Desire Me If You Can Chapter 42

The car stopped in front of people looking around with faces full of curiosity, the door opened, and Wilkins stepped out first. Seeing the people standing there looking bewildered, he opened his mouth with a troubled smile.

“Ah, I’m sorry. We’ve come back today for something important. I have something to ask you all; I’m not sure if anyone here happened to see one of our team members yesterday….”

While Wilkins continued to talk, the rest of the team members stepped out of the car and began to scatter one by one to survey the surroundings. When Dane appeared, a sudden stir broke out, with cheers and screams mixed together.

“Eek! He’s here!”

“Dane, Dane Striker!”

“Look over here! Dane, Dane!”

“Just a moment, please. I’m on duty. Not today, everyone please be quiet, I beg you….”

Wilkins raised both arms to plead with the crowd, but the commotion didn’t die down easily. Because people were racing to take out their mobile phones to take pictures or record videos, the sound of shutters continued incessantly. Inevitably, the rest of the members scattered in different directions to start their inquiries.

“Oh my, he’s coming this way.”

Seeing Dane walking in their direction, a mother and daughter instantly turned red and clasped their hands together tightly. Standing a few paces away from them, Dane gave a light nod before speaking.

“I’m Dane Striker. We’re looking for someone, and….”

“Yes, yes, and? Go ahead!”

Before he knew it, people from the house next door had also rushed over, looking up at him enthusiastically. Seeing people even running toward him from far away in a troublesome manner, Dane couldn’t help but make a fed-up face. He had done enough service yesterday. He didn’t have the slightest intention of sacrificing himself any further. Because of that, Dane immediately called out to Ezra.

“Hey, Ezra! The people here say they’ll tell you!”

“Huh? Oh, uh, okay.”

Even though he was confused, Ezra hurriedly ran over and stood in front of them. Soon, sighs full of disappointment and lingering regret poured out from among the people.

“Where are you going? We’re right here!”

“Wait a minute, we said we’d tell you, didn’t we? Dane!”

“Dane, look over here! Dane!”

In front of the women who were shouting while watching only the back of Dane as he left immediately, Ezra began his explanation with a cold sweat.

“Right, as I mentioned earlier, we are looking for someone. He came here with us yesterday, he’s taller than Dane… yes, bigger, too. Has anyone seen a man with blond hair and purple eyes? He definitely would have stood out.”

“Oh?”

Those who hadn’t even seemed to be listening to Ezra because they were so preoccupied with Dane until then fortunately turned their attention. Of course, it was definitely not because they had become interested in the missing person.

“Blond hair and purple eyes?”

“Oh, I saw him. You saw him too, right?”

“Ah, yeah. Couldn’t miss him. He was the first thing that caught my eye.”

It was good up to this point. Just as Ezra was about to feel hopeful, another question came flying in.

“But that man, is he an elite Alpha? If he has purple eyes, that means he is, right?”

“Oh my, then was that scent back then his pheromone scent? Why, they say elite Alphas spray pheromones like that all the time anyway. So they don’t build up in their bodies.”

“No wonder he looked so flashy. This fire station has some very tasty—I mean, very handsome men.”

“I didn’t see him, does anyone have a picture?”

“Here, here.”

“Of course I took one, look.”

“Oh my, this is so fun. My goodness, this is the happiest moment of my whole day. Thank you!”

At the sound of the giggling, Ezra felt his mind going blank.

∞ ∞ ∞

Having barely escaped the noisy clamor, Dane let out a tired sigh and looked around. It was a quiet village with no particular details to be seen. Reconfirming that it was such a peaceful space that it was impossible to imagine a kidnapping incident happening here, he felt annoyed and scratched the back of his head vigorously. Where the hell did he disappear to, this burden of a man?

“Damn it, you piece-of-shit bastard.”

It was when he spat out another round of harsh profanity. Suddenly, he felt a gaze upon him. Turning his head reflexively, he made eye contact with some kid. Dane noticeably frowned and stared at him. Usually, people would be terrified and run away in this situation, but for some reason, the child stood there clenching both fists and did not move.

What is that?

Dane knitted his eyebrows and turned his head. He didn’t have time to deal with the provocations of a trivial child. Thinking that he wanted to finish this annoying situation as soon as possible and go home, he walked quickly, when he suddenly heard the sound of someone running from behind.

“Mister, Mister! Wait, Mister! I have something to report! Mister!”

Exhaling a short breath of “ha,” Dane stopped walking and looked up at the sky. The child was calling out to him at the top of his lungs. In the end, he had no choice but to turn around and walk toward the child with long strides. The child was startled, craning his neck to look up at the tall man who was suddenly standing in front of him after just three or four steps. Dane deliberately kept his eyes lowered as he looked down at him and opened his mouth.

“So, what is it?”

There was clear annoyance in his tone. It was as if he were showing that it was obviously nonsense anyway, so there was no need to listen. Furthermore, it was evident that the child was intimidated by the crushing presence of the immense height, but to his credit, he did not cry and run away. Although it did look like there were tears welling up in the corners of his eyes.

“A-Ah, Mister, you’re a, a firefighter, right?”

The child asked stammeringly, trembling in fear. Dane replied while looking down at the kid with a cynical expression.

“If the words you’ve read are correct, then yes.”

Dane threw his thumb over his shoulder to point at the back of the T-shirt he was wearing. The child, who had gone out of his way to turn around and confirm that ‘Fire Department’ was written in large letters, looked back up at him.

“P-please find my friend.”

“Friend?”

As expected, it was trivial nonsense, so Dane frowned and looked down at the child.

“Is that bastard an elite Alpha too?”

“Huh? What’s that?”

When Dane asked, suspicious because the question made him rethink the current situation, the child opened his eyes wide as if embarrassed and asked back. Of course, that wouldn’t be it. Dane thought bitterly and waved his hand.

“No, it’s nothing. So, what do you want me to do?”

“My friend. Please find my friend.”

By now, it would be natural for him to be intimidated, but the child stood firm and continued his “report.”

“My friend hasn’t been seen for a few days. He didn’t come to school, either. His mom and dad are divorced. He lives alone with his dad, but when I went to look for him, they said he couldn’t come out because he had the measles. But that’s a lie. My friend already had his vaccination. My mom said so; she said that when his mom was still around, she and I went to the hospital together and got our shots.”

Dane stared at the child’s face without a word. He didn’t seem to be lying. Encouraged by him just listening in silence, the child continued to speak rapidly.

“His dad hits him sometimes. He says it’s because he didn’t listen, but my friend is really nice. But it’s weird that he hits him like that. My dad has never hit me once, you know? My dad, when he comes home from work in the evening, he says he loves it when I run over and kiss him. But I’m going to be 10 years old soon, too. 10 years old means you’re an adult, right? Shouldn’t I stop doing things like that now? I probably shouldn’t eat the cookies my mom bakes anymore, right? Puppy cookies are really delicious, do you like puppies, Mister, or do you like cats? My friend raises a hamster, and….”

“Wait, wait, stop.”