Can’t Win Me Back by Ginger Sue

The snow was falling heavily, and the chilling winds howled through the night.

Remy had no car, so he trudged through the snow alone, each step more exhausting than the last.

His thoughts were consumed with Alyssa-was she still alive? In danger? And Jasper's unrelenting resolve to reach her, even after being shot and drenched in blood.

Remy pressed his calloused, trembling hand to his chest. His heart hammered in his ribcage erratically.

A sharp, searing pain shot through his temples, blurring his vision. He collapsed to his knees in the snow, his body racked with agony. The pain surged deep within him, and his eyes felt like they were going to burst from their sockets. It was unbearable.

His breath cin ragged gasps. His hands scrambled for the necklace hanging from his neck-inside it was a hidden medicine box.

Justin had told him that the medication in there could calm him down and relieve him of any pain. It would be able to save his life. But in his desperate haste, the pill slipped from his fingers and fell into the snow.

Remy's head buzzed. Trembling, he searched frantically in the snow for it. He had never felt such panic.

His headache was intensifying.

In order to relieve the agonizing pain, he removed his shirt and buried his scarred body in the snow, allowing the bone-piercing iciness to relieve him of his pain.

To his surprise, this method he tried randomly was effective! Slowly, he opened his bloodshot eyes. Though his insides still felt tight and his head throbbed, the pain was more bearable.

His face was as white as a sheet. He had just put his shirt back on when his phone rang.

Seeing that Sheryl was his caller, a look of annoyance cacross his eyes. He hesitated for a moment.

He left his phone to ring for a while before answering. He placed his phone by his ear.

"Remy, I heard that you called for backup. Why? Did something happen to you?" Sheryl's voice was emotionless as if she was just checking with him as part of a standard procedure.

A glint flashed across Remy's eyes. In a steady voice, he answered, "Yeah, I lost my car. I need a car to head back." Skeptically, Sheryl questioned, "You lost your car? What happened to it?" "Jasper stole it from me." Sheryl exclaimed in disbelief, "What? You didn't stop him? Did you fail your mission?" Remy felt suffocated. For whatever reason, he uttered a lie, which was something he had never done before.

"Mr. Justin did not askto take his life. I smashed his car to ruins and fought against him. He then snatched my gun fromand shot me." Sheryl fell silent for a moment. She seemed to have believed him.

After all, Jasper was once the best soldier in the military academy. He was outstanding at fighting. It was only reasonable that Remy wasn't a match for him.

Upon saying that, Sheryl hung up mercilessly.

Remy gazed into the night, his breath misting in the cold air.

After spondering, he lifted his hand slowly and fired a shot at his left shoulder.

The pure, white snow was stained with drops of fresh blood.

As a result of the pain, Remy's forehead beccovered in cold sweat. Even so, none of the agony showed on his face.

On the contrary, he curled his lips upward into a resolute smile.

"This is my account to Mr. Justin." Dragging his badly wounded body, Jasper tagged along with Elias and the rescue team as they entered the depths of the forest. "Mr. Beckett, you really don't look very good. Are you sure you're alright?" Noticing Jasper's face covered in sweat as if he had just gone for a dive, Elias couldn't help but feel worried.

"You can leave it to us to search for Ms. Alyssa. Plus, Mr. Lynch has informed her family members. We have sufficient manpower, so why don't you just wait for us at the foot of the mountain?" Content belongs to en.kikistories"No, I have to find her." Jasper's vision was clear at times and blurry at others. He trudged forward numbly. "I owe her this much." Elias sighed. "Both of you used to be well-known in Solana City for being a model couple. Why did you both end up in this current state? It's such a pity..." Jasper pursed his lips together and hung his head low. Each step he took in the snow also seemed to leave a heavy mark on his heart.

Emotions surged within his chest, crushing and pushing against his insides silently in this freezing weather.

As much as he was unwilling to admit it, he had no choice but to admit that he regretted it.

It was important to him to locate White Dove. But if the price for that was for Alyssa to fall into danger and risk losing her life... "Mr. Parker! There are traces of a hiker over here!" someone shouted agitatedly.

In that instant, the dejected gaze in Jasper's eyes turned sharp. He charged forward and noticed the shoeprints.

With one glance, he recognized them to be Alyssa's shoeprints. They could not belong to anyone else other than her.

Relief washed over him, a momentary reprieve from the crushing weight in his chest.

"We are searching in the right direction. She has passed by this place. According to the length of her strides and her pace in such a heavy snowstorm... she wouldn't have gone far," Jasper analyzed ima quaky voice. Content belongs to en.kikistories"But her shoeprint trail disappears here. She might be buried in the snow!"