Unexpected Encounter: A Second Chance at Love

Andrew and others quickly followed Rachael.

"This is bad," Daniel mumbled.

"What?" Kate frowned when she heard him mumble but there was no time to linger. She rushed towards Joshua along with others.

With his hand over his open abdominal wound, Joshua collapsed on the floor.

"Joshua–" Rachael called him before kneeling in front of him. When she saw the huge bloodstain on his shirt, her eyes widened in shock.

"Andrew, this—" She looked at her husband, her eyes filled with tears.

"Step aside," Owen instructed before squatting down to examine Joshua's wound. "Have you been shot?"

Joshua managed to nod before passing out.

Andrew quickly checked his pulse. "It's strong."

Seeing his lifeless body on the ground, Rachael was traumatised. She didn't understand how this had happened. How did Joshua get shot?

"He has lost a lot of blood, we need to take him to the hospital." This wasn't the first time Elsa had witnessed something like this but the fact that the wounded person was Rachael's cousin and someone they knew, made her panic.

"We can't take him to the hospital." Owen, Andrew and Daniel looked at each other.

"What do you mean we can't take him to the hospital?" Shocked, Rachael looked at Andrew. "He will die if we don't take him to the hospital." Joshua was bleeding profusely. Rachael had never seen so much blood at once in her entire life and the fact that the blood belonged to her brother scared her.

"It's not safe to take him out now," Daniel replied as he helped Owen carry Joshua inside the room.

"But—" Before Rachael could say something, Andrew placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Rach, relax," he tried to calm her down. "Nothing is going to happen. I need to make a phone call." He looked at Elsa, gesturing her to take care of Rachael.

Andrew wanted to be with her but there was no time to waste. Joshua needed immediate medical attention before things went south.

Within minutes after Andrews' phone call, a medical team arrived at the mansion.

"Same room," Andrew instructed them. "Where is Max?" he asked.

"I am here," a man dressed in PJ's rushed inside. "Who is it this time?" he asked. "Owen? Daniel? Oh please don't tell me it's Justin."

"Snoopy," Andrew answered.

The man raised his brows. "Okay now that's interesting. I will need full details after I am done." He then rushed towards the room.

Minutes later, Daniel and Owen came back.

"Is he okay?" Rachael asked, her voice lashed with fear.

"He will be," Elsa assured her, wrapping her hand around her waist. "Max is the best."

"Elsa is right," Owen backed her up. "I know it's hard to believe with the way he is dressed but trust me when I tell you that most of us would have been dead if not for him, especially Justin."

All the reassurance failed to make Rachael feel better. She looked around for Andrew who was standing in a corner busy with a phone call.

"Let's sit down okay?" Elsa suggested as she guided her towards the couch. "This is going to take a while."

"I will get you a glass of water." When Daniel left, Kate followed him.

…..

[Inside the kitchen]

"Tell me the truth," Kate wrapped her arms in her chest and glared at him.

"Kate, not now," Daniel tried to shrug her off though he knew it was useless. But explaining everything that was going on was also very complicated.

"Why did Andrew refer Joshua as Snoopy?" Kate had heard about the notorious Snoopy who worked alongside the Petrov's who had tried to kill almost every Volkov which included her husband but she had never seen him in person.

"I—" Not being able to find the correct words, he sighed, "It's complicated."

"Don't tell me it's the same Snoopy I am thinking of," she frowned. Having an enemy so close to them made her feel uncomfortable. But at the same time, he was Rachael's cousin—nothing made sense.

Daniel sighed. "Look babe—" He placed his hand on her shoulder. "I will explain everything but for now let's just support Rachael and be there for her, okay? She is new to all of this, it is very hard for her."

Kate nodded. "You are right but I need all the details later."

"I won't exclude a thing," he promised.

…..

The atmosphere in the living room was quite tense, every second felt heavy and suffocating especially for Rachael.

After finishing making a few calls, Andrew was now sitting beside his wife. He didn't say anything, he sat beside her with his arms wrapped around her.

"Should I inform my aunt?" Rachael wasn't sure if she should inform her aunt or her family about Joshua's condition.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Andrew sighed. "Let's wait and talk to Joshua first before telling anyone."

"Is he going to be okay?" she asked with her eyes full of tears.

"I think he will pull through." Andrew had seen worse things happen to his close one and they had somehow managed to pull through. He was sure Joshua would also make it.

Just then Ben entered the mansion.

When Andrew saw him, he kissed the top of Rachael's head. "I will be back." He then looked at Owen and both of them headed upstairs along with Ben.

…..

[Study Room]

"It was Igor Petrov," Ben informed Andrew as he handed him a file which contained all the information he had managed to gather in the short span.

"Igor is in the city?" Owen frowned. He hadn't received any news of Igor stepping foot in their city.

"No but his right hand man Jeremiah is." Ben handed them a picture of the accused.

"Wait—" Owen raised his brows. "I have seen this man multiple times with Snoopy."

Ben nodded. "They were very tight when Snoopy worked for Petrov. He visited Snoopy's in his old apartment today and they left the place together in Snoopy's car."

...