Take My Breath Away

"Hello." Evelyn was playing on her phone, so when Sheffield called her, she picked up quickly.

He could hear her soft voice clearly in the quiet room. It warmed his heart. "Eve, I need to see you," Sheffield said in a hoarse voice.

"Now?" Evelyn turned to look at Savannah, who was sitting next to her. She hadn't seen Savannah in a while and was enjoying catching up.

"Yeah, now!" Sheffield couldn't wait another second. His heart was practically leaping from his chest.

Evelyn didn't want to say goodbye to Savannah yet. "Not a good time. How about tomorrow? I'm with Savannah now," she said, pouting.

"Hey, if you need to go, then do it. Remember, I'm back in the city for good, so we can meet up whenever you like. I'm good. Really. Just drop me off at my place and do what you gotta do," Savannah offered.

Evelyn hesitated for a while and then nodded her head. "Okay. I need to drive Savannah home first. Where do you wanna meet?" she asked.

"Anywhere is fine by me," Sheffield answered.

It was not until then that Evelyn realized that something was wrong with him. But she couldn't just come out and ask him right now. Not with Savannah there. And because of that, Evelyn was too shy to suggest meeting him at his apartment, so she said, "All right. Call you when I'm done."

"Okay."

After ending the call, Evelyn looked at Savannah, who was smiling. "Evelyn, I'm so glad that you met your Mr. Right."

She didn't know if Sheffield really loved Evelyn, but she knew her friend definitely had it bad for him. When she answered his call, she was practically glowing. Her mood lifted. She was a completely different person.

Compared to her indifference in the past, she was now tender and shy.

Evelyn lowered her head and said shyly, "Thank you." She herself was glad that she met a guy like Sheffield. She grabbed Savannah's hands and said, "Savannah, believe me. You'll meet the right guy someday."

Savannah lowered her head and looked at her legs, shaking her head. 'Even my own mother hates me. No man's gonna fall in love with a cripple, ' she thought bitterly.

When Sheffield walked out of the cafe, he spotted a group of people leaving the offices of the Theo Group. He didn't get into his car; instead, he walked across the road to get a better look.

A dozen led a gray-haired man to a car, and made sure he was safely inside. The deference they showed him meant that he was important to them.

Sheffield glanced at the young woman on his arm. She looked like she was in her late twenties, wearing a form-fitting green cheongsam and a white fur shawl.

'She could be his daughter, and yet she's married to him. Money is the ultimate aphrodisiac, '

Sheffield thought with a mocking smile before turning around and walking toward his car.

He drove aimlessly around the downtown area for a bit. After turning, he found a nice spot to park the car.

He rolled down the window, lit a cigarette and looked up at the dark sky. There were no stars tonight.

The fact that Evelyn had had an ectopic pregnancy bothered him. He liked children a lot, and wanted to have a baby with her. He didn't care whether it was a boy or a girl. As long as Evelyn was the mom, he would love the kid.

A boy would be better, of course. If it were a boy, Sheffield could do things with him. They could hang out, father and son. When he was young, they could play with toy cars and tanks. When he grew up, they could race cars, go girl-watching, and take care of Evelyn together.

Evelyn had carried a baby once. Thanks to him, the baby was gone. And it even almost cost Evelyn her life.

Although he was no obstetrician, he knew the dangers of an ectopic pregnancy. And she even hemorrhaged. She must have been so scared!

He understood Carlos more, now. If Evelyn were his daughter, he'd never let her be with the guy who hurt her so much.

He didn't think he had any reason to blow this off. A mistake is a mistake. He was not innocent. Even though Evelyn hadn't told him about this, it didn't mean he was not to blame.

'My poor Evelyn, ' he sighed inwardly.

He took a drag on his cigarette.

It made his heart ache to think of this.

So what if she was born to a rich family? This didn't mean she wouldn't have problems, like everybody else. Her life was a series of ups and downs that ordinary people never experienced. If he were God, he'd make it so she was born to an ordinary family. Her life would be less complicated, less painful.

There was a park on the right side of the parking lot. He snuffed out his cigarette in the car's ashtray. When he raised his head, he saw a man in black walking toward his car.

The man was dressed in black from head to toe. He wore a black hoodie and a black mask, and covered himself completely.

If Sheffield's senses weren't so sharp, he would have never noticed the man approaching. The night was quite dark.

'This man must have a car around here somewhere. Otherwise he'd never keep up with me. I wonder where he parked the car, ' he thought.

Then, a bolt from the blue! Sheffield remembered the chase down the road the other night. The man was also dressed like that. It must be the same guy!

Sheffield knew if he drove off now, this guy would keep coming for him. He had to settle this now.

So he decided to wait. He wanted to know who this guy was. He put his hand in his pocket, and felt the scalpel in there. He waited for the man to get closer.

A beam of light came from behind him, lighting the darkness. But Sheffield couldn't see the man's face. The man was wearing a mask and a hat. Even without the mask, he was too far away to pick out details.

However, Sheffield saw a dagger in his hand. Light glinted evilly from the cruel-looking blade.

He opened the door and got out of the car. When the man saw him, he immediately stood still. There were short green plants between them.

"Why are you doing this? What did I do to you?" Sheffield asked. The man on the other side remained silent in darkness.

"You want to kill me? Fine. Just tell me why you hate me so much,"

Sheffield said again. The man still remained silent.

Sheffield shook his head and wondered, 'Is he dumb? Or just stoic?'

"Look, I'm pretty busy. Tell me what's going on, or I'm outta here!" No answer. Sheffield turned to leave.

The man suddenly rushed towards him. He was faster than he looked. As he passed through the green plants, he pounced.

Sheffield didn't even have time to get back in his car, but that wasn't his intent. He grabbed the guy's arm, and tried to redirect the attack.

The man countered, and did a spin jump that Sheffield backed up and avoided. The man landed adroitly. Sheffield figured out this guy must know martial arts.

Knowing that his opponent was a skilled martial artist, he shut out all other thoughts and concentrated on dealing with the guy.

Every time the man attacked, his dagger was aimed at Sheffield's heart. But Sheffield managed to dodge the dagger every time. He stayed just out of range, and the man couldn't reach him.

Sheffield tried to rip off the guy's mask, but he wasn't having any. Every time Sheffield tried to close, the man put his dagger in the way.

He took the scalpel from his pocket and spun it in his hand. He grabbed the scalpel firmly and began to fight back with the man brandishing the dagger. Every time the man thrust the dagger forward, Sheffield would try to cut him with the scalpel.

During the fight, Sheffield's phone slipped from his pocket and slid to the middle of the road.

Sheffield had no time to pick up his phone, as he had to concentrate on dealing with his foe.

A moment later, his phone rang. He knew it was Evelyn calling. He wanted to pick it up and answer it, but had to be quick to evade the man in black.

Not only that, the enemy took advantage of this and ruthlessly thrust the sharp dagger toward Sheffield's heart. He turned to dodge, but the attacker cut his shoulder with the dagger.