot stepped from behind him, snatched his weapon and took him down to finish him off.

Elliot quickly looked at the gun’s magazine and found it more than adequate. Instantly, his eyes turned as cold as a stone, and Reece followed suit when he saw Elliot’s sleek figure moving toward the outlaws.

Within minutes, flocks of frightened birds flew from the woods as it was accompanied by loud noises and screams. After fifteen minutes, there was complete silence.

Reece, who was holding a weapon, was dumbfounded that he had witnessed a scene from an action film whereby the man he was protecting, Elliot Presgrave, was the main character.

“Let’s go before the sun goes down!” Elliot told Reece as he dropped the things in his hands.

Reece was taken aback, and he quickly followed Elliot.

While driving in the car that they came in; they contacted the other team members who were in the other three cars. The team members in those cars soon came to pick them up, but the two injured bodyguards had been transported to the hospital.

Then, Elliot reached for his phone and dialed Anastasia’s number.

“Hello! Hello, Elliot, is that you?” Anastasia’s voice was tinged with emotion.

“It’s me. Don’t worry, I’m fine,” he reassured her. She must have been worried at home for the past two hours!

“You frightened the hell out of me.” She sniffled, indicating that she must have shed tears beforehand.

“I’m not going to die so easily. I still have to look after you and Jared for the rest of my life!” Elliot tried to entice her with humor.

On the other hand, Anastasia’s tears became even more audible. “Could you kindly refrain from bringing up the subject of death? That’s not what I want to hear from you.”

“Okay, fine. I won’t bring it up again,” Elliot coaxed tenderly.

Elliot’s demeanor surprised Reece. Is he the same Mr. Presgrave who killed the outlaws in the woods?

Anastasia informed Elliot to return home early when she learned he would pick up Lorelai.

Meanwhile, Lorelai sat on the sofa, sipping vitality serum for nourishment. She wanted to go outside for fresh air to calm down, as she felt tense and stifled within the villa. Then, she recalled her mother’s warning and knew she had to stay put.

At night, the villa stood out even more prominently. Several shadowy people showed up in front of the villa’s outer wall, and the bodyguards led the way as they climbed up the wall.

Lorelai was asleep in her bedroom when she became aware of the sound. Panicked, she rose to her feet and yelled for her assistant, but nobody responded.

As she walked down the hall, she was thinking about her assistant when she noticed the door to her house being forced open and a tall figure enveloped in a subtle aroma of blood entering the house with a gloomy coldness.

Lorelai stepped back quickly and trembled as she was overwhelmed with fear. The man who appeared before her at this time was not the same man who had once held her heart; instead, he was a dangerous incarnation of Hades, who had come down from hell himself.

“E-Elliot, what are you doing here?” She maintained her composure, but her emotions were in disarray.

When she looked closer, she discovered Elliot’s suit was smeared with a red dye that resembled human blood.

a realization about something. Her mother had not informed her of

will you make me use force

he no longer felt

and I’m not going anywhere.” An emotional Lorelai shook her head and begged, “Elliot, the child is already in my womb. May I give

foolish, he coldly said, “Lorelai, you are not qualified to give

I only want to have two children related to you by blood. I promise I will never trouble you again. I assure you, Elliot, that I will never get

most in this situation is my wife. You don’t take her seriously, and she is the one whom I love the most. Do you think I will give you a chance to hurt my wife?” Angry and frustrated, he yelled, his eyes blazing

and she supported herself with the use of a couch and gently sat down. If she hadn’t sat down, her legs would have been so weak that she would have

but I love you too! From a young age, I had a crush on you. Perhaps I would have been the one to marry you if my father hadn’t forbidden my return. You see, there was no Anastasia when we first met!” Lorelai remarked with red eyes as she had always felt that she was just unlucky, that she was born into the Presgrave Family and had a strict father. Otherwise,

me now.” Elliot firmly said, “If you don’t return with me, you will never see your father again, I’ll have the baby aborted, and

Lorelai was worried since she still had a younger brother, who was just eighteen and with

my hand on them, but more about your cooperation today. If you cooperate, I will do what needs to be done.” As Elliot said in a low voice,

breath. Was Elliot going to

do something like that?

with you.” Lorelai had given up hope since she was convinced that Elliot would abandon their

her. Still, it appeared he

held by the two bodyguards standing beside them and

it weren’t for the money, they never would have followed her and risked

Elliot standing in the hallway,

let’s go!” Lorelai, with her eyes

be compelled to leave in the future, and there would be no possibility for

car set off for the airport, and approximately three hours later, the plane

seated in the rear seat, held her mobile phone and

other end of the line answered the phone as

with me?” Martha

old, so don’t get

me seriously. You’ve finally matured, haven’t you? I’m going to freeze

phone line, Arthur laughed and said, “Grandma, you vastly underestimate your grandson’s capability. I can live comfortably

lifestyle, then you would need to try hard at getting a job,” Martha said this derisively and she seemed to relish in watching him try. She was quite

care of myself.” Having said that, he attempted to

hastily yelled out, “Artie, are you sure that

and you can address her as

guys in

“Yes!” Arthur admitted.

you plan on marrying her?” Martha’s eyes flickered and it looked like her grandson had met

for now. I’m sorry to trouble you, but you will have to handle the family business for now. Give me

She knew his personality well and she felt that time would prove whether he was truly in love

held was the right one as it was important to have him go through

and she went behind her parents’

she claimed that it was for the sake

in the same space, Sophia and Arthur stayed in separate rooms, so they were not technically

grandma, he instantly felt a wave of relief and he glanced at Sophia, who

young, he had never done any chores but was happy

her pink undergarment in his hand

out to grab it from him. “Why are

snatch it away from him. “You should just go and relax on the

that, he reached out and took out some clothes to hang

him seated on the couch and he was busy tapping away on his laptop. Out of curiosity, she inched closer and asked,

in the

assets were frozen?” She blinked. Where

took out

From your

went to

like how you borrow a pen! Do you realize how high the interest is?

grinned confidently. “Don’t worry. I’ll be able to settle the loan

optimistic as him, she still had some savings which she could use to help settle the loan when it

I like the food.” Arthur folded his laptop

him to try out a seafood platter that was extremely spicy and she thought that his picky palate would not be able to tolerate that. However, he actually enjoyed the meal very

go for lunch at the same restaurant. Are you sure that you’re fine with it though?” she asked out of curiosity because she

as Arthur seemed like a spoiled brat, he actually liked the food that was enjoyed by the general public. Frankly, they even tasted much better than the ones prepared by the five-star chef

lunch consisted of several awestruck waitresses, thanks to his appearance from last night. Surprised to see his return today, they blushed and tried to find excuses

envious of Sophia for having

as equally as Arthur did.

ate elegantly with a slightly lazy look. His casual gaze was enough to captivate the women around him and several other

a photo of him. She quickly interjected, “Excuse me, I would appreciate

moment, the girl

their lunch and came out of the restaurant. Subsequently, they entered a bustling mall. As soon as they reached the entrance, a sexy woman walked over to them and kept

would like to ask whether you’re interested in becoming a celebrity. We’re currently recruiting a new batch of budding talents to

and looked at him

and rejected on behalf of Arthur.

over and have an interview at my company?” It was only then the woman realized that there was another pretty and young-looking

he rejected the

and you’ll instantly get the best conditions right away. How does that sound?” The woman was intent on grasping onto

but we’re really not interested. Thanks.” Sophia clutched Arthur’s arm and

sign you on with an offer of ten million. How about

was annoyed. “Stop bothering

felt a chill run down her spine as soon as his gaze hit her. She felt herself under immense pressure and the man in front of her did not seem like an ordinary man.

get this man to sign under her, then their company would definitely stand out from then on. She was sure that he would

few times and noticed that the woman continued to follow them. It was beyond her expectation that a simple jaunt in the mall with Arthur would

she had also stopped a bunch of girls from taking photos of him.

they decided to head back. He was used to being surrounded and flattered by the crowd since young, but he now realized that he enjoyed a simple

home at about 6.00PM and Sophia had already purchased some pasta and fruits. She intended to spend the night catching up on some TV

she was busy in the kitchen as

7.00PM, dinner of pasta and meatballs was served. She also laid out some side dishes she bought

hand and went to take a look at the delicious dinner spread. He found himself craving to eat and he was no longer a picky eater as before. After moving in with Sophia, he changed a lot of

to sleep on a bed that cost millions and he was very picky about the surroundings he stayed in too. Now that he was with her,

remained perched on the couch as she continued watching a movie. Although she was unemployed at the moment, she did some freelance work and submitted short articles to a special column. On days when she

red-faced. He was wearing the gray pajamas that she had bought for him. The pajamas fitted well on him and he

to the direction of the couch and sat next to her. His strapping tall figure further accentuated

which contrasted his scent right now—the crisp but pure aroma

head to look at the man with wet dark dripping hair who was currently right in front of her. His translucent forehead was revealed and paired with his perfectly sculpted features, making him

could conveniently lie in his arms and take a rest as she

he astutely realized that she was inching closer to him. He kept his eyes

against him as she took in the

and they remained snuggled against each

plot of the show. The most important thing was that he enjoyed this moment and

the TV show depicted a romantic scene between the male and female lead, which happened to be quite an explicit one

lamp and they were deep in embrace as they

out to grab the remote control to skip the scene, but she realized that it was by his side. “Hey, hand me the

saw through her intention, so he refused to hand over the remote

Then, he used his warm palm to gently grasp and maneuver her chin. She knew what this entailed, so she

anxious sight of the girl in his arms as

kiss on her forehead. She waited until she no longer felt his lips on her forehead before opening her eyes slightly to peek. At that moment, his dominating lips landed on her red lips and she instantly

full of passion and she

passionately without any hint of aggression; it

rose to his feet and went to the bathroom as he needed to take a shower—a

other hand, she went back into her room and clutched at her chest as her heart thudded frantically. She knew that Arthur was a gentleman, so he would

knocked on the door to bid goodnight to her before heading into

the airport, a private jet had just landed and Elliot escorted Lorelai, who had just returned home, out of the airport to head directly

hook and forgive her family members. However, Elliot rejected her requests. Not only that, he threatened that if she was to not undergo the surgery immediately, then her entire

a single drop of tear that fell from the side of her eye out of discontentment. The

Elliot glanced at Benedict, who had just pushed open the door and walked in. There was a sparkle in Elliot’s weary-looking eyes. “Is

ended, so you

heave a sigh of relief as he had finally got an outcome after tracking for information and running around to handle matters

to destroy it? Perhaps

sure about that,” said Elliot with a firm look in his eyes. In the future, the fate of the Presgrave Family would only be held

must be really tired,” Benedict expressed

leave things here in your hands, then.” At this point, it was already 5.00AM and all

dark-colored SUV made its way through the gates of a posh villa. Elliot tried his best to not make a sound as he held his coat in his hands and walked up the stairs. He decided not to enter the master bedroom, so he went into a guest room to take

slender figure asleep with her cheeks against a pillow under the dim lights. She seemed to be maintaining

made his way toward her side. He covered her body with the blanket that had slid off to the ground and he

wide. As soon as she saw that it was the person she had been longing to

“You’re finally back.”

at her slightly chidingly, “Why didn’t you

She had merely fallen asleep less than an hour ago. so she